When was the last time you had a good nights sleep? Please only parents respond to that question, the rest of you don’t know what your in for until you have kids. I’m not just talking about a night where your kid(s) slept all the way through, but one were you woke up truly rested and ready to start the day.
As I write this I have just gone through one of the worst nights I’ve had in awhile. The little guy woke up 2 hours after we had gone to bed and didn’t go back down for 4 hours. That’s 4 hours of playing, singing, reading, rocking, until he finally fell asleep – as I driving him around the block at 3:30am. Then 3 hours later he woke back up. We have an unwritten rule between me and my wife that if one of us isn’t working the next day then it falls to them to deal with these nights, until we realise they are struggling then the other will always help out. This was one of my nights.
Remember those days when you were younger, before fatherhood where you would stay up all night partying and then go to work the next day? Those are long gone, as a Dad you need to take the sleep when you can get it. As a Dad, or any parent your days just aren’t long enough to get everything done. After nights like these is it worth trying to stick to your original schedule and plan or should you sacrifice that to regain some sleep.
Personally I sit on the fence with this one. On one side, I feel the need to stay on top of a schedule and feel a little disheartened when plans fall through due to a rough night. On the other we need to look after ourselves and if that means missing out on an early morning gym session or the chores falling behind then that’s what happens. What do you do in this situation?
Down Under Dad 
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