So, I went to my first podiatry appointment yesterday. The whole thing started back in August when I threw my back out\u2026 putting Evelyn on the potty. (Yes, you read that right. Potty training = occupational hazard.) Nick decided maybe it was time for us to check out our feet\u2014his and mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turns out, I was right. My back pain on the right side is actually coming from my feet. Apparently, I\u2019m \u201chypermobile,\u201d which sounds like I should be running marathons, but in reality just means my feet collapse inward like a sad tent. And because I hate hot feet, I\u2019ve been barefoot most days\u2014something podiatrists apparently frown upon. Who knew toes could be so high maintenance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I left the office strapped up like a Thanksgiving turkey: right foot taped, prewrapped (allergy friendly!), socked, and shoved into sneakers that used to fit just fine until my foot was manhandled into \u201ccorrect\u201d position. Oh, and inserts. In both shoes. Shoes that once said, \u201cAhhh, comfort,\u201d now screamed, \u201cWelcome to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driving home, I was \u201cuncomfortably comfortable.\u201d You know, like Spanx: technically supportive, spiritually suffocating. I was white-knuckling the steering wheel, trying not to pull over, rip off the shoes, and blast the AC directly at my feet. Meanwhile, Evelyn was calmly watching Tinkerbell with her headphones on. She even dropped her fidget toy and, instead of screaming bloody murder, said, \u201cOh no!\u201d I told her I\u2019d get it at home, and she went right back to fairyland like an actual regulated human being. My three-year-old was handling the car ride better than I was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s when it clicked: she and I are basically in the same boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evelyn\u2019s been battling this open sore on her face for two months (doctor checked it, don\u2019t panic). She picks at it when she\u2019s overstimulated\u2014especially at bedtime when slowing down feels impossible. Finally, I figured out a system: a silicone chewing straw after brushing teeth, then swapping to a small chewable pop-it once the lights go out. Three days in, she\u2019s asleep in 30\u201340 minutes, not picking, and actually soothing herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, I\u2019m 40-something, perimenopausal, taped up like a football player, and still can\u2019t self-regulate. The hot-feet thing has gone from quirky to crisis. Anxiety, overstimulation, sensory overload\u2014it all starts in the feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there\u2019s Nick. To really spice things up, my husband is rolling through life unmedicated at the moment because apparently the cost of staying regulated now comes with a luxury tax! So here we are: taped feet, chewed pop-its, unmedicated brains, and one toddler who\u2019s apparently winning the regulation Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lesson of the week? Parenting in your 40s is a completely different sport than in your 20s. The kids might be small, but the shoes are tighter, the hormones louder, and the patience thinner. And sometimes the only way through it is to admit: your toddler might actually be handling it better than you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So, I went to my first podiatry appointment yesterday. The whole thing started back in August when I threw my back out\u2026 putting Evelyn on the potty. (Yes, you read that right. Potty training = occupational hazard.) Nick decided maybe it was time for us to check out our feet\u2014his and mine. Turns out, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-lately"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135,"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions\/135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stillmeinhere.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}