Let's face it. Having kids is amazing in many ways but it’s not great for your back! The constant lifting, rocking, in and out of the car-seat, and reaching over the bath day in and day out take a toll on your spine.
We are here for you! Chiropractic can help heal your back, strengthen your spine, and help you stay healthy so you can be the parent you were meant to be! We got you, so you got them!
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Hug and Lift "Hold me, Hold me!" are famous words from my two year old. To help save the spine ask for a hug first and then lift them up. Get down on their level first and use your legs to press yourself up. When we reach down and pull our kid up to us it forces us to lift with our back muscles instead of the legs. A "no no" when it comes to spine health. And you get extra cuddles too.
Baby Wearing Whenever possible, wear your child in a sling, wrap or a baby carrier instead of carrying them. keeping them as close to your chest as possible minimizes the muscle strain applied to the rest of your body. Definitely a better option than lugging a car seat out and about. Something like this works well by keeping the extra weight in the center of the body. It also cuts down on holding a child on one hip which can throw things out of alignment pretty quickly.
Car Seat Climbers Have your kids crawl into their own car seat as soon as they are physically able. Make it a game or a race, whatever you have to do. Reaching and twisting to force them into the car seat is a perfect storm for back pain with all the lifting a twisting involved. When you have to do it though, turn to face the car seat as much as you can and sit as close to the car seat as possible to avoid overly reaching and twisting.
Book Worm Reading books to little ones is definitely a must for brain development and early learning but there are good ways to do and bad ways to do it. Sitting on your lap reading a book is probably the most common but too much of that posture is not good. Make sure to switch it up. Laying on your belly next to each other can be just as fun and actually very good for your back. Use couch cushions, pillows, or blankets and get creative.
Bath Hack Next time you give your little one a bath try this. Instead of kneeling on both knees and reaching over the bath, prop one leg up so one foot is on the ground and one knee is on the ground. Make sure there is a soft surface under you of course. By doing this, you basically create a tripod for yourself between your foot, knee, and hips distributing weight more effectively. There is automatically less strain on the back muscles and joints within the spine. Another tip is for when they are still very little. Bathe them in the sink or put a small infant tub on the counter which allows you to stand more comfortably. Like this