Before I had kids, I used to sleep loads. It wasn't uncommon that I would sleep 9, sometimes even 10 hours a night. I'm down to around 7, often closer to 6. And this is when all of my kids are sleeping through most of the nights.
Why do I sleep so much less? It's pretty simple. My kids go to bed quite early (8 pm), but that means that they also wake up quite early (two of them tend towards 6 am, my eldest towards 7 am). With small kids, that means that I also wake up early. 7 days a week, most days of the year.
When I had work, I would often work once the kids were in bed (otherwise I wouldn't have managed to fit my work into my day), and then still take some own time, if there was any left. Now that I spend a lot more time "at home", I feel like I need to counterbalance this "kids time" with some "own time" in the evening - and there's a lot to balance.
I think one of the most common exclamations to be heard in the evenings at our home is: "Oh no, is it again already that late?" Which means that "Until 5.50 am when our youngest wakes up, there's not enough time to sleep!"
Oh, and all those nights when one of the kids, if not two, are ill or have nightmares, or pee in their beds, or when one is troubled by some own thoughts and can't sleep, or stays at a party for too long... And this after the horror months of breastfeeding every 1.5 hours a night.
Pat yourself on your back if you belong to this group. This is a tough job, with an incredible amount of extra hours. You deserve respect and a thank you. And a lot of sleep - later.
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