No matter if I go to bed at 10 p.m. or 2 a.m., precisely 2 minutes after my head hits the pillow, my too-cute-to-really-be-annoyed baby wakes up. Every single night. Exactly 2 minutes. No exaggeration. When she was first born, each morning, my husband would set the older two children up with juice boxes, dry cereal and PBS cartoons before leaving for work. This allowed the babe and I to linger longer underneath cozy covers and made for perfect morning after morning. Daddy dearest never could have imagined that such a kind gesture would turn into nearly a year of late mornings. No longer a newborn, not even close! she just took her first steps! she still wakes up often and all night long. I just don't have the heart or is it backbone? to make her cry it out to get back to sleep. It is an inevitable cycle of a babe sleeping in the crook of my numbed arm, way more dry cereal than 2 small children should consume on a daily basis and memorized scripts of Curious George and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
challenge.......... healthy, wealthy & wise
Early to bed, early to rise.
For the week, go to bed and wake back up just a little earlier than usual, even just ten minutes.
I have actually been working on this for a while. I am getting the early to bed part down quite well, but the early to rise? That is another story; a long dreamy, cozy, comfortable story. In yesterday's daily sister phone call, I told her I was going to start serving my family an actual breakfast before my husband leaves for work.
As in, actually kiss him good bye in the upright position. As in, up by my own accord, not by the pleading plight of a 3-year-old. As in, turn a light on in my house because it will be so dark still that I need it. As in, toast and eggs, not just eggs. Ooohhh, lah, lah. I am fancy. You know you have your work cut out for you if even your one and only sister doubts. And if there is one thing that my childhood sibling rivalry taught me, it was that at all costs, prove your older sister wrong. Good luck to me and good luck to you.
Anyone in?
When do you typically retire and rise each day?
I keep staying up until two in the morning. It is driving me crazy. But my new years resolution is to get up and get my kids dressed (hair combed faces washed teeth brushed) everyday. Sounds like the basic motherly duty right?? Not so much for me. Rob has been living in Pj's lately. And since Cortney has been laid off I sleep in late while he takes Oliver to school. The downside to that is when I go to pick him up from school and he is wearing a tank top and his hair is a crazy mess. My friend even saw my kids at a primary party and said "your kids hair is combed!" That really made me realize I had to get on the ball and stop letting my kids walk around like they are wild animals. So I started today. I set my alarm for 8 an hour before he needed to go to school and I did it. One day down a lifetime more to go...seems pretty overwhelming. Sorry this is so long. But I hear ya I really do.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to get to bed earlier lately, too. It's not working out too well. Normal bed time: 12am and normal wake time 8 - 8:30am. And my husband and I have the SAME morning set up - 3-year-old gets milk and dry cereal and Playhouse Disney in the morning while I lay in bed until the little one wakes up. I know if I can just get to sleep earlier, I can wake up earlier, too. I just hit the 2nd trimester mark, so hopefully my energy level will improve so I am in!
ReplyDeleteSince New Year's, I have tried to make it to bed by about 10:30. It's only happened two or three times, but I'm asleep before midnight, so that's a step.
ReplyDeleteI also try to get up at 6:30-ish, to get some time on the Wii Fit. The days where that happen seem to go so smoothly, and yet I still struggle to get up that early.
Take it from someone who's been there-- enjoy the morning snuggles as long as you can. When your oldest has to be at school, the morning takes on a frantic pace because there's a deadline. :)
I get to bed between 11 and midnight normally. The kids wake me up between 7 and 8 am. I roll out of bed, we eat cold cereal, then I pop a movie on and nap on the couch while they watch. I'm still in my first trimester of my 3rd pregnancy, so I'm hoping I have WAY more energy the 2nd trimester and can skip the morning nap. Sorry, I'm not joining your challenge, I'm pregnant. It's my excuse for everything.
ReplyDeleteI am in my 2nd trimester of my 3rd pregnancy too and it is HARD! I do have a bit more energy than I did in the 1st trimester, but not much. My husband and I set out "snacks" (crackers, cereal, etc) for the kids and they get up, watch t.v. until I roll outta bed. I am glad I'm not the only mother who does that! I go to bed around 11, but I don't actually fall asleep until midnight (Sudoku!, reading, etc) I usually don't get outta bed until around 10. The kids used to sleep in until 9:30, but lately it's been a bit earlier, so I have adjusted. I really need to work on this! I'm in!
ReplyDeleteThe earliest I go to bed is midnight. I usually wake up between 9 and 10. I have two of my three kids that stay up that late too and wake up late. I am really trying to at least wake up earlier and trying to get my kids to bed sooner at night so I have some alone time. Great challenge!
