To take it a bit easy at the moment?

[imwithspud]

I had a bit of a freak accident at the weekend which resulted in the palm of my hand getting sliced open with a butchers knife, ended up with stitches and it's really, really sore. Could have been worse though and I'm thanking my lucky stars it wasn't.!I've pretty much lost the use of one hand until it's healed/becomes less painful as I'm worried about damaging the stitches and the more I use that hand the sorer it gets which to me suggests I need to try and rest a bit..

Aibu to take things easy at the moment? Obviously the kids are taken care of, nappy changes take longer and picking up and bfing the 7 week old us a challenge but they get what they need regardless. It's more the housework that I'm struggling with. My nan has been round helping out (which I appreciate loads) but she seems to think I should stop being a wimp and try and carry on as normal. I guess I'm wondering if she has a point or if it's actually okay for me to take things easy for a few days without feeling guilty about being a bit lazy.

Yes of course it's ok! Your injury sounds awful and anyway, you have a 7 week-old baby. Get thee to the sofa!

Yep, you should take it easy. You have a 7 week old baby! Let the injury heal properly, better now, and in the long term. No guilt required.

There's a whole load of muscles and tendons in the palm of the hand, and every one of them has a part to play in the full use of the hand. So yes, be good to your hand while it heals and don't overdo things. Look to the long term, it's far more important to recover full use for the rest of your life than to do housework for a few days/weeks. Prioritise what you have to do, use your other hand where you can, and the rest can wait.

Have you had any advice from the hospital regarding physio, wound care, massaging to reduce scar tissue?

Well, nan's from a different generation isn't she (put up and shut up)...

Take as much time as you need to heal yourself and see to the wee ones.

You obviously need it. Accidents often happen when we are too stressed out. It's a sign to take it easier, it's the body telling you. Listen to it!

You have a 7 week old baby and a hand injury.
I struggled to even get dressed before 5pm when my daughter was 7 weeks old and that was without an injury!

Give yourself a break, look after yourself and your baby. Smile when your nan tells you you should be doing more and ignore. Hope your hand isn't too painful.

Absolutely you need to let your hand heal, and allow your body to 'concentrate' on healing your injury. The housework will have to wait. Your hands are so important and will take longer to heal if you don't be sensible at the early stages. Especially with a tiny baby. Plenty of freh fruit and veg or a vitamin c supplement helps healing. Could you afford to get an agency cleaner for a couple of weeks to keep on top of things? who won't nag you about maintaining a stiff upper lip and carrying on regardless

It sounds very painful and difficult op. Definitely take care and take it easy. You're also recovering from pregnancy and birth! It's taken me a lot of years to learn that it's actually sensible and ok to give yourself time to recover when ill. Be nice to yourself

Even without an injured, stitched up and bandaged hand I did nothing more than the basics with a 7 week old baby.

You need (in order of priority)
Sofa
Baby
Food and drinks bringing to you on an hourly basis
Odd trip for a wee
Judge Rinder or other similar trash TV
Chocolate

I would try and get a cleaner in temporary if possible to provide more help if you can afford to. Someone twice a week for 2-3 weeks will be amazing (£50 ish a week). And can do washing/ bedding/ tidying for you.

Order all food from ocado. Easy to eat

Do what's best for you. I'm the push on through type but only because I couldn't relax on the sofa when there were chores to be done. I don't see it as a virtue because I'm sure it probably delays recovery.

Crikey, that sound dreadful. Rest, rest, rest, as you say as long as children have their basic needs that's fine. Also, you don't want to get run down and end up with an infection that's going to cause an issue with you breastfeeding.

Thank you everyone, I feel a little less guilty now. I can do things such as loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping sides down and putting clothes in the washing machine but anything that requires two hands is a no no. Glad to know I'm doing right by listening to my body and taking it easy, the last thing I want is an infection and I'm supposed to be getting the stitches out Monday so I wouldn't want to do anything which would result in them having to stay in longer. I do love my nan but she can be a bit dismissive sometimes, I don't think she understands how 'serious' an injury it is even though I've shown her. It's not a papercut by any means lol. Today she has been suggesting I use a stress ball to 'exercise' my hand, thus putting pressure on the cut, erm no thanks! She's definitely one of those put up and shut up types I can use my fingers fine, but I can't really use my thumb as it 'pulls' on the cut. I can't hold a mobile phone in that hand for example but I can use my fingers to type.

I really want to be healed asap as it's getting me down, I can't even drive or push a pushchair to get out of the house for a while, feeling a little useless at the moment. Hopefully next week I'll be able to resume some form of normality. But knowing I am allowed to take it easy is helping me feel better.

Ouch! A colleague did a similar thing putting a stanley knife through his palm. Get yourself rested up!