# Why does the mei tai hurt my back and shoulders so badly?



## sweetangelbrynlie (Jun 23, 2005)

The mei tai (I have two of them) hurts my back and shoulders so badly. It hurts my shoulders so badly that I feel like I could puke like this nautious feeling. My backs been hurtin with the mei tai since my girl was around 12lbs!! She is now 19 lbs and of course it still hurts my back.

I don't understand what Im going wrong. Maybe Im just sensitive to something pulling on my back?

What else can I try to make my back hurt not so badly?


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## mollyeilis (Mar 6, 2004)

Well, besides taking pictures of how you're tying it, how about taking care of your spine? It could be a lifetime of stresses conspiring against you and finally coming out seemingly in protest against the meitai, and you could be vastly helped by things like chiropractic, cranio sacral therapy, acupuncture, and even massage! I'd definitely look into helping your spine BE better, along with figuring out if a new way of tying or a different carrier might help.


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## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

Are you doing the high carry or the regular carry (where bottom straps are around your waist and upper straps are over your shoulders and tied under kiddo's bottom)?

I was never able to do the high carry because of back and shoulder pain. The only time the other hurt my back, though, was when I didn't tie ds snugly enough. If he was hanging back at all (not pressed up closely against my body), then it would kill my back. If I tied him closely, then I could carry him for hours with no stress.

How are you putting her in? I always found the easiest way to get a very close fit was to tie the lower part around my waist, have him climb on and drape over my back, bring the top straps up, over and around front, tie them loosely, then bounce up and down a few times while leaning forward while tying tightly.

Good luck.


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## kymholly (Jul 18, 2004)

What kind of MTs do you have? There really is a big difference in fit between brands & some really do distribute the child's weight better over your whole back & hips instead of just on your shoulders & upper back.

Have you checked out Kozy's instruction page? http://www.kozycarrier.homestead.com/instructions.html

Even with the same carrier, small changes in tying can make a big difference in comfort.
Where are you tying the waist straps? Try tying them higher or lower on your waist/hips. I fiind that the lower on my hips I tie the straps (tightly!), the more dd's weight is on my hips.

If you're wearing your dc on your front, try adjusting where you tie the shoulder straps. Some prefer it across dc's back, while others prefer it under dc's bum. Also, make sure that the straps are not twisted across your back & try to have the "x" postitioned as low as possible on your back.

When wearing dc on your back, try tying the shoulder straps in both the rucksack & the cross styles. With the rucksack, you can tie the shoulder straps in back, under the dc's bum or bring them back to your front & tie them there. Some people like to twist the straps an extra time behind dc's back before tying them.

If your using a MT with unpadded straps, the straps really need to be kind of wide... 5" or 6" at least... to be comfortable. With padded straps, they only need to be about 4" wide. I think if the straps are less wide than this, it will be more difficult to get a comfortable fit.

HTH! Hang in there, it really does take a while to get the nack of a mt (at least it did for me!), but once you get it, you will most likely LOVE this carrier!

Good luck!


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## beachbaby (Jan 21, 2003)

lots of good suggestions above. I would also check the placement of the straps on your shoulders--I find if the straps rest more on the ball of my shoulder (rather than up toward my neck) I don't feel any pulling. It does feel like baby is not as close to my body that way, so after getting the straps in place, I pull the straps tighter under baby's bum. The higher & tighter, the better. I also do lots of adjusting, especially once I start moving and get a feel for how I've got her on. My baby leans a lot, so I make sure to tighten the straps every now and then to keep comfy.


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## melissel (Jun 30, 2004)

Yeah, it would definitely help us to troubleshoot your situation if you give some more info. Also, one BIG thing that I do sometimes if I'm not paying attention, is that I don't walk normally with the baby on my back. Sometimes I catch myself leaning forward and sticking my butt out a little, and I have to keep remembering that I don't have to do that







There's plenty of support without me contorting as well.

I hope we can help you fix your problem.


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