Sleep. Oh how I love sleep.
You know what disrupts perfectly good sleep? Kids.
I am NOT a morning person. Trust me, you don’t want to encounter me before 10:00 a.m. Although, I can put on a pretty good fake face by 9:00 a.m. so that the other parents at my daughter’s preschool don’t see all my crazy when I drop her off.
Despite the fact that I am not a morning person, God decided to bless me with two children who are early-risers (like, before 6:00 a.m. early). He’s got a sick sense of humor.
I am the type of person that requires A LOT of sleep. And it sucks. If I don’t get at least 7 hours each night, I am literally exhausted the next day. Do you know how hard it is to get 7 hours of sleep when you work and have two kids? Well, if you’re a mom, of course you do. I wish that I could get by on 4 hours of sleep, but that just isn’t the way I was built and I envy those of you who can.
Even if I can manage to get to bed on time, there is hardly ever a night where my kids sleep the night through. At the moment, my 3 year old has begun dreaming in overdrive. She wakes up crying often, sometimes yells out in her sleep, and tells me groggy tales of bumblebees and elephants when I go to tuck her back in. I feel for her… and I feel for myself by the third time I drag my tired butt out of bed.
My son is currently sleeping through the night and usually doesn’t wake up when Mia yells out or cries (thank God!). It was only last month that I decided to sleep train him so I could ditch his 4:00 a.m. feeding (he was 9 months); it only took two nights. Now he wakes anywhere from 5:15 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. Still too early for my taste, but at least he is sleeping all night.
Did I mention my husband can sleep through anything? I’ve tried waking him and asking for help, but he is barely coherent, turns on all the lights, and wakes the entire house in the process… it’s just easier if I do it myself (now, I know I’m not the only mom who’s said that). I love the man, but we are not friends at 2:00 a.m.
Because my husband is also a web developer who keeps the average late hours of those in his profession, he is rarely in bed before 1:00 a.m. – which means, I am the one who gets up with the kids at the exciting hour of 5:15 a.m. Don’t be jealous.
I bet you think I get up, make breakfast, and start working at 6:00 a.m. so that I can get a productive start on my day. Would you think less of me if I told you I try to snooze on the couch while the kids watch “Curious George,” and I occasionally open one eye when the baby starts crying so I can tell his sister to quite bullying him and remind her how tired I am and how little patience I have? Yeah, let’s just pretend I left that part out. I TOTALLY start the day with pancakes and work at 6:00 a.m.
All this to say, I was up at 5:15 a.m. today and now it’s 9:30 p.m. and I’m really tired. So, until tomorrow, friends (but not before 10:00 a.m.).