Moms of 2

oandmplus1 · May 2013

I will be going back to work in 3 weeks after having DS and am trying to figure out how we are going to accomplish everything, i would like your opinion if this is realistic.
My DH gets very little sleep because he watches DD when I leave for work and takes her to her daily therapy appointments, he works second shift. I would like to get myself and both kids ready in the morning so he can sleep an extra hal hour. Is this doable?
I plan to shower and pack up everything the night before so it will mostly be me getting dressed and hair and makeup done and making breakfast for DD and getting her dressed and dressing ad BF DS.

mommymegan831 · May 2013

I have a 1 year old and 3 year old and we're out the door by 6. DH usually does one, but he's had to go in early several times and I've been on my own. I just get who ever is up ready, DD will watch tv or I'll put DS in the high chair with some cherrios and then I'll get the other one ready. I get up at 5:30 and start getting them ready at 6.

alli2672 · May 2013

When I had my second one, DH had to be at work by 6, and I didn't have to be in until 8:30, so I had both every day. It was doable. H and I were on the same schedule, so I got up at 5 with him and started the day. I usually did housework and dinner prep/crockpot in the morning, and my kids ate breakfast at daycare, so my schedule probably won't be helpful or I would post it.

aglenn · May 2013

I get both kids ready almost every single day. It is not that bad at all. I shower at night and get everything organized as much as I can, which helps. Mornings flow relatively smoothly for us most of the time (at least as much as possible with two little ones). It is evenings when things are more likely to go awry and have me pulling my hair out.

hoping4sticky · May 2013

Of course it is doable, I think a lot of us get both kids ready alone. You will eventually fall into a routine. The only issue that I would have personally is that I hate waking up my kids if I don't have too. So if DD was still sleeping, I wouldn't wake her up just to save him some time, but that is a personal thing and I don't think it is a big deal either way.

christinak22 · May 2013

It's absolutely doable! DH and I leave at the same time and have to get the kids out with us two days/week. I let him sleep a bit longer since I usually sleep in on the weekends, so he just gets himself ready and I get everyone else ready. It's easy once you get into a routine. Like a PP said, having one sit to eat breakfast while the other gets dressed or whatever makes things less hairy.

Mrs.RockyM · May 2013

It's doable, you really just have to plan. For days when the older one has a temper tantrum, or when the baby won't eat or is fussy or has a blowout right as you're leaving, or even when someone wakes up really early and blows your normal schedule out of the water.

When it's just me, I do as much as i can the night before. I wake up, get myself fully done, then go wake up DD1, she goes potty and gets dressed on her own while I'm changing and dressing the baby. Then we all go downstairs, I make DD1 her breakfast, and sit at the table with her while I feed DD2. It takes longer than it should, and we go day by day.

itsmevkb · May 2013

It sounds reasonable. My husband used to work third shift and so I would always do mornings alone. Now, even with four, if I got up half an hour earlier, or showered at night, I could have them all up and ready by myself.

Leap08 · May 2013

My husband travels a lot for work, so most of the time I do mornings alone. It may take you a week or two to get down a good routine, but it's totally do-able.

LoCarb · May 2013

Totally doable speaking as a single mom.

meganandchase · May 2013

I'm going to go against the flow here. I have a 3 year old and a 10 month old. Getting them both ready in the morning would be pure hell. While I am BFing the 10 month old, I can't really do anything else. When DD is a little older and eating regular food, I believe this may be possible. But as long as she's literally attached to me for 20-30 minutes, DH is going to have to help get them ready.

I realize that it IS possible, just not preferable. My sister had a DD then twins 20 months later. Whenever I ask her how she did it, she just says, "You do what you have to do." So it's possible, but I think it would be really hard. I'd try to make up for it by letting DH sleep in on weekends.

mrsjones06 · May 2013

DH works 24 hr shifts so I had to/have to get both kids up & out the door by myself on a regular basis. I definitely starting out getting up extra early until I had a routine down. Like you mentioned, getting as much done the night before as possible is a necessity. I usually showered, blowdried & straightened my hair the night before so I'd just have to touch it up in the morning. When I was nursing it was tricky b/c DS might wake up at various times. Ideally he'd wake up somewhere 12-2am nurse then go back to sleep. I'd get up at 5, get myself ready except for putting my clothes on then I'd get him up to nurse for approx 30 mins. Once he was done I'd get him dressed & put him on the activity mat (or exersaucer/jumperoo as he got older) for a little bit while I threw my clothes on then got older DS up & dressed. I was always able to pack breakfast for older DS so he could eat it at daycare which was a big help. I could just get him up & head straight for the car with both kids. (I'd load my purse, the diaper bag, etc before getting older DS up) If he'd had to eat breakfast I would've gotten him up & started on breakfast with younger DS still doing activity or sitting in high chair then put finishing touches on the diaper bag & loaded the car while he ate breakfast then sat down with him while he finished up. My goal was to leave the house by 6:30 but I could leave as late as 6:45 & still get to work on time after dropping them off. Once I quit nursing & younger DS didn't have anything before his bottle at daycare I switched it up & got older DS up/dressed first then younger & straight to the car. I've always tried to minimize the kids awake time in the morning. For one I want them to sleep as long as possible & two it's less time for them to be cranky or decide to throw a fit over something. It might seem a little overwhelming at first but you'll settle into a routine & be ok.

Want a personalized experience?

Moms of 2

Re: Moms of 2

Choose Another Board

Search Boards