Getting self and baby ready for the day...advice needed please!

[tinkerbug]

DS is 7mo. Have always been kind of relaxed about mornings, which usually results in neither of us being ready until after DS's 1st nap. Our mornings go like this:
Somewhere between 7-8am: DS wakes up, I bring him into bed with me for a cuddle / breastfeed / me trying to wake up (I'm not a morning person!)
After about 30 mins I change DS's nappy and we head downstairs (both in PJs)
I get my breakfast and eat that while DS sits in his baby chair or on the sofa with his toys
DS's breakfast about 30 mins after we come downstairs
Then we play or watch TV until DS has been awake about 2hrs 15 mins. Then he goes down for his nap for about an hour, sometimes a bit less. While he's asleep I shower / dress etc
Then when he wakes up I get him dressed.

This has worked well so far as I'm still on maternity leave. However, I go back to work in a couple of months and have no idea how we are going to cope with being out of the door by 8ish. My main problem is what to do with DS while I am in the shower?! And how on earth do I compress our morning routine to get us up and out?

Please tell me what you do to get yourselves up and out in the mornings, would really help!! :)

Well, I would have a shower the night before if I were you so you can just get up and get ready in the morning. Is there a partner around who can help out?

I have to leave at 820 to get my son to daycare by 9 so I can work (I work from home, BTW, for myself). My son is 15 months.

On days he goes to daycare I get he and I up at 630. Change his nappy, have a snuggle on the sofa and some milk for him.

700 my husband gets up, son gets handed over to him and I go and shower.

730 husband goes to shower, son sits with me while I have my breakfast and then I dress him (I've tried to feed him at the same time, but he's never hungry yet!).

745 Son goes into bedroom to play with his daddy while I drink coffee and get organized to get out the door, i.e. stroller out of cupboard, getting his things together.

8 Husband leaves for work, son has breakfast.

815 son in stroller

820 out the door.

Its literally timed to the minute to get us out on time!!

Either have your shower the night before or do so as soon as you wake up before you get DS out of his cot (if he wakes up between 7 & 8 am you should have time). I always shower / bath in the evening then jump out of bed and dress and get myself ready (super speedy - all clothes for myself and children laid out the night before) before going into the 3 DCs to get them up and dressed. Everyone has to be dressed before we come downstairs for breakfast, meaning it's just a case of quick teeth cleaning and out of the door once we've had breakfast. You'll be fine. In my experience - first week you will massively overcompensate and arrive at work horribly early, second week you'll go the other way and be late every day, by the 3rd week you'll have it about right.

Get up before ds (6.30/6.45 depending how long it takes you) and get yourself ready before he wakes up. Make sure you have everything ready in his bag before you go to bed at night so that once he wakes you still have time for a cuddle and a breastfeed (on the sofa rather than in bed) then change his nappy, get him dressed and off you go!

The only thing that seemed to make a big difference for me, was making sure that I had a shower/bath before my dh went to work - sort of got me going. I don't know if you have a partner to help with this one. If not, could your ds go in the bathroom with you in a bouncy chair whilst you shower?

Ok my DD is 7 months too. I have two other daughters too and a husband who is away a lot.

Our rough routine is

730 I wake up and have a shower. Quite often the baby is happy to stay in her cot chatting to herself. If not she comes with me and lies on towels on the bathroom floor. Ask older girls to get dressed.

740 nappy change and get dressed. I get dressed. Ask older girls again to get dressed.

750 breastfeed. Ask girls again to get dressed.

800 we all go downstairs for breakfast.

830 check school bags. Girls brush teeth, hair, wash faces, find shoes, jackets.

840 I shout a lot. Baby in to pram.

850 we all head out of door.

DS is 9 months (and DD is 3.5). We have to be out for 8.30. It usually goes a bit like this

6 am - baby wakes. Bring him in for nappy change/snuggle/milk

6.30 ish - I take him into bathroom in bouncy chair with some toys whilst I shower. He then comes into the bedroom with me whilst I faff get ready

7 ish - DD wakes. I get her dressed

7.15 - all down for breakfast. I shovel down some cereal and then leave them picking at bits of fruit whilst I dry my hair (hairdryer downstairs)

7.45 - Clean up breakfast. Get DS dressed. Brush DD's hair/teeth and get ready to leave

Thanks everyone for some great ideas!

DH works shifts which means he is around sometimes but is often asleep in the mornings, especially if he is on late shift etc. So have to devise a routine that doesn't involve him as more often than not he is not available!

I think on those mornings when I have to be out for work, getting up and ready before DS is awake is the key!

Otherwise, the bouncy chair / towels on floor of bathroom looks like a good plan!

Hi Tinker Bug

As others have said, try to get showered and ready before DS wakes up, even if it means getting up a bit earlier, its worth it IMO.

I'm not one for sorting things out the night before - I would like to be but doesn't happen, but only takes a few minutes to sort in the morning and I try to do this before DD wakes up.

I am out stupidly early (6.45am) so I get the childminder to give DD breakfast so I can leave her to sleep for as long as possible, then wip her out out of bed, give her a drink, change nappy and put clothes on. On the days she goes to my Mum's it depends on when she wakes up but sometimes it is literally wake baby, put coat on, put in car, take to Gran's, then she is only just wakening properly by the time we get there (us only 6 mins away right enough)

I find you just need to go with the flow sometimes, if DD wakes up earlier than planned and therefore needs a bottle (to tide her over until she can have her cereal (she is 10.5 months) then other things just have to make way, and I find they do fairly well.

