Physicals of being a parent

[Spoo]

Does anyone else find it physically demanding being a parent. I do have two boys so maybe there is something in that, but after just bashing my knuckle against the washing machine I am feeling a bit sorry for myself again. I find that I am having this small knocks and bangs quite regularly and they really upset me. I just didn't think it would be physically such a strain (What planet was I on??) I feel like I am battering my body. I also have hard spots on my ankles and knees I think it's housemaid knee? Am I the only one who feels like this?

[MumtoCharlotteMay]

My dd (8mo) is now crawling, need I say more?

Today I have: Smashed head first into the coffe table chasing her on my knees, run into a doorframe because she started screaming suddenly, stubbed my toe a number of times running in after her and dropped a pile of dishes on my left hand because I was too busy not paying attention to what I was doing. It's not even been bathtime yet!

I didn't expect being a parent to be this hard, that's without all the physical injuries!

[Spoo]

Oww oww oww!!

[ArmadilloDaMan]

I think quite a lot is to do with tiredness making you clumsy, and/or not paying enough attention as trying to do too many things at once.

TBF though I was clumsy before I was a parent. I've managed not to fall over for several weeks though (a record for me)

[Spoo]

I think its not paying attention to what I'm doing to be honest - or thinking about the next thing to do and rushing to get that one done.

[Daffodilly]

Yes - a combination of knocks and bumps from running about all day (so much safer sitting at a desk in an office). Plus physical demands of lifting and carry hefty 14 mth old - into cot, out of cot, in to car, pram, picking up for cuddles, carrying her up and down stairs.

Off to find DH for a massage I think...

[pukkapatch]

which is why it is better to be a parent in your twenties than in your forties.
whichis why it is wrong wrong wrong to make grandparents take care of you ng children all day long so their mothers can go to work.
etc etc etc

[Smithagain]

I have:

calluses on my ankles from kneeling on the hard floor while playing.

a persistent painful foot from spending two hours per day walking to and from school.

a sore back from lifting my heavy lump of a two year old.

and

Aching shoulders from spending too much time on Mumsnet

so yes!

[pukkapatch]

df used to carry dsis in pushcahri up three flights of stairs.youngest dd was born when he was 45. he couldnt do that with her. he always felt it was a failure on his part. despite the fact that mom always pointed outto him that he didnt need to do it anymore as we no longer lived on the third floor.... but, thats how he felt. incapable of dealing witht he physical demands of being a father.

[OverMyDeadBody]

lol

But pukka, my mum babysits sometimes when I'm at work, but only on her days off. When she's at work she spends all day with severely disabled and ASD children, that's where she gets her batterings!

[pukkapatch]

lo, but that is her choice omd. i'm thinking of some of the poor exhausted looking grandparents i see in rl, being full time mummies because their dd's, or ddil's are doing other paid work, and using the older women for cheaper childcare. it really really annoys me.
grandparents have a right to be grandparents. that means babysitting when they want to, need to,emergencies etc, not having to do it all over agian for the next generation. their dd's and ddil's jobs/lives are not more important than theirs.

my mom works full time as well. though not as fit as yours omd, would she like to adopt some omore grandchildren? she sounds very capable.

[Countingthegreyhairs]

oi pukka, some of us over-forty-year olds aren't quite ready for the mortician's slab ... !!!

I'm 43, have a very energetic 4yr old dd and am trying for no2!! I live in a house with lots of stairs and I'm fitter now than I've ever been.

OK so I have lower back pain (I'm tall) and I've carpet burns on my feet from doing too many jigsaws but we're not all old crocks ...
I've just started horse-riding again with my dd for the first time in 14 years ....

Totally agree with you about some grandparents being taken advantage of though ....

[OverMyDeadBody]

ha! I'm not sure I could persuade her to adopt more, tbh I feel bad ever asking her to babysit, she does so much, but she's always offering!

I know what you men about some of the older grandparents, but surely they could just say no? Maybe not. It's one of those catch 22 situations, the parents have to work, childcare is bloody expensive, but that doesn't make it fair does it. It's a bit like all the parents of grown-up children who have to let them live with them because there is no way they can get on the property ladder. Not like the old days is it? I was brought up to believe that once you are grown up you repay your parents for all the hard work they put into bringing you up by helping them out and taking care of them. I only hope one day I'll be in a position to do more for my parents.

