The Way You Carry Your Baby Could Be Damaging Your Body
Carrying a baby takes a toll on our bodies if not done properly. I started noticing back pain, hip pain, stiff knees and inflamed wrists when I started carrying my babies and it worsened when they became toddlers.
Back Pain
It took me a long time to realize why my back was hurting. I first attributed it to several years of working on computers for long days. When I tried to have better posture using a computer and taking more breaks only to find the pain has not reduced, I concluded it was a result of something else.
After pondering the issue, I realized I was getting more pain after my babies were born. Initially I could not explain why. I decided to observe my behaviors.
Changing Diapers
I would put my baby on a bed and lean over to change that dirty diaper. Sometimes this took a few minutes, especially when the diaper was very full (if you know what I mean). This constant leaning over was putting a strain on my back.
Solution: Use a Baby changing table.
Picking Up My Baby From the Crib
The bed frame in the crib was not at its highest elevation, which means I had to learn over to pick up my baby. Learning over to pick up 10 or more pounds was putting strain on my back.
Solution: Put the bed frame at the highest possible while the baby’s head is at the same level as the top of the crib railings when the baby is standing.
Picking Up My Baby From the Floor
When my baby was playing on the floor and I wanted to pick her up, I would lean over to get her. Are you seeing a pattern?
Solution: Bend the knees, hold the baby, and lift with the legs while keeping a straight back.
Hip Pain and Stiff Knee
I noticed my hip was hurting on one side. This caused me to limp on that knee which resulted in a stiff knee. One day I decided to see my chiropractor. He mentioned that carrying a baby is strenuous to the baby and I should be changing sides instead of favoring one side.
One day I was looking at my wife carrying the baby and found her body leaned one way to compensate the extra weight. When she carried the baby higher, she would lean less. When carrying the baby on the hip she would lean even more. I had a vivid picture of the concern from my chiropractor.
Solution: Switch arms and carry the baby as high as possible and comfortably. Also carrying the baby close to the abdomen.
Sore Arms
I have had tendinitis for almost 20 years. My arms started hurting much more after carrying my baby. I noticed I was folding my hands inward to make a “seat” for my baby to sit on while being carried. This was putting a lot of strain on my tendons.
Solution: With the arm carrying the baby, use the hand to hold the baby’s thigh while keeping the wrist as straight as possible. With the other arm, use the top part of the forearm to make a seat for the baby.
Please clap if you found this helpful so other parents to benefit too. None of the parenting books I have seen share tips about how to care for one’s own body while carrying for a baby.
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