I saw a mum ask in a Facebook group this week:
"How do you handle your mornings with babies and toddlers? I can't get up early anymore to get things done or get "me time" because they wake up so early too. I'm finding it hard to get anything done and yet the morning drags on. I spend so much time on my phone and I feel really burnt out."
My kids are older now so mornings are MUCH easier, but I remember what it was like to manage a toddler and a baby and keep the house running and it was NOT easy. And I felt the pull to my phone as well!
What worked best for me to get things done and lesson burnout was to simplify the mornings as much as possible and not cram too much into them, and to follow the same simple routine pretty much every morning:
* Make the bed as soon as I get out of it
* Have breakfast with the kids - we all eat together, toddler in toddler chair, baby in high chair from 6 months
* Make our lunch boxes next and put them in fridge for later - the kids had full tummies after breakfast so would play well for about 15min which gave me time to make 3 lunch boxes (yep, one for me too!)
* Get everyone dressed, teeth and hair done, shoes on
* Play / read a book together / tv show for the kids while I put a load of washing on
* Next was about and about time to save my sanity! We would go for a walk outside with the pram or head to the local shops and take the lunchboxes with us. I'd also take a picnic blanket if we were going to the park, and if we were at the shops we usually had lunch in the parent room. Not glamourous but very handy! I could eat and also feed the baby while my toddler played with the toys.
* Then it was back home for nap time after lunch and I'd hang the washing and do the morning dishes before trying to relax for a bit.
It wasn’t an exciting routine but it was simple which made it do-able!
Other small things that made a big difference to our mornings:
- I had to put my phone on silent in my bag and zip it up so that I wouldn’t gravitate to it
- Lunches were simple ones like leftovers or a sandwich + fruit + packaged snack like a rusk/muesli bar/pretzels
- My babies were bottled fed so I'd make up 6 baby bottles of water at once and keep them in the fridge so I could grab them and make them up quickly with formula when needed. When we were out and about, the bottle would go from cold to room temp and was fine for me to put the formula into at lunchtime and give it to the baby straight away - no need for heating and waiting while we were out.
- We switched to night time baths and showers for everyone so that it was one less job in the morning - and much more relaxing at night
That's what helped me stay sane when my kids were young, I'd love to know what worked for you. Come and let us know on the Beautifully Organised Mums facebook page!
x Marissa
