Struggling to Get Out the Door in the AM

[bnjjohnson]

I had such a rough morning today trying to get out the door and get to work. My 2YO DS was whining constantly and wanted me to hold him. (He does this every morning - just wants to be held) My 6 YO DD was fighting with DS over a toy. I snapped and yelled very loudly at them. (oops!) I felt so bad!

On the days I work, my mornings are a mad scramble to get up shower, dress, do my hair and make-up and then wake my DD and get her ready for school and get my DS ready for his grandparents house. Luckily my DH takes my DD to school but I still have to get her lunch and backpack ready.

I have tried so many times to get up earlier so I can be completely dressed and ready before the kids wake up, but something always seems to throw that off.

Does anyone else struggle to get out the door in the mornings?

I equate it to getting ready with two cement blocks tied to my feet! LOL

[LilMomma83]

OMG YES!!! Probably worsened by NONE of us being morning people! I feel bad for our neighbors lol because we all get so cranky in the AM!

[Teenytoona]

Yes, we struggle, and DH and I Are both morning people! It's the kids we struggle with. Their slowness and then the baby wants to be held most of the am.... sigh... what can you do? I wish I knew.

[ASusan]

I'm right there with you! When I do the daycare dropoff (3 days a week), I sometimes don't get out of the house until 10:52. (It takes 7 minutes to get to daycare and they start lunch at 11am!)

Things that help:

Make lunch the night before

I don't always shower or do my hair.

Have DS sit with MIL (lives with us and is blind) and watch Wonderpets while I shower and dress/clean up breakfast/pack lunches

Have DH help with DS' hair (my most dreaded am task)

In a pinch, let DS eat his breakfast in granny's lap (watching TV). I dislike this option, but it works if DS is being a pokey eater.

Fold clothing and put it away in outfits in DS's drawers. Only one color of socks (12 pairs).

Having the same thing for breakfast each morning. Allergy-free pancakes every morning for DS and myself. I make the mix twice a week, but make them fresh each morning. Granny gets a different breakfast, but it's always an easy one (grilled cheese or toast and jam).

My best mornings are when I can get up before DS. But if he wakes when I do, it becomes a challenge!

[Alyantavid]

Do as much as you can the night before. As much as it sucks, get up earlier and be totally ready before you get your kids up. That way you can focus on them instead of trying to rush them and they'll probably be less clingy.

Those are what helped me. We still ended up rushing the last few minutes. Thankfully, dh does all the morning stuff now. He's much better at it and stays calm while I get a little panicky about being late.

[annethcz]

Yup, I do as much as I can the night before.

Lunches packed
Dinner (for tomorrow) prepped
Clothes laid out (for me and kids)
Shower
My Bag packed

I'm not a morning person AT ALL. So the more I can do to get myself ready, the smoother the morning goes.

I've also found that we tend to get derailed and run late if the TV is on or if I'm on the computer in the morning. So I try to avoid both of these.

[dawningmama]

Originally Posted by bnjjohnson

On the days I work, my mornings are a mad scramble to get up shower, dress, do my hair and make-up and then wake my DD and get her ready for school and get my DS ready for his grandparents house. Luckily my DH takes my DD to school but I still have to get her lunch and backpack ready.

Can DH do dd's lunch and backpack? The backpack can be done the night before, as can the bulk, if not all, of her lunch prep. At 6, she's likely old enough to take some of that responsibility on herself as well (ie, making sure her lunch is done and her backpack is ready). My kids were making their own lunch by then.

Morning's are rough. Is there a particular type of music that might help you all stay on track? When my kids were in school (we now homeschool), I found music would help us all stay positive and moving in the mornings. I've been known to set a timer to mark the countdown to leaving the house also. Beep at 10 min and shout out "hey, leaving in 10 minutes. Finish eating!" and then 5 min later "leaving in 5! shoes and jackets!"

[Elecampane]

I hate mornings with a passion. Most days I don't even get to take a shower. It's rough trying to get little kids out the door! I think you've gotten a lot of great suggestions here.

