Being a mother has its ups and downs. And crashes and burns…and sometimes the occasional head wound. In the nearly four years of being a parent to a very active little boy, we’ve suffered through two black eyes, a busted toe, numerous head bonks, unexplained ligament pain in the right ankle, and back problems.

And those were just my injuries.

Last summer, one of Alex’s uncles decided it would be great fun to take us to a nearby pond and skip stones into the water. Alex misfired and shot a rock right into my left big toenail. Let’s just say the pain lasted for weeks, the toe turned black, and it’s taken nearly a year for the area to look normal again.

For those of you curious about the black eyes, little kids just love to head butt their mommies. (Daddies always seem to mysteriously avoid these types of injuries). For a teeny little person, Alex has the hardest head in the universe. I sometimes wonder if I’ve bred a cyborg with an iron skull.

Read Why Even Good Moms Take Risks

Right now, I know there are mothers reading this and nodding their (hopefully healed heads) with a knowing smile. “Yep, that’s happened to me,” they’re saying to themselves.

Which begs the question: should moms get hazard pay for raising a child? I make this query to my husband, who miraculously stays injury-free. “Why am I the one who’s always getting hurt?” I whine to Josh, conveniently forgetting the time Alex vomited on his shirt. That didn’t count. All he had to do was change the shirt!