Going Back To Work - Organising Your Morning

OK, I freely admit to being hopeless in the mornings. My colleagues always knew never to schedule a meeting before 10am because I just wasn't on the ball before that!

I'm going back to work in a few weeks and I'm a bit befuddled about how to organise myself and DD. Perhaps because it IS morning as I write this, I just can't get my head around it.

I'm REALLY lucky that we qualify for in-home care because DP is a shiftworker so DD's carer will turn up at 8.30am.

So that should be easy, right?

DD wakes up any time between 6-7am and I generally give her a bottle with me in bed and her breakfast an hour or so later.

DD sleeps in our room so if I set an alarm, it will wake her up. So I could either set the alarm, get up and have a shower and leave DD in her cot or set the alarm, get her a bottle and wait till she drinks it before putting her back in her cot to play before I have a shower. I can't get her to drink her bottle in the cot on her own because it'll just end up out of the cot. I don't normally leave her in her cot to play on her own - I normally have her on the bed with me so I guess I don't know whether she'll object to that or not if I leave her while I go and have a shower. I normally wait until her morning nap before I have a shower but I'm not going to be able to do that any more.

DP will sometimes be here and sometimes not.

I'll try to be organised and have my clothes and hers ready the night before. But I guess I can leave the carer to give her breakfast, that's what she's here for afterall.

What do you do?

We get up at 6am. DS is usually up at the same time cos he hears us moving around. If he is awake, DH takes him and prepares his breakfast, and our breakfast, sits DS down, gives him his milk and weetbix (easier for us cos he feeds himself now - but he used to do it for him anyway) all while I shower.
Then we both eat breakfast
Then DH showers while I change DS for the day (daycare or grandmas).
Then we leave!!

All lunches, day care bags etc are packed the night before.

Can you pile her up with toys in the cot? That's what I do with DD when I shower after we get back from swimming and she generally lasts long enough until I am finished.

Will you need to set the alarm in the mornings at all - I'm just thinking as you're not having to get DD ready (ie leaving the house ready, breakfasted, dressed), will you need to get up before 7? (I'm not back at work yet so it may be I have no idea, but I'm just thinking if you've got an hour and a half before you have to leave the house you should be right)

Our bathroom has been baby proofed, and I make sure she has a few bath toys handy while I jump in and out of the shower with her in with me.... It's a biggish kind of room though so she can sit and play while Im in there. When she wasn't walking I would put her in the cot in her room with lots of toys and she was fine for 5-10 mins.
I get up around 7ish, and most days Izzy either wakes at 730ish or else I wake her up before we have to leave at 8. I get her dressed, and mum picks her up from my school. She has breakfast when she gets there.
I try to get some lunch organised the night before and pack my bags etc. so all I have to do is get myself ready, have breakfast, dress Izzy and leave!
Good luck! Im sure you will work out a routine that works for the 2 of you!

We used to set our alarm for 6 and have a shower. by the time I finished in the shower, DD was usually awake. So I'd organise a bottle for her whilst i ate breakfast (i became good at eating on the move or whilst feeding her) and then I'd change her and we'd be out the door. When she was on solids, she would have a bottle at home and breaky at child care. All bags were packed the night before and clothes laid out the night before. If, for whatever reason, I had to leave DD for a bit whilst i did something, I'd pop her on the floor with her play mat or toys and she was fine until I came back.

These days, we don't bother with the alarm (i'm a shift worker so only use the alarm if on the early shift and DH has flexible start and finish times) and wait for her to wake us up (usually about 7am) then give her breakfast which she feeds herself whilst we shower. If one of us is home, the other person entertains her. If it is just one of us home, we pop some music on and she dances and plays whilst we get ready. Then we dress her and pop last minute stuff in her bag (teddy etc) then out the door.

It does seem to take me about an hour and a half to get out the door these days... but I do potter... I'd suggest trying a few different things over the next week or so before you return to work to see what is going to work for you.

HTH

MG

P.S. I think it is perfectly reasonable for the carer to feed your child breakfast when she gets there!

Two mornings a week we have to get two toddlers and ourselves out of the house by 7.30am. We have it down to a military operation :lol:

6am the alarm goes off. I get in the shower, DH changes the kids bums and gives them breakfast. When I'm out of the shower I sit down to breaky with them to supervise while he gets ready.
Lunches are made and packed and in the fridge the night before. Bags are packed with everything but lunch the night before.
Once DH is ready he gets the kids dressed while I get dressed.
I pack their lunch in their bags and we are out the door.
Phew LOL.

You have to be organised and have a "ritual" we found. The kids learn it and they can help things along rather than not knowing what's coming next and making it 10 times more difficult.