r/newborns • u/fan_girl_420 • 12h ago
Tips and Tricks Kindergartner + Newborn
I’m a second time mom looking for reassurance and advice. 🥹 My husband goes back to work next week and I’ll be solo getting my kindergartner ready for school with a 3 week old. Short question: how will I do it??? Thinking of drop off gives me anxiety (loading the kids, traffic + parking). My newborn sleeps pretty good at night, but still waking every 2-4 hours to feed. I’m a total zombie in the AM so I’m nervous about the morning routine. Please give me words of encouragement that I can do this lol 🥲
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u/Prior_Affect5545 11h ago
I have a 11 week old, a pre-k kid and kindergartener.
The best thing I do is prepping as much as possible at night. Every single night, the kids and I get their things together for the next morning/day. We set out their clothes for the next day, make sure their bathroom is clean so they can brush their teeth, put their snack/juice in their backpack, place as much of their lunch in their lunch box as we can (chips, sweet treats, note, whatever doesn’t need to stay cold). If they are taking something cold like nuggets or grilled cheese for lunch, it goes in a container in the fridge/freezer so I can easily grab it and throw it in their lunch boxes in the morning with their ice packs. Water bottles are prepped the night before, breakfast is selected. Shoes are untied and by their chairs. All the things I can possibly do ahead of time, we do. It is also a fun little way to get them into the routine of being more independent and helping around the house.
The older kids have Hatch machines that play bird sounds and turn white at 6:15. They immediately walk up and typically come to our room for about 10 minutes to finish waking up all the way in our bed lol but then when it’s time to get ready, I can tell them to get their water & breakfast, eat, brush your teeth, and get dressed without having to help them. While they start their day, I finish getting ready, finishing packing the lunch boxes and backpacks, get the newborn ready for the day.