Balancing life as a single working mom is no small feat — and once your baby becomes a toddler, everything shifts, including your morning routine.
What worked when my child was an infant doesn’t necessarily work now, and learning to adapt has been the key to keeping some sense of balance in our home.
In my previous article, My Morning Routine as a Single Mom (With Checklist), I shared the structured routine that helped me stay grounded through the chaos of early motherhood.
But here’s the thing: toddlers have their own ideas. And some days… well, let’s just say flexibility isn’t optional. It’s survival.
I’m sharing exactly how my routine has changed, the strategies I lean on to manage time, and what my new morning flow looks like.
The Most Simple Yet Most Important Bit of a Morning Routine with a Toddler
There are several benefits to a morning routine: they set the tone for your day, keep you focused, and get you prepared to face the day ahead. And of course, these are very important and necessary.
Plus, there is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t establish a morning routine… unless you’re in survival mode, like having a newborn. Otherwise, it would be lazy and a lack of self-care.
But specifically for parents, this part is so simple and understated, I don’t think it’s emphasized enough: the absolute most important aspect of a morning routine is role modeling.
Establishing and consistently sticking with a morning routine in front of, and even more impactful, with your child is essential to establishing this habit from the start.
You will literally raise a human who would think it abnormal not to do these things when they wake up.
So your habit of waking up with your phone first thing, ignoring them, and not acknowledging the tiny child next to you is damaging their growth and their connection to you and minimizing the importance of their own self-care.
This is too easy and too impactful to forget. I can’t state it enough: do the morning routine, do it consistently, and do it with your child.
It’s one of the best things you can do for them, and yourself, for a better life.
What Changed from My Original Morning Routine?
When I first wrote about my morning routine as new mother, my child was younger, slept more, and wasn’t as mobile or opinionated.
Now that I’m parenting a toddler, I’ve had to build in more patience — and a whole lot more flexibility. Here are the biggest shifts:
No More Workouts or Tasks Before My Child Wakes:
I threw in the towel on mornings I’d wake up at 4:40/6:00 am before my child. These days, I wake up around 6:30 am — because co-sleeping means my toddler knows the second I’m awake.
There’s no sneaking out for coffee in silence or getting in a workout before he wakes anymore, ha!
More Sleep:
Turns out, there’s truth to the buzz about women needing more than 8 hours of sleep.
I’ve found my sweet spot is around 9 hours, especially around my cycle. I naturally fall asleep close to 9 pm and wake up rested around 6 or 6:30 am… and so does my toddler!
Prioritizing Sleep:
While I still prioritize fitness, I never force myself to workout.
If i haven’t gotten the proper amount of sleep the night before or have to rush to fit a workout in logistically, the stress just is not worth it. I will skip the workout, or try a time later in the day.
It also helped finding a workout like barre3 that was far less intense than my former workouts.
More Active Mornings:
The slow, quiet mornings I used to enjoy are now filled with diaper changes, breakfast negotiations, and a toddler ready to play before the sun fully rises.
Adding Breakfast into the Mix:
Before it was bottles or breastfeeding, now my toddler wakes up first thing, hungry for breakfast. A familiar experience for most parents in this phase I am sure!
It can be a time consuming add to incorporate into the morning routine, but we’ve figured out how to keep it simple.
Bonus: Goodbye Milk Bottles!
Once I stopped breastfeeding and pumping, I never looked back. The thought of washing pump parts still haunts me. Solid foods are a beautiful thing.
My Updated Morning Routine as a Single Working Mom with a Toddler
Here’s a peek at how a typical morning during a weekday looks for me and my toddler, the long version:
6:30 am: Wake Up & Hygiene
Still in bed, I start the day with a few quiet moments to myself. I recite affirmations and visualize the goals I journaled the night before.
Then I turn to my little one, wish him a good morning, we snuggle, and ask if there’s anything he wants to accomplish today (even if he’s a little too young to fully understand).
Modeling self-care and intention-setting, even in small ways, is important — so I narrate my actions as I go, especially while potty training.
Example:
“Mommy goes potty first thing when I wake up. Do you want to go potty with Mommy?”
While we’re not there yet, sometimes he joins me by sitting on his potty, and I count that as a parenting win.
Then it’s time for brushing our teeth.
Now, I’m a child who refused like all hygiene tasks, gross I know, but somehow, I’ve got a toddler who loves brushing his teeth (at least for now).
Perhaps credit to my child’s father and his mother whose a former dental assistant, otherwise, I wouldn’t believe it either! So, I make sure I hype him up with praise every time so he keeps it up!
After that it’s a diaper change for him, and we both get dressed.
At this point, I am fully awake and eager to get the day started; And my toddler, very excited for breakfast.
7:00-7:15 am: Water, Walk and Feed the Dog
We move from the bedroom to the kitchen where I wake up my digestive system with 8-12oz of water and take my vitamins.
