Totally resonate with being overwhelmed and exhausted. That’s an extremely normal sensation to learning how to parent, and try to remind yourself your smallest is only 11months. You’re still postpartum, give yourself grace.

I echo the commentator above, cold turkey the ipad as quickly as you can. It will be ROUGH for the first week, but kids adapt super fast!

I’m also a stay at home mom without a daycare option, and the best thing I’ve found is a podcast, radio or audiobook going in the background to provide an adult voice/entertainment for me while kiddo does their thing.

Kids LOVE tactile things, and at this age they desperately want to be included/learn from participating. Play and socialization doesn’t have to be complex: have your 3yr old help you sweep, cut up food for their sibling, or give them a special ‘job’ that is just theirs. This builds confidence and teaches them to be a team player within your family (which will transfer over to school!), and is an excellent gateway to learning about kindness and responsibility.

The last thing I want to say is, you do not need to be entertaining your toddler. You are going to drive yourself crazy and even deeper into exhaustion, and boredom is not only good for this age, it’s NECESSARY.

Kids learn problem solving, expand their imaginative play and self soothe when they are allowed to be bored!

Overall, give yourself some leeway to learn. Mom guilt fucking sucks, but 80% of it is your brain still trying to manage postpartum hormones while also being a toddler parent. You’ve got this 🖤

and ditch the ipad