One of the occupational hazards of Baby Bunching is physical pain. We're not talking about the kind that comes from childbirth and recovery. We're talking about the kind that comes from carrying a toddler and a baby around at the same time, nursing 23 hours a day with your arms and shoulders held in unnatural positions, constantly darting to rescue toddlers teetering off playground equipment/dashing into the street/running away in the store, etc. - you get the point. That doesn't even include the pain incurred by lifting all the gear - moving car seats from vehicle to vehicle, hoisting a double stroller in and out of your trunk with one hand while your other holds a kid, and assembling and disassembling the PackNPlay in every location known to man.
Both my husband and I noticed when we were in the thick of Baby Bunching that it seemed to have aged our bodies considerably. We would literally fall into bed exhausted at the of every day with aching muscles that we didn't even know we had. And it continued on that way for about 4 years. Yes, Baby Bunching is definitely a marathon, not a sprint, so settle in for the long haul. Fortunately, by the time my youngest reached 2 1/2, everyone was walking well, we were doing considerably less toting around of children, and we noticed that our ibuprofen consumption had dropped by half.
Enter another new baby. I'm not sure if my husband is feeling the pain this time around, but I sure am. This one has to be nursed sitting up due to his reflux, which requires a bizarre contortion of my breast and his head, all tacked together by clenching everything in my arms at odd angles. After he eats, he has to be held upright, preferably on someone's (usually mine) shoulder. This baby prefers to be held. All the time. So I wear him in the Moby wrap while I trek up and down the three floors of my house attending to the needs of the rest of my Bunch. He can't walk yet so I don't have to chase him, but his big brothers are now high-energy 3 and 4 year olds who have discovered wheels - bikes, skates, scooters, etc. So keeping up with them has taken on a whole new element. All in all, Michael Phelp's daily workout has nothing on mine.
On the bright side, I have just about dropped all my baby weight. Too bad I hung on to a freakishly elongated torso, a doughy tummy, and breasts that are luscious now but will return to their normal paper-thin, mosquito bite sized proportions once I quit nursing. Ugh.
Speaking of weight loss, an interesting word to the wise for Baby Bunchers. When I was nursing my second son, my OB warned me that I needed to really watch my weight when I quit nursing him. She claims that many women lose all their baby weight while breastfeeding and then gain it back when they stop because they continue to eat like they are breastfeeding. This is especially true for women who have babies back-to-back, since their bodies have less time to recover and they may get pregnant again before they stop nursing. Which makes sense. I actually weighed LESS when I got pregnant with my second than my first, because the first was only 7 months old and I was still nursing. I did notice that some weight crept back on after #2.
I noticed that with both of my kids, I lost all of the baby weight while I was nursing then gained some back as soon as I stopped. Grrrr.
I'm feeling your pain on lugging kids around everywhere and also the reflux. I think every inch of my house has been covered with puke at one point or another.
Posted by: Casey | Sep 16, 2008 at 06:51 PM
Hmm that is something to think about - I have been breastfeeding or pregnant for the last 5 years. I think my daughter is just about to be weaned, I wonder what will happen?!
I could probably use the extra weight though since her allergies have made me dairy and egg free for the past 7 months. I can't wait to have pizza!
Posted by: Therese Green | Sep 18, 2008 at 11:59 PM