To be horrified I used to wake at this time every day?

My now normally good sleeper woke up at 5 this morning for some unknown reason, she normally goes till about 6-6:30. The early wake this morning has def brought back the memory of when she woke up at 5am EVERY DAY so I feel you OP. I hated it, and pre-children I used to wake up at 5:30 for work a lot of the time, but I hated that too and ultimately left that job for one where I didn't have to get up as early!!

Sounds stupid, but I was prepared for night wakings, but I don’t think anyone warned me I might end up with a kid who then wakes at 5am every day for the day too!! So glad those days are largely behind me!

Mine plays ice hockey so we have pre school practice- I am jealous of swim mums as at least they are warm. Minus 5c at the ice rink and the cafe is not open for morning practice 😂😂😂

I am with you on this I love my early mornings before everyone else wakes up. My husband did the 1am feeds, as I married a night owl, as it was those that killed me. I hate having to stay awake late and it’s when I get cranky not early mornings.

wishing us all high quality sleep in 2025 as being exhausted is bloody awful, makes even the simplest things seem like a mountain to climb.

I love being up and about at 5am, it's so peaceful and a good opportunity to get exercise or admin done before the grind starts

Me too. Those early hours are precious: you can get so much done. I wouldn’t miss that nowadays.

Hairy you do just kinda get use to it don't you?! Btw we have a thread in extra curricula for parents of competitive swimmers. It's a great thread for swim parents

My 6yr old has always and still does always wake at 5/5:30. He is instructed to not disturb me until 6 but I can hear him from about 5:15... We have tried putting him to bed later and it didn't work. Just waiting for the teenage years!

Jealous of all of those 7am risers...

I had one who took ages to go to sleep but wojld wake at a normal time and another who slept well early but would wake early. He is now 9 amd still wakes at 6am.
It's brutal. Now though I just automatically wake at that time.

I get up at 5:15 everyday to either go for a run with the dog, or go to rhe gym for an hour. Lots of people are up at a similar time to get ready for work.

My body thinks the natural wake time is anything between 3:30-5:00am come rain or shine, weekend or weekday, working or annual leave. I envy those people who can get up for the loo then get back into bed and fall back to sleep (yes dp I'm looking at you...)

I am up at 4.45am for work and have been for the last 20 years or so. I still get up at the crack of a sparrows fart at the weekend because my body clock thinks 5am is the perfect time to get up!

Solidarity! DD used to wake hourly AND get up at five. She now sleeps through (mostly, not last night) and has to be woken, and it’s the only thing getting me through 2yo DS who is miles better and generally wakes at six… but I’m 44 and apparently the amount of sleep I now need is “all of it. All the sleep”.

I go to bed at 9.30, asleep for 10, and I’m still permanently shattered! Even when they both sleep. My body wants to stay in bed til 9am, it just does.

My DH has woken me, mucking about with the radiator (I like a cold room) so the thought of waking regularly at 5 or earlier makes me feel ill!
I'm not a morning person!
I’ve had jobs where I had to be up 5.45/6am…… I hated each and every single waking!

Morning person here; 5 aint that early for me, i'm up then anyway most of the time. I like the peace and my current job starts at 6.30 anyway.

I was about to type that! 5am seems late for me now. Those long lie in’s I imagined when the kids were teens have never materialised. If i sleep until 5am now i’m happy.

I love getting up early, it gives you such a head start for the day especially having children. Not everyone is a morning person though!! X

Is 5am really that early? 😅 I haven’t slept past 5am since I was about 12 weeks pregnant with my son - who is now 4.5yo 😂😂
By the time I’ve done his bedtime and got the place sorted out after work etc I’m usually getting to bed about 10.30/11. I also have Hashimotos which seems to affect my sleep pretty badly so most nights I’ll sleep 11-4.30ish with wakes at about 12 and 2 😩 Then DS appears in my bed at some point during each night so that’s another wake when he comes in. I’ve basically been exhausted for about 5 years 🫠😂

I have not had a full night’s sleep for two decades so I think YABU!
When the dc finally slept through I started waking up at 3am with the menopause. Waking up at this time every day is tiring and makes for a long day.

My toddler is a 5-5.30 wake up and today the baby went for 5.45 too! I make it as boring as possible until 6 in the hope they'll get the message and DH bought a decent coffee machine. Only way I survive!

I didn't think 5.30 was particularly early or unusual for babies and toddler!

Im now wondering if I was particularly unlucky. Neither of my kids slept through until a couple of years either.

I used to go to bed myself fairly early but 5.30 did at least feel like morning!

Awful, gone no more, cat alarm clock these days

I was going to say the same, do not encourage competitive swimming OP, 4 x 4:30 wake ups and 1 x 5:30 here. You get used to it.

and me, I have always been a Lark but at menopause it suddenly got worse and hasn't got any better through the years since.

I’m perimenopausal and to wake between 4 and 5am is basically a lie in 😂

I’m a total early morning person, so I naturally wake up at 5-5.30. I love using that time to walk the dog, read quietly, watch the world wake up. I head to bed around 9.30-10pm.

I have a baby now, and the 1-3am feeds are by far the worst for me!

We are still in the early waking era as well as being up in the night (although youngest daughter is currently asleep on me so I am taking this as a win / lie in 🤣).
I am dreaming of the day when I have to wake my children up. My morning alarm usually goes off when we have been up for hours already 😆