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Help with organising myself please!

7 replies

sbs287 · 12/02/2015 07:37

Please could I have some tips on morning / evening routines?

This time 14 months ago it was just my 5 year old and us... Now there are 3 (6, 13m, 2 weeks!)

Struggling a bit in the mornings with getting my older one ready for school and feeding the others etc.. Struggling in the evenings with managing dinner, bathtime.

DH is still on paternity leave but I'm so worried about him going back next week.

Any tips however small are v welcome. I'm sure this post has been here before but didn't see one recently

Thanks!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
imip · 12/02/2015 18:52

Congratulations!

Yes, the have been threads like this before - I wish I'd 'watched' them. Some of the recent ones might be general 'life hacks' threads.

Our routine changes a bit, sometimes we get ready upstairs, sometimes downstairs, but with a newborn, things are always tricky. Some general ones, use a sling, batch cook, easy meals (tonight chicken drumsticks with some pasta, cut-up tomatoes and frozen corn). Dh and I will get take away.

Get uniform sorted the night before, bag packed, use a timer on the hob to get out on time (gives dc something to get ready by!) toothbrushes downstairs.

I'll see if I can hunt down some links, but I am bloody rubbish at searches!

sbs287 · 13/02/2015 20:54

Thank you so much! Timer is such a good idea!

Trying to work out what terms to search previous posts for... Any tips?

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ohtheholidays · 14/02/2015 11:19

Hi we have 5DC.

Morning routine we get up just before 7 and get the children up at 7,I get up,make our bed,let the 3 dogs out get the cat in.I stick the washing on(machine loaded the night before)I feed the cat and do the 3 dogs bowls,fill the kettle up and stick that on.
Whilst I'm doing that DH gets the children up and they come downstairs.He asks them all what they want for breakfast and starts making that.

I sit down with the children whilst they're eating they're breakfast and have a cuppa.DH has a cuppa and then makes youngest DD's packed lunch.

Then I make sure everyone starts getting ready,whilst one's in the bathroom washing,brushing teeth,sticking on they're deodorant then I make sure the others(except youngest DD7)go and make they're beds and air they're bedrooms.Me or DH do youngest DD's room(she's disabled)then the next one into the bathroom whilst the others are checking they're bags are ready ect and so on and so on until they've all been in the bathroom to get ready.Then I do both the girls hair whilst DH gets washed and dressed then I get washed and dressed.

Out of the house just before 8.

When they were younger(youngest DD breastfeeding)before I became disabled.I'd get up about 6.30 and take youngest DD downstairs I'd top and tail her,clean nappy on and clean clothes on and then I'd give her a breastfeed.Then I'd put her into her baby swing,then I'd put the washing on and kettle on.Call the children down then see to the pets.
Ask what they'd want for breakfast,make they're breakfasts.They'd all be making a lovely fuss of youngest DD,I'd sit down and have a drink and some breakfast with them and then the same as above.No packed lunches to make back then.

Evening routine,I batch cooked whilst near the end of my pregnancy with all my children.So we had about 6 weeks worth of meals in the freezer.

Whilst your DH is still on paternity leave could he do some batch cooking to fill the freezer up for when your on your own or could he look after the children whilst you do the batch cooking?

If my DD was fussy and I was cooking the dinner when she was small enough I'd stick her in her baby bouncer or her swing and have her in the kitchen with me,when she got to big for them I bought a really cheap bus buggy and would stick her in there in the kitchen with me and she'd be happy to watch me cooking.

With bath times when ours were young like yours they liked having a bath together would that work in your household.Two older one's in the bath and then a bath for baby on it's own.

What way round you bath them depends on your family's timings.If your older one's go to bed first then bath,pj's and bedtime story for them and then do the baby once they're in bed or if the baby goes to bed first the other way round.

Once the children were all in bed asleep,I'd iron everyone's clothes for the next day mine and all 5DC and DH's if he was of work or he'd iron them and then we'd lay them out ready for the morning.Each persons clothes laid out with they're underwear on top so they knew which was they're set.

mameulah · 14/02/2015 11:23

Watching with interest

Thebewilderbeest · 18/02/2015 22:59

I have 4 DC, aged 7, 5, 20 months and 6 months.

As the other posters have said, preperation is the key! We pretty much do all of the above except we also get out the cereal, bowls and spoons and set them up on the table so the older 2 can help themselves to breakfast. They can get the milk by themselves and can fill their own cups from the tap with the help of a step stool. They really enjoy the independence.
We also insist that they dress downstairs, as we have found they can't manage to dress in their bedroom without arguing/fighting/larking about in their knickers and taking forever.

This leaves us with more time to sort out the little ones. DC3 feeds himself dry cereal and has extra milk to drink. We are all happy with this arrangement, and it saves chiseling dried on cereal off the furniture which as we all know is harder than cement.

We don't bother getting DC4 dressed until after the school run. She just gets a clean nappy. We put one of those thick snow suits on her to keep her warm as we walk to school and it's still really cold out!

We manage to fit in a wash of some sort for them in the evenings, even if it's just standing them in the bath for a quick soaping and hose down. I usually bath the baby when all the others are in bed.

You'll be fine, we found that once we got a morning routine it all fell in to place.

sbs287 · 20/02/2015 13:35

Thank you so so much for your posts. Dh's return to work has coincided with half term so I'm going to start with a routine next week in earnest.

Getting dressed downstairs is a marvellous idea!! Plus getting the cereal etc out the night before sounds good...

I've loved reading about your routines and am incredibly impressed!

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