muttering

[rootofnewt]

How the hell do people use strollers all the time? Ugh! Ever since I damaged myself carrying 50lbs on my back at the Zoo, I've been using the stroller. And now my lower back is killing me. I think I need one more massage/therapy session before the pain in my collarbone joints will finally be all the way gone, but seriously . . . strollers seem to be causing me far more pain that reasonable babywearing ever did. Once I can put the Ergo back on, I'll make sure to not load the backpack portion with tons o'crap.

Anyhow, life is pretty good. I have a nice shower curtain. That helps tremendously with the fact that summer is here. Why the hell haven't we had any massive volcanic eruptions in ages? Are people actually finding enough virgins to throw into volcanoes? This astounds me.

Ronan is clingy as hell this week. He's working on several teeth. I remember teeth as being rather painful when I was a teen, so I can't imagine how miserable it must be for a preverbal toddler. It's okay, of course, I don't mind cuddling and nursing 24/7, but I can't cook or clean or do anything, because I can't wear him and if I'm not holding him, he wants to be attached to me at the knee, which makes it difficult to walk.

Things to do tonight: vacuum, eat dinner, dust piano, brush padoodle-dog, buy groceries, wash baby clothes, bleach mildew in tub.

Things to do tomorrow: mop kitchen floor, go to farmer's market, bathe padoodle-dog, greet in-laws, pretend house is always nice and neat, find margaritas for supper.

Comments

[prizmdonna.livejournal.com]

I planned to wear Kayla all the time, but babywearing kicks my back's ass (tried slings, baby bjorn and mei tei), not to mention my little one SCREAMS getting in them, then calms down and enjoys it for a few minutes, then screams to get out. So it's mostly stroller, which she seems to love so far, for us. That and me holding her on my hip, which she loves best of all.

- donna

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Baby bjorns are notoriously uncomfortable for the parents and of questionable hip/groin safety for the babe (boys more so than girls). What slings did you try? Did your mei tai have wide or padded straps?

I find that I need wrap style shoulders or a well padded soft structured carrier like the Ergo.

For hip carries, I sometimes pull out the ring sling, but Ronan is really too heavy for me to do that, especially give the damage I caused that part of my collarbone/neck/shoulder.

Ronan loves the stroller, it's just murder on my lower back, especially on our hills.

[prizmdonna.livejournal.com]

I tried a ring sling and a wrap. I haven't seen other mei tai's, so not sure how thick/padded the straps are compared to others, but they *seem* reasonably thick and padded to me. The mei tai feels good at first (whereas the baby bjorn kills me pretty much right off the bat), but it doesn't last. After 10 minutes, it's murder. :-( Every since my C-Section, I get lots of unhappy back pain. I don't know WHY it would cause that, or perhaps it's just a coincidence, but either way, it's lame!

- donna

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I imagine the pain is related to the fact that some of your muscles were cut. :/ We have a doc here who is an MD, but very crunchy. In his practice, he has a PA who teaches pilates, but gears it to one's own gait/posture and makes sure you don't hurt yourself. I'll eventually try it, because I desperately need core strength, but am too flexible (hypermobile) to jump into any yoga or pilates class at our gym.

[sheilamarie.livejournal.com]

Totally out of your price range (and mine!), but this is, IMO, the only well designed stroller I've ever seen: http://www.stokkeusa.com/xplory.htm

I thought of this because the handle can change height and angle. I also like it because older babies and toddlers sit higher and thus, don't need to be lifted to see over fences like at zoos and whatnot. I just LOVE this stroller, all I need is a budget to afford it. Oh, and a baby. ;)

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I know moms with Stokke strollers and they say they're utterly impractical for our sidwalks, lack of curb cuts, and hills. I think they're kinda ugly myself. You might like the Orbit. ;)

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I literally experience no pain with the stroller, nor does ptor. We use it all the time, too. I tore my back and neck up with the sling (though I used it almost everyday for about four months) and the Ergo was much better, though it would eventually hurt my lower back.

[lightning-rose.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you need a stroller with better adjustment?

Under the assumption I might be helping push my grand nephew around, I bought my niece a jogging type stroller with an adjustable handle that would be a comfortable height for me. And it has a cup holder. :)

[junni.livejournal.com]

I've no idea how tall you are (I'm about 5'2"), but we bought a decent McClaren, and it works for both me and my husband who is 5'9.5". And this is with all the hills. It's ridiculously light weight and so easily maneuverable. It's an ., and folds up such you can throw it over your shoulder if need be.

