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Nina Murphy
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 8:29pm | IP Logged
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This has helped so much to hear from all of you. Thank you for taking the time.
I relate to so many of you. And feel much better that we are going through similar deliberations over sleep----which is so very basic and so essential. I guess: why it is all the more valuable when even the smallest amount is offered up for love's sake....when it is the opposite of what we want/need.
I am one of those babies, too, that my mom says slept throught the night immediately (and I didn't get ONE of them). I PUT MYSELF to bed during my schoolyears. No one has ever had to assign ME a bedtime. It frustrates my family how early I want to go to bed and my husband and I are totally on different schedules. I am such a light sleeper (highly sensitive) that I almost should sleep in my own bed, in my own room!  And yet, of course, it hasn't been that way for 20 years!
I have slept with all of my babies and it has gotten increasingly harder as I've aged. I also have found when Brendan comes in, I awaken and do not fall back to sleep without LOTS of help....including must EAT to induce food coma. It is driving me nuts that I have to eat all night!
I feel too much guilt for sleeping in at this point ----as much as my body wants it---because of homeschooling...but I no longer feel guilty about the naps! Thanks everyone!
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God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 8:34pm | IP Logged
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I've started getting up around 6:30. I set the alarm around 6:15 and the radio plays until my eyes open and I get up. The kids are not allowed out of their rooms until 7 so that's a little time for me to make muffins or bathe.
I am IN bed (not starting to get ready) between 10 and 11. I prefer earlier, but there is so much to do!
I prefer 8-9 hours of sleep. More and I get groggy. Less and I get crabby. I do 3 cups (measured off of the coffee maker) in the morning and occasionally an afternoon caffeine, but more makes me crabbier or anxious. I don't need help with that! As Shawna says, my flesh is very weak.
I rarely nap now although I used to almost every day. However, from 1-4 is quiet time/nap time for everyone, so I'm mostly uninterrupted then. It gives me a much needed break from noise and other people's needs so I can refuel.
I have found there are things that I can suffer with that do not make others suffer too, but if I lose too much sleep or don't have some afternoon quiet, we all suffer  so I try to conscientious about it.
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Mary G
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 8:57pm | IP Logged
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MOST  mornings I get up around 5:30/6 a.m. Dh is up at 5 (if not earlier, getting ready for the sophomores ) so I try to be up just after him and be ready when he leaves (usually around 6:15). Getting up this early not only ensures that I see dh (and thus start my morning right) but also gives me 30 minutes or so to check emails and write up blog posts, check bloglines before I have to roust the lil' darlins'! I usually go to bed somewhere around 9:30/10 (unless I'm nearing the end of a knitting project, than I stay up till I'm done, particularly if I have another in the wings waitin' to start.)
Occasionally I just have to sleep, though -- a nap here or there or a "late" morning (usually 7!).
One thing that really helps is getting up the same time and going to bed the same time EVERY day, even Sundays. This keeps us all much more cheerful than if we got up different times everyday.
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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chicken lady
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 9:41pm | IP Logged
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Well I am most defiantly one of those babies!! I need sleep, I even napped in High School! I stay up VERY late 2-3 am  And my crew stays up pretty darn late as well. But they sleep in until 10 or 11:00 am! Sounds crazy I know, it was'nt always like this, actually it has started since my little Oliver died! I just figure that we will eventually get back on to a semi normal schedule! My dc use to go to bed at 7 and 8pm, and now usually not before midnight! But it works, nights are hard for us all, and we play games, draw, work on sewing , knitting, and science experiments!
I think the sleep needs could be temperment related, I'm melancholic, and choleric! Good topic gets me thinking about trying to get us turned back around!
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MaryMary
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 9:41pm | IP Logged
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Nina Murphy wrote:
| Do some of you consider that your biology/temperament has made you so you need less sleep? I read in a Temperament book that Cholerics actually need less sleep and are of a heartier constitution and that Melancholics tend to need the most and are a weaker, more "high-need" constitution. |
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Veeeeeery interesting. My melancholic dd ALWAYS has been a phenomenal sleeper, my choleric dd is the last one to sleep and the first one up in the a.m.
Now I know which temperaments to pray for in future children!
Mary
Mom 2 3 
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 9:46pm | IP Logged
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This area has been a huge struggle for me. By nature, I'm a night owl, and I'm also a huge sleep needs person. Not really a great combo for a homeschooling mother of young children . When I first got pregnant, I was really exhausted and feeling like I had to get a handle on my bad sleep habits, so I started FORCING myself to go to bed by 11 pm. (Before, I would routinely stay up till 1 am or later  )
My children have never really been early birds, so that made it a bit easier for me to sleep till 8:30 am or so. I would be getting a goodly amount of sleep (for most people), about 7 hours, but it wasn't really enough.
Having moved my bedtime up was a great move. Many days, I get a chance to have some quiet time before the kiddos are up. Dh is happier because we actually go to bed at the same time several times a week. And I'm better rested. 
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Noreen
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Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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Cici
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 10:20pm | IP Logged
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If I go to bed with dh I'm in bed by 10 or 11. But...I work part time from home and usually use the kiddos nap and wee hours of the night to get caught up (if I have pressing work to do - like, umnn, this week ). If dh is working late or not at home I don't get to bed until midnight or 1 o'clock. I just can't sleep if he's not here. Of course, he snores rather loudly and so many nights, I can't sleep if he's here, either!
