Early Mornings - 42 Million Seconds...

Written by Rob Davies for his blog, 2 Under 2 From a Man’s Point of View.

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We all have early starts to our days occasionally.

Whether it’s an airport run, travelling somewhere for work or a trip to the local car boot.

The good thing is, we usually have 6 other mornings that week to get some sleep and rest back.

With one child it’s pretty easy too (if there are two parents around) as you can tag-team the lie-ins and basically take them in turn.

However, along comes two under 2 and all that changes.

The morning times become relentless and you’ll pray for them both to sleep until at least 6am.

In fairness, our eldest is a bit of a legendary sleeper who usually goes 12 hours.

The trouble came when baby Finn did the usual thing that newborns do – wake 4-5 times a night – disturbing Layla in the process.

This led (and still leads) to losing sync and therefore waking a lot earlier.

To be honest though early mornings are just one of those things that come with the package that is ‘having kids’ and we are definitely one of the lucky ones as we usually get a sleep that lasts until at least 6:30am.

Yes, I know, pre-children 6:30am would have been considered a disaster especially considering that alarm was probably set for 7:30am. But really 6:30am is considered a mini-win in our house in recent times, ha ha!

I mentioned us being lucky and that is because I have heard some horror stories from other parents…

One of my friends regularly is woken at 5:30am by his little ones and the most shocking thing about that is he doesn’t go to sleep until 11pm most evenings. I would officially die I think if I had to try and survive on such little sleep.

I think I’m just a wimp when it comes to sleep and 8hrs is a must for me!

Alarms become a running joke when you have children too!

Every night my wife will turn to me and ask ‘what time shall I set the alarm’ with an actual serious face. To which I always reply 7:00am (if it’s a workday).

In nearly two years we have only heard that alarm about twice!

Seriously, it’s like a form of cruel physiological torture!

Ha ha! I am the alarm that is set daily, never to be heard!

It’s like dangling a Mars bar or big lump of cake next to a dieter! Or giving someone who’s on the wagon a bottle of vodka! Cruel!

Early mornings do bring benefits!

Yes, you might be too tired to be able to distinguish the difference between the fridge and freezer. Yes you might have eyes that feel are constantly layered in salt and Yes, you might struggle to remember your name, the date or even year some days.

However, early starts do give you the chance to see amazing things you would never get to experience when deep in slumber –

The morning chorus! This truly amazing sound is one of natures wonders and one that can been heard even in the most urban gardens. This first time you hear it, you wonder how the hell you managed to sleep through it for he past few decades as it sounds like a tropical jungle some mornings!

Sunrises! Some are stunning. Reds, oranges, silvers and yellows. Some mornings the sky looks like a Picasso masterpiece.
Finally, life is very very short and we only get about 42 million seconds in the average life time! So why spend them sleeping when you can changing poo nappies, watching tinky-winky and cleaning weetabix off the walls! Honestly, I know how I’d rather spend my mornings these days.

Carpe Diem! Live and enjoy every second possible as they will soon be lying in bed and you will have to crow bar them out of it!