I’m obsessed with people’s morning routines. Anyone else? I love hearing how people create their days & navigate their lives around what’s important to them. But lately as a mama of two and a business owner (and someone who wants to live intentionally in all areas of my life that matter to me), I’ve found it extra fascinating how other mamas do. Their tricks, tips & the little things they do to take care of themselves in a phase of life that’s well… busy at all hours :).
It’s not talked about a lot, so that’s why we’re here today. Hopefully this will help some of you in a similar phase (or give you ideas even if your life is totally different than mine right now too). More ideas help our brains get creative!
This past year with adding our little lovebug June to the family, I’ve found it even more important (not less) to keep finding my own rhythms in motherhood, within myself, my body, my heart, my mind and with my work. Nothing is perfect. Everything is flexible. And it’s been constantly changing every few weeks, as it needs to. But there are absolutely things that I do incorporate most days, that help keep me grounded and feeling good.
For me, daily rituals & routines are all about staying present in my mind, grounded in my body, and aligned in my body, life and day. Even when there’s so much going on around me that I can’t control. (I talk about this a lot in Simply Real Eating, recipes & rituals for a healthy life made simple.)
You may have to try different things to see what works and what feels easy/doable every day (or most days), and I often have to remind myself: it’s not about perfection. It’s about trying and testing things, and relying on the things that do make you feel good. Find those and lean into them as much as you possibly can.
Here’s a little look at what my current morning routine looks like lately with two littles and a business to run.
Here’s what my morning routine looks like lately
(At the time of this writing I have a 11 month old & a 3 1/2 year old. I am fully in charge of the morning routine in our house, because Kyle goes to work early, so it’s all me. And I love it. It’s such a peaceful (for the most part) time of day with my kids, and one that I love creating the energy I want them to feel the rest of the day.
6:00 am-6:15am ish (or earlier): roll out of bed (usually to the sound of baby June waking up, although sometimes in the last month or so, I can catch a few minutes to myself first).
Either way, I grab some workout clothes to put on, pee (duh), put my contacts in, tongue scrape (MOST important), brush my hair, smooth on hair serum, and spray my face with this. Then I put on deodorant (this natural charcoal deod helps minimize odors from hormonal shifts like postpartum/nursing, but I also rotate with the tea tree & the new citrus-vanilla one too), and smooth on some face oil or a face serum. (Usually I rotate between these ones or this one). These days in in the summer, I’ve definitely been doing this one first, then the daily vitamin oil on top.
6:15-6:30am ish– head into baby June’s room to pick her up, and bring her back to my bed to nurse laying down (back saving trick and I just loooove this sweet time with her, snuggling to start the day).
6:30-6:45am ish change her diaper, and then we both head downstairs.
I fill up my water, and fill up another big glass (a wine glass, to be specific.. I have no idea why other than it seems like the perfect size) and add in my cholorphyll drops (18-22 drops in water to be specific). It’s the first thing I consume every day, a nonnegotiable to hydrate, detox and naturally internally deodorize (did you know it could do that?!). I love the way it feels to drink and even looks as I make it— it’s very calming and even meditative to prepare and it’s a reminder to myself to drink water throughout the day, stay hydrated and treat myself well from the first moment of the day. Noah even asks for green water now!
On an ideal day, I take June and the cholorphyll water to my yoga mat for a quick 10 min stretch & strength move with her crawling around…..unless Noah has gotten up early (before 7am) and is refusing to wait for his hatch light to go on because he hears us playing. Lol. Real life. If he gets up earlier than 7, this stretch/strength session gets moved to when the kids are eating breakfast.
7am: Noah (toddler) is up, and we all head down to the kitchen so I can make them both breakfast. I usually do some kind of fruit first, and then warm up one of my breakfast cakes/muffins/healthy scones (all in baby food files). This is one of the best ways I streamline the mornings, by making something in the beginning of the week that lasts most of the week. I just pop it in the oven to warm up while they eat their fruit. Sometimes we’ll alternate with scrambled eggs (or the baby omelette from the guide), banana and nut bread toast with “sprinkles” (hemp seeds), superfood oatmeal or a whole milk greek yogurt parfait. I give Noah the choice and he always let’s me know.