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with all these pregos reading your blog!?? LOL
ReplyDeleteI'll take the challenge. At night is the only time I have to read blogs so I'll have to cut back on my reading list but I'll do it.
(I just read my seleted favorites in the morning while eating rice and milk.)
I'm going to bed at 10pm tonight! YAY!!
PS this is kritta22 but your little sign in thingy won't let me comment without picking one and I'm not signed in yet....so there you are.
I'm usually in bed by 10:30 but not asleep till 11 or 12. I'm up by 7 in the morning. Not joyfully up though. My kids have to be out the door by 8:20 for school, and luckly the school is just a block away, so I don't have to be ready for the day. My goal now is to get up at 5:30 or 6 and go running or get some kind of exercise in for the day. Who knows if this will last for me or even get started.
ReplyDeleteDH recently informed me that he really needs to get to bed earlier as he's been having a hard time getting to work on time. Since I stay home and don't get up until the girls do, it hasn't mattered too much to me what time we go to bed. But I have been trying harder and have been doing a little better. I'll keep working on it.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if I'm in on this one, because my kindergartener is still on Christmas break this week, so I don't HAVE to be up, and I'm so blasted tired as it is...
ReplyDelete... Maybe that's because I usually get to bed around midnight. There are just too few precious hours when the Boys are both sleeping!
Jeff and I have gotten into the habit of watching movies online before going to bed, but we try to keep them short. We usually get to bed by 11. Then he gets up at 6:30 for work, and the kids wake me up about an hour later. So I think we wake up plenty early, it's just getting to bed earlier that would be beneficial. But am I willing to give up movie time? We'll see...
ReplyDeleteI miss those days when I could linger in bed with my kids... I say enjoy them while you can. As soon as one of them is in school, snuggle time is history! Enjoy this very short time in your life when you can have a little time in the morning for yourself and baby!
ReplyDelete...or go ahead with that great New Year's resolution! Don't want to pop your bubble! : )
My 8-month old does the same thing. I crawl into bed and the next thing I know she is up. Drives me crazy. I go to bed around 11:00 and I am up between 7-8. I know I need to get into bed earlier but I really like my time after the kids are in bed. But I will try to get to bed maybe even a half hour earlier.
ReplyDeleteWell, you think it will get easier but it never really does; it just changes. Now I have to get up to make sure my teens wake up to their alarms. For boys that can sleep easily till 1pm everyday, it is understandably difficult for them to wake up at 6am. So now my 'quiet time' comes when I wake up at 5 to have a peaceful beginning to my day, an extra cup of coffee before sounding revilie...oh and I try to get to bed by midnight or sooner.
ReplyDeleteGreat challenge...I'm doing bad though because it's after 10:00 and I'm not even close to going to bed.
ReplyDeleteI am with Alynn. Who stays in bed? I am happy to be in bed at 7:00 am. I am usually up between 6:00 and 6:30. I am trying to wake up early enough to get my running in before the kids wake up. I have done it twice this week and it is Friday. I need to work on that. I need to go to bed early. I stay up way to late. Last night my daughter had to make a house out of a box by today. We stayed up til 10 working on making it "perfect". Of course even after that I stayed up playing Legos Star Wars for the Wii. Nice. Not to ruin your challenge Camille but I say stay in bed as long as you can. It ends all too soon.
ReplyDeleteI just linked over to your blog from your comment on "A Daily Scoop." My grandmother Katie was a Jones from Malad. Maybe she's realted to your grandmother. My aunt still lives there - Karen Marble.
ReplyDeleteThen I saw in your column the mention of your friends that have adopted. We've adopted as well! Such a small world...
I haven't checked in for a while, but I love this challenge. I always feel better when I go to bed early. I try to be in bed by 10-10:30 and wake to my kids at 6:30-7:30. I've been wanting to wake before my kids and exercise and read but It's a struggle especially when I'm up in the night. So I hear you on the babies waking up right after your head hits the pillow. Mine did the same thing for quite a while. Then he would still wake up a couple times more through the night. But he now sleeps 12 hrs strait as of last week. I heard once that if you let your baby cry through the night it will never take more than three nights before they learn to sleep through the night. I've done it with all three of my kids and it has been true. It's tough for the three nights but now that he's sleeping we are both a lot happier and it really wasn't too bad. He has learned to put himself to sleep . Even for naps in the day I can just lay him down and he will cry for 2 min max and then go to sleep. You have to do what you feel is right for you though. I've read pros and cons about doing this. But in my opinion babies are smart. Smarter than we think. It doesn't take them long to figure things out. Oh, another thing I do is use the same word like "night night" before I lay him down to sleep. This seems to help him. Good luck and hope you sleep better soon! Angie
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