By Jennifer Weedon Palazzo of MomCaveTV.com

Everyone knows that carrying and birthing a baby is physically challenging, that recovering from having a baby is physically challenging. But no one tells you that it doesn’t end there. Parenting hurts. Physically and emotionally.

At my baby shower for my first child, a mom of grown children made a toast. She said, “From now on, your heart will be walking around outside of your body. ” I loved that sentiment. It’s one thing to worry, fret, and be heartbroken about yourSELF. But when you are responsible for another human’s life from start to finish, you will experience emotions that I’m not a skilled enough writer to describe.

But if you are some kind of heartless android and parenting does not constantly pull at your heartstrings, well… my friend’s sentiment could have another meaning entirely. Imagine taking it literally: your heart being ripped out of your body. Because once they rip that baby out of you, it’s only the beginning of your physical challenges.

I first had the idea of writing about parenting injuries when my oldest child was a baby. Sore from sitting on the floor all day, trying to ignore my cracked, bleeding nipples, my son kept head butting me. He had no idea how badly that hurt. And then he started with the hair pulling, the glasses pulling, the earring pulling… And that was only the beginning. I thought to myself, “When I have a few moments, I should write about all the injuries new moms get.”

Flash forward seven years and an additional kid later. It’s taken me that long to find “a few moments” to write this. And I realize that it’s not just NEW parents that get injured. Parenting is a constant physical rubicon.

So here’s a very abbreviated list of my parenting injuries so far, in video form. I’d love to hear about yours!

Parenting Injuries… How many have YOU had?

This post and video were originally published on MomCaveTV.com. 

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About the Author

Jennifer Weedon Palazzo  is the creator of MomCaveTV.com, an online network of snarky comedies for moms including Slummy Mummy, Slacker Mom, Double Leche, Blabbermom, and MomCave LIVE. When she’s not writing about the funny side of being a mom for sites like Scary Mommy and Mamalode, Jennifer can be found eating Reese’s Cups while furiously bidding on vintage clothing on eBay. After 18 years as a Manhattan-ite, she now lives in the Berkshires with her husband, Evan, bandleader of The Hot Sardines and their two kids. Follow her on Twitter @MomCaveTV, Facebook, and visit https://www.youtube.com/MomCave.