2bie&newbie
Erika Dube is a musician, a writer, a lifelong Mainer, and most recently, a busy stay-at-home mother of two. She and her musician husband, Steven, have returned to the town they grew up in to raise their family, sharing their mutual passion for music with their toddler son, newborn daughter, and dog, Josie. Dube holds a B.A. in Music Performance from Hartwick College, specializing in flute and musicology. In this blog she will explore the intricacies of welcoming a new soul into this world, parenting multiple children, and balancing her passions for her family, music, and life in Maine.
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What time is it?!
Nov 3, 2009 02:30 PM
Categories: My Life
I don’t care what the clock says, my mind is still set an hour ahead.
For the past three days, I have desperately been trying to get on the new Daylight Savings schedule, but I just can’t. What once was a favorite weekend in the days when I was single - a weekend of extra sleep, extra time to get caught up on things - is now a dreaded weekend now that I have two little children with particular sleep schedules.
Little kids don’t find sleep an indulgence; bedtime is either collapsed into unconsciously or with tears as though sleep were a punishment. Kids are happy to wake up and start the day of play ahead of them. There is no excitement at “getting” to sleep an extra hour.
And it’s because of this that I now find the clocks turning back such a nuisance. We still wake up at what used to be 7 and is now six. I don’t feel any more rested because I’m not. Instead, I’m up for an extra hour in the morning before wherever I have to be later – work or preschool – and the end result is that I feel overtired and like we’re late for everything.
Nighttimes aren’t much better. The kids are dragging and hungry by four and ready for bed at 5:15. The first night I gave in and let them sleep early but swiftly regretted it the next morning when I was woken up at 4:30. So instead, I’m now having them stay up until 6:30 and dealing with the tears and bad behavior that accompany over-tiredness.
I’m also not handling the change so well. After the kids are in bed, I am wired instead of tired so I stay up too late and kick myself in the morning when I hear the kids stirring. It’s like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry talks about how much “Daytime Jerry” hates “Nighttime Jerry”, the Jerry who convinces him to stay up later, watch one more show, have one more drink with friends. That’s what I feel like.
Dinners have been served around 3 because my stomach can’t seem to catch up to the schedule either and I am starved by mid-afternoon. Today I had bacon and chicken macaroni with cheese on the table at 2 just because. Oh and apparently being tired and confused also has me craving high-fat comfort foods…
I can’t wait until we all get back on track. How long does it take you and your family to adjust to Daylight Savings Time?
For the past three days, I have desperately been trying to get on the new Daylight Savings schedule, but I just can’t. What once was a favorite weekend in the days when I was single - a weekend of extra sleep, extra time to get caught up on things - is now a dreaded weekend now that I have two little children with particular sleep schedules.
Little kids don’t find sleep an indulgence; bedtime is either collapsed into unconsciously or with tears as though sleep were a punishment. Kids are happy to wake up and start the day of play ahead of them. There is no excitement at “getting” to sleep an extra hour.
And it’s because of this that I now find the clocks turning back such a nuisance. We still wake up at what used to be 7 and is now six. I don’t feel any more rested because I’m not. Instead, I’m up for an extra hour in the morning before wherever I have to be later – work or preschool – and the end result is that I feel overtired and like we’re late for everything.
Nighttimes aren’t much better. The kids are dragging and hungry by four and ready for bed at 5:15. The first night I gave in and let them sleep early but swiftly regretted it the next morning when I was woken up at 4:30. So instead, I’m now having them stay up until 6:30 and dealing with the tears and bad behavior that accompany over-tiredness.
I’m also not handling the change so well. After the kids are in bed, I am wired instead of tired so I stay up too late and kick myself in the morning when I hear the kids stirring. It’s like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry talks about how much “Daytime Jerry” hates “Nighttime Jerry”, the Jerry who convinces him to stay up later, watch one more show, have one more drink with friends. That’s what I feel like.
Dinners have been served around 3 because my stomach can’t seem to catch up to the schedule either and I am starved by mid-afternoon. Today I had bacon and chicken macaroni with cheese on the table at 2 just because. Oh and apparently being tired and confused also has me craving high-fat comfort foods…
I can’t wait until we all get back on track. How long does it take you and your family to adjust to Daylight Savings Time?
SBHFreelance says,
ROFL... I kept thinking I was late to work today. I teach a 12-3 PM class at SMCC, and I got there much earlier than normal and kept looking at the clock convinced that I was late. It's amazing that our body rhythms can be so confused by just an hour difference in the day! The dogs keep asking to be fed at 3:30... usually, they don't get fed until sometime after 4:30 PM... :0)
Nov 3, 2009 07:31 PM
LUV2LOSE says,
I have such a hard time "falling back" every year. I am, by nature, an early to bed, early to rise kind of person. It takes months for me to acclimate! My horses used to get mad too. At 5 they wanted their dinner, even if 5 was now 4. They would start tearing around their paddock making impatient, hungry, angry horse noises! It took them a few months to adjust too. Funny thing about horses, they never complain about getting fed too early!
Nov 4, 2009 10:18 AM
melanieannie says,
I used to love the time switch in the fall too. The kids and their lack of love for extra sleep really have taken it away. This time the change hasn't seemed to mess us up too much though. Hope you guys get on track soon.
Nov 7, 2009 07:37 AM
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