Advice on Getting Toddler to Sitter Very Early in the Morning

Dear A., Years ago I was caring for a little girl. Her mom would bring her to me in her PJ's. Getting her dressed was taking too much time. She would need a change but this was OK, mom would get to work on time. Hope this helps, Grandma Mary

I did daycare for a long time. There are a couple of things that make the morning smoother from a daycare point of view. If the toddler is a longer / later sleeper. Then scoop her up just as your ready to walk out the door and transfer her to the carseat. Let her sleep. Don't wake her /him up and force a good morning, breakfast, visit etc. better to bring her / him needing to be dressed but happy than to bring them screaming and crying because they need more sleep. I have had multiple parents bring new borns in the carseat its easier for everyone all the way around. bring a bag of clothes and diapers give a kiss and scoot out the door. and never never say the following.... "Mommy is so sorry to have to leave you here" your sorry for leaving your little one but they take that to mean something is wrong with "here" lol. just a kiss and mommy will see you after work have a good day is all you need.

Start practicing the routine as soon as possible. I'm a teacher and I would spend the month of August getting my sons up and out of the house as if it were a school day, so we'd have the routine down pat by the time school started. Plus, it gives you time to see how to improve your routine.

I am not a working mother but I am a babysitting grandma. The best advice I can give is if you have to bring your toddler to grandma very early in the morning, don't wake her. Let her sleep and just scope her up, wrap her in a blanket if it's cold, put her in her car seat and bring her over. And when you get to grandma's house put her back in bed to let her wake up on her own. And at the beginning of the week take all the clothes, diapers and food to grandma's house. This way you don't have to pack the diaper bag every day. It's just easier for everyone. You are not rushing around in the morning (or the night before) and grandma has everything right where she needs/wants it.

I've been lucky in that I haven't done a LOT of "taking to the sitter" trips BUT I agree with either dressing her the night before in soft sweatsuit type outfits or leave her in jammies if you can. The more stuff you supply at the beginning of the week--clothes, food, toys, diapers, etc., the less stuff you'll need to schlepp every day.

Have her eat her breakfast on the way to your mothers like a waffle or something or have your mother give her breakfast and change her into her diaper and daytime clothes it will save you a lot of time and you should get your self all ready to go before you put her in the carriage and go. Good luck you'll be much more organized once you've done it enough times.

the thing that helps me the most is that I get up early enough that all of my stuff is done before I get her up. I'm dressed, hair done, and lunch made, then i get the kiddo up. Usually I open her door and say good morning, then go make my lunch so she has that extra time to start waking up.

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If you are going to take your child to your mother's house, you can do what I do with my babysitter. Don't dress your child every morning - just change the diaper. On the first day of the week, you can give your mom and week's worth of outfits for your child to wear. The changing from pajamas to clothes can happen at your mom's, thus saving you more time.

I shower the night before and get both my work bag and the baby's diaper bag and bottles/food ready. If your mother will be watching the baby, then keep supplies at her place (diapers, wipes, sippy cups/bottles, and extra clothes) that way you just need to take the baby in the AM and not worry about anything else. I like to get up before the baby and get myself ready first. That way when the baby gets up, i change him and we go. I often give him a snack in the AM too and a sippy of milk or juice to help keep him happy.

Are you able to put the packed diaper bag in the car and only grab the refrigerated items in the morning? You can buy large rubber bands and bundle each days clothes for the week, pants, shirt, underwear, & socks.

My little one is four and I have made a checklist so that she and Dad can make sure everything is packed. Sunday night is our busy night.

As well, the preschool requires a back pack. We place her clean sheet and blanket and a change of clothes in there, as well as lunch. I find this a lot easier than a diaper bag has ever been because it is on wheels. We just grab the handle and roll it out the door, place it on the stand while we lock the door and load the car etc. I remember the big heavy diaper bag being a pain to get out the door with, it often fell off my back and would come swinging hitting my little girl right in the head.

Also for lunch I make one whole sandwich every other night. Both go in a baggie for days 1 & 2, no complaints. You can also buy cut celery, carrots, and packaged snacks and cereal. She eats breakfast at school, so I put milk in a ziplock baggie (ziplock does not leak) and put it inside the lunch box for the next day.

I babysit 2 boys for a substitute teacher, so we never know from day to day if "we're" working or not. The mornings the parents get the call to be at work, the boys usually come to my place fresh from bed. They're usually still in pj's, sometimes the younger one's diaper hasn't even been changed, the parents supply me with cereal & other items so that I get the boys breakfast and everything. I would much rather have to dress, change a diaper, and feed wee ones breakfast than I would listen to them bawling around because they were woken up an hr ahead of schedule and were forced awake.