I wore my daughter for a long time, but at some point she decided she only wanted to be held, and not worn. The stroller works as a nice compromise at times, like leaving a crowded FAF on the mall, or when we need to run to catch the bus

[krasota.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine here in town has the Maclaren "umbrella" stroller (the Triumph, maybe?). Lots of subtle frills, but still slim. And she says it bothers her back, too. We're both 5'2". Granted, I do have lower back issues, but this is really frustrating. :/

I think I just need to drink more margaritas. Yes, that's the answer. ;)

If you see us at the farmer's market, say hello! Ronan will be on my back or Tom's in a black/cranberry Ergo. Unless we forget to switch gear and take the other car, in which case he'll be the angry blonde baby reaching for me while his daddy carries him.

Which hills do you regularly traverse? Maybe it's just the hills I walk, which include King & Grove in the western reaches of Fifeville, Cherry Ave, Elliott, and the hills leading up to VA20/Monticello in Belmont. It's not that big of a deal on the Monticello-Saunders trail, which has a gentle grade.

[junni.livejournal.com]

We have a McClaren umbrella stroller, but I don't know the model name. As far as hills go, Eilidh's former sitter was on 1st St, so I was up and down Oak (I think it's Oak), parallel to Cherry (by the cemetery) often (sometimes 5 days a week). Now it's the hill on 7th St heading up to Main Street, and the other hill on the way down from her day care (I am really bad with street names) near the hospital. And then just hills when we're out and about Perhaps it's just that I am out of shape?

Sadly we didn't make it to the farmer's market today (we're there most Sats though). Eilidh spiked a fever last night (103). We took her to the ped's today because I thought I saw blood in her nappy (was worried about a UTI), but instead she has a lovely double ear infection. I had thought they stopped treating ear infections, but the ped on call said that's true if the child isn't symptomatic, but Eilidh had a fever, was lethargic, etc. I hate antibiotics, but I would rather Eilidh didn't get mastoiditis because it sounds awful.

Btw, I have conquered part of my lower back issues on my own. I have a fallen arch on the right... can anyone tell me why the docs didn't notice or didn't look for this, and my own mother did??

If you ever see an "up-baby" two-year old with an orange McClaren, shout hello! (Eilidh loves to be in someone's arms... I just wish she would be happy in a carrier.)

[jeliza]

I've found that strollers, though not indicated as such, are very dependent on the height of the parent; I'm 5'7" and Rachael's 6'1", and a stroller that was great for me sucked for her and vice versa; several of the inexpensive strollers we looked at were clearly made for someone significantly shorter than me.

[sigerson.livejournal.com]

Are people actually finding enough virgins to throw into volcanoes?

Actually, it's just one virgin. Attached to a bungee cord. Nobody said the virgins had to stay in there.

[cuppe.livejournal.com]

Hmm, we have the Peg Perego Pliko P3 Freestyle, chosen not for its long name, but because it has ergonomic AND height adjustable handles. Since my husband is 6'4" and wants to push the baby, height adjustable handles were the only feature we were really interested in. Only one Graco model had them and it was not really well made. The Peg Perego was the cheapest of the other ones with height adjustable handles. We also bought ours around Christmas and got an "old" color, (Oh the horror! We are not up to date with the current fashion colors!) and were able to get a decent price, about the same as the linked one. So far I have been pleased with it, it is a decent weight and is fairly sturdy.

I have a Moby wrap that I used mainly in San Franciso when we walked to restaurants and I could not bring the stroller. Since Gigantor is consistently been in the 99th percentile for height, he never fit into the most of the slings. I like the Moby because it allows me to fit it to him and has enough fabric to do so easily. It does not bother my back. The drawback is rolling/unrolling 5.5 meters of fabric in a crowded waiting area of a restaurants and doing baby origami.

The baby has always been fine in his stroller and also seemed to like the wrap, although was a little perplexed by it.

[deborahs-corner.livejournal.com]

Probably the angle...though this isn't pushing a stroller, it might illustrate what I am saying. I walk with canadian crutches..up and tall...and I do good. If I try to use a walker...it kills my back and I can't do it very far. So my doc said it was that the reaching out..like with stroller or walker and it makes you lean forward just a little..throws the line of the back out.
I enjoy Ronan's pics so much..*smile*
hugs
Deb