5 Reasons to Wake-Up Before Your Kids

I love sleep. I love sleep in a way that if I don't get it  no one around me is having much fun. The kind of love that means I could sleep 13 hours and feel just fine about it. If me and sleep had a thing going, it would be pretty hot and heavy. The reality is, I have two kids so sleep and I are only semi-aquainted. We enjoy our time together, but sometimes it's a smile and wave in passing kind of deal. There is always a longing for more. The lack of attention from sleep has turned me towards a passionate love affair with coffee. A girl has to get her fix somewhere.

This being said, if I love sleep so much why am I about to spout off about why you should give up more of it? My daughter recently started kindergarten and I decided I would be up before her every single morning. I'VE DONE IT, TOO! Sorry...I didn't mean to obnoxiously yell at you. This is just a big achievement for me. I've stuck to my word and woke up 30 minutes before her. Today I didn't and the result was a morning that chugged along, everyone rubbing the sleep from their eyes, sparing no sympathy for the tireness of the others around them.

I'm pretty sure I'm onto something here by giving up my extra 30 minutes of sleep and I'll tell you why.

1. Automatic "Me" Time

Moms are always saying it, "I need more time for me!" You know you've said it, too. You are constantly in demand. Trying to balance their care, your own personal hygeine, a clean house,  nutritious meals, shopping, errands and socialization and there is just not enough time in the day.  If I'm awake before my kids, I shower and get dressed, have a cup of coffee, and start breakfast. If I were really motivated, I could have my bed made before the kids are up. If I were super motivated, I'd make it an hour and finally get some exercise in. (Or drink a TON of coffee and have more time on Pinterest! Oh, the possibilities.)

2. Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed

Because I've been awake for a while now and that uninterrupted shower really got my eyes open, I'm in a good mood by the time the kids are up! This is a new concept to me. I'm so used to my oldest coming into my room a couple times asking me for things, asking me to get up, telling me the youngest is awake, all while trying to hold perfectly still hoping she doesn't see me. (Children can't see you if you're perfectly still, right? I'm pretty sure that's true.) So, when my daughter comes out of her room pissy, because her horrible alarm went off, she benefits! I'm in a good enough mind set to start her day off right. I'm there ready for hugs and this leads me to number three.

3. More Patience. More sympathy. 

Waking up is hard! Alarms are horrible inventions with their loud buzzing just waiting to jolt you out of your dreams. It's even harder if you're five. Pretty much the first five minutes of her day, she's super emotional. Throwing herself on the ground because her pants won't snap, her undies are somehow inside out, whining that she doesn't want to get dressed, and I take it all in stride, because I understand it's hard to wake up. I'm not irritable because I'm trying to wake up too. My five minutes of ridiculous fits are over. This morning, however, when I snoozed until right before she got up, I was right there with her. This shirt is stupid. I need to wash my hair. My coffee is too hot. I don't feel like making oatmeal. Wah. Wah. Wah. Once I'm past this stage, she has my sympathy.  It all works out for the best.

4. Quality Time With Your Kids 

Okay, for the 45 minutes I've been awake before breakfast I've accomplished a lot. I'm showered and dressed, had a cup of coffee, got the girl dressed, her hair done, and her shoes on. The night before the lunches were made, the kitchen was cleaned and the backpack packed. At this point, I'm DONE. I can give her breakfast and sit there and enjoy her company. I ask her what she's excited about today, talk about what I put in her lunch, or sing a song if she's super grumpy (This works amazingly, by the way. Especially when she's trying to get dressed). Breakfast time is a chance to connect and be together. I'm not rushing to make a lunch or get myself dressed or checking my Facebook. This is a great start for both of us and well worth all the effort it took on my part to make this moment happen.

5. More Productive Later.

This was a completely unexpected side effect for me when I started waking up early; I became more productive. Once she's off to school and it's just me and the little man, I get busy. He's still waking up, too, and likes to chill with some Dinosaur Train until he's out of his morning crabbiness. I take the time to clean up after breakfast, unload the dishwasher, and whatever else I need to get done that day. The best part is once naptime rolls around, I'm DONE! I can use naptime to either: a) Accomplish extra things like organize, declutter, or work on a project I've got in mind or b) Sit down and relax on the computer and get "me" time for the second time today. I can't say it always works out that perfectly, but caring for children never does. Some mornings I spend the whole time playing cars, blocks and tickle monster, and I consider that productive, too.

A Couple Tips:

If you have a hard time waking up like me, here are some tips to help:

• Set your alarm across the room from you so you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
• Go immediately splash your face with cold water and get your shower started. I keep my alarm three steps from my sink. Just sayin'. 
• If you have a coffee maker that will brew on a timer, use it! I set my coffee maker every night and wake up to it all hot, steamy and waiting for me. Mmmmm. I'm less likely to stand in the shower like a zombie knowing it's there. If you don't have a coffee pot with this feature, well....I'm sorry. You should think about getting one. 
• If you always hit the snooze, like me, set your alarm a little earlier. My snooze is 5 minutes, so I set my alarm for 5 minutes before I actually want to be up. 

Do you wake up before your kids? What are some of the benefits you've found to waking up first? What do you do to help yourself wake up?

Sleepy Hugs,
    Cindy