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It kind of depends on what you mean by free time... DD sleeps at 8:30 and the LO started going down at 7:30 partway through his first year. So after they go to bed is free time. But until just recently, my "free" time after they went to bed was still interrupted by night wakings or pumping sessions, and I spent a lot of time making baby food, packing lunches, etc. I'm pretty much on my feet until 10:30 or 11. I definitely had more free time with only one LO. I think this may just be me though. I feel like things take me so long to do, probably because i'm tired!

ETA: LO is now almost 14 months.

Well, we have twins, but I think the premise still applies. Our everyday free time is basically when the kids are sleeping or able to entertain themselves. At three months, they are able to keep occupied with toys pretty for 15 min or so, and usually nap in 45 min stretches. So even if they're both awake, it's not always crazytown. If they're both going nuts, it's all hands on deck and hubby and I both have to focus on them (obviously). But if they're being normal, one of us can easily wrangle them, and the other can run errands, make dinner, do housework, etc.

We try to get out for a family walk or some other fun outing (not errands) together at least once a week, sometimes more if the weather is nice. So I think of that as leisure time, even if it's not alone time.

Hubby and I get alone time out when my parents visit, so once or twice a month. We usually go out to lunch and take a walk. We get alone time in usually after 7:30/8 at night, but we're crashing pretty early these days, so it's usually just an hour of chores, and maybe half hour relaxing together.

We didn't really have any true free time the first 2 months or so. Now that we're past the 3 month mark, the kids are usually a little less high maintenance, and while we don't have a ton of extra time in the day, we can still relax and do fun things often enough to stay sane

•How much free time did you have (either to yourself or with SO) during the first year your second LO was born?

DD is 2.5; DS is 7 months. The first 10-ish weeks were a big adjustment for us, but by 10 weeks, we had the kids on a similar schedule. Every afternoon they take a nap at the same time, so I usually get 2+ hours of baby free time. Also, DS is usually in bed by 6:30, and DD is in bed by 7, so DH and I get about 2 hours in the evenings. DH gets up early (at 4:30), so he usually gets 1.5-2 hours to himself every morning.

The difference is that I have a lot of stuff to do in my "free time." I'm working on my Master's, so I have about 2 hours of schoolwork to do during the day. I also have to cook and clean every day, which takes up 2-3 hours by itself and is difficult to do when the kids are awake. I usually do the an hour or so of cleaning in the mornings, and then cook dinner (30 minutes) in the afternoon, so the first 1-1.5 hours after they go to bed is more cleaning/chores. DH also does chores during his morning "free time."

So realistically, I'd say we each get 30-60 minutes of "child-free, chore -free, obligation-free" time a day, which we usually spend together, right before bed. We do not have any family around, so we usually go out (and hire babysitter) a couple times a year.

•Did you only have free time after your youngest was 1 yrs old?

I think our free time will increase once I graduate school, since I'll be able to do more chores during the day and we'll (hopefully) get more time together at night. I imagine, though, until the kids are old enough to be home alone for a few hours, we'll probably average about an hour or so a day in truely free time.

•When did you start to have free time again?

Like I said, 10 weeks was really the turning point for us, so I started getting some free time back at that point. I don't see a dramatic difference in free time occuring anytime in the next decade.

@Crumbs: I'm almost done now!