How do you get ready in the morning?

[ldinsmore]

Just wondering how some other working mothers get ready in the morning? I have an almost 16 mo. old who is up by 5:30 or 6:00. He used to drink his morning milk in his crib and play but now that he's older and mobile he doesn't really care for that. Any suggestions, I'm open

[RMMom]

My daughter is 20 mos. old and as long as I can remember, she hangs out with me in the bathroom when I get ready for work. I've pretty much taken out everything that isn't safe for her from my cabinet under the sink and my makeup case. For awhile she sat on the floor and played away but it got a little bit trickier when she learned to open stuff. Now she sits on my bathroom counter (I stand right behind her to make sure she doesn't try to get off) and she plays with my makeup (looks at it and opens it). She gets eyeshadow on her occasionally but she's so fascinated by it that she's happy to just sit and play. I don't know if your son would have that same fascination with makeup but by putting items down that he normally doesn't get to check out, he may stay there for awhile, thus giving you a chance to get ready. Good luck!

[SpinMom]

Have you tried tweaking his sleep schedule so maybe he'd sleep a little later in the morning? Maybe if he stayed up a little later in the evening, he's sleep a little later in the morning. My son (26 months old) goes to bed around 8:15, and is usually up at 7am. I'm lucky, I know! We have always made his sleep schedule a priority, and he adheres to it pretty well unless he's sick or has a bad dream.

[MommaC]

Yeah, tweaking his bedtime might help (sometimes it's moving it later, sometimes scooting it EARILER helps...whatever you do, scoot it only by 15 minutes for 4 days at a time). If I can't get a shower before my daughter gets up, I bring a box of toys into the bathroom and close the door...and take a power shower. ;) Once I'm out of the shower, I open the door and let her roam because I can keep an ear on her while I get ready. I'm not a huge proponent of TV for kiddos, but if she'll happy with a DVD long enough for you to get clean, go for it (if you're worried about leaving her unattended, try the PackN Play or her highchair with some toys for back-up).

[sunX2]

i have a sixteen month old and an eight week old. i get everything that i will need for the next day set out the night before, my clothes, the boys' clothes, pack lunches and the diaper bag, ect. when my oldest gets up i let him play in his room while i feed the baby, or change him, whatever he wants. then i put him in his high chair with his breakfast while i shower and do the importent things, anything i cant make it through the day with out. that way if he is being really rotten i can still leave on time. then i get him out and let him hang out with me while i do things like my make up and hair. then i get the baby ready (feed him if i have to, i make the bottle ahead of time) and in his carrier. finally i get my oldest dressed (if he gets into something all i have to do is wipe him down instead of change his clothes) and take him to the car. i give myself two hours. sometimes my son destroys the house, usually relocating all of the bathroom things, sometimes he is happy to play with his bath toys on the floor. i just prioritize what i absolutly wont leave the house with out doing.

[craftyashley]

I put the girls in the bathtub when they were little without any water and threw some bath toys in there while I put on makeup or took a shower.
Now they are two, and I put them in their cribs (they can't climb out of them yet! Yay!) and I put on some music. They just chill in there until I'm ready.

[Jacee'sMommy]

My daughter is 20 months and has been walking since she was 8 1/2 months. So getting ready for work in the mornings became difficult very early. I started sitting her on the bathroom counter while I got ready(I was always right by her). And soon she became interested in watching me put my make-up on and fix my hair. I keep my make-up in a little pink bag, so of course she wanted to go through it. So while shopping one day I got the idea of buying her some little make-up brushes and her own little bag to put them in. I keep her "make-up" bag next to mine on the counter and we put our make-up on together. Then when its time to get dressed I say "Lets go pick out mommy's clothes" and we both go into my closet and pick them out. It really helps because I know where she is while I'm getting ready and its became our own little routine:)

[lsmith1]

My 13 month old son wakes up at about 7:15 luckily. I would work hard on adjusting bedtime. My suggestions would be black out curtains in his room in case light is a problem and a sound machine or a white noise machine in case noise is a problem. Or I would try leaving him in there for a while to see if he will go back to sleep. My son wakes up a lot at 5:45 or 6 am, sings for a little while haha, then goes back to sleep until 7:15. When he gets up I am already showered and am usually finishing my make up. So what I do to buy myself an extra 15 minutes is (I know this is bad) put his highchair in front of the tv so he can watch Elmo. I put his breakfast on the tray and I finish doing my make up. I sit him where I can see him from the bathroom. I figure 15 minutes a day isn't hurting anything and it makes our morning much smoother. He doesn't watch any tv the rest of the day at all. Also I already have his bag packed and his lunch made and his clothes laid out. I do that the night before so I don't have to worry about it in the morning. Sometimes if I want to sleep in I will wash and dry my hair at night so all I have to do in the morning is shower my body but not wash my hair. That buys me an extra half hour. If all else fails I put up the baby gates in my room and let him walk around while I finish getting ready in the bathroom (which is in my room).

[Disco Lemonade]

My daughter is 20 months and has been walking since she was 8 1/2 months. So getting ready for work in the mornings became difficult very early. I started sitting her on the bathroom counter while I got ready(I was always right by her). And soon she became interested in watching me put my make-up on and fix my hair. I keep my make-up in a little pink bag, so of course she wanted to go through it. So while shopping one day I got the idea of buying her some little make-up brushes and her own little bag to put them in. I keep her "make-up" bag next to mine on the counter and we put our make-up on together. Then when its time to get dressed I say "Lets go pick out mommy's clothes" and we both go into my closet and pick them out. It really helps because I know where she is while I'm getting ready and its became our own little routine:)

lol, thats so cute. My 16 month old is the same. I also had to get her make up brushes and a make up bag, it helped a ton!