Help! My back is killing me.

[knitty]

DD is 5 months and I carry her in a Beco Butterfly 2 in a front carry. When I carry her I get back pain in my lower and mid back. With the pain I can carry her for maybe 1-1.5 hours but its not much fun for me.I want to continue the baby carrying and hate taking her in the pram but the pain is really getting me down. DH says he has no pain at all when he carries her.
So is my back just ruined or is there anything I can do to make it better? Do you all seriously skip along totally pain free while carrying your toddler ? I am envious!

I haven't used a Beco so can't advise on it as a carrier in general but if it hurts then something is wrong. Yes, you should be able to walk (probably not a good idea to skip!) along totally pain free while carrying a toddler.

I have carried 2 year old DD in a variety of carriers since she was born without any back pain, including long walks and days out so I know it should be very easy and comfortable.

Does your back only hurt when you carry your DD or do you have a back problem in general?

If it's just the carrier that causes you pain then you need to either change the way you're using it (e.g. switch to back carries, adjust the straps to ensure DD is high enough and close enough to your body) or get a new carrier that fits you and your DD better.

There's plenty of other carriers out there if you don't get on with the Beco. Is there a baby carrier shop, or Slingmeet near you where you could go to try other carriers and/or ask someone more experienced for advice?

How high up is she ? You should be able to kiss the top of her head easily as that shows if her weight is above your waist.

I stopped carrying ds reguarly when he was 4 and weighing 22kg, and it didn't hurt my back.

It needs to be high and tight - her bum should be level with or higher than your tummy button and you should be able to kiss the top of her head while wearing her in the sling.

Also tight - it needs to be tight around your waist so that when it pulls down it's resting on your hips, not just sitting there because the shoulder straps stop it falling down. And tight around the baby - when you put a hand on her back, does she uncurl or move in towards your body at all? She shouldn't be able to - her back needs to be held straight. This is important both for your comfort and to keep her oxygen saturations high.

There is a saying "ten minutes too tight" - ie tie it slightly too tight for comfort, it should adjust itself as you walk in the first 10 minutes or so, and be comfortable. It's hard to explain it better than that but you get used to how tight you can do it. Don't worry about squashing your baby, you won't :)

Thanks for the advice everyone.I will look closely at how I carry her and make some adjustments. I can kiss he top of her head, but I think from what all of you are describing she is a little bit too low still and possibly not tight enough.I'm in London and was planning to go to a slingmeet next week.
I love to carry her and she gives me pouty looks when I put her in the pram so will def. keep trying!