Finding Peace in the 3 AM Wake-Up Call

I want to share a personal story of gently leaning in to the uncomfortable, to something not "going my way."

The Backstory: My Love Affair with Sleep

I love my sleep. If you look back at my previous blog posts, you'll see I wrote about how co-sleeping worked perfectly for our family and ensured I got enough rest, even when my daughter was a newborn. But then, we struggled.

We encountered restless nights, tossing and turning, and even nights where she woke around 2 or 3 AM, never to find sleep again until nap time. I'll admit: I'm a grump when I don't get my necessary sleep. Lack of sleep elevates my emotions in a way that is not conducive to peace. I struggled with where my thoughts traveled during those long nights.

In this struggle, I would allow myself to get grumpy, to complain loudly, and to tell anyone who would listen (and maybe some who wouldn't) how poorly I had slept. Crucially, I placed blame on my daughter for simply listening to her own body. You can see the issue here, right?

Of course, we tried to change our routines to promote better sleep: cooling the room, removing food dye from her diet, and turning off all screens well ahead of bedtime.

The 3 AM Shift

And yet, after Halloween, I found myself wide awake with my daughter before 3 AM. As much as I wanted to keep lying in bed, hoping she'd drift off again, she urged me to get up. So, instead of fighting it, I got up. We took some time in the quiet morning hours to craft. In this simple shift, I found peace.

I didn't allow my grumpiness over things not going my way to take over. I didn't make her feel guilty for listening to what her body was telling her. I leaned into what was presented to me and made our morning enjoyable.

What did life show me in this moment? A gentle, profound reminder that control does not exist, and I can be present with the uneasiness by simply shifting my mindset.

Where will you find your peace in letting go?