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thread: What time do you actually get to sit down and relax at night?

  1. #19
    Registered User

    Jun 2007
    ...not far enough away :)
    1,413

    also the rule in our house is whoever is cooking, the other tends to the kids. So if it's not something I can prepare in the day I wait til DH gets home and either I get to it whilst he plays with the kids (most often as they are keen for daddy time) or he does it whilst I play with the kids.

  2. #20
    Registered User
    Add ElleJay on Facebook Follow ElleJay On Twitter

    Jun 2007
    Western Australia
    6,587

    Depends what time I get home from work. I'm primary care taker during the day, then at night I work, usually 5 nights a week and finishing times range from 10:30pm to 1am


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - even though I should be cleaning

  3. #21
    BellyBelly Member

    Oct 2008
    3,132

    We eat dinner altogether (most of the time). Usually the kids all go to bed around 8pm but it can take half an hour for both of us to get all four of them down and after that we do dishes (we have a dishwasher but it still takes time), clean up from dinner, I go out and grab some milk and bread if I need to, we give the house a general tidy and we get to sit down and veg sometime between 9:30 and 10pm. DS2 usually wakes up around 10:30 and goes down finally at around 11:30 and we go and have showers and get into bed around 12. They all sleep until at least 7am most days though so we still get 7 hours of unbroken sleep a night.

  4. #22
    Registered User

    Mar 2008
    North Northcote
    8,065

    we try to get the girls in their beds around 7pm, 7.30 at the latest (unless we are going out or having dinner parties etc).

    then DH takes the dog for a walk and i have a shower

    we share the cooking, so sometimes i do it, sometimes he does it, whatever takes our fancy ITMS. we all eat dinner together at around 6pm, so that is generally out of the way, and DH does the washing up in the morning so that we get a bit more time in the evenings to just veg out lol.

    we have a glass of red every now and then, but generally i tend to find awesome relaxation with some choccy and good book (or DVD!).

    ahh i am so rock and roll

  5. #23
    Registered User

    Jan 2011
    Perth, WA
    1,245

    Not until about 8.30-9 most nights.
    I am a single mum of seven so all the cooking, bathing dressing, settling is up to me.
    The kids all sit down to tea about 6pm...I may grab a snack but usually don't sit down for a feed (no room at the table )
    My 21mth DS is in bed by 6.30-7, 2 yr old DD about 7.30pm, 3yr old 8pm, my 9 and 11 yr olds usually 8.30 on a school night, 9.30 on holidays and my teens any time between 9.30 and 10.30.
    I don't like going to bed before the kids so even if I am knackered I stay up until they go to bed.
    I like to get things tidied before bed, it is nice to wake to a clean house (not that it lasts long)
    They usually do their homework of an evening because it is the only time the house is quiet.

  6. #24
    Registered User

    Apr 2010
    Foothills of the Blue Mountains, West Sydney, NSW
    421

    All I can say is I am just reading through these and dreaming! Lol my little 11 month old is going through some really tough times teething atm so he has decided he doesn't want to sleep until around 10.30-11pm (!!!) and no matter what time we put him to bed and start trying - if he's not ready then he just won't sleep. Oh boy. So yes - for me it's about midnight is when everything stops around here - don't know how I cope!!! Haha. This too shall pass.... Right?!?


    Sent from my iPhone more than likely while I should be doing something else!

  7. #25
    Registered User

    Sep 2005
    In the middle of nowhere
    9,362

    Hang in there Danni. It does pass. I thought I'd never get to go to sleep again either.

  8. #26

    May 2008
    Melbourne, Vic
    8,631

    I always have the best intentions of doing stuff after the kids are asleep but generally I sit down "just for a minute" and next thing I know it's 11pm

    I blame early pregnancy... I'm exhausted...

    Speaking of which, there are towels to be hung out... Joy!

  9. #27
    Registered User

    Oct 2007
    Middle Victoria
    8,924

    I rarely get to sit down & relax at night. My munchkin (although this hasn't been so much lately) often rages til 11 or later. By the time she goes to sleep, i just crash. No doing stuff, no relaxing, just head to bed hoping to get few hours sleep. My relax time is if i get up early and DD stays asleep.

