4th Trimester Morning Routine

If you haven’t worked it out already, I LOVE routine. Having some sort of structure sets me up for what to expect during the day, and it is one of the many aspects that kept me mentally sane during last year’s lockdown. Well, guess what threw routine out the window: having a baby. For a minute there, I had to go with the flow. In fact in the first month or so, I was only waking up when Aisha woke up, and as a result I felt like the day was running away from me rather than me taking charge of the day. After a few weeks of dealing with that, I finally figured out a system and thankfully I’m more or less able to stick to it.

*Disclaimer: This is my routine based on my lifestyle and experience. This is no way how one “should” or “shouldn’t be.” I acknowledge that I’m writing this from a point of privilege. I have a nanny, which has made my job and life significantly easier.

Wake Up: I’m typically up between 5 and 6 a.m. every morning. I’m able to get up that early because I sleep through the night while my nanny feeds Aisha. I recognize I’m writing from a place of privilege and I couldn’t be more grateful for the help I have-as it’s allowed me to heal faster and be better rested. Nevertheless I’m up very very early so I can pump out my breast milk. That is about a half and hour process, and during this time I watch something on Youtube or listen to a podcast to pass the time.

Meditation and Yoga: After pumping, I get into my work out clothes and grab my yoga mat (and sometimes my journal) for yoga and meditation. This time is fairly variable. Depending on whether or not Aisha is awake and/or needs attention (feed, cuddles, conversation, etc.), sometimes I meditate and do yoga in my bedroom. However, most of the time I head out to the balcony. By this time it’s usually sometime after 6 a.m., it’s quiet, the weather is nice and it’s very peaceful. I’ve just started a very slow and gentle yoga flow to get my body back into moving before I progress to more challenging routines. Typically when I’m doing my workout (indoors or outdoors), Aisha wakes up and my nanny feeds her, massages her, and begins getting her ready for the day. We do have those “off days” where she sleeps in later than normal.

When I’m done with my workout I get back to my room to get ready for the day. Either I get ready or my nanny gets Aisha ready first. Thankfully, I decide mine and Aisha’s outfits the day before so it makes things go significantly smoother in the mornings. When both of us are ready, we take a nice stroller walk in our front lawn, where I use the time to Facetime my parents and sister in California. After that, Aisha meets everybody in our household and I eat my breakfast.

This is my current post-baby morning routine! I’m very sure it’s going to change at some point as she continues to grow. Yet, I’m very grateful that I finally have a system that I can work with. It took some time to get there, but that’s part of the journey.