Morning routine ideas for SAHM of babies is essential to maintain positivity and productivity. Having your baby in your arms is an incomparable feeling for any Mother. Although the warmth of new motherhood is blissful, the new set of responsibilities that come along can be hard at times to live with for the New Moms.
A well thought out Morning Routine can prove to be a saviour. Morning Routine essentially refers to the time spent doing things you want, well-before starting out with the main activities & chores of the day. In simpler terms, it is the time spent in the morning with yourself and for yourself, that sets you up for a winning day.
For SAHM of babies, having a Morning routine that works well for both the Mom & her baby is imperative. Let us talk about some Smart Morning Routine Ideas for SAHM of Babies in this post. My suggestion for you is to pick, choose, experiment with the ideas below & then finalise the schedule that you feel most-fulfilled with. And once you are happy with your Morning Routine, start your journey to implement it one day at a time.
11 Morning Routine Ideas for SAHM of Babies
There are enough challenges that SAHM of Babies or of Toddlers need to deal with including Sleep deprivation, Post-baby body, Postpartum depression, etc to name a few. So having a routine that helps you maintain a healthy body & a healthy mind should be an utmost priority for SAHMs of babies.
Having a well planned Morning schedule in place can be immensely helpful in organising & arranging the new priorities of motherhood in parallel to their own individual needs.
Here are some Smart Morning Routine Ideas which I feel would specifically help SAHM of babies.
| 1. Find your ‘Me Time’ |
| 2. Be in Nature /Walk /Jog / Step out of home |
| 3. Finish your snack & Morning Drink |
| 4. Get Ready / Shower |
| 5. Connect with yourself |
| 6. Plan your day |
| 7. Spend exclusive time with the older baby |
| 8. Connect with your spouse |
| 9. Unwind |
| 10. Spend time on your interests |
| 11. Finish Cooking |
1. Find Your ‘Me time’ to Start Your Morning Routine
Depending on the sleep & wake-up schedule of your baby, chalk out your me time in the morning. This is essentially the time when you are not taking care of the baby.
You may start with your morning routine by waking up earlier than your baby or by handing-over the baby to your partner/stay-in-parent for his play/outdoor time.
You might need to have a breastfeeding session or a quick snack session for the baby before you tune out of motherhood for your ‘Me Time’ to avoid any hunger meltdowns right in the morning.
| While I became a mother for the first time, I used to co-sleep with my newborn daughter till she turned 3.And so my baby daughter used to wake up, the moment I used to get out of bed. Also, I did not really got into a habit of establishing a bedtime and wake up routine for her.
Since she was the first child, I used to work myself around her natural sleep, feed and wake up patterns. And I must confess that I struggled a lot with my day routine as well at that time. I was sleep-deprived most of the days of the week & struggled to even take a shower on a few days till evening. However with my son, I was more equipped and experienced to understand the importance of a disciplined routine. So I started putting him into regular sleep & wake up routine quite early. And started working on my Morning Routine to the day he turned 2 months old. I woke up earlier to enjoy my Me Time. And by 6 am while I was busy with my daughter making her ready for school, cooking breakfast, packing her snack, etc, my son used to sleep comfortably in my bed with pillows kept all around him to make him feel cosy. I did co-sleep with him as well till he turned a year old. Post that his transition to the kids room was easy because he always had a familiar face in his sister sleeping along with him in the same room. |
2. Be in Nature / Walk / Run / Step Out of Home
There is nothing that works on stress or low moods than a quick walk or a run amidst nature. While exercise helps in releasing the happy hormone, being in nature works in magical ways to uplift the mood and connect to the universe. So In-build the habit of stepping out in nature as a part of your morning schedule.
| I have this desire to spend time in the middle of nature every morning. I feel energised & grounded post I start my day like this. While it was not really possible to step out of the house for me in the mornings with the early work schedules of my husband, I developed a love for nurturing plants in the pots in my balcony. The first thing post I wake up is I say good morning to my plants.
Additional tip: I used to go out for a walk with my son a little later in the day around 10:30 am post finishing most of my chores for the day. This was a good time to soak in some sun and it helped me with my Vitamin D levels too. |
3. Finish Your Snack & Morning Drink
Nourishing your body before you take on the day head-on is a good idea especially for the SAHM. While we are busy looking after the children, house, and other chores, we end up losing out on a good and healthy diet ourselves. So adding a healthy & nutritious snack right in the morning helps you start your day on the right note.
| My Morning Tea usually is accompanied by Roasted Foxtail Nuts, Soaked almonds, soaked walnuts & toasted cashews. While I was breast feeding, I had some traditionally Indian foods like Laddoos/Vegetable stuffed Indian Bread that accompanied the nuts on my plate. In case you are wondering, the astronaut with balloons in the background are painted by my 6-year-old son in one of the children fairs.
