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

[iusedto]

At 18 months my previously crap sleeper started sleeping through (mostly) but swapped multiple night wakings for waking very, very early - 5-530 generally.

This lasted for around a year. Then he dropped his nap and sort of shifted that sleep to the morning. Gradually he’s been waking later and later and now sometimes I have to wake him. (Not often.)

I have a ‘new’ 18 month old who thankfully doesn’t seem as inclined to start the day when it’s still the middle of the night but she did just wake me about half an hour ago and I am waiting for her to go back to sleep.

But - AIBU to be horrified this was a habitual start time if you like for me once upon a time? I’ve given myself such a hard time about not properly enjoying ds as a toddler but I kind of think no wonder; I must have been sick with exhaustion!

Im up early this morning ive been up 17 minutes.

I'm obviously very lucky to have a cat that will usually snooze with me until I'm ready to get up, and I'm not an early riser.

I used to be like that then I went on HRT and now I sleep through every night - it’s been a game changer for me!

I had two babies under two at one point and I kid you not they both got up at 5 am until the youngest one was 6. 6 bloody years. I was exhausted.
Like pp said I am nor exhausted due to peri as I wake up at 3.10am on the dot every bloody day. But at least I don't have to entertain a toddler so on balance it's still not as bad.

If they were sleeping through it’s not that bad.

YANBU but all the natural morning people just won’t get it.

Thankfully, menopause hasn’t affected my sleep or I’d probably have gone completely insane. Just had a lovely solid 9 hours 😴

Oh i remember this! Mine used to start the day super early. I remember us both being up/dressed/fed/cleaning out the rabbits and having a quiet play in the sunshine one hot summer-when we came back in I realised it was still only 5am!!

At least you can always rely on MN to tell you you’re over dramatic and all toddlers get up at 5, unless they’re getting up at 3.

For most of DS’s 5am stint I was pregnant which obviously makes a difference. I maintain it is extremely early though. And there is a difference between gently stretching into the day through choice and being woken by a squawking toddler!

Getting up at 5am out of choice to do yoga / go horse riding / think beautiful thoughts is one thing.

Being woken up by a grumpy toddler who you then have to entertain for the next 14 hours is a very different kettle of fish!

Yes 5am is a horrible time to get up. Thank God mine never arose.before 7 and HRT has sorted my early wake ups out. Life is much better now

I literally never got up at 5am to entertain a toddler. She far preferred a split night and dodgy naps with late nights 😭

Christmas day I was clock watching until 9am!!! But Christmas period means no bedtime 😂

I've never had early mornings with mine, they've both always got up at 7am. But they've never had early bedtimes either - I'm sure other parents would be horrified at a 9pm bedtime for a 2 year old. But it works for us.

Pray your children don't get into competitive sport.

4.10am starts for rowing dropoff - 5 days a week. The only solution was to go to bed at 8pm. Plenty of people have jobs that start early.

There is definitely a sniff of moral superiority from those who are up early, either by choice or because of circumstances. I wonder why?

My DS (almost 4) ha started sometimes waking up at 3/4am and wants to get up for the day. I'm not sure what the right thing to do is. So far I always tell him no it's bedtime, and get him back into bed or in ours but he doesn't sleep just messes about and we don't get any sleep anyway.
Should I be getting up with him when he wakes at these times? I thought letting him get up at 330am would show him it's okay to do that and encourage it to do it more often? whereas I'm obviously trying to discourage it and instead reward him waking at 630am

I used to get up at 2am for work. The entire time I did that job (5 years )I was ill. And I'm sure it was just from being exhausted.
When I changed jobs to start getting up at 6:45 I never felt ill.
Lack of sleep is awful, I had young children too so no naps during the day. The thing to remember is your toddler will get through it and so will you. In a year or so you might have two children sleeping until a reasonable time in the morning.

Yes! Staying in bed is seen as lazy, even if you’re a night owl and stay up late – the virtue also seems to be in going to bed early, too. Because anyone up late is obviously a degenerate.

I think if OP had said she was getting up at 3am or even 4am, people might have a bit more sympathy. I tend to think of anything from 5am onwards as normal get up time on a work day for a lot of people.

I have to get up at 5.30 for work. I hate it in winter but love it in spring/summer.

I still shudder at the memory of having 5 years of broken sleep and early risings. Neither of my DDs slept properly until they were 3. I don’t know how I managed to keep going. Im very protective of my sleep many years later. Of course, now they’re teenagers I can’t get them up at all!

i’m an early riser

and it’s part of the joy tbh! A little bit of smugness!

the country so still and peaceful, meanwhile i’m building up a sweat doing an online work out video or catching up on admin and it adds a layer of enjoyment knowing that majority still tucked up in bed 🤭

wtf? 5 days a week?! how long did that go on for? And is she/he now an olympian at least?!!

and they then went on to have full day at school?

And those who go to bed late and rise late can be smug knowing they’re up doing those things late at night while everyone else is in bed!

absolutely!

and what about those who stay up late AND wake up early

smugness must be off the charts!!