I do not know how people exercise at 5 am in the morning. I really don’t. I feel terrible when I wake up that early. I guess you might get used to it and if you WANT to get up that early, you go to bed early.
Unfortunately, I do a lot of my work after Tommy goes to bed so that isn’t always an option. He has been getting up around 5:15 for the last week or so and it’s starting to wear on me.
Each day I’m up before 6, I think how productive early risers are able to be and then I think about my situation and how I’m not like them and can’t really use my early alarm clock for productivity. I can’t get any work done when Tommy is awake as he wants to play. I can’t make up the lost sleep during his first nap because I have work to do and I’m exhausted by the end of the day. A friend of mine even suggested that I try to take Modafinil – see here for the guide to where to source Modafinil in Canada– a smart wakefulness drug that helps one stay awake and focused during the day or anytime someone needs to get things done. But I am thinking of trying it as the last resort, though I’ve heard it works wonders on her while she was studying in college.
For the record, he goes down for bed super easy and sleeps through 10 hours straight. He takes 2 naps a day, again super easy. Both are 60-90 minutes long.
He’s not an unhappy kid. Clearly..
I’ve been trying not to let this new milestone get in the way of my daily routine but it’s hard!
I’ve been signing up for fitness classes and that has been the only reason I’ve been able to fit in good workouts. Tuesday and Thursday this week, I brought Tommy to Recycle Studio for babysitting. Tuesday was rough. I felt terrible. I couldn’t wait until class was over but I was glad I went. If you’re wondering why I went, it’s because I did not want to get charged for being a “no show.”
On Wednesday, I went to BTone at 7:50 AM. I was home before Nick had to go to work.
I think Tommy is just an early riser right now due to a variety of reasons.
One, he is getting in his molars. One is fully in and there are 3 others are basically in but not yet totally visible.
Two, we have blackout shades but sunlight does creep in around the sides as they don’t fully cover his windows. Now that the sun is rising earlier, it’s effecting him (potentially).
Three, he is about the age where he should go to one nap instead of two. Since he wakes up so early though, it’s hard for him to stay awake very long to go down to just one. It’s a hard cycle to break right now. I’m sort of hoping that London will help.
Oh yes, London. Did I mention this on here yet? Nick, Tommy and I are all going to London for 5 days for a family vacation! We leave this coming Tuesday and I’m super excited albeit a little stressed. If you have any child friendly recommendations, especially restaurants, let me know below in the comments.
So back to working out on little sleep…
I’ve also been going running using the jogging stroller around 7:30 am. I try to get home before nap time but the little bugger seems to fall asleep every time between 8:15 and 8:30 when he usually doesn’t go down until 9 or 9:30 am.
This at least makes me feel a little productive with my early wake up time. These runs are a far cry from the short HIIT workouts I love though. I try to do intervals like 2 minutes running fast with 1 minute of walking but more often than not it’s a combination of jogging, walking and stopping at the playgrounds along the way. I stopped running for awhile because it just wasn’t giving me any results and my morning runs remind me of this each time I’m out there running. It just doesn’t feel like an efficient workout anymore!
I will admit that the sleep has totally been effecting my diet too. I’m drinking more caffeine than usual and also craving sugar. I’ve lost my self control when it comes to sweet treats. I bought the most amazing mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s and I can’t stop. Same with their darn Swedish Fish. Once they are gone, I hopefully will not try to buy them again for awhile.
Nick said to me the other morning, “Could you imagine having two?” And no, I can’t imagine having twins or two babies. I do want more children and many moms with children Tommy’s age are pregnant again that I know. I am not for the record but I am starting to think about it…
We got Blackout EZ Window Covers which basically are vinyl you Velcro to the window, so there’s none of that side gap you get with shades. Practically life changing for us and well worth the $40
We got back from London with our 20 month old a few weeks ago. We stayed for 7 days and had a blast. We brought the Zobo umbrella stroller from Babys R Us instead of our nice one. It was perfect. We could hold stuff in it and she was able to recline when she dozed. She took all of her naps in it. Also light weight which is so so important if you’re going to be riding the tube with it. I forgot how big the escalators are so there is a ton of folding the stroller and carrying it with a baby in another arm. Things she loved -- Tower of London, Duck Pond, Princess Diana Playground, riding the tube, the London Eye (<-get tix online in advance if you want to ride it). Boots the pharmacy (find a big one) has terrific baby section if you need medicine, diapers, toys, pouches, etc. Food wise, she loved pubs and eating at Wagamama most. Mostly ate a lot of snack style foods on the go. Have a blast!
Hi Sarah! Im with you. I am so not an early morning person and I would be in hell if my baby got up that early. :/ My son is the same age as yours and he goes down later, usually closer to 8:30 and sleeps until 8:30am. Granted, he is a terrible sleeper and always has been so he wakes up usually 1-2 times a night even now…but I will take that over waking up at 5 am!! Maybe try pushing his bedtime later?
I put him down later tonight. We will see when he gets up!!
I am so with you! I’ve had to dial my expectations back a lot when it comes to workouts. I’m also drinking way more caffeine than normal and craving sugar non-stop!
Oh gosh we are in the SAME stage right now! Our son is a bit older at 17 months and two molars are in, two popping in, and this morning he was up at 4! Yes, 4. I am usually an early riser and get up at 5 to workout (I work outside the home 3 days per week and this is the only way I can squeeze in a workout), but this week is wearing me down!
I wish I had tips. Blackout curtains and pushing our son to one nap was the best things. Hard for a few weeks but helpful!
I just got back from London 2 weeks ago, it is a very family friendly city. London is so clean and nice you will love it. We didn’t plan anything in advance so don’t worry. The best thing we did was get tickets to one of those double decker buses that brings you to all of the tourist attractions and you can hop on and hop off all day long. There is plenty of room for you to stash your stroller on them. I ate at pubs all over the city and they were all kid friendly. Make sure you check out Harrods. there is a food hall on the first floor that is amazing!! you can eat there or take food to go. You won’t be disappointed 🙂
Check out Taza (lovetaza.com)- they just got back from a family vacation to London and she’s written a couple of posts about it! Have fun 🙂
Funny you mention this! I just was checking her posts.
Agree with you on the working out as sleep-deprived parent! My schedule’s opposite to yours though…I joined Healthworks so I could work out from 5:30 to 6:30 before teaching and then be able to spend more quality time with my 20 month old in the evenings. Getting up that early again after he started sleeping through the night was (is) rough, and the workouts don’t feel as satisfying as when I’m fully rested. Also agree about the having two…it is prime time to think about it, and I often get the question “when are you giving P a sibling?” from friends and coworkers :/