The Early Morning Routine of a Working Mom

I found myself the other day gravitating towards stories that talked about morning routines of entrepreneurs, executives, CEOs, etc. In my mind I said, maybe I’m missing something, maybe there is something that I can be doing better in my morning routine to make me more successful. And then I began to read one story, then another, and another, and another. Did I pick up some useful tips? Yeah, maybe a few. But something became glaringly obvious. None of these people had to deal with small children. Now that’s not to say they didn’t have any or didn’t have any interaction to them, but I don’t think I saw a single story that mentioned anything except getting themselves ready and out the door to start their busy day.

This made me think, man, am I alone? I have a pretty successful career but I feel like my morning is some days a circus routine. Clearly I’m not alone. There are millions of working mothers and fathers out there that have to wade through not only getting themselves up and out the door prepared for their working day, but also their kids! So I thought why not tell that story because quite honestly, these morning routines should be praised; it’s one thing to get yourself out the door in the morning…it’s another to do it AND get a toddler off to daycare at the same time. So with that, this is an honest working mom’s morning routine.

5:20am

The alarm goes off for the first time. It gets snoozed, obviously. If I was well rested, I could have a more relaxing morning if I actually got out of bed when my alarm went off. But I fall prey to the late night scrolling because my toddler insists on being rocked to sleep and therefore I don’t get to my free evening with my husband until about 8:30–9pm. So staying up until 11–11:30 watching YouTube or scrolling through Facebook happens. It’s sometimes the only alone time I have.

5:29am

Alarm goes off a second time (I know, a 9 minute snooze? Weird right? Well I guess that’s Apple’s default). Snooze again. Sometimes I can get up at this point. Often not. I check the baby monitor. Kid is still sleeping away. Good, I still have time. Husband still sleeps away. His alarm/snooze cycle doesn’t start until 6am. Close my eyes for a couple more minutes, or being honest, look at Facebook and check my work email.

5:38am

Yep, another 9 minute snooze. Okay, I really need to get out of bed now. Off to the bathroom to get a shower, dressed, skin care routine, brush my teeth, etc. If I get out before 6:10am, we are on a roll. Most of the time, it’s 6:15am or a bit after.

6:20am

Time to wake a toddler. If she’s extra tired, I might take a minute or two and pick out her outfit with my phone’s flashlight — just one less thing to fight through when she gets up. Lately getting ready has been a struggle. My daughter is going through a cuddly phase — wakes up and all she wants to do is snuggle. Aww girl, that’s all I want to do too, but we do eventually have places to be quicker than we realize. So I try to limit my snuggles to about 5 minutes, or maybe a couple more if I’m being honest, and then it’s time to face the music. Time to change a diaper and get dressed. This can be quite the headache when it involves an almost 2 year old. Doesn’t want to do it, wants to do it herself but not within the next 20 minutes if you know what I mean. So it ends up with mom laying us down and forcing the issue. CRY, CRY, CRY (kid, not mom, but I tell you, some days).

6:35am

Next it’s getting a toddler to brush her teeth. Another battle. You definitely can’t do it for her, and she likes to basically chew on a toothbrush rather than really brush her teeth. Often the dog will insist on going out at the same time. Husband is finishing his shower and getting ready himself. If I’m lucky, I can take a couple minutes and put on my makeup at this point. Good thing I’m low maintenance in this department.

6:40am

This is where timing of the morning gets blurred. Get a kid to eat something for breakfast, of which she’ll probably whine and complain that she wants something else or milk instead of water but then back to only wanting milk. If I’m lucky, I’ve got some time to brew up a little coffee for myself and my husband, or I give up and say “Caribou it is today”. Meanwhile I’m also putting the finishing touches on her lunch and packing it up. In this chunk of time my husband usually comes out and finishes putting on his socks and shoes, distracts the kid long enough for me to do a couple last minute things or just put my own stuff together to pack up the car.

7:00am — 7:05am and beyond

I’d like to say that we leave by 6:50am on the dot and get our daughter to daycare when we say we will (which is by 7am) but let’s be honest, if we are leaving at 7am, we are doing well. Many times, it’s after 7. Technically we are suppose to be to work by that time but I’m quite thankful that we both have flexible managers and they both understand life with having young children. She often gets signed into daycare by 7:10am and then it’s off.

Once she’s dropped off, sometimes we say screw it and still drive through for breakfast or coffee even if we are running late. If we have early morning meetings, we just go straight to work and eat protein bars we have at our desks or purchase something from the canteen. We are actually quite lucky that we both work in the same building and have the same work schedule. This is where living in the town in which you work is quite convenient.

And that’s about it. Does this schedule fluctuate? Absolutely; we have good days, and we have bad days. The extra joys of toddlerhood keep us on our toes. Do I wish I had time to work out or sit and enjoy my coffee at home or make myself a hot breakfast — absolutely. But right now in life, I’m not willing to sacrifice anymore sleep than I already am. This also doesn’t account for the nights where a kid will sometimes still get us up. Thankfully my husband and I can trade off those nights. In the end, this is real life and this is the honest early morning routine of a working mom.

Kudos to all of you working parents out there that do this and so much more!