Parental Push-ups

Getting Through the Rugged Toddler Years

By Diane Lane

Years ago, during my one and only pregnancy, whenever I made the mistake of sitting down somewhere in public, total strangers loved to dump tons of parenting advice in my enormous lap. But I don't understand something: Why didn't any of them reveal to me the athletic side of parenting? Granted, labor should have warned me. I still remember pushing as hard as possible to the tune of: "Push harder, HARDER!" I felt as if I was attempting advanced aerobics under the commands of a drill sergeant disguised as a nurse. I never in my wildest nightmares dreamed that such strenuous exertion would be required of me while still pregnant.

All that, and yet I didn't think about how physical mothering would be until my newborn son made it quite clear that he required constant holding. There was no reasoning with this child. For the first three months, he just didn't buy my explanations of why I really needed to bathe and brush my teeth. Little did I know, he was just trying to get me ready for the more rugged toddler events.

Eventually, my young baby settled down, cooing away, trying to convince me that life with him would always be blissful. Well, by 9 months or so, this same little person started kicking, rolling and break-dancing all over the changing table as I attempted to diaper him – not too big a problem since it only required a little agility and about three or four arms. But by 15 months, he walked away from the changing area, and by 20 months, he ran away. I really didn't expect parenthood to involve long-distance running. But this was nothing compared with the physical challenges of playtime.

Want to see more?

• Exercising with Your Baby Indoors
• Jordan's Walk
• The Joys of Eating With Toddlers
• Toddler Transitions
• Talk about it!