[snowleopard]

I often find I'm using my muscles to the absolute limit - eg trying to wrestle raincover off buggy while holding DS with other hand, or trying to prise the top off a certain brand of toddler cup - takes all the strength I have! And I'm quite big and strong. Also I do get a lot of knocks, bumps and backaches from all the things I do with him (soft play centres are terrible for that because they're designed for very small people and if you go in you always whack/wrench yourself on something... and playgrounds). I also wonder if parents of boys tend to get more of this (in general).

[JingleyJen]

Yep - Physical activity definately -
At Baby group this morning carrying disabled friends son to the car - My DS2 stops walking in the middle of the road I bend down with hand bag and friends baby (14 months but not yet walking) and shove bag up arm pick up 2nd child one in each arm whilst holding car keys trying to unlock car.

Also have dark patches on my kneecaps have done since DS1 was about 4 months old - I guess it is a housemaids knee type thing.

Bumps and bruises almost go un-noticed now as they happen so often - Oh woe is me!!

On the up side I love my boys using me as a climbing frame my parents were much more hands off.

[Spoo]

Thank you everyone. Glad I'm not the only one. LOL Jingley on your image in the car park - sounds like me. I love my boys using me as a climbing frame but they often crawl around in our bed in the morning (after 6.30!!) and I often end up with a fott in my face or hanging off the edge of the bed. Bedroom isn't big enough for a bigger bed.

[snowleopard]

Yes, I'm a climbing frame and I have the dark knees too! Really glad to hear that's not just me...

[yurt1]

It's the thing I find hardest now (ds1 8, severely autistic- strong beyond belief and requires constant physical handling), ds2 (6) is a dream, ds3 (3) is at the annoying age where he's quite chunky but still needs lifting up on the toilet and wants to be carried a lot etc.

[Talk2Me]

Hey, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels a bit bashed. I'm 42 with DS1 6 and DS2 4. DS1 very energetic - don't stand a chance of keeping up with him. DS2 still very cuddly and I find snuggling up on the sofa to watch CBeebies not too exhausting! Constant bruises 'cos I try to walk through walls instead of doors; washing basket seems to get heavier and heavier; stairs to attic (where boys sleep) get steeper every day. Oh dear! Where's that Stannar Stair Lift advert gone?

Tried getting fit some months ago - gentle jogging - ended up in A&E! Perhaps I should just stick to walking to school.

[cory]

My sore muscles are beginning to heal since the latest bit of medical treatment has meant dd no longer needs lifting during her pain episodes. She is 11 and will soon be as tall as I. I was still carrying her on my back to school when she was 9- stupid doctors said a wheelchair would make her feel disabled! Yeah, like crawling on your hands and knees up the pavement would be just normal!
Being in my mid-forties, I was beginning to feel a bit battered- but things are getting better.

[Gemzooks]

you maybe get knackered and more injuries, but probably you are more active overall looking after a young child. it's probably a more 'natural' lifestyle than working in an office, however would have thought there were advantages to both. THink it could actually keep grandparents younger to be back in parenting mode, wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing..

[cory]

That's what my Mum reckons, Gemzooks. There were only a few years between youngest child leaving home and eldest grandchild appearing and she reckons that's kept her younger than many of her friends.

[pelvicflawed]

I frequently bare the scars - my hands look like they belong to a 90 year old from all the handwashing and I developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my wrists a month or so afetr he was born (prob had it mildly before but lifting and the pram just hit it off - thankfully its now sorted with ops). On the plus size I get quite a bit of exercise and fresh air pushing the buggy and running up and down stairs all day when I'm not at work (3 days). I've also noticed (and I'm dead chuffed about this!!) that for the first time in 38+ years my upper arms have a bit of shape and are not just flabby - lifting 25lb+ of toddler must be doing some good!!

[Amethyst8]

Put it this way I am naturally a larger lady (and happy with it I might add) but since I had my kids I am a standard size 12 and in the evenings after dinner, bath and bedtime I am more tired then when I used to be in the army.