# Co-sleeping back pains



## madtowngirl (Dec 5, 2004)

Help!!! Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions. Each morning I wake up with terrible back pain. Its very hard to describe sleeping positions....but I'll try. DS sleeps in between my husband & I - to the right of me. So I end up sleeping on my right side most of the night due to intermittant nursing. I nurse both breasts by laying on my right side w/ my right arm under my head & my left leg bent & laying over my right leg - if that makes sense. Each morning my lower right side of my back kills. Laying on my left side is the only comfortable position - but each time I turn over DS wakes up. Is there a trick to this?


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## kathipaul (Sep 24, 2004)

I have had the same type of problems. I've even been in physical therapy for it. You don't say how old ds is. My dd is 21 mos. It took a long time but I am finally getting better. Here is what we have done. First of all, we have only a queen bed so dh went to the guest room and has stayed there. We all have more room to sleep now, which helps. Next, we got a foam mattress cover. We wanted organic cotton but that is way too expensive for now. Maybe in future. That helps since our mattress does not have a pillow top. It helps cushion the joints that you are continually sleeping on. Finally, it just helped me that dd is now old enough to stay more on her side of the bed, giving me more room. Plus, I can sleep with my back to her as soon as she falls asleep and she will not wake up now. So, I can put a body pillow around me so that my posture is better and I am not curled up so tight and twisted, which is most likely what is making your low back hurt. I wake up several times a night still but I just turn to a new position and go back to sleep immediately. That is the key: mobility. My latest thing is that my low back is feeling almost well but my shoulder and elbow are still bothering me from still sleeping so much on one side. My physical therapist tells me it won't get completely better until dd is either out of bed or sleeping mostly on her side so I can toss and turn more naturally while asleep. I am hoping that she will want to sleep more on her own sometime in the next year or so but I am committed to her doing this for a while, so I just grin and bear it.

I would love to know if anyone else has any suggestions.


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## nichole (Feb 9, 2004)

i move the baby to the other side of me ev time we switch sides. we have a bed rail on one side, dh on the other.


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## Patchy Dragon (Jun 14, 2003)

I put a plush pillow between my knees because we sleep the same way

now if only I could get rid of my tendonitis of my knees!


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

I used to have the same problem. Now I sleep with a pillow between my knees and the pillow behind my head sort of shifted so it lays diagonally to support my shoulder (behind me, if I'm laying on my side facing the baby). This way I'm sleeping on my side but more toward my back, if that makes sense. Not sleeping completely on my side. This helps tremendously.

Also during the part of the night the babe sleeps longest I sleep on my stomach facing the other way.

Hope this helps!


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## Ruby Pearl (Dec 18, 2004)

nak

try a pillow between the knees/under the top leg and another one tucked behind you to lean back against. i also drape a flattened pilow across baby's body to rest my top arm on so i don't feel like i am crushing her and can lean forward a bit more to sleep. also try to shift to laying flat on your back between nursings to stretch out. try stretching excercises before bed as well.


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## kavamamakava (Aug 25, 2004)

Have you tried with a pillow between your knees and another at the small of your back?


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## srmina (Sep 10, 2004)

I know how you feel...my dd is a really light sleeper and I cannot move AT ALL until she has been asleep for at least an hour, and even after that it is risky. I have been having a lot of pain, but I'm also 33 weeks pg, so that does not help. One thing that has really helped me is a Memory Foam pillow that is shaped kind of like a really thick dogbone that I put between my thighs. It does the same thing as the regular pillow without irritating the hips as much. It also enables me to cuddle dd without pillows getting in the way.

I've also watched those ads on TV for the TempurPedic bed where the lady jumps on the bed and the wineglass doesn't tip over and wondered if such a thing would be helpful for my dd. I admit, we have a really saggy, third-hand mattress and this exacerbates the problem, despite the fact that we put an eggshell thingie on top of it (which I wouldn't recommend if you have a really little one).

Sorry, I don't have any advice on the nursing...my dd has a feeding tube.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Can you roll onto your back after dc is done nursing? My chiropractor said this is the best way to sleep. If I sleep for long periods on my side, my back really starts to hurt. I assume it's because I stay tense because I can't quite roll forward a bit the way I like to when I'm on my side. I also have bedrails and switch sides every other time my ds nurses at night.

I had sever back pain for several years. I went to numerous physical therapists and two orthopedists. The back pain got a bit better but never completely went away. I finally bit the bullet and paid for a chiropractor. My insurance doesn't cover it. My back pain was gone within 4 months.


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## cjr (Dec 2, 2003)

My message therapist asked me if I was recovering from some sort of major injury, I said "nope, I co-sleep".







My back right shoulder is so bad that I get these piercing pains. The message really helped. She actually located the knots and did a great job loosening them. They are still there and she said to come back every two weeks until my muscles are nice and loose again.


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## karlin (Apr 8, 2004)

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I figured it was a combination of bad posture, co-sleeping, and weakened abs. A softer mattress did not help last night either.







Well, I have a yoga membership now, so maybe I'll get off my tired butt and go one of these days (it's free for me since I watch the owner's baby once a week).


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## loomweaver (Aug 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kavamamakava*
Have you tried with a pillow between your knees and another at the small of your back?


















This is to a T what I do and it works like a charm, no more back pain!! (nursing my 9 month old today!)


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## Marina S (Jan 20, 2005)

I third the idea of pillows -- I use one for my back, sort of as a wedge so it supports me as I lie on my side. It works wonders.


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

I second the chiro, this is more for the op who complained of severe shoulder pain, that is what I had, I hadn't had any back issues, I went in twice and my shoulders were completely back to normal, and have to go back every 5 months, that is about when they start to hurt again.


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## Saramomofmany (Sep 3, 2003)

I thought about posting too, but never remembered until I saw your posting. I've had such bad headaches, in relation to my neck being out of wack from co-sleeping(or at least that is my diagnosis). I got a massage for Christmas, and I went last week. The massage lady said I needed to tell my kids to stop using me as a jungle gym. They don't, i seriousely think it's just the sleeping, and the different positions that I take to try to keep the little one safest. I've had horrible neck and back pain. Hope the pillow between the legs will help. Good luck!

Sara


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