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Original poster

Still struggling with mornings almost 4 years later!

12 replies

Kiwii48 · 31/05/2023 07:42

I have never been a morning person, my routine before was wake up around 11am go to sleep about 2am. My sons almost 4 now and I still can't handle getting up at 6/7am 😭 I feel brain dead every morning. It's really hard not to just be in an awful mood and I never want to talk. Which obviously you can't not do with a child lol. My son wakes up and straight away wants to get breakfast and go downstairs. I'm in a routine where I let him watch YouTube kids for 15mins-half hour on my phone before I get up but I'm still struggling! I can go to bed 9pm or 11pm and still feel awful. Is this just life how do I cope with this 😭

OP posts:
junebirthdaygirl · 31/05/2023 07:59

Do you have sunlight coming in to your room from dawn so you gradually wake up?
This might sound mean but maybe deciding that you quite like these nice sunny mornings and while you feel bad you are going to enjoy it.
So making a conscious decision not to be negative about it.
Also l find starting my shower cold is a great way to wake up as l feel more refreshed.
Saying all that if you take any medication it can make mornings extra difficult so maybe taking it much earlier at night might help.
I think it's one of most people's bad feeling about parenting: never getting to decide when to get up: dreaming of a long sleep.
My dc are grown now and l am wide awake at 7 every morning. No one cares when l get up and l have no interest in lying on.

NatureNurture85 · 31/05/2023 08:11

How did you work if you were getting up at 11am? I think PP advice re:light is a good thing. My DCs will sleep til about 730/8 at a weekend now. They’re up at 7 for school.

Wolbarker · 31/05/2023 08:15

One of mine gets up between 5-6am so fends for himself, I just had to tolerate at it until he was older.

Girlintheframe · 31/05/2023 08:16

You might never be a morning person. Apparently we are genetically prone to be either larks or night owls. That's not to say there aren't things you can do to help like going to bed early, light in the morning, having a set routine etc. Weirdly I was never a lark and always struggled in the morning until later in life when I went through the menopause. Now I'm up and about 1st thing.

gamerchick · 31/05/2023 08:17

How did you manage to hold down a job if you can't cope with getting up at 7?

You just do. Get up, be productive straight away, have a shower and get dressed. Don't sit around in a dressing gown for hours.

Original poster
Kiwii48 · 31/05/2023 08:18

NatureNurture85 · 31/05/2023 08:11

How did you work if you were getting up at 11am? I think PP advice re:light is a good thing. My DCs will sleep til about 730/8 at a weekend now. They’re up at 7 for school.

I worked shifts 12-8 and 2-10

OP posts:
Original poster
Kiwii48 · 31/05/2023 08:20

I didn't work a 9-5 lol there are jobs that don't require you to get up at 7am! I shower in the evening so I can do it in peace 🤣 Some days I'm better at just getting up and going but when my partner is still asleep I find it hard to get going without getting ready first

OP posts:
Original poster
Kiwii48 · 31/05/2023 08:23

I'll try the light thing but my partner sleeps until 8:30 as he works and I'm a sahm so I don't think he would be too happy with that 🤣 I'm not on medication but I have a chronic health condition, I've got surgery next week that will hopefully help the fatigue symptoms but it's not guaranteed so not holding on to too much hope

OP posts:
modgepodge · 31/05/2023 08:28

I feel you OP 😫 I’m just someone who needs a lot of sleep and doesn’t cope well with mornings. Annoyingly, I’m a teacher which means even before kids it was difficult as there just aren’t any teaching jobs that allow a lie in, it’s not even a 9 o clock start, most teachers are in by 8. I used to get round it by lying in at the weekend and having afternoon naps 😂 neither of which work with a young child.

no suggestions, just sympathy!!

Sussexcricket · 31/05/2023 12:35

Not all jobs are 9-5 🤣
I work 2-9pm shifts and my partner 10pm-7am shifts.
Hate mornings. Have a two year old and seven year old and really struggle with the school run mornings despite getting 8 hours sleep.
I'm fine anytime after 10am

bussteward · 31/05/2023 13:13

Your partner should be getting up too! SAHM isn’t a 24/7 role: he’s a parent too outside of his working hours + commute time. Frankly I find a whole day with children harder work than a whole day at work; at work people stop talking and don’t expect you to have or discuss a favourite Octonaut when you’re pre coffee and also on the loo. 8.30 is a lie-in every day, at your expense.

Otherwise I think pp poster’s advice of fake it til you make it is good: after a bad night with the baby our mornings are awful when I react awfully to everyone; on mornings where I paste on a smile, lie to DD when she asks “are you happy? did you have a nice big sleep?”, and play act that I’m delighted by my life choices, it all feels a lot better.

Notlostjustexploring · 31/05/2023 13:28

I am also not a morning person.

Things that help me are:
Good sleep hygiene (cool room, no screens etc)
Regular bedtimes
Sunrise alarm clock set for the same time every morning.
Regular exercise for better quality sleep
Correcting an iron deficiency

If you can make yourself do it, going out for a run/swim first thing can be very effective. But urgh, hard to make yourself do.

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