Full Heart, Aching Arms

Those of you with small children know the feeling: heart full of love for the precious child asleep in your arms and the almost-unbearable aching numbness of the arm holding the child. A pillow, armrest, or "boppy" takes some of the weight, but even with cushioning, sooner or later a throbbing, slightly electrical charge will start working its way up from your elbow to shoulder to neck.

Awwww. But the baby is so sweet nestled in the crook of my arm! Maybe if I shift this way. Nope. Move the babe's head that way. Definitely, no. Flex my wrist and roll my shoulders? Sigh. No.

And you find yourself wondering just how long an arm can stay in one position supporting the child's weight before all circulation is cut off and the arm falls off. Will a 90-minute deep tissue massage of your shoulder and neck relieve the ache? A long soak in Epsom Salts? A fistful of pain relievers?

Still, the little sugar dumpling is just too adorable to put down. So what if I'm sore for a day or two and have to live on Aleve for the next week. Who wants to miss the Sleeping Baby Show? Most times, you can just chuck the kid in the crib or whatever sleep apparatus is available. Other times, there's either nowhere to put the little darling down or any major shift will disturb the sleep.

These pictures were taken as GrandBoy slept in my arms during an outing to the beach in Connecticut. We were out of the sun, under an umbrella, but I was in a camp chair with soft armrests (no pillow or other support). My arm almost detached and rolled off into the sand, but look how cute he is! Well, in the battle of pain vs. cute, cute wins every time.

And I still have my arm.