Ridiculous O'Clock

Do you remember the days when having a lie in meant sleeping until 10am, not 6am? They are now a hazy memory. I used to be a night person. Actually, I still am, really which is why getting up at ridiculous o'clock is still tricky for me! I never thought I would actually be able to tell people when birdsong begins (3:15am in the East Midlands, UK). I'm having a hard time remembering when I last had a proper NAP. You see, naps were still VERY important to me not more than a year ago. I would happily take naps in the afternoon, particularly on a Sunday, for up to 2 hours...and I'm a grown woman! Sleep is an entirely different thing now though. How did I become able to hear Little Miss go "...cough..." and fly out of bed in the middle of the night? Apparently I have an entirely different hearing ability now that motherhood has set in. Perhaps that's something they snuck in during my c-section? A quick tweek on my hearing? Why couldn't they also do a quick tweek on my abdominal area as well?
As I type, Little Miss is toodling around the lounge after waking at 5:39am. This is our life. The joy that is Little Miss almost always begins in the 5 o'clock hour. And while that hour is moderately offensive, what a joy she is when we bring her into bed with us. Usually it begins with a rattling of the bars (chicka-chicka-chicka) and then a bit of chatter followed by "Dada...Dada??". Dada does usually get up to get her (after a bit of a "Your daughter is calling you" prod). "Dada!!!" she calls out when the door opens...how precious! Would that we could all wake up so happy! Depending on the ridiculousness of the hour, we might try to lay her down between us in an attempt to get a few more minutes shut eye but more often than not it's play time. We have a lovely routine, really. During the week, Dada gets up with Little Miss for an hour before he needs to get ready for work and that's where I can have a little flash back to those days of Lie In's...those 45 minutes extra kip are so nice. On the days where I get up with Little Miss, do I grumble just a bit in a nostalgic moment for the days when I knew nothing of ridiculous o'clock or birdsong? Honestly, yes...but the face of my gorgeous daughter, the squeeze around the neck and little voice which happily says "Mama" as we leave the room makes ridiculous o'clock the best time of the day.