Tired nana

Body: 

I have been on this forum for just over 4 years and have kept my prolapse under control.... till now. I have been babysitting my 1 1/2 year old granddaughter and picking her out of the cot and putting her in six times a day has put a big strain on me. I have constant heaviness and bulging daily. I try and get down on all fours, do the legs shaking while bending etc, having trouble with posture, so tired all the time. I am 60 next month and this babysitting is exhausting. Any suggestions please?

Hi roxymymate,
Sorry to hear of your set back, but don't beat yourself up too much about it. They can and do happen to all of us. I remember when my grandkids were little, and that pulling feeling when lifting them up. All the more reason to try your best to lift in whole woman posture, as Christine demonstrates with her own grandchild. It seems we will never get beyond reminding ourselves these very important details.
Things certainly got better for me when my grandkids started walking on their own. I'd really rather not lift anything if I don't have to, after years of it myself. I do, of course, but as minimally as possible, and always mindfully.
When the heaviness starts again, do that jiggling and firebreathing, with plenty of posture work to help offset all that lifting.

Hi nana - some of us post partum prolapsed moms have had these same issues - trying to manage prolapse while handling kids! We were lucky to have post partum healing on our side though...
I used to worry about the bending and lifting and constant picking up and putting down - often with bad angles (cots, carseats, etc)
my advice to you - make your granddaughter do as much as she is able to herself. get her little step stools to help her reach places, see if she can get into or out of things herself with little assistance from you. You can try to kneel down and use your knee as a step for her instead of lifting her for example.
Other than that, the best thing to do is study Christine's work and find ways to do what you need to do in posture. Not everything will be possible, but if you do as much as you can and stay in good posture the times you're not with your granddaughter, you should be fine.
always bend at the hips, long line from spine to tailbone - there's a lot of bending with a toddler even to do things like feed or wipe or dress etc. try to get down on one knee instead of bending or if you do bend, again - from the hips and stand well back so you keep your spine long and not c-shaped.
make sure stroller handles are high up enough so you stand tall and don't bend forward....
do everything as slowly and as thoughtfully as you can and really - maintain posture as much as possible.

Thanks Aging gracefully, with having a few days to myself, I got out the videos and reconnected again. Felt good, so will do as much as I can while not babysitting. I try not to lift heavy items, handy hubby for that most times. Thanks for the reassurance. Cheers.

Thanks Typicalme, lots of great tips for me to try. I guess I am lucky to only get my prolapse in my mid 50's. She is so used to being picked up, her little arms go up straight away when anything is steep or difficult, that will change haha. Lucky with the stroller it has adjustable handles. Daughter is on holidays for a while now, so not minding her as much till the new year, time for myself. Cheers.

What is "Jiggling" and where can I find the info on it please?!
The forum has been such a help over the years - I feel slightly panicky at the thought of it closing down, but a very big Thank You to Christine and all you brilliant contributors.

Jiggling is just a move invented by our original forum moderator, and can be done any number of ways. We have talked about it many, many times on the forum (it isn't really covered anywhere else that I know of). I will let you read over a few posts and decide what you want to try. - Surviving

https://www.wholewoman.com/forum/search/node/jiggling

Thanks so much for your help Surviving60 - that explains it! (I am so going to miss these forums!)