This article originally appeared on HuffPost
Back-to-school time is back. If you have a newborn and also have children attending school, it’s a lot for everyone in the household to deal with. Over the summer, you probably had more time to give everyone what they needed. Now, the days will be going quickly as the school schedule moves forward and you will want to keep up with it.
There are many things you can do so that the family doesn’t feel overwhelmed during the school year. While sleep is at the top of the list, it’s also about sticking to a schedule, keeping life balanced, knowing where to find things in your home and more. Here are 10 back-to-school tips for parents with a new baby and a school-age child.
1) Rest on the Same Schedule: Put the kids in bed and then get in bed as well. No TV watching. You will probably have to get up in the night for a feeding. By the time the baby is going to be fed at night, you will already have had some rest. Do the feeding and get back to sleep. People start resenting each other when they are tired, so rest is more important than anything else for you and your spouse.
2) Ride to School Refreshed: In the morning, mommy will feel refreshed if she went to sleep right after the children did. Put the baby in the car seat and drive the kids to school. The sleep was important because you want to get behind the wheel with your family in the car feeling rested in the morning.
3) Organize to Save Time: It doesn’t matter how much space you have, if you are organized it can work. One of the hardest things to do during the school year is to get the children’s clothes together. When each child has their own drawer or a cubby hole, you can easily find things rather than spending time searching through a hamper.
4) Pre-Pack Lunches: At night while daddy is holding the baby, you should lay out the children’s clothes for the morning as well as pack their lunches before you go to bed. Remember to refrigerate their lunch boxes.
5) Restock on the Weekends: Weekends are a good time to get restocked on everything your family needs in the house during the week. Make sure the laundry is done, the snacks are available and so on.
To read the rest of this list, head over to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marva-soogrim/10-tips-for-back-to-school-with-a-newborn-at-home_b_3932347.html
What are your tips for Back-to-School? Let us know in the comments below!