I am a mom of 3 and I have bum knees

Is there ever such a bad combination?

I've been suffering from crunchy knees for the past year and I have never thought anything of it (based on a casual response from my husband when I say my knees make noise). But then one day a couple of months ago, I actually let him hear it. His response was a contorted face that clearly told me the noise my knees make isn't normal.

I saw an orthopaedist and had tests done. And the result is that I have femoral arthritis and before considering surgery we have to try 6 weeks of physical therapy. My physical therapist thinks that I may have had this before and the weight gain with my pregnancy with the twins made it worse (but truth be known, I actually gained more weight with my son than with the twins). I've been holding myself in such a way that required less work from certain muscles, which made my knee caps wear out. Physical therapy then serves to develop those muscles (mostly the inner thighs) to support proper functioning of the knee caps.

After 6 weeks, I returned to see the orthopaedist on Friday and the verdict is "looks like the Physical Therapy is working, let's try 6 more weeks." I swear the whole consult took less than 2 minutes (the girls and I waited in the lobby for 45 minutes, and then waited in the exam room for 30 minutes).

I'm in pain, especially when I go up and down the stairs carrying the twins. But hey, it's better than surgery. I just can't imagine how things will go if I were to be out of commission for even just a week. Between deep squats (which I'm supposed to limit, as it is extremely bad for my knees) to get up and down on the floor to tend to the twins, and walking around the house at my toddler's beck and call, there trully isn't any rest for my bum knees.

Who knew hyper extending my knees could become such a problem. BAD, BAD KNEES! You have disappointment Mommy. Though on the upside, at least it isn't Rheumatoid Arthritis, so good, good knees. No. NO, still.... bad knees! Very bad!