[Caneel]

Mornings set me on edge too and I even have the luxury of a flexible schedule.

Like everyone else mentioned, I do as much as possible the night before. There is a designated area for mine and DS's stuff - purse, coats, anything that needs to go along in the morning. Like today, it is show and tell day at preschool so I set DS's items in the spot so we didn't need to be searching in the morning.

I make sure all laundry is put away in its proper place. (This is very hard for me, it is a chore I hate.) Disruption in the clothing department can totally derail our morning movements.

[bnjjohnson]

Thank you for the responses and suggestions.

Right now I have one of those days-of-the-week hanging sorters in my DD's closet. (She is 6) Each Sunday we pick out outfits and put them in the slots. Helps to avoid morning decisions.

I set out my outfit each night as well. I just ordered another closet days-of-the-week sorter for my DS's room. (He is 2)

I do try and pack lunches and/or snack the night before. The coffee maker is set the night before, too.

Today was a typical morning. I got up at 6:00am and got in the shower, as soon as I got out I heard DS crying and DH was still asleep and "couldn't hear him". So I had to get DS up while I was wrapped in a towel. I changed his diaper and he started to ask me to hold him. So now I am in a towel with a 2 YO who wants his mama! LOL (p.s. he gets mad if I try and turn on cartoons-don't know why)

So I got dressed and ready while trying to keep DS happy and DH was in the shower. Then at 6:30 I got DD up and brought her into my room. She likes to watch cartoons in my bed to wake up. I then got her dressed for school.

At about 7:00am DH took kids downstairs and fed them breakfast while I finished my makeup and hair.

I came down and packed DD's backpack, my lunch and made my coffee.

DS and I were out the door at 7:15am.

Oh! I currently use the alarm clock on my cell phone - which isn't great. I just ordered two new alarm clocks online. One for me/DH and one for my DD. I want her to start waking up to an alarm clock. Here are links to the clocks I bought. Hopefully this will help us get up a little easier!





Oh, forgot to mention that DH takes DD to school

[rosie29]

For me it's not a problem getting up (we're morning people, like PPs), but more of time management.

A few tips:
It's nice to have a list of all the things we generally need to bring with us. I post it by the back door and check it each day. That way we don't forget the mittens, or a lunch, etc.

I also get our stuff out the door as soon as possible, not right at the last minute as I'm loading kids. Sometimes I put it in the car, but even getting it into my breezeway (porch, back stoop, etc, YMMV) helps so that it's all in one place (I think I came up with this solution after my son, then two, dragged his lunch into the living room, where it was forgotten). I've heard of people using a laundry basket, loading it all up, and they put the whole thing in the trunk of their car.

[bnjjohnson]

I like the laundry basket idea!!!

[organicmommy05]

Every day. Especially with a baby who still nurses every 3 hrs. It's rough getting up on only 4 or 5 hrs sleep and then trying to get 2 kids and myself ready.

[bnjjohnson]

My son started a new daycare this week. We also started using our new alarm clocks this week.

So far things are going very well!

I now get up at 5:30am, DH gets up at 6:00am. DD's alarm clock goes off at 6:30am. DS wakes up whenever he is ready which has been around 6:45am the last two days. (he is 2)

So I am able to get up, showered, dressed, pack lunches, and put dinner in the crock pot all before the kids are up! What a difference!

Thanks for all your great suggestions!

[columbusmomma]

I feel your pain too!! I do as much as possible the night before too. Lay out my clothes, the kids clothes, pack breakfasts and lunches. I still ran late today and I even got up 20 minutes earlier then usual. Wednesdays are hard for us. I have to drive DD down to friend's house to where the nanny is. that takes 15 minutes, then I have to drive in the complete opposite direction and pass back by my house to get to work, which takes 20 minutes when I'm hauling butt up the freeway!! My biggest thing is not factoring in little what if's. What if DD wants to nurse upon waking, what if DS needs help finding something at the last minute, what if the kids are being slow,etc. Those things cost me the couple minutes that would've put me at work on time. UGH! Not much advice, just sympathy!