Ouch!

Parenthood is painful. You think I mean labor & delivery? Well, yes, that part is rough, but it's not my topic today. I'm talking about the quotidian aches and injuries that come with the territory of raising little ones.

Right now, without exaggerating, I can tell you about 4 times I hurt myself just this week, all kid-related:

• I pinched my left pinky finger between the driver's door and dashboard in the van (didn't even know that was possible!) because I had my hand down on the dash pushing the auto-close buttons for the back sliding doors while simultaneously closing my own door. That was a couple days ago and my finger tip still throbs sometimes. I hope my nail doesn't turn all purple and disgusting.
• I was trying to pick a kid up off the floor but he wriggled away. I whacked my elbow on a built-in cubbyhole in the hallway at home.
• I can't quite recall the circumstances of the third injury - I think I was holding one of the boys when he flung his head back dramatically and banged into my arm (the humerus, to be precise). I've got a nickel-sized bruise there now. Not very humorous! (ha ha, come on, you knew I had to go there)
• When I was lifting the still-folded-up stroller out of the van, it slipped out of my hand. Somehow my hip bone broke its fall (I'm going to go with the anterior interior iliac spine this time). I am surprised the impact didn't result in bleeding because it really stung!

Those are just the incidents that hurt enough for me to remember. I'm not even counting all the times I tripped over/stepped on toys (so glad we don't have small Legos yet), got whacked in the face by flailing children, or felt the burn in my back and legs while picking up two kids at the same time.

It's possible I'm clumsier than most. As a gangly teenager, I had a penchant for accidentally colliding with doorways and walls, then flopping on the floor dramatically, writhing in pain. With my kids around now, I do my best to keep a lid on it so I don't scare them unintentionally. Awhile back, I was holding Gibson when he unexpectedly chomped down on my shoulder - hard! I yelped, "Ouch!" He started wailing, so then I had to comfort him in his scaredness even though I'm the one who got bit. Oh, the life of a mom.