I was formally diagnosed with ADHD in February, so am still very much finding my way, with medication helping a lot with my work life. However, my first child was born near the tail end of last year and boy did I not expect how debilitating things would be. I love being a dad, I love my kid so much it hurts, but any time I’m home with her around I end up in a hyper focus kind of state trying to keep her out of trouble (she’s very, very active). Even with her sleeping through the night, I have to get up at around 4.30 every morning for an 8am start, 10 minutes away, otherwise everything ends up in a shambles, usually with me forgetting to eat breakfast, or take lunch, or my meds, or me a grown man ending up in tears because of the pressure to get ready for the day, which is not something I’d ever experienced before. The worst bit is makes it that much harder to properly enjoy the moments with her. Being a parent is hard enough as is, but this is really something else.
Put lunch and meds with a cup of water in the fridge in a bag the night before. Set a reminder to bring the bag. Make your breakfast the night before.
Prepare her clothes the night before. If you are a morning shower person take the shower the night before. Same with her.
Just because she wakes up doesn’t mean that you have to unless it’s a safety issue. Get up, change her nappy and then back to bed. She will learn to sleep through the night.
Use this extra time to get yourself set. Take another 30min. Eat breakfast, get your meds etc.
Get a play area where she can play safely while you do whatever you need to do.