Today started out great! Wild Card woke up at 5AM (As she usually does) but I was able to get her back to sleep in her own bed. This is somewhat of a feat. I did not do this out of selfishness, but rather because my bed is not surrounded by bubble-wrap three feet deep.
I fell back to sleep. I was awoken at about 8ish by two children yelling for me. One with words and one without. Not sure how long they were in this state but they were fine once I went in. No harm, no foul.
Breakfast was easy (does this mean I didn't feed them enough last night?) Basically, it felt like a Saturday. We bummed around the house. Wild Card took a nap. Then it was time for lunch.
Any grace I'd received from my children ended here. I think Full House had the following thought: "If he's staying, he's gonna pay for it." I'm not sure how long it took for him to eat 1/2 of a PB&J. I probably could have visited the QoH before he was done.
To break the monotony we went to a park. On the way, Daddy realized he forgot about Full House's nap. Oh well! Apparently there was a tornado in the area but Wild Card thought the wind was the funniest thing she'd ever seen.
Got home, friends brought dinner: pizza (Suddenly my children were saints). Don't worry, Wild Card had Chicken and frozen fruit.
PJ's and bed. I think Full House was out before his head hit the pillow. Wild Card decided that she was too easy on me at lunch and chose to cry for 45 minutes before determining that I'd suffered enough.
I wonder what they'll devise for me tomorrow!
5 comments:
I've just gotta say that it is not selfish to want more sleep in the morning - esp if it's at 5 a.m.!! Sleep is healthy and necessary :). And we have been teaching our daughter to stay in her room until 7 a.m. I have a clock in there with arrows pointing to the hour/second hands at 7. She definitely knows when 7 a.m. is now!
Why is it that as a parent we feel selfish if we take anytime to ourselves. I agree with Dawn, there is no reason for them to be up at 5am and you are much better parent when not sleep deprived, yet we always feel guilty. Thus the life of a parent. Full House and Wild Card are being excellant, anything more and they would not be actual children. Glad that they are not rebelling against not having Mommy around. Kids love thier routine.
Okay, but I have to ask Dawn & Sarah if they would have said the same thing to the children's mother. I think it is assumed that mothers WILL get up - and SHOULD if they children so require. I think we are much more forgiving to fathers. This Daddy is doing great - believe me. But his sleep is almost always uninterrupted...unlike Mommy's. She is just extremely glad to hear that he is waking at all to the children!
Don't get me wrong, please. I am so thankful that I have a husband who is willing to do this. I just think that more grace is given to fathers than mothers. And that's just my opinion.
To answer your question, QoH, yes, I would have said the same thing to you if you had posted this on your blog. Unless my child had some sort of medical need or if I was still nursing him/her, I would not get up with them at 5 a.m., and I don't think I need to feel guilty about that. This line of thinking is not meant to imply judgment or to say one parent's style is better than another's. In our house, we try to remember that we (the mom AND dad) are the bosses, and the kids need to learn a routine that is healthy for everyone. We are successful with this about as often as we are not. :)
I agree QoH, why is it that daddies get more credit? I think that it is because hands on daddies are still a really new concept. I do not think that either of my grandfathers were hands on, other than punishment. Mommies are always the unsung heros. The daddies somehow think it comes easily. Just the other day my husband was geuniuly surprised and perplexed by the idea that I could possibly be stressed. I work full time and I am the primary (only) caregiver to our child. He loves to play with her, and will sometimes discipline her, but that is it. That is mostly my fault for not wanting to be the shrew and yell at him for it. I could use a nights sleep. Have only had about 10 of those in 3 1/2 years. We are all a little jealous of your husband, but all know who puts in the most work. He does do a great job of acknowledging that!
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