They're killin' me
Now, don't get me wrong. I love the little monkeys. But the whole childbearing, childbirth, childrearing thing is like taking a rasp to my joints.
Julie, if you're reading this, stop now. Julie is still in the thrall of new pregnancy (send sticky baby vibes) and reading this will only disillusion her.
This morning, on my way upstairs to rouse the troops, I turned. And heard the ominous click of my knee.
You know how, when you start to be unwieldy in pregnancy, doctors and nurses remind you frequently to lift with your knees? Like a good little mama-to-be, I listened. After the children, I listened to the gps, taking advice from the orthopedists, to lift with my knees. All to save my back.
This has now devolved to the choice between walking with a limp or with a hump.
There is no winning here.
7 Comments:
I've always wondered about that lift with your knees advice, because I had an old knee injury. Sure, I have scoliosis too, so that sucks, but it does seem a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul. You pay for it sooner or later...
By 
Sandra Ruttan, at
1:39 PM
Sorry to hear that Miss Sela. I'm steeling myself for when the kids are all done with school. This Friday. Wahhhhhhh! No daycare. No school. No breaks. *Sigh*
Oh well, maybe I'll get something done.
By Jennifer McKenzie, at
2:39 PM
You're right--it's a no-win thing.
I've got both a bad back and one bad knee. On any given day it comes down to, "okay, which will I abuse this time?" :-O
By 
, at
3:23 PM
Thanks, Sela. Yet another reason (besides episiotomies) to feel paranoid. Of course I couldn't stop reading.
By , at
10:44 PM
Life's a trade-off.
I now have great upper-body strength from carrying them around.
Julie--the episiotomy actually doesn't matter much. You want the kid out, you don't care how it gets that way. I didn't even notice mine and was so amused by the foam antibiotics they give you afterward, I didn't think about it at all. LOL! It's the epidural that hurts.
Sela--my knees sound like castanets when I go up or down the stairs. And...you lift things?? LOL! I had pretty good arm strength, but since Moo is nearly my size, I can't carry him anymore and I'm weakening.
I totally understand your snowball feeling. Wishing you luck, but don't let it freeze you. Trust me, it sucks more the closer to deadline you get. Wishing you luck!
Dee
By Dee Tenorio, at
2:58 PM
Always lift with your knees. And before lifting anything heavy, raise your chin, too. It takes pressure off your back and makes the lift much easier.
The trick with the knees is to find an exercise that strengthens the leg muscles that support them. When we went hill-walking (very infrequently) I used to find the descents agony on my knees. Now I'm doing a lot more walking (and rowing machine) I fly down the slopes like an agile, fearless mountain goat.
Okay, a very large, sweaty, red-faced agile, fearless mountain goat, but mountain-goat-like, nonetheless... ;-)
Anyway, a limp is far more attractive than a hump.
I mean, consider this:- Richard Sharpe or quasimodo?
By Anna Louise Lucia, at
5:22 AM