Unsuccessfully, I encourage my child to drink some water too, hoping eventually he picks up this habit!
I’m undecided at the moment about vitamins for my toddler, but he asks for them, so I’m considering the benefits of building this into his morning routine as well.
If you have any thoughts on what vitamins (if any) are beneficial for toddlers, I’d love your suggestions!
On days it’s really cold or raining at lot, we skip it, but when the weather cooperates, we’re off on our daily morning walk.
It’s the perfect way for all three of us — toddler, dog, and me — to start the day with movement and fresh air.
Timing matters here: if breakfast comes first, my toddler takes forever to eat, and our poor dog would be waiting too long for his walk. So the walk must happen first!
Then both the dog and kid get fed.
7:15-7:45 am: Toddler Breakfast & Quick Chores
My toddler wakes up starving apparently, so a quick breakfast it is as soon as we’re back from the walk.
The request on repeat lately has been “pancakes, mommy!” so often I oblige. Sometimes I even make them fresh (using a box mix), but sometimes it’s Eggos from the freezer. No judgment here!
I try to balance out the meal with fresh fruit and/or eggs. Other days it’s oatmeal or toast with peanut butter. Nothing too fancy, this kid gets a second breakfast at daycare.😄
When he’s done eating, he’s off to play and I squeeze in light chores.
It’s a really good feeling to unload a clean dishwasher, when dishes have been washed the night before.
I might also spend this time picking up the house, starting a load or folding laundry if it’s out — anything quick to stay ahead.
7:45-8:00 am: Daycare Prep & Load Up the Car
Leaving at least a 15-minute window to transition from play to daycare is essential.
I pack the daycare bag (usually prepped the night before) and load everything and everyone into the car. Hey, the dog loves to come too if I don’t workout afterwards!
I give my child time warnings so the transition isn’t a surprise — though let’s be honest, some mornings still come with toddler resistance.
8:00-8:15 am: Daycare Drop-Off
If we’re out the door by 8:05, it’s a success! We arrive with time for hugs and a smooth handoff at daycare.
It’s a beautiful thing to have a daycare less than 5 minutes from the house. This was by design.
I say goodbye to my favorite little guy, and then it’s finally time for me, me, me!
8:30 am: Workout
I head to my workout, also just 5 minutes away from daycare.
The class my studio offers during this time is the 60-minute barre3 signature class that always ends with breathwork — the perfect way to regulate my nervous system and set the tone for the day.
If you haven’t heard of or tried a barre3 class, I highly recommend you read about my barre3 experience. It’s truly the best workout for this phase of life.
9:30-10:00 am: Shower, Breakfast, and Work Begins
Once home, I shower, get ready, and then I make my breakfast.
Usually something quick, like a smoothie with protein powder, oatmeal, or eggs and toast. You can check out some of my smoothie recipes here.
I take my vitamins if I forgot to earlier (some mornings are super hectic than this blog post makes it sound, OKAY!?)… and oh, now it’s my favorite time of the morning… coffee.
And just like that, I am ready to begin my work for the day!
Adjustments for an Earlier Morning Routine
The way I separate my mornings by these specific time blocks is intentional.
Some mornings I might have an early meeting and can’t make an 8:30 am barre3 workout class, and some mornings (thanks to co-parenting) I don’t even have my child.
On these days, I might opt for the 6:00 am class — yes, getting up at 5:30 am one day a week is totally doable and leaves the entire morning wide open for all the possibilities!
If I do have my child, I can make the 7:15 am barre3 45-minute class work by skipping the dog walk, breakfast, and playtime — taking my toddler straight to daycare after we get dressed for a 7:00 am drop-off. Don’t worry, my dog gets a proper walk when I return home just after 8:00 am.
It’s a great way to start my workday much earlier — by 8:00 or 8:30 am. And thanks to work flexibility, I could also start work earlier, then close up earlier for a 4:30 pm workout before picking up my guy by 5:15 pm at daycare.
My Alternate Versions of a Morning Routine Might End Up Looking Like This:
Childfree Morning Routine:
- 5:30 am: wake and ready
- 6:00 am: workout
- 7:00 am: shower, ready, dog walk/fed, breakfast
- 7:30/8:00 am: start my work day
Earlier Morning Routine with Child:
- 6:30 am: wake and ready
- 7:00 am: out the door and daycare dropoff
- 7:15 am: workout
- 8:00 am: dog walk/fed, shower, ready, breakfast
- 8:30/9 am: start my work day
Final Thoughts
Adjusting my morning routine as a single working mom with a toddler was essential for this stage of his life.
Excellent for his learning, as well as for mine in adopting flexibility.
Parenting is always evolving, and so is my schedule.
If you’re in this season too: give yourself grace, prepare where you can, and let go when you can’t.
What works now will shift again in a few months — and that’s perfectly normal.
Want to see how my routine looked before toddlerhood?
👉 Check out My Morning Routine as a Single Mom (With Checklist)
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