Ouch!! My aching back

[jsh7809]

My LO is only 13 weeks, 13 pounds, but, OW my lower back has been killing me. Upper back is pretty sore, too, but something about the way I have been carrying her and I think our night nursing is making my lower back hurt almost all of the time. A few weeks ago I actually pulled something and could barely lift her for a few days.
I know that this is mostly due to stress, exhaustion and (above all) the fact that my abs are still super floppy and not at all toned post pregnancy. I'm trying to be aware of posture, do my gentle yoga poses, etc., when I can. I'd love to start back with yoga, pilates, swimming... but who has the time?! Any time I get to myself at this point is spent working or resting or messing around on the forums
So, any advice? She loves the baby bjorn best but the one we have has no lumbar support, ow! She's not into the moby or ergo because she wants to look OUT at the world...

[Snapdragon]

I have advice! Only cause I have BDTD
-lose the baby bjorn- that really made my back problems worse when I was trying that in the beginning.
I saw you said she likes to face out so an ergo type wouldn't work. I might share what I found felt best on my back as a carrier: the babyhawk mei tei.
Ds looks to the side and out at the world, but we can also look at each other.

- a my brest friend nursing pillow
-lots of rest and giving yourself lots of breaks to do as little as you can other than caring for the baby and resting and tending your body.

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia will only allow me to wear her facing outward as well, Jess, and what works best for us is a gauze (non-stretchy) wrap. I wear her this way. The wrap offers really good back support and is more supportive for the babe as well. There are some indicator that the support style of the Bjorn is bad for babies and that they should be in more of a supported sitting position rather than dangling.

The wrap looks a little daunting at first, but I promise it's really quick once you get the hang of it. I can put Cecilia on in my wrap as quickly as my friends can do the Ergo or a Mei Tai or whatever carried they prefer.

ETA: Here is a picture of my husband wearing Cecilia in the wrap. She apparently got sleepy... I ended up having to help him adjust it-- you can see that the bottom of the wrap is not stretched out to right under her knees, and it should be.

[rhiOrion]

Having L sleep on me every night is killing my back. Plus having to bounce her frequently on the exercise ball (in the connecta).

I'm trying to transition her to the nap nanny more often, but we tend to fall asleep nursing, and then i get scared to try to move her over because if she wakes up i might have to get out of bed!

[jsh7809]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

Cecilia will only allow me to wear her facing outward as well, Jess, and what works best for us is a gauze (non-stretchy) wrap. I wear her this way. The wrap offers really good back support and is more supportive for the babe as well. There are some indicator that the support style of the Bjorn is bad for babies and that they should be in more of a supported sitting position rather than dangling.

The wrap looks a little daunting at first, but I promise it's really quick once you get the hang of it. I can put Cecilia on in my wrap as quickly as my friends can do the Ergo or a Mei Tai or whatever carried they prefer.

ETA: Here is a picture of my husband wearing Cecilia in the wrap. She apparently got sleepy... I ended up having to help him adjust it-- you can see that the bottom of the wrap is not stretched out to right under her knees, and it should be.

Aimee, that picture is so cute!

I am definitely not wearing the bjorn anymore, which is a shame because the baby loves it. So does DH, though, so he can just walk her more!

I actually tried the moby in the "lotus" front facing position today and it seemed okay (although baby was fussy before that so who knows). It is supposed to be for 5 months and older, AND you're not supposed to let the feet dangle... but I felt pretty comfortable with my 3 month old and dangling feet (cause there was no way she was going to just let me keep that fabric pulled up, she wants to kick!) so maybe I will keep trying that. The ergo sometimes works but usually only if she wants to nap. Hopefully eventually?

Someone loaned us a Snuggli but I fear it will hurt my back, too. Darn, I really wanted to wear her more, I am finding myself understanding the moms you see who just push their babies in a stroller more and more!

[Knitting Mama]

The other benefit of the gauze wrap is that it's very lightweight and breathable-- awesome for summer!

[Snapdragon]

while your back is healing go for it and use the stroller! that happened to me. I was so bummed cause when he was really small and my back was hurt for a couple of months. And finally I just had to use the stroller a couple times to go out. and I remember one time I was struggling down some stairs into a store w- him in a light stroller. There was a mom w- an older baby and there were 2 heavy doors. The other mom half heartedly held the door for me and totally bad vibed me ( I assumed!) about having the baby in the stroller being so little
Now I carry and wear him more. But I had to let it go for a while when I hurt.

[aramat]

Katie, I had one baby in a sling (padded mei tai!) and one (3yo) in a stroller today and so had to take the crowded, no-fun mall elevator instead of an escalator... The elevator operator let me pass a mom & her preteen in line bc of they didn't have babies or strollers, and the mom actually complained! People can really just be...people...sometimes. Ugh, blech.

I haven't been able to use my Moby since baby passed ~10 lbs bc of the back pain, so different slings do make a difference. Also posture when wearing, and I also make a point to wear baby frequently specifically so that I stay accustomed to her weight.

Oh, and for sleeping -- do you put a pillow behind your back? It is a must for me, propping myself up that way.

[tzs]

i had a hard time with wearing and back issues at first and still can;t do it for extended periods. i've heard the bjorns and snuglis are killer on the back so i'd lose them.

i tried them all and the moby was the best because of the wide straps that distributed the weight all over the shoulders and everywhere...UP TO A CERTAIN POINT. by 3 months or so it just made the pain worse b/c even though my babe was small the give in the fabric would kill the back any time you'd sit down or get up. so i'm with cecelia's mama on the woven wrap.

i didn;t feel adept enough to tie a woven but i still wanted the wide straps so i got a maya tie. it's like a mei tai but with wide shoulders straps that wear like a wrap.

and even now i only wear her for short stints if i need to go hands free and i wear her on the hip. there's no way i could actually be out and about wearing her although i've been meaning to learn back holds. i think that might be key.

[slimkins]

Originally Posted by aramat

Oh, and for sleeping -- do you put a pillow behind your back? It is a must for me, propping myself up that way.

this exactly.
and as for the stroller, you will never know what your baby likes until you try it. and ultimately, it is all about meeting their needs, right?
My dear son likes to be worn especially when we are out and he is getting sleepy. but he LOVES to ride in his stroller, especially on walks. Had I never tried it, I wouldn't have known. He truly loves it more than being worn.
Also, I just put my sling in the basket underneath and we have all ends covered.