What’s Your Morning Routine?

We’ve finished three weeks of shelter-in-place, Austin. Phew. Does it feel like 3 months to you, too? 

I’ve found that changing my mindset can change my reality, so I’m focusing on thinking things that will make life easier. One of them is “this is normal.” If I think of this weird life we’re living as temporary, it only feels harder to settle into a routine and find happiness and joy. But when I think of it as “normal,” I’m able to get into a routine a bit more easily. And I’m a girl who loves routines. 😉 

I wrote about my 5 life-changing morning routines in this blog post back in summer 2019. That was before I had a baby, but now that Milo’s here I still try to do about three of those five things every morning. I’ll do five out of five if it’s an ideal morning, which is maybe once a week. 

My very favorite routine is making my morning pour-over. (This is probably my favorite because it’s also the one I literally can’t function without. I’ll get a headache without my morning cup of joe.) I love hearing about everyone’s coffee routines, because they’re all so different. And is it fair to say that the act of making coffee is a little bit sacred? Coffee is hot and acidic, so it can’t be guzzled. It must be sipped slowly, which is the same way that most of our bodies want to approach a new day: hesitantly, mindfully, gradually shifting from sleeping to awake. I’d love to know about your morning coffee rituals, if you’d care to share.

Also see: how to make a great cup of coffee at home

Yesterday, I took advantage of Milo’s morning happy hours (he is SO sweet and happy from 7-9 am!) and allowed him to play by himself in his pack-n-play in the kitchen while I tidied and and ran the Roomba and scrubbed the downstairs of the house. (Our stove had gotten pretty grody…) It felt soooo good to have the downstairs of my house all sparkly and clean! 

Here’s a typical morning routine for me during the shelter-in-place

• 6 am: wake up. I feel best when I can have at least a few moments to myself before Milo wakes up (he’s up between 6:45-7:15 most days). I make my coffee and then pick something to do that’s hard to do with a baby (either work at my desk, or squeeze in a Barre Code on-demand workout). 
• 7 am: Milo’s up! I feed him and change him and then typically hand him off to Nate so I can continue getting work done until Nate’s work day starts at 8 am.
• 8 am: play/walk. I’ll spend the next hour either playing with him at home or taking him on a neighborhood walk. Here’s the tricky thing: I have to schedule his walks when he’s wide awake, because I don’t want to waste his nap. If he’s napping, I really want it to be at home in his bassinet so I can be getting work done, and I don’t want his nap to be in the stroller. So I try to go on walks pretty soon after he wakes up from his regular naps so he doesn’t fall asleep in the stroller. 
• 9 am: tidy the house and do my hair/makeup. I’ll lay out a big blanket on the living room floor and scatter some toys around, then tidy up the downstairs and unload the dishwasher while Milo rolls around and sings and chews on his toys. We’re at the end of this stage (he’s going to be scooting and crawling soon), so I’m enjoying it while it lasts. Also, I really like picking out some normal-ish clothes and putting on a least a bit of makeup (concealer/lashes/brows are my musts) even though I’m at home all day. It just makes me feel happier. 
• 10 am: Milo naps/I work. 

Care to share what a typical morning routine looks like for you? I love hearing about how we’re all spending our time now that everyone is trapped at home. It’s fascinating how our schedules are vastly different based on how many people are in our homes, the ages of our children, and our types of work.

Happy…er…weekend. Feels strange to be wishing you a happy weekend when most days are the same right now. But I hope you have a relaxing and rejuvenating two days. I’ll chat with you here on Monday morning! XO.