How I manage single parenting.

9 months of single parenting and I’ve never been more grateful for my organisational abilities and time management skills because when it comes to looking after two mini humans on your own it is a delicate dance where if you have everything timed to perfection it will be an elegant affair, but one step off beat and chaos ensues.

I knew the work load I was going to face as a single parent because let’s be honest, I was doing a majority of it to begin with.

The morning and evening routines were already timed to absolute perfection as I got the kids fed and ready for school/bed so the only outlying factor I had to manage was how the hell was I going to look after myself in that mix.

There was now nobody for me to shout “I’m going to have a shower, please watch the kids” to.

(Side note: why is it always mums who do this but dads can slink away unnoticed?)

Nor was there somebody to help come bedtime when both your babes are used to being cuddled to sleep but have similar bed times *face palm*.

I am beyond fortunate that I have flexibility with my work schedule because the school schedule alone is enough to make any working mum shake in her boots — can someone tell me who thought making school hours between 8:20am-3:10pm was a good idea? How the HELL are we supposed to fit a 8hr working day in there?? But I digress.

So here’s a little breakdown of how our day during the week goes:

6am — wake up; Hayley pulls the pre-washed/cut fruit and pre-poured milk bottles out of the fridge to serve up for breakfast while I sleep for another half hour

7am — hustle time; Hayley dresses herself while I pack her lunchbox, Kayden is already dressed from the night before #hack

7:45am — off we go; it takes approximately an hour for me to do the daycare & school drop off before going straight to work

3:10pm — school pick up; armed with some snacks in the car we make the 10-20min drive home

3:30pm — dinner prep; while Hayley settles in front of the telly with more snacks I get dinner on the go before having a shower

4:30pm — daycare pick up; time to bring the baby home and start the dinner, bath, bed routine

6:30pm — book & bed time

On the weekends you would generally find us holed up at my parents or off doing an activity that would see us leave the house at Kayden’s nap time.

As for how I get two kids to sleep on my own? (Because us parents have this fascination with kids and their sleep).

My kids share a room and I’m very fortunate Hayley is great at hopping into bed and falling asleep on her own as long as I’m in the room (although she would much prefer if I curled up next to her #bigspoon).

So while she’s curled up in her big girl bed, I’m squished in the cot cuddling the baby to sleep (yes, yes I tried the whole sleep training thing and let’s just say I do not have it in me to try anymore).

So, what are my top 3 parenting hacks for being organised?

1. Prep things the night before — I wash and cut the fruit during dinner prep time and place them on the bottom shelf so in the morning Hayley can serve up breakfast while I get a few more zZz in. She’s also at the age now where if I forget to prep the milk cups she’s able to pour the milk out herself.
   I used to prep Hayley’s lunch box the night before too but it was getting too much as bedtime sometimes doesn’t wrap up until 8pm but on the off chance bedtime wraps early and I have energy, I’ll prep the lunchboxes before I sit down for the evening (morning me always thanks previous evening me for this when I get to sit a little longer sipping my coffee as opposed to downing it while chucking things into the lunchbox).

2. Dress the baby the night before — I learnt this hack with Hayley when we were travelling and had to leave at ridiculous-o-clock for flights. Dress them in their day clothes the night before and as long as the nappy doesn’t leak overnight, it is one less person to dress the next day. You’re welcome ;)

3. Batch cook dinners — I try to cook once a week and freeze whats left. This means most nights when I’m “cooking” dinner it’s usually things like boiling pasta to go with the sauce or boiling eggs/veg for the kids.

So, that’s how I have survived my first 9months of single parenting while simultaneously becoming a school mum.

Do you have any parenting hacks that work a charm with keeping your organised?

- margaret