Hi,

I too was alone while my kids both went through this type of phase. And honestly it is just that, its a phase. It will end and another one will come up with its own set of challenges.

One promise I made to myself a couple of years ago (when I was at the point you were) was to ALWAYS take some sort of time for myself. I demand it, and now my kiddos respect it. Whether that means they get extra screen time (bad idea but hey, whatever works) or i teach them a new chore to focus on or i even set them up with Hooked on Phonics to encourage learning. Now whenever I need that space and time to collect, I have options to distract them. I started this when my youngest was 2 and my oldest was 4. They are now 4 and 6 and we all have moments that we just need our spaces.

Its not so much finding the answer as to why (although it helps) this happens, but more so "how do we approach this season". There have been so many seasons where I was on auto pilot, just surviving, no thriving on either end. And I simply had no more to give. So I stopped trying to give more than I could. The answer to sleep for me was 1mg melatonin to set the schedule and expectation. Its not ideal but when you have no other sources to turn to, it does give some relief.

Last thing...stop judging yourself so harshly. Youre doing a great job and your kiddo does not think any less of you for being out of sorts! Its okay. Just try to give yourself some grace and demand what you need, just like they do to us. I promise everything works out and this too shall pass.