7:15am-7:30am: I drink my cholorphyll water and do my morning stretches & strength moves on my yoga mat, next to the breakfast table. I usually put on some music or a kids story podcast on spotify while I do, and love watching them quietly eat and talk to each other.
I’ve found that sometimes in this stage of life, if I don’t do my morning stretches/pelvic strengthening/core work/push-ups right away, it doesn’t always happen. I’ve found that when I’m busier in this stage, 10 minutes of this is usually all I can fit in movement-wise in the mornings. And it feels so good to start the day with this movement.
It’s my minimum movement of the day in order to feel strong holding my children AND holding capacity for my own dreams. It gives me so much even in a short amount of time. (Some days it’s longer, like on weekends when Kyle’s around, and I can do a guided flow like one from Melissa Wood Health.)
Cue a few up and down moments to get the kids more food, etc. But I’m getting it in! And they see me doing it, which I love.
7:30-7:45am: clean up breakfast & make my matcha. This is purposely NOT first thing in the morning. I give my body some time to wake up, get hydrated and see how I’m feeling first, so I can get a sense as to what I need that day. With all that I’ve learned about hormones, it’s great to let your body wake up slowly and not slam caffeine in there asap (although some mornings in the first year of having a baby, it’s tempting). I try to just use the minimum amount of matcha I need that day, which is usually somewhere between 1/4-1/2 tsp these days. Watch the video on how I make matcha here & grab my recipe.
8am: Clean up, get June (baby) ready for her nap, and give Noah some tasks to get ready for our walk/bike ride or school. *If it’s a school day, I grab Noah’s lunch & waterbottle I packed the night before from the fridge and add in anything else that needs to be fresh*.
8:15-8:30am: June goes for a nap, and Noah and I go for a walk/bike ride (or puzzles & book reading in the winter) and our special solo time together. I read somewhere that even just 10 minutes a day of total focused attention on each kid can have significant impacts to how loved they feel. And how connected they feel to you. So I love using this time for that. I let him lead me, I leave my phone at home and we talk, play, laugh, etc. I LOVE THIS TIME SO MUCH!
8:50am: If it’s a school day, we leave for school.
9am: our amazing nanny arrives, I get back from drop off/our morning walk, and then jump into work.
9:15am: I head into my office and pull out my 5 minute journal, journal or get a meditation going. I need a transition most days from momming into my work and creative life, and this helps bridge the gap and set the tone for my short but productive work day. How I feel mentally is the most important indicator of all. So these 10 minutes are SO WORTH IT…. even when it’s tempting to skip it.
9:30am: I map out my day with my top 3 tasks to get done that week, the goals for things to be done by the end of the week (using this notepad), and note when in my day I will get out for my daily walk. Then I try to do my most creative/brain powered task first, and leave the more mindless but important stuff for later in the afternoon.
*side note here: I do not look at email/slack/social media until much later on in the day. After 10:00 am at a minimum. It helps me so much energetically. Boundaries are so important for me, with all the different buckets in my life 
10:30am: June wakes up from her nap, I nurse her, get myself some food because I usually get hungry for the first time around then (usually something quick like 1/2 banana and almond butter or sunflower butter with blueberries), and then get into my second work chunk. Lunch is usually while the kids nap around 1:30, and usually my go-to green smoothie or leftover soup or a salad. I try to keep it super simple & streamlined so I can make the most use of my time.
It’s the most precious currency we have, in this stage of life especially so.
That’s my morning routine these days.
OBVIOUSLY sometimes things shift or I can’t fit everything in. But I always make sure there are pockets in there that allow me and my mental/physical health to feel well cared for, because I know I can’t pour into my family or my business if I’m not being nourished, too. I hope this gives you some ideas for ways to fit self-love and quick, healthy rituals into your mornings!
Want to see year’s past morning routines?
Check out my quarantine morning routine here
Check out my morning routine with 1 baby here
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photos by Talitha Bullock & Carina Skrobecki // this post may contain affiliate links