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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have a moan about early rising

114 replies

OneFootIn1999 · 14/03/2015 07:30

Dd is five. She has slept until 7am maybe twice in her life. 6.30am is considered amazing. 6am is standard and some days (partic now it is lighter in the mornings and the birds are singing) it is 5.45ish. Like today. She will sing (loudly) to herself for a while, read in bed for a few minutes- but then she is bounding in to us. Adorable, yes, but too damn early.

I do realise that on the spectrum of 'issues' this is nothing, really. And that she could be waking even earlier (believe me, in her younger years we knew the 'joy' of 4.30am).

It's just the way she is. She's an early bird. No Gro Clock or blackout blind or later bedtime (she goes to bed at 7pm) has succeeded in pushing her wake-up time back. We gave up trying ages ago.

But I am tired.

Tired of having to go to bed at 10pm and panicking if I do have a late night or a few drinks that the morning will be hell.
Tired of looking forward to getting back into bed the moment I get woken up in the morning.
Tired of the unspoken game of 'which one of us gets a lie-in today' (which I lost today)
Tired of feeling grumpy for a good hour while she is chipper and ready to rock the day.
Tired of trying to keep her quiet so she doesn't wake up her little brother (which she invariably does)
Tired of feeling jealous when friends talk of their kids' regular 7am wake ups, having to rouse them kids for school, and getting to sleep til 8am on weekends.
Tired of feeling a bit bloody knackered all the time.

Am not a morning person.

OP posts:
Sunbeam18 · 14/03/2015 21:05

Why so angry about someone else's problem? Weird

JockTamsonsBairns · 14/03/2015 21:06

I also agree with ritaorange

CentralPerk · 14/03/2015 21:07

I have a 10 year old DD who has never slept past 6.30am. Its more often than not around 5.45 and in summer its about 4.30am. I'm permanently shattered.

RitaOrange · 14/03/2015 21:10

Im not angry ??
I am off to bed now and will probably get up around 10am .

Why post and then ignore all the suggestions because your DD is cute ??
Night all Smile

FoxyVeganJane · 14/03/2015 21:16

Do you have a tablet. This morning mine was deployed to early riser ds and he was sent with Tupperware tub breakfast out of the fridge into the living room.

When tablet timer went off at 7 he could get me. Any nonsense and no chocolate finger for 10 o clocks. He watched bubble guppies and played lego builder from about 6:00am under a fluffy blanket in the furthest away living room.

Works quite well unless he's bored or gets hungry again. Hmm

arethereanyleftatall · 14/03/2015 21:21

Whilst as a parent you can't control what time your child wakes up, you can control what they do when they wake up.
If you don't want to be woken up, then set the boundaries accordingly. It's up to you.

Have a nice sleep Rita.
Enjoy listening to your dd singing cute songs at 5am op.

Rinkydinkypink · 14/03/2015 21:22

YANBU! We had this with ds. Didn't matter what we did he was up before 6 every morning. It's only the last year he's started to go downstairs on his own. He's nearly 8.

At the moment his little sister isn't to bad but I know it could all change at anytime.

We're exhausted Hmm

Ineedacleaningfairy · 14/03/2015 21:23

As soon as my dc are old enough to manage to keep themselves out of danger when left in a room alone they will have 2 choices, stay in bed and wait for mum and dad to get up or get up and watch tv by themselves. I will leave a drink of water and an apple each out for them.

I loved Saturday mornings watching tv with my little brother, it was the only time we were allowed unlimited tv and it was the only time we didn't fight (as we didn't want to wake our parents and for them to wake up and take us on an outing disturb our tv watching)

My 2 year old ties his own dressing gown, maybe buy her a onsie with a zip that might be easier to do independently.

nikki1978 · 14/03/2015 21:24

My kids know that on the weekends they do not come in and bother us so they go to the lounge and play games or watch TV until we get up. I have been quite firm about this from when the youngest was about 4. They get themselves an easy breakfast if they are hungry (or a banana or yoghurt until we are up). We work hard and I think we should be allowed our lie ins now they aren't babies anymore. I would go mad if I was woken up before 7am on a weekend!

Lozy79 · 14/03/2015 21:27

My 3 yr old gets up no later than 6 and goes bed at 9 pm, so i can't make it later Shock

nikki1978 · 14/03/2015 21:43

Blimey lozy do you not get any time to yourself?!

hazeyjane · 14/03/2015 21:53

If they can be taught that they MUST be quiet before 7am, then your 5yo can too, you just need to be persistent and firm in the rules.

this isn't true.

