Between Braids

So, I cut my hair to about an inch or two after some really bad postpartum breakage 2 years ago. For a while, I just rocked my natural hair until I reached that awkward length that I didn't know what to do anything with. Lately, I've been getting protective styles (with braiding hair) faithfully for just over a year now with less than 3 days between styles. Though my hair grew quickly, I've learned I need to give my hair more rest between styles. What do I do with my hair though? I want to give it proper rest but I can't rock a fro every day since my toddler thinks it's a toy. 🙃