Early in the Morning

If you had told me a few months ago that I would now be voluntarily getting up at 5:30 in the morning, I would have laughed. And it would have been a slightly hysterical, sleep-deprived laugh, because Cubby did not sleep through the night, which meant I did not sleep through the night and therefore slept as long as he would in the morning in a desperate attempt to not feel like the walking dead in the morning. Five-thirty was a time to be dreaded, horrible numbers to see on the clock because it meant that the baby was awake and so I had to be awake and somewhat functional despite the lack of sleep.

However.

Cubby started sleeping through the night a couple of months ago. He now wakes up around 5:30 in the morning to nurse, but will then obligingly go back to sleep for a couple of hours. I could, of course, also go back to sleep. Sometimes I try, but I invariably end up lying there thinking my Crazy Brain thoughts and not sleeping anyway, so I get up. And it's GLORIOUS.

No one else is awake, so the house is quiet. I can get the fire going, let the dogs out, and make my coffee without running into the living room every few seconds to make sure Cubby hasn't gotten himself into some kind of mortal peril. Then I can drink my coffee without having to entertain him with toys and books and whatever else will keep him occupied while I have my first cup of coffee. THEN, I can have a second cup of coffee. I can read! I can get online! I can do anything without interruption.

And that is why I get up at 5:30 in the morning. It's now my favorite time of day. Funny how your perspective can change so fast.