Do you feel easily triggered by the end of the day?

I am a Mom of a toddler, and I completely understand where you are coming from when you feel like you are touched out and SPENT by the end of the day. I work a full time job, and by the time I go to get my little girl from daycare I am already tired. Then the second job begins. You know what I mean. It becomes a fight to get them into the house and settled, then there’s dinner and emptying the dishwasher just to load it again. Not to mention the picky eating phase that has lasted forever so my dinner involves stress and making different meals. The chaos continues until 8pm bedtime and by then I am exhausted and touched out.

It is totally okay to feel like you are at your max some days. It’s important though, to take time for yourself to get what YOU need, Mama. When you fill your own cup, whether it be some meditation, a nightly face routine, or even just a shower alone, you can usually be a better version of yourself.

If you have the opportunity before the chaos begins, even if it is one night a week, try to do something for yourself BEFORE the kids’ bedtime. If you can sneak away to take a few moments of calm, please do. This way, you can feel like you will get a semblance of yourself back before you snap. Your kids will thank you for it.

When you take a few minutes to calm your thoughts and prepare for the second part of your job (dinner and bedtime routines), then you can approach it with a little more enthusiasm. If you are feeling at the end of your rope by 5pm then do whatever you can to take a few minutes for yourself.

Let me use an example.

Normally you wake up at 6 to kids screaming or kicking you in your bed, then you rush to get them ready for the day, rush out the door only to be late. It has been a hell of a morning which turns into a busy work day. At 5pm this day is nowhere near over, because dinner, bath, jammies, stories, and bed await. That is a job all in its own. By the time they are finally asleep, if that happens in your house, you are exhausted and you just do the dishes and scroll mindless social media for an hour before you throw yourself in bed. Does it have to be like that? I don’t think so. I want to flip the script a little.

What if your morning involved getting up a little earlier, having your coffee alone in silence? Would that bring some calm to your morning ahead? Then you had five minutes to empty the dishwasher, get dressed and go get the kids from their own beds. Now imagine that you had their lunches made already, their clothes picked out and you were out the door on time. Do you think your evenings would go differently?

If we make ourselves a priority, we can find ways to make our own lives easier while still enjoying our time with our family. It doesn’t have to feel like a huge change.

My goals for the week involve meal prepping a bit on Sundays, having easy dump meals on the hard days, emptying the dishwasher in the morning so all the dishes get put in the dishwasher after dinner, and prepping lunches the night before. This helps keep my sanity when the chaos tries to take over. This also frees up some time in the evening so even though I am still touched out and tired, I can find time to connect with my spouse and do something that makes me calm.

Making ourselves a priority can mean prioritizing your best sleep. That doesn’t make you a bad parent! Sleep is crucial for everyone. If you are feeling exhausted, I imagine your kiddo is feeling the same way. When children don’t get enough sleep they tend to act out in a multitude of ways. They won’t just tell you they are tired. If they are not sleeping independently and it seems like they need you constantly throughout the night, I can help.

Sleep in children is so important for development, and having a good routine can work wonders for children as they age. Sleep for parents can help us become better humans in our jobs, in our homes, as caretakers and as teachers for our children. If you are rested, you likely have way more patience for your toddler trying to “do it me-self” than if you are running on 4 hours of sleep.

Do you feel like you need help with your toddler’s bedtime routine so you can find your OWN bedtime routine?

Click on my services page or schedule a discovery call with me to find out how we can work together on finding peace in your home

Good luck,

Melanie at Sleep for Littles xo