The answer to the question “what time do you wake up in the morning?” has changed for me SO much over the years. I am your classic sleep lover, I will sleep any and every chance I get. In high school and college I would sleep in until noon or 1 pm somedays. When we were newlyweds, back in 2013, Nick would try to wake me up around 9 and see if I wanted to hang out yet, he was an early riser and he had a lot to learn about my sleep habits, haha.
After I had kids, so much changed in the sleep department. I started waking up when my kids woke up, which was at unearthly hours in those first few months of my babies lives. Even today, while my kids typically sleep straight through the whole night, I still tell people, the lack of control of my sleep is the hardest thing about parenthood for me.
So to answer this question for me today, yesterday, last week and last month, I typically wake up around 8, when Jay comes into our bedroom to tell me he’s awake. It varies sometimes, like if the boys are feeling generous and sleep in! Or if Nick is super sweet and lets me indulge in an extra hour or so and watches the boys. But in general, 8 is our magic number right now.
I asked a few friends to see what they said, and thought it’d be interesting to share. So much can change with different phases and stages.
Here’s what they said:
“I wake up at 8:15 am everyday, except Sunday! 7 am for church. We can never get to bed early with dance and Tae Kwando going late everyday, and since we are doing homeschool we can decide when our day starts!” -Nicole (mother of 3)
“In the off-season, its whenever the kids get us up. But in the summer it’s about an hour before the kids wake up. Because with Billy working such long hours, I know its the only time I’ll get to myself. So whether it’s an hour of just reading or going to the gym or getting prepped for the day, its just MY time.” -Trish (mother of 2)
“When my kids do – so anywhere from 6:30-8 am. I would love to wake up before them, and love how I feel when I occasionally do and get a head start on the day. But they are young and night sleep and wake times still fluctuate a lot so for this season that works best for me!” -Ashley (mother of 2)
“My mornings vary on the day. On the days I work my alarm is set for 7:10, I’ll usually lay in bed for another 10 minutes and check my email and the weather (gotta start thinking about what to wear, haha). And the days I don’t work, I’m usually up by 8/8:30 to get the puppies from their kennels #dogmom. -Lindsay (social worker and dog mom)
“I usually wake between 9-9:30 every day. That’s just when my body wakes me up! Sometimes my kids have off mornings and wake up earlier, if so, I am up earlier on those days.” -Taylor (mom of 2)
“I used to wake up at 6:45 religiously and am starting again tomorrow. I do that so I can work out before my kids wake up and take care of me! I find I am WAY more patient, and loving towards them and Sam (husband) because I have taken care of me.” -Katie (mom of 2)
“Okay so… I like to get up at 6:00 am but it definitely varies depending on how Teddy has been sleeping. I we’ve had a good couple of nights then I get up at six to read scriptures and pray. If he’s had a rough few nights, then I stay in bed until he wakes me up around 6:45 and I pray and read while we eat breakfast. I wish I could be more consistent, but I know I function better as a Mom when I’m rested and that you can’t predict what your kids will do, so you just do your best to work around it.” -Ellie (mom of 2)
Now for the magic question, what time do you wake up in the morning??
