How to create a simple morning routine for new moms
How I start my day makes a huge difference in how my day will go. Read my complete guide on how to create a simple and slow morning routine for new moms.
Why is a morning routine important?
As a new parent, everything you do can feel strange and cost a lot of effort. In the early weeks of our new baby’s life, we didn’t have much routine at all. But as the weeks passed by I longed back to the time when things were orderly and I had some kind of a routine. It was about time to start with a new morning routine.
A good morning routine can determine what the rest of the day will look like. Small changes will help you to get into a routine little by little. Having a good morning routine in place will help you to have a successful day that doesn’t feel chaotic and overwhelming all the time. I mean think about it this way: if you already start stressed out, how should your day develop to be quiet and peaceful from there on? Small children ask a lot of you as a busy mom. But in the morning you can usually get things done that otherwise will stay undone for the rest of the day.
A morning routine can be a great way to implement new habits into your life as exercising or reading. But don’t overdo it. Keep it realistic and change only a little bit at a time. In the beginning, I really struggled to get in all my items before a certain time but slowly my morning routine became second nature. Read along as I share the first step to a great morning routine.
Write down a plan
FFirst, sit down and think about what you want in your morning routine. Having a daily schedule is a great way to get a routine that will go more smoothly every day.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I want to accomplish in my morning routine?
- How much time do I need to do all those things?
- Do I get up before or with the kids?
- Do I have to finish my morning routine at a certain time?
If you know what you want to do before a certain time you can count back. When would you have to get up to have enough time to do all the things you want to do? Is it a better choice to get up before your baby wakes up or is it fine to wake up when your baby awakes?
Write down a little plan for your perfect morning routine as a new mom. That will look very different in different stages of live. Are you a stay-at-home mom? Than you probably are aiming to get certain things done before nap time or quiet time. Are you a working mom? Then you probably need to be out of the house at a certain time. Whatever your goals are for your mornings try to fit realistically the most important things in those early hours of the day.
What are the great elements of a morning routine?
What elements you include in your morning are absolutely up to you. But some elements are easy to implement and still give you a head start into your days.
Self care
Every good morning routine as a new mom has some self-care activities. What gives you a good feeling in the morning? Most people enjoy it so much to have some alone time in the early mornings with a cup of coffee and a good book. Try to leave your phone be and don’t go on social media first thing in the morning. Screen time in the early morning can lead to wanting to look at your phone more often later in the day.
Household tasks
Some people love to do one load of laundry every single day when they wake up. That can best way of keeping on top of your laundry with kids. For me doing one load of laundry almost every day solved the issue of huge laundry piles immediately.
Maybe there are other household chores you want to get done first thing in the morning. After breakfast is a great time to reset some things in the house. Your children have a full stomach and in our home, that means a good play time.
Breakfast
And let’s not skip the best part: a good and nutritious breakfast. Even if your little one is not eating with you yet, take the time to sit down for half an hour and enjoy the breakfast. Is your baby not planning on leaving you to eat for a decent amount of time? Try to arrange a comfortable position to breastfeed and eat at the same time.
Excerise
So oftentimes we think that doing your workout first thing in the morning is the most healthy thing on earth. And don’t get me wrong: it certainly gives you a jump start into your day. But if you are stressed out because you have to exercise it will probably not do you any good. Going for a short walk can be just as good for your physical but also mental health.
So my best piece of advice on exercise is: do whatever you can. Every few minutes of exercise will bring you health and happiness.
Quality time with your kids
In the mornings your kids are often still relaxed and well rested. That is a good time to get in some quality time with them. Do you have a small baby? Lay down with them and encourage them throughout tummy time. Do you have older kids? Maybe they enjoy reading a book together with you or doing that card game the always wanted to teach you. Whatever you do and even if it is only for 10 minutes it can fill up their cup for a great day.
Plan your morning routine as a first-time mom realistically
Look at your list. Often we want to do so many things. There are 100 things important, healthy, or trendy things on your to-do list but I want you to think about it realistically. If you try to include all the things in your morning routine there are good chances that you will get overwhelmed quickly and drop the routine two days in.
What does fit? Which components of your morning routine as a first-time mom have to happen every morning and which ones are more flexible? If you have too many things on your list, consider moving some of them to the afternoon or evening. Is it necessary to work out during the morning or is it easier to fit in a quick workout at lunchtime at work?
This might be an example of a perfect morning routine
So in a perfect world, I would craft myself the most productive morning routine possible. In this scenario, I would be one of the early risers of this world and get up at 6 a.m. That way I would have time to read my bible and get in a quick workout before 7 a.m. Then I would take care of our chicken and prepare breakfast.
By the time my baby would wake up, I could breastfeed her, we would have breakfast and I could clean up afterward. At around 8.30 a.m. I could go on with the rest of my day knowing I did everything I had to this morning. Even if this might be a good way for many, this didn’t work for me. Read along as I describe what my mornings actually look like.
