parenting exhaustion

Burnout doesn’t discriminate. You have one child or twenty. You work or you stay home. You are a single parent, you have a partner. Every mom I’ve ever asked has confirmed: she’s experienced burnout. The funny thing is that not only does burnout look different for different people, but we cope with the experience and find our way out of it differently. Last fall I was so burnt to a crunchy crisp of a brussel sprout roasting in the oven after too many commitments. Only after I faced my overcommitting tendency was I able to really look and see, yes, I was burning up & out, but yes, I also can pull back. I also can feed my kids whipping cream for breakfast. How I’ve pulled myself back this time, and I’m writing it down so I can remember it the next time it ratchets up. 1) See the burnout, look at it, acknowledge it. Naming it is half the battle. And no shame here. It’s okay to say parenting small children, and heck, older children, is hard. That doesn’t make you a weak parent. It doesn’t make you a less-than parent. It doesn’t mean your children “won” and you “lost.” It means you’re experiencing something very normal that most of us go through. All of us, really. 2) Stay hydrated and respect the hormones. I never am hydrated enough. Especially as I am nursing. Water helps everything. It also helps stabilize your appetite and mood. Drink up. Maybe infuse it. Contemplating buying…