My Current Morning Routine (As Mom to a Toddler)
Good morning, gorgeous!
I’ve shared in-depth in my book, Healthy & Happy: Find Food Freedom and Create the Body You Love, all about how to set up a magic morning routine. In my book, we chat all about why morning (and evening) routines are so important, the 3 main components I’m sure to include every day — no matter what — and how to set up the morning routine that works best for your REAL life… not just what you see on Instagram.
As many of you know, I wrote that book while pregnant, not when I actually had Leo. It’s funny because I’ll look back and read parts of my book now and have already started planning a Part 2 (Healthy & Happy Mama, anyone?!) NOT because I don’t fully stand behind what I wrote in the book, but things change drastically — especially in terms of routines — when you become a parent.
And, let’s be real. Even if you’re not a parent, routines should change over time, and we need find healthy ways to adapt to those new life structures so that we don’t feel so tied down to one way of doing things.
SO, as part of the new “Routine Series” (maybe I’ll come up with a cooler name, maybe not?!), I wanted to share my current morning routine as the mother of an almost two-year-old (and one on the way!)
Before we get started: This is my REALISTIC routine and what happens most often. I have an “ideal” version of my routine (this is pretty close), and I have an “express” version of my routine in case I wake up late because… real life :) I’ll share those below
My Current Morning Routine as a Toddler Mom
I typically wake up anywhere between 6-7. I don’t usually set an alarm, although that’s probably going to be a goal of mine starting very soon because I do want to start squeezing in some more work time before Leo wakes up (like writing this blog post. Hi!)
I take my Thyroid medication (we’re getting v specific here, hey?) that I’ve taken since I was 13. If you have any questions about that, let me know. I’m not an expert but my naturopathic doctor has taught me SO much about the thyroid. I typically take it first thing because it’s recommended you wait 30+ minutes before you eat/drink coffee… and I want to have my coffee ASAP :)
I brush my teeth. Sometimes I tongue scrape but right now we’ve been at Mark’s parents for a few weeks and I forgot my tongue scraper so that hasn’t been happening.
I go upstairs and start the coffee. While I’m doing that, I pop in my Airpods and do a meditation. Lately it’s been Melissa Wood Health. Sometimes I’ll just do deep breathing to a relaxing song, as I talk about in this episode.
I drink AT LEAST one mug full of water while I’m waiting for my coffee to brew.
Drink coffee — sometimes I’ll journal, sometimes I’ll write down podcast notes for a new episode I want to record. During this time, I like to keep it creative versus things that feel like work (emails, texts, social media, etc.) I want this time to be FOR ME and energy created BY ME… not an influx of moods/input from outside sources. Notice I still haven’t touched my phone yet?! (Well, other than for the meditation)
Depending on the time, I naturally let my work come to an end and I usually will do a quick chore before Leo wakes up, like folding the laundry from the night before or put away the dishes in the dishwasher. I really like a CLEAN SPACE to start the day — it’s one of the things I’ve found is key to managing my mental health as a mama. Really, this is a huge part of my evening routine, but I’ll save that for the evening routine blog post.
Wake up my little ray of sunshine, Leo, and start our day!
In a PERFECT world where I have ~30 minutes more time, I’ll squeeze in a workout before Leo wakes up. If not, I’ll wake him up, we’ll have breakfast together (listen to my 3 fave breakfast ideas in this podcast), and then we’ll take Jake for a 30-minute walk and I’ll count that as my morning movement.
I’ve also been trying to squeeze in 10-to-20 minute workouts while Leo is playing throughout the day. He could honestly run around the backyard for hours, so instead of just standing there watching him, I’ll bring some dumbbells outside and do a bodyweight/dumbbell workout.
Regardless of how much time I have, I always try to cover the basics: Mindfulness, Movement & Hydration. Oh, and not touching my phone (other than to meditate/listen to music or a podcast) for at least an hour after waking up.
SUPER QUICK Version of my Morning Routine
Now, let’s say REAL LIFE happens and I stayed up too late and wake up just before Leo wakes up. OR let’s say Leo decides to wake up way earlier than usual (he’s in a pretty solid sleep routine by now but he’s not a robot). In that specific situation, I have to do all of this while he’s already awake.
If for whatever reason I’m short on time, here’s a VERY short version of my morning routine that I’ll squeeze in before I go get him from his crib (or while he’s awake, in the case that he woke up early):
Wake up & panic because I don’t have time to do my full routine (LOL. For real though)
Take my thyroid meds, brush my teeth, drink my big glass of water
Decide I need to ground and center myself so that I start the day proactive, even with a short amount of time. I’ll do the MWH 7-minute meditation
Go wake up Leo & start the day and find other ways to ground myself when he’s already awake:
still not touching my phone for the first hour+ that he’s awake
trying to take slow, calming breaths as I’m making breakfast
going for a long walk (preferably by the water or on a trail, somewhere pretty) with the boys
turning on a podcast I love to listen to while I make breakfast/clean up after breakfast
I’ve also learned over the years how important it is for your eyes to see sunlight as soon as possible after waking up. Andrew Huberman talks about light exposure first thing in the morning — here’s a quick tip about it. I highly recommend listening to his podcasts as well. He’s incredible!
“The simple behavior that I do believe everybody should adopt… is to view, ideally sunlight, for 2–10 minutes every morning upon waking. So, when you get up in the morning, you really want to get bright light into your eyes because it does two things. First of all, it triggers the timed release of cortisol, a healthy level of cortisol, into your system, which acts as a wake-up signal and will promote wakefulness and the ability to focus throughout the day. It also starts a timer for the onset of melatonin.” (Source)
What I Want to Improve
As I’ve mentioned on my Instagram stories, I’m starting to step back into work again after taking a 6-month break. I’m 90% a stay-at-home mom, so that means that I can only work during certain times of day: before Leo wakes up, during his nap, or after he goes to bed. I’m pretty much a zombie past 8 p.m. so working at night is a no-go for me, meaning it’s super important that I prioritize the time I get to work before Leo wakes up.
In order to make this happen, I’m going to make it a goal to set an alarm to wake up at the same time every day.
I’d also love to prioritize getting ready in the morning. If you work from home or stay at home with your kids, you know how easy it is to get stuck in the yoga-pants-all-day routine. While I can’t promise I’ll ditch the yoga pants ;), I do want to make more of an effort to get ready in the morning. To me, this looks like putting a TOUCH more effort into what I’m wearing, maybe put on a little make up, and fix my hair. I do feel so much better when I “get ready” for the day… even if I don’t actually go anywhere LOL. Do you feel the same?
I hope you found today’s post helpful! I loveee reading about people’s routines, as I’m always looking for fresh ideas to stay motivated and inspired to live a Healthy & Happy life.
Stay tuned for my evening routine, which is truly key to setting yourself up for a successful morning.
I’d love to hear from you: what are your favorite aspects of your morning routine? Do you have one currently, or are you working to build your own? Share below & let people get inspired by your ideas!
