I’ve held off on writing a post about my morning routine for a few months now because as anyone with babies knows, the routine changes so much in the first year that it’s hard to find a groove. Even now that Marina is more predictable, it took a while for me to get the organization, sleep, and motivation to actually form a routine that is repeatable day after day.
After months of trial, error, frustration and self-pity, I’ve reached a place where, by lunchtime, I feel like I’ve done all that I could do, given Marina’s needs and my workload. I’ve made some changes that seemed hard to make when she was 6 months old, but now that she’s a year old, I feel like they are more manageable. Sure, things might change a bit when she loses her morning nap in a few months, but the general structure of my day will stay the same, which is the most important part!
{Zip Sweatshirt from Aviator Nation}
The last thing I will say before jumping into my morning routine is that I am lucky to be able to afford a gym with childcare. I absolutely love taking barre and I miss it so much, but because it didn’t have childcare, it was nearly impossible for me to go, which made me feel like I was never getting my money’s worth. Now, I spend more for my gym, but because of the childcare aspect of it, I am there at least 5 days a week whether I work out or not, so that I can get through some work. This makes me a far better mother, because before I would literally just shut the door in her nursery and she would play on the floor and I would sit there with my computer, not really paying attention to her. Now I know that she’s getting stimulation and socialization, and I’m getting work done, so that the time we have together is higher quality.
{Sweatshirt and sweatpants from Aviator Nation}
My Morning Routine
6:30am: I wake up now by 6:30, sometimes due to Marina, sometimes on my own. I used to lie there with the pillow over my head in denial, but now I get out of bed, and try to cherish that morning time. I boil some water for my daily hot lemon water which gets my body going without having extra caffeine, and then I read through/delete emails before Marina wakes up. Plus I can get her morning bottle ready without having to fuss over it while she’s screaming at me later. If Marina is awake already, I make her stay in her crib until 7am. Even if she is crying, I try to stand by this important rule, because I want her to have her independent time as well.
7:00am: We usually spend 30-45 minutes in the morning hanging in my bedroom; Marina drinks her bottle and plays with the toys that are strewn about everywhere, and I finish emails and get changed, either for a picture or for the gym.
8:00am: Every day is different, but I have come up with a schedule I love:
- Monday: Put on a sweatsuit (comfortable and cute, but not for actual working out. My favorites are from Aviator Nation which are SO EXTREMELY SOFT and people still complement me everywhere I go!) and go to the gym where I have 1.5 hours of free childcare included with my membership. On Mondays I don’t work out but just bring my computer and work in the gym in order to respond to emails and try to ‘get ahead’ for the week. I am usually multi-tasking and listening to a blogger or entrepreneurial podcast as well.
- Tuesday: I have a nanny from 8-5pm, so I go to the gym to work out, and also bring my computer to write blog posts at the cafe there. I seem to be much more efficient with typing and emails when I’m out of the house!
- Wednesday: Same as Monday, except this time I work out. Since I only work out for 50-55 minutes it leaves me with time to shower at the gym and either blow dry my hair or get through some more emails.
- Thursday: Same as Tuesday
- Friday: Get fully dressed with hair and makeup by 7:30am to sneak in blog photos before dropping my husband off at the ferry. He usually takes earlier ferries, but once a week I convince him to take the 8:15 ferry which allows us to take a photo before he boards (that’s often why you see the same locations in Sausalito over and over!)
- Saturday: I tend to hang out with Marina (in my sweatsuit duh) while Mr. R works out, or we go to breakfast together as a family.
- Sunday: Exactly like Wednesday; we check Marina in for day care so that we can both get a work out in.
{Taken before dropping Mr. R off at the Ferry one Friday morning!}
10:00am: On days where I don’t have a nanny, I head back to the house with Marina and get her down for her morning nap. It’s a little on the late side for her, but she only naps for 30 minutes so it’s the easiest way to have a productive morning. While Marina naps I get through a few more emails and prepare her ‘breakfast’.
10:30am: Marina eats breakfast, I try to eat breakfast, but its usually a piece of toast, a yogurt with granola or a cookie (insert ‘whatever’ emoji here). On Fridays since we do blog photos I usually treat myself to a matcha and a treat from my favorite coffee shop, Cibo. It’s almost never a healthy treat! I also have my Juice Beauty Prebiotix Beauty Boost supplement which makes me drink water/liquids and helps my skin and gut. I tend not to drink enough water during the day so lemon water and Prebiotics are the ways I get that hydration in!
11:00am: We head out for whatever errand or activity we are going to do for the day. On non-nanny days, by this time she has already had social time at the play club at the gym, so I don’t feel like I need to take her to any more classes. We go on walks or do errands for me, which means Trader Joes, JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels, Whole Foods, etc.
1pm: We head home for lunch!
Between naps, sewing and getting other content/work done, we typically spend the rest of the day at home. Even on nanny days, I usually stay out the first half of the day and then come home around 12:30 or 1 for lunch and then sew or work at home for the remainder of the day. I’ve found that I like to do all my computer work in the morning, with a coffee or lemon water in hand, preferably after a workout, which makes me think I have truly accomplished all the ‘must-haves’ for the day. The afternoon is for creating. Sometimes that can be a slow process as I don’t always want to start a new project or make a new mess, but if I know I have a few hours to work, then I’ll try to make the best of that time.
