Surviving Not Thriving
Parenting, Fitness, & Sleep
Holy cats am I tired.
If you don’t know me, I am a dad of two boys who are 2.5 year old and a 7 month old.
They’ve both been pretty good sleepers and I personally, my wife could not say the same, have never had an issue with feeling not rested for a prolonged period of time since my first born came into the world in April of 2020.
My 2.5 year old, who normally sleeps through the night, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I or my wife have had to get up with him in the middle of the night over the last year or so, has suddenly decided he’s over being a good sleeper.
I’ve heard things like:
“I’m all done nap daddy.” Dude it is 11:38 p.m. no you’re not.
“I don’t like my crib anymore.” as I wrestle to get him down for the night
“Rock me, tell me tractor stories, and read me books” at 1:30 a.m.
And a most recent croup coughing fit at 12:30 a.m. which scared us all and resulted in a 911 call (he’s okay!!)
So thankfully, I’m 2.5 years into parenthood and I’m just now experiencing sleep deprivation over the last month. I don’t know how my wife functioned for this long like this. Bless her heart!
We’re surviving just not thriving.
I’ve had to temper my expectations on pretty much everything I’ve been doing lately as we work through the phase of parenthood
Ohh and I decided, due to the lack of sleep and struggle with getting the boys down each night, I would start working out at 5:30 a.m. instead of 7 p.m. Sounds counterproductive hey? Let me explain why I decided that.
The saying “if it is important to you, you’ll find a way. If it is not, you’ll find an excuse” is 100% true.
That is what I thought about when I decided to switch my workouts to the morning a couple of weeks ago. Because bedtime had become such a struggle and quality sleep had dwindled away, when 7 pm came around I had little to no ambition to go down to my basement gym and work hard or to even go down the stairs in general.
So, I decided I was going to wake up before everyone else in the house to workout to at least check the box of movement even if the intensity isn’t there.
I could have chosen to just fold and put my fitness on hold for a while until this sleep scenario sorted itself out, but it is way too important to me to do that. But I see why so many parents lose their way during the early childhood days when it comes to their physical health. It would be easy to do so, but I would encourage you if you are a parent or want to become one someday, taking care of yourself will only enhance your performance as a parent.
What is the cost of inaction? Less confidence? Lack of an outlet? Pent up frustration? You need an outlet!!
Don’t forget to make self-care a priority this week. However that might look for you. Go out of your way to make it happen even if it is inconvenient. Those around you will notice the difference.
I have a cool announcement about new program I’m going to be rolling out very soon, so stay tuned to my newsletter to find out the details! Until then, get some rest & make it a great week!