Back-to-school Morning Madness During Pregnancy

Getting the troops up, ready and out the door in time for school has always been a challenge. But when you're pregnant this typically chaotic task can seem almost insurmountable. You're tired, achy, hormonal and, inevitably, some breakdown occurs. Your youngest can't find her shoe. Your oldest can't find that permission slip that must be turned in today. Before the stress takes its toll, take time to regroup and determine a strategy that will save everyone some tears and tantrums.

"In a dream world, you can always plan ahead," says Allyson Lewis, author of The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps to Big Changes (Kaplan Publishing, 2006), and a motivational speaker and consultant. "You can have the clothes hung in the closets and ironed and labeled for each day of the week – but as the mother of two children, I know that we're sometimes lucky to find matching socks with just minutes to go before hopping in the car and heading off to school. So instead, you have to make some decisions of what priorities are really important to you."

Lewis suggests setting an early enough wake-up time so everyone can avoid constantly rushing in the mornings. "This means everyone may need to go to bed earlier so they can get adequate sleep," she says. "If you're able to get up even a few minutes earlier, it seems to make everything run more smoothly."

Another big change that can help? Say goodbye to the TV in the mornings. "My family has decided that no TV is allowed in the mornings during the school year," Lewis says. "It's such a distraction and slows everyone down. This also gives the family a chance to actually talk about what their plans are for the upcoming day."

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