Original poster
OneFootIn1999 · 14/03/2015 22:39

Wrote a long reply but maybe it's a good thing it didn't post... Thanks for great advice, those who gave it.

I'm happy to say, my kids aren't miserable actually. I'm lucky enough to be witness to that every day. Even if those days start 90 minutes earlier than I'd like.

OP posts:
MotherofA · 14/03/2015 22:55

Oh I can so sympathise with this .... Only worse .... My dd was a 4am wide awaker for a good few years . I remember being at work so tired I wanted to cry. It can often still be 5-530 and she is 8! I think she suffers with her sleep / slight insomnia probably inherited from me and my father . Also she is very intelligent with lots of energy , I think this too is a part of why they need less sleep! Try lavender oil on the pillow it really does help with a deeper sleep . Also like others have said I would firmly tell her not to wake you up before your alarm , say 630. She is old enough to sit and watch television for a little which ? X

Charlotte3333 · 14/03/2015 22:56

DS1 is 9 and has always been a ridiculous o'clock riser. We've seen in 4am on occasion. I bought him the Gro clock and taught him that he must stay in his bed til the set time (usually 6am, as I'm also an early riser, just not crazy early). It was fantastic and we passed it on eventually to DS2.

DS1 now sleeps in at weekends and we have the opposite problem trying to drag him out of his sweaty pit to get ready for rugby, school, whatever.

I don't think I'd have been thrilled if he'd been up waking up siblings when he was 5, though. Waking up Mama when they know it's ok is one thing. Waking up the household is out.

hiccupgirl · 14/03/2015 23:23

My DS has a Groclock set for 7am on the weekend. He likes to come and gve me updates about how many stars are left or what numbers is it showing....not sure if it really helps or not!

addictedtosugar so glad it's not just me with a 5 yr old who needs little sleep. Some nights he only has 9 hrs now - DH would sleep 10-12 given half a chance so clearly DS has my sleep genes. I do remember being up every morning at 6am as a teenager.

RitaOrange · 15/03/2015 09:46

Hope everyone had a lie in.
Just waiting for my breakfast to be cooked.
Happy Mothers Day Flowers

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 15/03/2015 09:53

OP, it won't last forever.

In years to come you'll be doing what I'm doing right now; mnetting in bed and the house is gloriously silent, ds2 still asleep , dh and ds3 are out footballing.

For what it's worth my ds's were early risers as small children as was I [still am , I woke at 6 this morning and didn't fall back to sleep].

hazeyjane · 15/03/2015 15:43

4.30am here, just managing to stay awake now!!

annielouise · 15/03/2015 15:53

I also agree with RitaOrange. 5.45am singing loudly would have got a fairly sharp "be quiet and get back to sleep". I let me DC downstairs on their own from that age to watch TV while I snoozed for half an hour then snoozed another half hour until the blanket on a sofa. She's old enough to go downstairs quietly, turn the TV on and get under a blanket. Or given a clock and told she can't leave her room until 8am and must do quiet activities. Kids shouldn't be disturbing sleep beyond babyhood. She's old enough now.

hazeyjane · 15/03/2015 17:35

Kids shouldn't be disturbing sleep beyond babyhood. She's old enough now.

Lordy, do you have robot children!?

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 15/03/2015 18:31

Kids shouldn't be disturbing sleep beyond babyhood. She's old enough now.

Grin Uh huh. Riiiiiiiggggghhhhhtttttt....

ASorcererIsAWizardSquared · 15/03/2015 18:47

I can never see a time when DS isn't disturbing my sleep for a long time yet, nightmares/sleep walking are part and parcel of his ASD issues.

But hey, if its any consolation, you do learn to function on less sleep after 8 years of only 4hrs a night...

madmother1 · 15/03/2015 19:16

I agree with thatsucks, it's part of being a parent. My 2 are teenagers now. I'd been out to visit my MIL and back before 11am and still my eldest DS was in bed. He used to wake up between 4.30am to 6am!! After 6am was a luxury. It WILL get better.....I now lay awake, quite often, waiting for my DS to come home from a night out. He goes out at 10pm and back by 3am normally!

anothergenericname · 15/03/2015 19:22

.45am singing loudly would have got a fairly sharp "be quiet and get back to sleep"

Oh trust me - all noise-making behaviour before 6am gets a sharp reprimand and delivery straight back into bed, but somehow he's just as capable of ignoring those commands as the daytime ones such as 'get dressed' 'leave the cat alone' and 'stop dangling on my clothes' - I swear to God I am talking, but making no sound

Can I swap you for your nice, obliging, obedient children? Mine is a little too determined to create havoc.