Real Talk With Real Moms / Our Morning Routine
I love today's Real Talk With Real Moms topic because it's so fun to get a peek into other families' days and see how they use their time. With kids, time is a hot commodity, and at my house we are still trying to master using ours well during the few hours in the day when we're all home together. We definitely have a routine, but I would not say that we're a well oiled machine and I could really use some ideas. So here's our morning routine...
Sailor wakes up around 6. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later. I miss the days when she would sleep til 7:30 - those days have been gone for awhile. Ian's usually the one who jumps out of bed to go get her and brings her into bed with us. I wish I could say we use it as an opportunity to get a jump on the day but we're usually so lazy/sleepy and stay in bed for at least another half hour. So we spend that time listening to Sailor identify each of the family members and their facial parts by name, reading books, and then she starts asking for Elmo. Parenting fail? I don't know, but that whole "don't let your baby see a TV screen til they're 2" thing is officially out the window. A couple months ago, we started letting her watch Sesame Street or Daniel Tiger in the morning and it has been kind of a game changer - she LOVES it, learns a lot from it, and it chills her out while we catch a couple more Z's or just hang out in bed. Jury is still out on whether we will regret this liberty we've given her but for now she still seems to be a balanced, happy child. ;)
Eventually around 7:00, it's time to start the morning's activities/juggling act of getting us parents ready, fed, and caffeinated while she eats her breakfast and demands anything that comes to her mind. Ian usually gets ready for work while I feed her and start coffee/breakfast for us. I used to do my showering/getting ready after Ian leaves but these days it's downright IMPOSSIBLE to do those things with her in the room because she gets into all my makeup and products, and makes a huge mess. I don't want to wait til her 10:30am nap either because who wants to spend that precious nap time in the shower? No way. I need to do work during nap. So, now I'm trying to shower and stuff before Ian leaves, which is not easy.
It's about to get more challenging: we need to start making time for workouts in the morning, something that has been feeling impossible. I am starting the Tone It Up Bikini Series on April 24 and Ian's planning to do something similar. I definitely need to get a workout done first thing or else it doesn't happen, so we're in for some early, productive mornings coming up. We're prepared to set Sailor up with a high chair in the garage (which I think we'll be setting up as a "gym") so she can eat breakfast while we work out. We'll see how that goes. If you have tips on making the most out of the morning, I would LOVE to hear them. It's SO hard to get everyone sufficiently rested, exercised, fed, showered, and sometimes blow dried (what??) by 8:30am! Can't wait to see what the other moms have to say on this topic so I can get schooled on this. Check out their posts too!
The Effortless Chic / Freutcake / Heymama / A Daily Something / The Fresh Exchange / Design Addict Mom / Oh Lovely Day / Ave Styles / Parker Etc
Photography by Ashley Burns