Sunday, November 6, 2011

Daylight Savings Sucks

You heard me right. I think DST sucks! It was originally designed with farmers in mind so they had an extra hour to work their crops. Sadly, in our tech-heavy world, we don't really have much need for the extra time to work the land like before. It really has lost much of its intended purpose. Now, it has been "modified" so we have a better grasp on saving energy. Really? How does this really help in the long-run? Especially since we are now turning to Hybrid and Fully Electric cars. Um...does anyone else see the irony? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for using less power and reducing greenhouse gases, I just don't think THIS is the way to do it!

I really wish the person who decides when DST begins and ends could have a newborn and/or a toddler. In all honesty, I wish good ol' Ben Franklin (who first came up with the idea of DST) could have had the responsibility of running a household and caring for children disturbed by the time switch. Yep, I AM that vindictive. To most, I'm sure it seems petty. A no-brainer. However, when throwing a toddler into the mix NOTHING is as easy as it used to be.

CASE IN POINT: Fuss woke up around 2 a.m. coughing. I ended up with her cuddling in my bed for about an hour before putting her back in her crib to ramble around for another 30-45 minutes before finally falling asleep again. Mommy normally is up until around midnight, so this means I got only 2 hours of sleep before she woke up. Awake another 2 hours, then slept when I realized she had passed out. She proceeds to wake up at 8 a.m. for the day. Logic tells us she should have slept until at least 10 a.m. since her normal waking time is 9(ish). That. Did. Not. Happen. Daddy comes home at 7 a.m. after working a full 13 hours (due to the time change) and needs to sleep for the following night's work. Joy. Mommy, exhausted, puts in a DVD for Fuss for quiet time so Daddy could sleep. We go to a birthday party (just me and Fuss) for my cousin and we're there for a couple hours. Craft show. Home. Fuss is very clumsy all day due to lack of sleep (and her refusal to nap), gets a bump on her head...again. We finally chill in the evening watching Disney movies prior to bed. Fuss starts her "I'm not tired! I'm gonna run and jump and play and go crazy!" routine an hour and a half before bedtime. Forty-five minutes before bedtime, she's rubbing her eyes. I ask who she wants to take to bed and she says "puppy" then asks for her binky. She was completely out in less than 5 minutes. And we still had 15 minutes before bedtime. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. I just hope she sleeps all night tonight!

So, again, WHY do I hate DST? 1) It really messes with our schedules here in regard to Fuss. When her schedules are messed with, we have a Super Fuss for about a week. 2) It makes it that much harder for my dear hubby to work nights. The poor man was a zombie this morning. 3) It's just a freaking pain in the butt! I hate having to go around my house and change every stinking clock! 4) Parents don't actually get an extra hour of sleep. Babies wake up at the SAME TIME even when the clock says otherwise. *Put that on a sticky note in your reasons NOT to have children yet column.* ;-)

What are your views on DST?

2 comments:

  1. I hate it too! Dd was up an hour earlier because she went to bed at normal time and gaining an extra hour of sleep cost mommy and daddy and hour of sleep! It sucks big donkey ones! Lol!

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  2. To think I actually used to get excited for DST. My little guy is still off his schedule. Went from waking 1-2 times per night to feed to up every 2 hours and up for the day around 6:30am. Ugh! Full agreement about doing away with DST.

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