You might find as your DS gets bigger you have to take him in the shower with you so he will a) not scream the place down and b) you can see what he's doing, especially as he becomes more mobile. I have to do this with DD at weekends, and I just sit her down the end of the bath on the bath mat, put the plug in so the water gathers around her to keep her warm and make sure the shower is not too hot for her. You just need to be quick so they don't get cold and make sure you keep your shampoo bubbles away from their eyes. DD loves shower time now, which is why she won't go down for a nap if she hears it's on now! Lol.

Practice leaving him in the cot to play. Even if my son is awake when I get up he's happy to play in his cot while I get ready.
I went back to work when he was 11 months.
My routine goes like this:
6am up and in shower, get ready
6.45-7am get baby up, dressed and straight to breakfast
7.40 am out of the door!

the answer is, unfortunately, that you have to gradually get used to early mornings whether you like them or not! I would also suggest that you get as much ready the night before as possible.

As for showering, take baby into the bathroom with you if he isn't content to sit in a chair alone for a bit. Or do it before he wakes.

You'll soon get into the swing of things - you'll have to!

Reading thread with great interest as I'm back at work on 1st nov when ds'll be 9mo.......... And our routine atm seems exactly like OPs. Dreading going back to work but thread has reassured me that it can work!!! It has to I guess but still nervous about it all!!
Glad to hear some people leave baby in cot playing/chatting to self while showering as I do this already whilst getting ready (on morns when were out early ish) but always feel very guilty about it like I shouldn't leave him on his own......

All good suggestions - agree there's no harm if leaving baby nearby while you have a quick shower. I do so even now that DS2 is an inquisitive toddler (15mo) : his game is to toddle into the bathroom and peek round the shower curtain (we have a fabric curtain then a plastic one behind so I tend to wrap the plastic one around me while he peekaboos with the other). It's fine, it certainly ensures you have a quick shower. Also talking / singing while you're in there reassures them that you're still around.

Prepare what you can (nappy bag etc) the night before, but otherwise rest assured that yes you will develop a new routine. What goes unfortunately is the relaxed play/cuddle time, but it does work out. Getting up even 15 minutes earlier does give a bit more breathing space. I also find that while of course I would like to leave a beautiful tidy house behind me, when the clock says Go Now then you just dump everything in the sink, shut the door on the mess and it'll hold til the evening. [But always take the time to wipe Weetabix off the table/chair immediately or it will set like concrete.]

Lastly you mention you've got another two months to go before the end of your maternity leave, don't underestimate how much your DC will have changed in that time and be a bit more independent and therefore make the morning that little bit easier.

I shower, get clothes and lunches ready the night before, and try and have the house tidy(ish!). I have ds1 2.6 and ds2 15 months, in order for us to leave the house by 0815, I have to be up by 0615. I try and get washed and dressed ASAP, then wake the boys, I have 15mins per dc to get them washed/changed/dressed (including socks and shoes). Then we go downstairs and have breakfast. We try and have this done by 0730 at the latest. Then I put a cartoon on for them whilst I throw together bags/finish lunches/wash up/etc etc....I'm usually to be seen in my car putting my makeup on before I drive to nusery ! It's very stressful, and this routine is the ONLY one that gets us out of the house on time!

Pre ds2 I think it probably took about 30mins less.

OP you have exactly the same routine as we have now, but I go back to work in four weeks, arrgghh!
My routine will be this;

7.00 - DS into bed for BF
7.15 - DH gets DS dressed, I have shower and breakfast
7.40 - leave house, drop DS at nursery where he'll have brekkie

If no DH here, I'd do....
7.00 very quick shower and dress
7.15 - DS up and BF
7.30 - dress DS
7.40 - out the door
Prob eat breakfast at work, though in theory should just get up earlier!

I'm so glad DS can have breakfast at nursery, as that is at least 20 mins saved.

Also, I'll get all bags sorted out the night before. Used to do this anyway due tocrap memory, expecially when tired!

Good Luck!

My top tip is borrow a 2nd child for a week (a smaller baby or a toddler) and try getting ready with both of them, after that one will be a doddle

No, more seriously, sounds like you have 3 options for showering - either get up a bit earlier and shower before he wakes, or put him in his cot with some toys (once he's used to this he should be happy enough & it's good for them to learn a bit of independent playing), or put him on the bathroom floor with a toy or two - I always did the latter with DS and would sing nursery rhymes or play peekaboo with the shower curtain (am now doing the same with baby and toddler most mornings, though I much prefer it when I manage to shower before at least one of them wakes!).

You could dress him at same time as doing his nappy to save 2 lots of faffing with clothes, unless he is very messy at breakfast. And while you get dressed he can play with a few toys on your floor or bed (if you make sure he can't fall off) and you can chat to him - DS used to quite enjoy watching me get ready when he was small.

Also get both your breakfasts at same time - only one lot of faffing with bowls etc, you can alternate a spoonful for him with one for you until he is old enough to feed himself, and then you just do one big clean-up afterwards. And I think it's good for them to eat with you as well. Unless he can get breakfast at nursery/childminder's, which is a great timesaver!

Lastly if you have to load up the car, put him in his seat first (with a toy if necessary), then it's a lot quicker to bung everything in with your hands free and he is unlikely to complain as it won't take long, unlike trying to do it and carry him around at the same time!