How much time do you have w/ LO after work?

MomtobeNJ

Just curious...

How much time do you have to spend with your LO after work/daycare and before bed?

I usually get almost 2 hours. We get home around 5:30, upstairs at 7 and asleep by 7:30 (in general).

cltk12

We get home from DC around 4:30/4:45 and same as you, upstairs by 7 and asleep by 7:30ish.

Tink112011

2 hours.  Home at 5:30 and bed at 7:30.

ChicagoWeded2007

Well, now a bunch of people are going to post about how they have more or less.  Those who post they have more will make you feel bad, and those who post less will feel bad. 

Don't count the minutes, just enjoy the time!  

shannm

About 45 minutes in the car and than about 1 to 2 hours to jam in dinner, bath, and books.

ASmallWonder

ChicagoWeded2007:

Well, now a bunch of people are going to post about how they have more or less.  Those who post they have more will make you feel bad, and those who post less will feel bad. 

Don't count the minutes, just enjoy the time!  

I non snarkily agree with this   

Netty_3

Around 2.5-3 hours if DH does pick up. Approximately 1.5-2 if I do pick up.

MomtobeNJ

ChicagoWeded2007:

Well, now a bunch of people are going to post about how they have more or less.  Those who post they have more will make you feel bad, and those who post less will feel bad. 

Don't count the minutes, just enjoy the time!  

Why does everything have to be a competition?! Believe me, strangers on a message board are not going to make me feel bad because they get an extra 20 minutes at home in the evening. I manage to survive the fact that SAHM's get all day with their LO's. I think I'll be ok. Really.  

ETA: I guess no one should respond the the maternity leave question above, because it will just make people feel bad. 

ChicagoWeded2007

MomtobeNJ:

ChicagoWeded2007:

Well, now a bunch of people are going to post about how they have more or less.  Those who post they have more will make you feel bad, and those who post less will feel bad. 

Don't count the minutes, just enjoy the time!  

Why does everything have to be a competition?! Believe me, strangers on a message board are not going to make me feel bad because they get an extra 20 minutes at home in the evening. I manage to survive the fact that SAHM's get all day with their LO's. I think I'll be ok. Really.  

lol.  I know.  It's cool.  I've just seen this posted a few times before and some moms get pretty upset about how their time compares to others.   

jaimevogt

I just wish my 2 hours didn't also need to include cooking and everything else. I just to go home and play and have quiet time. 

virginiagirl11

1.5-2 hours. We'd rather spend our evenings playing and reading books with DS, so we feed him leftovers from the previous night and then I cook dinner for DH and me after he goes to bed.

rockychryslerb2010

60-90 min, depending on the day.

I love my nanny because she does all the light housekeeping, laundry, etc so I don't have to worry about anything other than spending quality time with E.

MrsSDgirl

I'm late to the game (as usual) but I thought I'd chime in anyway.  I pick up DS2 at 4:30pm, then DS1 at 5:00pm.  (They are in two different locations.)  Afterwards, we go to the local park for ~1-2 hours, so we don't actually get home until ~7pm.  We then do dinner, bath, books, bed.  DS2 is in bed by 8pm.  DS1 is in bed by 9pm.  (This seems late compared to everyone else!)  We don't get too much time at home together, but I love that I get to play with them at the park every day!  

KathrynMD

ChicagoWeded2007:

Well, now a bunch of people are going to post about how they have more or less.  Those who post they have more will make you feel bad, and those who post less will feel bad. 

Don't count the minutes, just enjoy the time!  

This Be grateful for what you have and enjoy whatever it is! Also - it'll will change alot depending on your LO's age & schedule. And, some days you will wish it was more and some days you will wish for less (believe it or not - i.e. grumpy teething baby, defiant toddler who yells no! every 5 minutes)

oooCarrieB

I get home at 5 and she goes to bed between 7:30 and 8.

thedash

I pick him up before 5:30 and it takes 15 minutes to get home from there. He goes to sleep around 8:30.

Starbear06

About 3 hours get home by 4:30 and DS goes to bed around 7:45. But sometimes he catnaps during this time too. He's borderline trying to drop his 3rd nap.

rubber_chicken

1 hour - home around 6, in bed by 7.  2 days a week, I'm home after her bedtime.

thespianlawyer

It actually seems like most of us have a similar amount of time!  I also have around 2 hours.  We get home around 6:15, then play until 7, then dinner, then start bedtime around 8, asleep by 8:30 (when all goes well and she's not teething or sick or whatever other factor could make her go against schedule).