My example of a healthy morning routine for a first-time mom
For myself, it was realistic to wake up with my baby. I’m much more of a night owl than I am a morning person. My nights aren’t always great and every bit of sleep is much welcome. I mostly don’t leave the house at a certain time as a stay-at-home mom so I don’t have the pressure to wake up at a consistent time every day. So most of the days I don’t even use an alarm clock.
After a while of being a new mom I choose to fit those elements into my morning routine:
- Breastfeed my baby
- Diaper change and cloth her
- Cloth me
- Hydrate with at least a glass of water
- Take my supplements
- Care for our chicken
- Prepare and eat breakfast
- Read in the bible
- Clear up breakfast
Because I don’t wake up before my baby I cannot read my bible first thing in the morning with a cup of tea and a lot of quietness. I struggled with it for a while and didn’t know where to fit it into my day. For me, the solution was to read my bible out loud at breakfast to my baby. I figured that it would be helpful for her language development and both our spiritual journeys as she will grow to understand more over the years. I also very much enjoy reading aloud from her children’s bible or any other book. loud at breakfast to my baby. I figured that it would be helpful for her language development and both our spiritual journeys as she will grow to understand more over the years. I also very much enjoy reading aloud from her children’s bible.
My day starts differently every day but I want to accomplish all the things mentioned above before my baby’s first nap at 10 a.m. -ish.
Encouragement and tips for bad days
Sometimes we wake up and everything is already going wrong. The diaper blew out, a family member is sick, or we just don’t have the energy to stick to it all. If you feel overwhelmed know: you are not alone!
Give yourself grace in times when things don’t go as planned. Use it as an opportunity to access your morning routine. What’s the reason why things aren’t going well? Do you have unrealistic expectations or do you need help from someone to work things out?
I once heard such an encouraging quote:
Look at what you accomplished in a bay day and imagine what you can do on a good day.
This quote helped me so much when I got overwhelmed or discouraged when having a bad day or even a bad week or month. Read more about how to feel less overwhelmed as a new homemaker right here.
Top 6 tips for a great morning routine for first-time mom
After I started to implement those five tips as a first-time mom my morning routine improved quickly. And don’t be surprised that three out of the six tips are about your evening routine. Getting everything nice and tidy at the end of the day will help you tremendously to have a good routine the next morning.
- Close your kitchen at night
In my first year as a homemaker, I would leave things for the next day if I felt too tired in the evenings. But it doesn’t take great wisdom to realize that those chores would not be more fun to do the next morning. As a first-time mom, I need to tidy everything up before I go to bed so that I can get going right away when I wake up. This was most true for my kitchen. I now aim to clean the kitchen before or even during bedtime (if I have help from my husband we split chores). This way I have my evening to relax but also a clean kitchen in the morning.
- Go to bed earlier
The evenings can feel like the only time you get to yourself as a first-time mom. But to have a successful morning routine I needed to learn to go to bed earlier than I was used to. That way I felt more rested in the mornings and could work quicker and more efficiently.
- Use the evenings for self-care
In my morning routine, there is not much time for self-care. I try to have my self-care moments as much as possible in the evenings. That way I stay saint as a first-time mom but still have a quick and easy morning routine that works. Things I never skip in my morning routine are getting dressed, hydrated, and taking my supplements. Decide for yourself what you really can’t skip and make time for it. Happy mom means happy children too!
- Include exercise into your day
I don’t have time to exercise in the morning. Not that I don’t admire people who get up at 5 am to go to the gym. It will just never be realistic for me. Therefore I include exercise into my daily routine together with my baby. As she grows she will learn from me that exercise is important and fun as she watches me and joins as much as possible.
Read more about how I lost my baby weight here.
- Use a baby carrier
If nothing works and you cannot even prepare breakfast without your child clinching onto your legs, use a baby carrier. Our baby loved to be on first my belly and later my back. That way I could get things done in the mornings even if she doesn’t want to play until breakfast is ready.
- Having a plan B
Some mornings will simply not look like your regular morning. For us, this is the morning when we go to church. Suddenly we have a wake-up time and there is pressure to leave the house at a certain time. In that case, it is always good to have a plan B. Try to think about elements that you cannot drop whatever happens. What can you do in the evening to prepare yourself for such a day? Maybe you need to start breakfast before you go to bed or you can prepack the diaper bag already in the afternoon before. Always try to think in advance. That way even a busy day will feel less overwhelming.
Adjust as you go
It can be challenging to get into a routine – especially with little children and no mom experience! Something might work for now and seems impossible a few months down the line. There is no shame in dropping something out of your morning routine and adding it back in again, in a later season.
After adding more children or other elements such as work, fewer naps etc. you might feel that your morning routine all of a sudden doesn’t work anymore. But then you can build on what you tried out now. It is always easier to adjust something than to build a new routine from scratch.
The most important thing about your new routine is that it works for you in your day. You can do it and you will get better with it every year into homemaking and motherhood. Good luck!
Leave a comment below and share what you can’t miss in your morning routine as a first-time mom. I would love to hear all about it!