This is one tip given by my mom that worked wonders for my temper simply for the reason that I proactively avoided getting Hungry right from the morning. I would fill my stomach first thing in the morning with some healthy snack and then got on with any other chores. |
4. Get Ready / Shower
This is simple, take the shower, get dressed, and ready for the day when your little one is not screaming for your attention.
| Additional Tip: Over time, I realised that I felt as good as i dressed up. So Dear SAHM of babies, take time out to shop (even online) for things you want and dress up well for your day ahead.
Within all the madness around about trying to do everything for your baby, we women end up sacrificing or putting our own priorities at the back seat. While it is ok to do so at times, but making this a habit is definitely not great idea. Self-care is important and Self-care is not selfish. |
5. Connect with Yourself
Spending 5-10 minutes in silence just being with your own self works wonders in simplifying life. Sometimes all you need to come out of your low moods is a breath of fresh air and a determination to be happy. Take this time to reflect, listen, accept, reward or simply talk to yourself.
| Silence has its own charm and I love it. Being silent is not just about not speaking, it is more about having a silent mind as well. With the overwhelm of handling so much for the day, having these 10 minutes of silence with myself is something I still cherish.
If you feel like, do read this wonderful book on silence by T.N. Hanh. I use this time to introspect, dream, meditate or sometimes just reaffirm myself of the goodness life has to offer. But having this time is very important for my mental well-being. |
6. Plan Your Day
SAHM of Babies has a lot to accomplish during the day. A well planned day however is more likely to see the face of success and happiness than a one started unplanned. So include planning for your day in your morning routine.
| A simple to-do List on my whiteboard for the day is what takes me going even today. I developed this habit of planning my day and writing my to do list on a white board in my kitchen right when I had my first baby. I just realised it’s almost 12 years of me living by it for all the weekdays minus my travel days.. 🙂 |
7. Spend Exclusive Time with the Older Child
This is the perfect time for you to spend with your elder kid who is trying hard together into the sharing mode. Spending this 5-10 minutes of exclusive time ensures a strong connection between you and the elder child and deletes any feelings of being left out from her mind.
| I realised how hard is it for my daughter to share her parents their love warmth and affection wither new born younger brother. These feelings are perfectly natural and hence I accepted them without the fight or flight. Taking out the time with no distractions around was easiest in the morning for me.
And so I preferred adding this to my morning routine. One one hand it took care of the innate needs to love and attention for my daughter, it kept me happy and off guilt the entire day of not been able to spend quality time with her. I ensured to make & pack my daughter’s snack and lunch to her school everyday. Waking her up and spending 2-3 minutes just kidding around with her along with some elaborate engagement and time spent by my husband with her brought her to come in terms with the normalcy of a sibling. |
8. Connect with Your Spouse
Like all other relationships, your relationship with your spouse also takes a back seat on your priority list with the coming of a new baby. However, it is a good idea to intentionally taking out time and making efforts to connect with your spouse on a daily basis. And I found, a 10-minute conversation at the start of the day is a great way to do that.
| I usually enjoy my morning cup of tea with my husband and it has almost become a ritual in our house now. This is purely our time to talk, connect & update each other too.
This one simple addition to my routine 12 years back has helped me sail through my highs & lows of life & my parenting journey. With a refreshed mindset in the morning, when 2 people sit together with a common goal to solve the challenges they are facing, the probability of getting to solutions increases manifolds. |
9. Unwind
This one is my personal favourite. Catch up with your favourite shows on Netflix, the saved videos, texting, or reading. Unwind the way you want & feel refreshed to take on the world.
10. Spend Time on Your Interests
Get into something you have been wanting to do but have not been able to because of the time constraint. Spend a little time and see how fulfilled you feel after doing so.
Every day a little time spent can make up for a significant time at the end of the week and you will appreciate the progress you would have made. This is one of the important morning routine ideas for SAHM of babies.
11. Finish Cooking
This one would be something if you incorporate in your morning routine, you would end up making your everyday life a lot simpler. Finish cooking for all the meals in the morning & you are sorted to catch up on all the other interesting things during your baby’s nap breaks.
| Personally I have always found cooking as a major chore and I found finishing this right in the morning made me a free spirit. An hour extra chatting with friends at the play area while the kids were playing did not hurt me because I knew my tasks have all been done for the day. While my son was younger, I tried to finish my day meals right in the morning. |
How to Make Your Morning Routine Work?
The fundamental imperative that ensures the success of your Morning Routine to a large extent is the discipline and consistency with which you can follow it through.
With Babies in your lap, there are bound to be ups and downs, sometimes the baby would wake up out of time or sometimes he would be uneasy/cranky, however in all those moments appreciating your and your child’s position and being flexible about your morning routine could be a wise choice.
In all the other routine days, implement your very own Morning Routine well designed by you to work for you and enjoy your kid’s childhood to the fullest.
Happy morning everyone 🙂