Morning Routine with Multiple Children
Everyone has their areas of strengths and weaknesses….. routines and schedules are a definite strength of mine!
In fact, I thrive on it.
When talking about morning routines with multiple children, it is definitely less stressful to prepare BEFORE your children wake. Some people like to prepare the night before, however, I like to prepare in the early morning before they wake up!
My boys have a 7:00am out of room / crib schedule, therefore, I know that I have until 7am to prepare for our day!
How does my day start?
My coffee pot is on a timer to begin brewing at 5/530am… I set my alarm and for 5:30 and as soon as I wake up, I pour myself a glass of coffee and get back into bed.
As I drink my coffee, I scroll through my clients sleep logs and I respond to e mails! (Fun fact: I currently have a client who lives in Ireland and one who lives in Singapore!)
After I check in with my clients, I get myself ready for the day…. Wash up, make up on and dressed!
After I am ready, I empty the dishwasher and prepare for the boys’ day…..
Prepare Breakfast:
I lay out their plates or bowls and cups. I also pull out whatever they will be eating and drinking.
I make their lunches and store them in BENTO boxes (this is for school and non school days bc it’s one less thing I have to worry about during the day)
On school days, I organize their backpacks
7:00am boys are up:
Liam’s HATCH turns yellow between 630-645. When he wakes he plays in his room. The HATCH turns green at 7am meaning he can leave his room. Before leaving his room, he either dresses himself or brings down his clothes.
On the days my husband isn’t traveling, he gets Aiden at 7am (or later if he is still sleeping at 7). My husband will dress Aiden for the day right when he gets up.
Liam comes downstairs and pours milk for him and Aiden. He then chooses what he wants for breakfast from the choices I have out!
One thing about having two boys that sleep great… when they wake up they are READY. TO. GO!
They immediately want to play… they are asking to go in the backyard, go on a bike ride and are wanting to know what is on the agenda for the day!
We are usually out of the house by 9am and I make Aiden get his shoes (however, I assist him with putting them on) and Liam puts on his own shoes!
The routine did not always look like this, Liam is now gaining more responsibilities (picking out his clothes, dressing himself and helping with breakfast). Considering they are still in preschool, every day does look different and I think a visual schedule would be useful for the both of them so they know which days they are in school and which days they have an activity.
When we travel and share a bedroom, I really miss my 1.5-2 hour of alone time in the morning. I notice a difference in my mood and their mood as well.
I encourage you to set up a morning routine that works for you and your family! If you are not a morning person, prepare after bedtime, but I encourage you to try and wake up at least 30 minutes before your children wake up.
It is so nice to start your day in peace and quiet!