 

dimondwind

elmoali:

ChicagoWeded2007:

Well, now a bunch of people are going to post about how they have more or less.  Those who post they have more will make you feel bad, and those who post less will feel bad. 

Don't count the minutes, just enjoy the time!  

I non snarkily agree with this   

Me too. This question gets asked all the time and doesn't do anything but make people feel bad.

LoCarb

2-3 hrs. it's the quality not quantity I look at.

MomtobeNJ

The same can be said about questions about maternity leave, or vacation time, or weekend plans, or anything else that might vary. People ask about those things all the time too. If people choose to constantly compare themselves to others they're always going to get hurt over something.

PunkyBooster

I think the average is about 2 hours for a working mom. But, remember it's quality over quantity and you have lots of time on weekends  

ridesbuttons

Same.  About 2 hours.  I get home around 5:30 and kids are in bed around 7:30.  They are 4 and 5 years old.

jasminelorraine20

Some days, anywhere from 3-4 hours. Others, maybe 2 hours at the most. LO goes to sleep anywhere between 7 and 7:30, but some nights he'll go to sleep at around 6 pm.

laurakaz13

4:30-7-7:15

MomtobeNJ

Oy. I had no idea this would be such an unwelcome question. I visit this board periodically and have never seen it asked, otherwise I would not have repeated it. Sorry to annoy the regulars.

I am toying with the idea of switching up my hours for the summer and was genuinely curious what the "norm" was. Thanks to all who responded. 

honeybee111

I pick up DD from preschool at 4, and she's asleep around 8, so about 4 hours.

ferris0906

Depending on the day (my schedule is flexible and changes daily), between one and four hours. DS goes to bed pretty regularly at 7:30.

ccam

I'm home with DS by about 4:30 and he's in bed by 6:30.  We wait until he's in bed to start dinner, so we have 2 solid hours together.

rockychryslerb2010

MomtobeNJ:

Oy. I had no idea this would be such an unwelcome question. I visit this board periodically and have never seen it asked, otherwise I would not have repeated it. Sorry to annoy the regulars.

I am toying with the idea of switching up my hours for the summer and was genuinely curious what the "norm" was. Thanks to all who responded. 

Eh, don't worry about it.  I am here pretty regularly, and I don't remember this question coming up lately.  Anyway, the posts that bother me are the ones that come here and say 'wahh, i only have 2 hrs with LO each day, I feel like such a bad mom'.  That makes me think, oh gee, I have less than that, I must be a sh*tty mom.  But I learned long ago not to get into comparisons, but it is interesting to see the difference.  

kristennd

About 3 hours.

Stasi

MomtobeNJ:

Oy. I had no idea this would be such an unwelcome question. I visit this board periodically and have never seen it asked, otherwise I would not have repeated it. Sorry to annoy the regulars.

I am toying with the idea of switching up my hours for the summer and was genuinely curious what the "norm" was. Thanks to all who responded. 

Don't worry about people dogging the question! You're just looking for some info, I get it

I get around 40 minutes in the car on the way home...I ride in the backseat while DH drives and we sing, play, and "talk" so it's pretty good time together. Then, at home, it's around 2 or 2.5 hours. I really try to get meals prepped on Sunday and we do leftovers so I don't have to mess with it too much. Housework happens after Kate goes to bed at 7.

errica720

Most responses actually make me feel better, not worse, because it looks like the 2 hours I get is pretty standard. We enjoy our time together and I don't really ever feel like I don't get enough.

dizzycooks

2-3 hours depending on the day.  My DD goes to bed between 6 and 6:30, but we manage to have dinner together, go for a walk or play in the yard and have fun bath time and stories.

Veittobe

2 very short hours.  

We pull into the driveway around 6pm and she has a 8pm bedtime.

MickeyM04

We only get about an hour, tops.  I leave work at 4:40 but I commute so I don't get home until 6:00 and DS is in bed by 7:00 of his own accord.  It sucks.  I can't wait for him to start going to bed later.  I can't leave work any earlier than I do.  I already get some flack for it.