In order to make it through the night with a baby, you have to creates shifts so you always know who is responsible when the baby is crying at 2am. In our household, we divided the night into 2 shifts: the late night and early morning. Luckily for us both, Diane is a natural night owl and I can manage to stay awake for more then 5 minutes if I awake at 4 in the morning. So when it’s pitch black outside and the clock has stuck 3, we both know who’s up for taking care of the little one.

I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t enjoy these early moments in the morning. You see, in the wee hours of the morning I have honest, personal time with my child. During this time we laugh, we both drink milk, we change diapers and we take long naps. One of my favorite activities it to lay down on the couch with my stomach facing out and have my daughter leaning up against me. She likes to stand, jump and wiggle her way up my side in a game I’ve now dubbed “Climbing Mount Daddy.” My little girl laughs so loud when she plays this game, giving me the biggest smiles possible and it’s truly a wonderful time (but  she is also putting the constant fear that I’ll wake Diane up any moment).

So why are all these moments so special? Can’t I just do them after I get home from work. The short answer is yes, I can, but what makes these so special is the fact that only I can really provide these moments in the morning. I know that in just a short time my daughter will grow up and we won’t share a sunrise or play “Climbing Mount Daddy.” I know that she’ll grow up, want to sleep in like a normal person (at which times I’ll be sleeping in as well) and generally be too “grown up” for these silly little games.

So before that day happens and the mornings no longer belong to just me and my daughter, I’m going to enjoy these precious little moments between 3am and sunrise. I’ll watch as a new days unfolds, holding my daughter tight and just enjoying life. When the sun has finally risen, we’ll return to the couch for a nice warm bottle of milk and a nice long nap, waiting for Momma to wake up.

Do you have the morning shift in your house? What do you do when your child just won’t go back to sleep at 5 in the morning? Or do you despise the early morning hours? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!