  10. #28
    Registered User

    Jan 2007
    WA
    1,577

    Sometime between 730-830pm depending on if there's daycare stuff to pack, or lots of dishes to clean! But most nights it's 730pm

  11. #29
    Registered User
    Add fionas on Facebook

    Apr 2007
    Recently treechanged to Woodend, VIC
    3,473

    DP is usually not here in the evenings (shiftworker) so I aim to have dinner on the table at 5pm. That gives me time to load the dishwasher after dinner and tidy the kitchen before I give them a bath and put them to bed. Aim to have them in bed by 7.30pm and for the kitchen to be tidy(ish) for the morning. I usually do breakfast on my own (DP sleeping off a late shift) so I don't want to get up to a disaster area.

    After 7.30 - I might do some washing/folding but that's probably the household chore I like the most. Other stuff that I really SHOULD do like mopping/vacuuming doesn't get done at that time of the day.

  12. #30
    Registered User

    Mar 2009
    1,400

    Generally about 9ish here - we have dinner about 6.30pm then wash up whilst kids in bath. They often take a while to go to sleep tho and then I get stuff sorted for the next day. Bags packed etc. Tonight however I have managed to do the ironing as well as they were so feral from today that they went to sleep asap! x

  13. #31
    Registered User

    Jan 2006
    by the beach,NSW
    1,767

    We both work full time so evenings are fairly busy. Dinner is aimed for 6pm, I try to do my and DD lunch while making dinner. We tend to take turns supervising bath/shower - DH relaxes, I do some tidying up if I'm not on supervision. Bedtime starts at 7:30, we alternate stories and washing up. We tend to need to go into DD a couple of times after saying good night, but tend to be able to relax after about 8:15. I occassionally do some chores in the evenings (putting washing on, hanging out a load, general tidying up) but I aim for bed at 9:30.

  14. #32
    Registered User

    Sep 2008
    Adelaide
    3,201

    DS is asleep by 7-730 and mostly that's the time we sit down and relax. Sometimes I feel like doing a bit of cooking (baking) or potter around doing this and that. We used to do our housework at night after DS had gone to bed (I work 4 days, DH works 5), but recently we realised that we are just burning the candle at both ends and decided to get a cleaner - our life balance has been restored

  15. #33
    Registered User

    Apr 2010
    1,118

    deleted
    Last edited by deletedit; August 9th, 2016 at 08:08 AM.

  16. #34
    Registered User

    Dec 2010
    262

    My DD is 3. She goes to bed about 8.30pm (by lays down in mummy's room from about 7.30-8.30pm winding down).
    She pretty much goes straight to sleep when we do put her in her own bed as long as she has had time to wind down before hand.

    I would probably say the earliest I get to sit down is about 10ish. By the time I do the dishes, clean up and do anything else that never gets done during awake time Im just exhausted all the time. There is hardly ever any quality mummy/daddy time cause I am so tired by the time I finish I just go straight to bed. I work 3.5 days a week (the 1/2 day from home but i have D with me then too).
    I do all the cooking.

    When do I get to relax....well that would be when I am sleeping! once in a while DH will let me sleep in and take DD out for 'coffee' with him but they are few and far between. I have just started insisting he give DD her bath nightly when he is home (shift worker) so I can try and sit on the couch for 15mins but mostly its just go go go until I drop!

  17. #35
    Registered User

    Jun 2009
    vic
    2,886

    I don't, to get DD to sleep I have to go to bed with her, and I don't dare to sneak out of bed cos she wakes.

  18. #36
    Registered User

    Oct 2008
    Victoria
    4,601

    All I can say is I am just reading through these and dreaming! Lol my little 11 month old is going through some really tough times teething atm so he has decided he doesn't want to sleep until around 10.30-11pm (!!!) and no matter what time we put him to bed and start trying - if he's not ready then he just won't sleep. Oh boy. So yes - for me it's about midnight is when everything stops around here - don't know how I cope!!! Haha. This too shall pass.... Right?!?
    Oh hun I remember when Moo was younger and it would take me up to 3 hours to get him to settle After all this time I still sometimes pinch myself that I'm actually sitting down at 9pm instead of rocking/patting him to sleep! So yep it will pass!

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