Setting the Morning routine: In this post I am talking about the first 2-3 hrs after a toddler wakes up. These are the golden hours to set the tone for the rest of the day. They are also the toughest as this will require your 101% without cheats (the rest of the day has a ton of cheats, don’t worry 🤫)

Goals for the morning:

✅Pamper baby with undivided attention.
✅ Encourage independence
✅ Instilling personal hygiene
✅Physical activities
✅Proper Bowel movements
✅Well-fed baby
✅Mentally stimulated baby.

How does a mom prepare for morning routine:

The first part where we make mistakes is usually we rise when the baby rises. Ideally a mom should be well rested, well fed and ready to go into battle field before a baby awakes because for them it’s open the eyes and full-on performance mode.

The problem starts with the previous night. My baby is a fussy sleeper too and a well rested mom is an oxymoron.
But what helps?
Prepare the mother phase : ( 1-1.5 hours)
➡️ Sleep as soon as your baby sleeps. Do not consider the two hours after your baby’s sleep as your “me time” which we always end up spending on the phone😁 correct?
➡️ Do not use your phone 1 hr before bed time- this will aid your sleep better.
➡️ Wake up 1-2 hours before your baby. Brush, bathe, eat ( if not breakfast, atleast tea and biscuits or a salad). Use this as your me time ( no phones allowed still, don’t worry there are other times you can use it through the day routine) to wear a facemask, read a book, hear some music and prepare yourself for the rest of the day in whatever way that makes you happy.

This one or two hours is crucial for preparing you to parent. Remember the whole day a baby’s mood is actually reflection of your facial expressions. If you are tired and not well rested they will be irritable and more difficult to manage ( can you relate?) They watch us very carefully and observe things we don’t want to reveal too.

Prepare for before baby wakes up: (1/2 hour) because once the baby is awake everything should happen as if a play unfolds in a stage

This is how my 3 years old’s morning routine looks like
Ideally your child must wake up at a 45 min window- ours is between 7.15-7.45am.
First 15 mins is for cuddles, Sey usually ends up talking about something he dreamt or wants a story.

Next 30min- undress and drink a tumbler of water. Brush and Bath time. Both times I brush/bathe him first and then let him do it on his own.

BREAKFAST time- note breakfast is an hour after waking up. Gut needs that time. Again breakfast is self fed – we eat for about 30 mins. I eat beside him.

Toilet training- pee time- followed by a glass of water

1 hour of study play – this is when we do conceptual play and learn colours/alphabets/ numbers / shapes and animals-fruits-vegetables.

Toilet training pee time-followed by a glass of water

15 mins of snack time

15 mins dress change – here I am teaching him to wear his own clothes

1 hour of physical activity, running cycling and ball games

Toilet training – same as above

Messy play- crayons- paints- water play- prewriting play for 45 mins

Toilet training –

Lunch time- 30 mins. Rice I mostly feed him still he eats the veggies on his own.
Cuddle time for 15 mins- books or story time
Nap time.

Rhythm is highly beneficial to soothe a child’s day. They crave for familiarity in the growing years as it makes the rest of the challenges like taking, walking and learning life skills a more achievable task for them.

This post is written as a part of #blogchattera2z challenge