How much sleep do you need as a mum? What about your kids?

[messy123]

Sleep fascinates me! I used to sleep 7.5 hours pre kids but now I've changed and am happy with a stretch of 5-6 hours. I tend to have a couple of 6 hours nights, a 7 hour night, a couple of 5 hour nights and a 4.5 hour night in a week...averages under 6 hours over the course of a week.

Can't blame DD, she usually sleeps through these days but seems to have inherited from me the need for less than her peers. She's 2.10 and sleeps on 9-10 hours per night.

What about other mumsnetters?

My 7 and 5 year olds have 11-12 hours. Nearly 2 year old has 10 at night and 1.5 hour nap.
I average 4-5 hours a night. Very occasionally 6.

@soutterlygrounddown Ah we sound similar! I'd like a little more. One of the reasons is I stay up late after DD and DP have gone to bed as I like quiet time alone!

I get about 8 hours a night, midnight-8am. My kids are all up before me, dd13 and DS14 leave the house before I am up and DD9 is up and ready to go to school, she gets up about 7am and goes to bed around 8.30-9pm and reads for a bit.

At the moment I get around 8-9 hours a night which is about right for me, I would really struggle with 6 hours.
My 9 and 7 year olds have around 9-10 hours a night, although they are different in that 9 year old is a night owl and sleeps late whereas 7 year old is an early bird. My 4 year old has about 11-12 hours sleep.

I used to need a solid 8 hours a night to function, pre child. I have a 1 year old who, although is a good sleeper, wakes up a few times in the night to bf or for comfort. I also naturally wake up to check on her, but I still get about 7 hours (it's broken up, but only for a 2-3 mins each time)
I feel surprisingly good most mornings and don't get tired during the day so I guess my body has gotten used to it and adapted.

Pre child I could sleep for 12 hours at the weekends! Or on days off when I worked shifts.

I've always been a night owl and late riser though.

Now I go to bed between 10 and 11 and am woken by ds at about 6.30. Once a week of so ill fall asleep when he does at about 7.30 and not get up until the morning.

Ds usually naps for an hour and half (though he has skipped it twice this week) and if I'm off ill have a little kip too.

I have a 3 yr old who has “slept through” since about 10 months old- but recently she can call me 2-3 times a night when her duvet falls down or she has a nightmare. I cope because it’s a quick fix, although broken. Generally she sleeps 11hrs and I need 5hrs sleep to function.

What I would like and what I need to function are very different.
I’ve altered my sleep requirements totally.

Now kids are older I still don’t get good sleep but I cope and manage ok without thinking about it too much.
In the small child bad old days, thoughts of sleep totally dominated every moment because I was fucking absolutely desperate, desperate and utterly sick with soul destroying absolute bone drenched exhaustion.