Babywearing with Fibromyalgia
Alison sent her story for me to share with you.
“Before I met Toby 3 years ago I was in terrible pain suffering with fibromyalgia infact that bad at times I could barely move if I wanted to go shopping it was a challenge to say the least I even brought an electric scooter to help me get about
“I then got pregnant with William and I was dreading the prospect of having a baby and being in so much pain luckily some of the pain went with being pregnant and I started to enjoy a semi normal life again William was born and he has been very challenging waking every hour in the night would not sleep during the day and would never allow me to put him down
“William is now 17 months and is not your average size baby he is 30lb and wearing some 2/3 year clothes he has always been big for his age and I was having trouble holding him as he was so heavy and he was making the pain in my arms worse
“I then found slings and wow what a difference I could hold my baby and carry on with daily tasks even going to the loo was no longer a challenge it was hard at first though William just did not like being in the sling very much and used to fight with me arch his back tried to get out you name it he did it so I would take him out again
“I persevered and now he loves being up I my back looking at people as we go along the street and in shops he has a better view with what’s about and the best part he holds his arms up when he wants to go in the sling
“I still get asked from some family and friends why do I still carry William on my back and also gosh he is to heavy to be there he will damage your back my answer is he is 17 months old you see other babies his age in a buggy so why not on my back he is to young to walk everywhere also we get some lovely cuddles when we couldn’t if he was in a buggy and no he doesn’t hurt my back his weight is distributed evenly unlike being held in your arms
“What I’m trying to say is that if you have a medical problem yes you can still carry your baby listen to what your body is telling you and never over do things and if you don’t find your perfect carrier in your first purchase don’t be put off there is something out there that will be perfect for you but most of all enjoy”
I love this ending, but here’s an update from this month:
“william is now 19 months and is 33lb oh boy i wish he would stop growing for a bit i was told by my gp a few days ago that i have a bladder prolapse and i should not carry anymore due to williams weight will possibly make things worse i cant just stop carrying my baby we love being close so i have adopted my carry now and can no longer carry on my front but for a few minutes or even half an hour i will wear my baby and listen to what my body is telling me and the first hint of a pain he will be going down
alison x”
Jessika October 15, 2015 at 5:48 pm
I have fibromyalgia and arthritis in my mid back and neck. I get all kinds of flack from my drs about carrying my kids. My first I carried in a sling until he was 3 and I just started wrapping my 4 week old.
I feel that wrapping is so much easier than a pram. There is still allot of pressure on your back and hips when pushing a pram. Have been wondering though, what wrapping positions are recommended for people with chronic back pain?
Diana November 4, 2015 at 2:26 pm
I have another blog post about wrapping with back pain: http://wrapyourbaby.com/blog/2012/09/baby-wraps-and-shoulder-pain-or-scoliosis/. I hope that’s helpful, but please let me know if you need more help with it – I can ask the mamas on my Facebook page to see if anyone else has more experience to share.