I'm pregnant now, so I need the sleep. When not pregnant, I can't go to bed as early as 10 - sometimes even 11 is too early. I'll wake up at 6 am and, while I enjoy the quiet, I can't really "do" anything for fear of waking the kiddos - and I'm a person who must keep busy or I start to pace.
I've been sleeping in lately until 7:15 - 7:30 (dh has been leaving late for work, or I'm up with him - however early that may be). Lately the kids have been wandering into our room around 7:45 - 8 and crawling into bed with us for a quick cuddle, tickle/wrestle with daddy, and usually a "stowrwy" or two. I've loved this recent schedule change. I love the kids coming in and cuddling. I love the stories in our bed. I love the extra 15 minutes of sleep I can eek out. I'm trying to encourage it to hang around until at least the first few weeks of the new baby.
Oh - first trimester and late second trimester. It seems all I do is sleep and eat...
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humanaevitae
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| Posted: Oct 04 2006 at 11:11pm | IP Logged
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Average going to sleep time is 1-2am.
Waking time- 8:30-9 and mornings are slow around our house.
I have found that I am better off sleeping in until 9 and getting less sleep than going to bed earlier and getting up earlier.
I am a light sleeper and have a huge difficulty in falling asleep. My deepest sleep occurs from 4am on.
If I am woken up in the middle of the night I really struggle to fall asleep again. However I can wake up at 7:30, come downstairs, feed the kids, get them started on a project, and then go snooze on the couch!
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JennyMaine
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| Posted: Oct 07 2006 at 6:05am | IP Logged
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Between 4 and 5 a.m. (I have to get up way before the kids do, or I'm just not happy to see them. Currently experimenting with getting them up at 6 am each day).
Usually asleep between 9 and 10 p.m.
Keep in mind my uniqueness - lol - only two kids, no husband and working. Oh, I also rarely watch tv.
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Cathmomof8
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| Posted: Oct 07 2006 at 9:23am | IP Logged
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I get up between 7:30 and 8:30 during the week and love to sleep in until 9am+ ;) on Sat. I function best on 9 hours of sleep but cope with 8. I get to bed after tenish but need some ALONE time then and usually read until after 11am and then regret it in the morning. dh gets up by 6am 7 days a week to work on the golf course. So he likes to get to bed early. The 6 month old miraculously sleeps for an 8 hour stretch usually and goes back to sleep after her early morning fill up. It's the 3yo that keeps us from getting to sleep earlier at night. He is a machine that can't easily be turned off - or turned down. And he is an exhausting - but adorable - child so when he is FINALLY quiet and still I just have to have some quiet time before I go to sleep. And then there is the 17yo ds who drops by right before I'm ready to go to sleep to chat while standing in my doorway for a good LONG time.
Theresia
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Nina Murphy
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| Posted: Oct 07 2006 at 9:41am | IP Logged
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Theresia,
Reading your homeschooling # post and this one, I keep nodding. We have a VERY similar make-up in our family now! It's funny, isn't it...how the older teens actually do not lessen in their need for your attention and time. There is an erroneous opinion out there that they get less demanding ! They really need those "chatting-standing-in-the-doorway" hours. We need to be available on so many levels at so many times. I feel that I still, in many ways, have 8 "babies" and maybe that's the way it is with all mothers....no matter how old the children get. 
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God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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TracyQ
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| Posted: Oct 08 2006 at 8:15am | IP Logged
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I get up probably about 7:00-7:30 a.m., and burn the candles at both ends. I fall asleep in front of the T.V., making my way to bed between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m., though I've usually been sleeping for an hour. So I get probably about 7 hours of sleep a night. I need more than that to be at my best.
I know this isn't ideal , but honestly, with being home 24/7 with the kids, being teens now (and an 11yo), this is the ONLY alone, quiet time I get for myself. And I feel like I need it, so I take it!
Truly though, I need to go to sleep in bed much earlier, and still get up early (maybe even 6:30 would be better) to be at my best, and get a better start to the day.
The kids get up at 8:00ish.
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Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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Marjorie
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| Posted: Oct 08 2006 at 10:47am | IP Logged
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This is a great topic, Nina. I have been wondering the same thing as I struggle to balance my sleeping habits between finding productive time and being a sleepy grouch.
I usually go to bed about 11-11:30 and wake at 6 or 6:30. That makes 7 hours a night. I would like to get up earlier so I have time to do my morning meditation and computer work (OK blog reading, forum reading :-) but it is very difficult. My youngest seems to anticipate my waking no matter how early and is a BEAR if he doesn't get enough sleep.
Like you I have had trouble with insomnia over the years. It is better now, but after my second was born it was severe enough that I went to a sleep specialist. Worth the money! My problem is still falling asleep - not being able to even if I am really tired sometimes. I have found I can do no work at night like sewing, writing, or hand work or I have a terrible time sleeping. Have you noticed how what you do before bed affects your sleep. Just an idea. Getting up early to be productive is very difficult if you have been up until 1 or 1:30!
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Marjorie
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: Oct 08 2006 at 2:52pm | IP Logged
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Right now my usual wake up time is 7:30 but in the months to come I am sure that will change.
I would say I get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night with 2 potty breaks.
God bless,
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Michele Quigley
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