United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi everyone, well it took 7 months but my non-BPI wrist is just starting to complain about how much I'm overusing it. I think I know what I should be doing, but how on earth can I convince myself that doing things the harder way will save my wrist.

Example...Jack's infant car seat, (yes I'm still lugging that thing around). I'm having trouble getting it in and out of the car now. My wrist REALLY hurts when I unhook it from the base. Trouble is when I pick him up at Daycare I have to get him and the base because my husband drops him off. I'm begging my husband to get the new car seat which I think would help, because I won't have to unhook it all of the time. But he's not listening. Then dumb me, I'm lifting that thing and putting it on the shopping carts too. Why would I do this to myself, why can't I try not to rush and just get him out of the infant seat and carry him.

Any thoughts... Or should I just write notes for myself everywhere asking...Do you really want to pay for this stupidity later??? Did anyone else choose speed over pain. It effected me so bad one day I couldn't lift him up in my lap because my wrist hurt so bad.

Will it get better if I change my ways? Or is this just the beginning.

-Traci

Traci, especially as a mom its hard to do things the hard way. I try to help my sister with her baby and it gets hard! My wrist hurts too but thats caused from a ganglion cyst that I had removed but is coming back. For us right now we cary the car seat because its warmer. Its too cold for him to take him out and leave the seat in the car. I imagine as the weather gets nicer we will strat leaving the car seat in the car because my sister has a bad back from a car accident(she was hit a year ago and it really messed up her back)

I dont think we are looking for the pain but just doing whats best for the baby. If you left the seat in the car it would be freezing cold for him to be put back into. So I think its more of a weather thing. Start taking it easy and asking for help even if you dont think you need it! I know as independent as we are thats tough to do, but sometimes we have to bite the bullet.

You should get that car seat with the base, that would help a lot!
I hope that your wrist pain goes away!
Big Hugs to you and the little man,
Amy 19 ROBPI from MN

Traci,
I am not BPI but have Carpral Tunnel in my leftr wrist. I haven't had surgery and am trying ot avoid it, but when I start to feel pain and I know that I am over using it, I put on a wrist brace that I bought at Wal-Mart. It makes it stop hurting....and it reminds me that there are things I shouldn't be doing at that point and slows me down a bit. I have four kids...no car seatters anymore....thank goodness....but I remember those car seat days.....who even invented those heavy but very convenient things anyways? GAYLE PS Jack is too cute !!!!

Similar problems here. I have carpel tunnel in both hands as well as ulnar nerve damage in the non bpi arm. Both resulting from over-use. But when you have an infant or children in general it's very hard not to take the fast and easy route. Like hope said, with it being winter it's much warmer for them to remain in the seats. One thing I try to do is know which things I absolutely have to do the fast/easy way and which ones I can afford to do the hard way and save myself. Also, I know which things will cause me a lot of pain either way. That way when my non-bpi arm starts hurting I try to make up for things by maybe doing a couple of other things the hard way or letting my dh do them.

Traci,

Have you tried buying another base for your infant car seat? A lot of times they are available online and for not very much money. It's better to have the base stay in the car anyway - actually, it's better to have the installation checked by a certified technician and then never remove or change it. It's challenging to get them in properly.

I've had bilateral carpal tunnel, too, and one thing I would recommend is find a some wrist braces that are comfortable and sleep in them. Irritation in the tendons of the wrist can cause muscle tension even when you are sleeping, which causes the wrists to stay flexed, which cuts off blood supply, which increases irritation, etc in a vicious circle. Do you "curl" your wrists/hands up when you sleep? If you do, try to at least break the cycle every night by wearing braces that won't let your wrists curl up which helps keep the blood flowing better and will allow the muscles to relax.

Good luck and hopefully Jack will be an early walker!!

Kate

We do have two bases, one for my car and one for my husbands, but like Amy said. You can't leave the car seat in the car during the winter because it will be so cold when they get in it. I have found that positioning myself differently while grabbing the carseat, doesn't hurt as bad.

I've begun trying a brace on my wrist, and I wake up without it. I think in the middle of the night I take the thing off. So I need to put it back on when I notice I've done this, rather than letting it off. I guess it's all about discipline.

Thanks everyone.

-Traci

Traci,

I went through about 6 or 7 different wrist braces before I found one that was comfortable to sleep in. Maybe you are taking it off in your sleep because it is bugging you? Here is a link to the braces that I still occasionally sleep in:

http://www.medshopexpress.com/036741.html

They don't have the metal or hard plastic piece in them like most wrist braces/splints, which I found really irritated my wrists.


Kate

Traci,
Sorry to hear about your pain. How is Jack by the way? I'm sure he is so adorable. When Kayla was smaller believe it or not I had two car seats. I had one for my mother in laws car who helped me pick her up a lot and I would just leave it in her car all the time. I had a friend who had a baby previously to me and so I used the base in one car and had a base in another car so I never had to switch them. I know it sounds hard and expensive but 90% of the time they say car seats aren't correctly put into the car anyway's. I went to a fire safety program they had in our local town and the fire department actually helped me put the bases into the car. They took those foam noodles you use for the lake to float on and stuffed them behind the seats so it would not move. Once I had them in there the correct way, and trust me, you do not want to move them.

Our fire department here actually had extra car seats for people who needed assistance or had low-income. I'm sure if you told them about your arm and how hard it is for you to switch them out they would be more than happy to give you an extra one at no charge.
It is definitely worth a try.
*HUGS* Hang in there....before you know it he will be driving!! Enjoy him every day.
*HUGS*
Miss ya
talk to you soon.
Rachel