Post-Partum Joint Pain

When Lucas was around six weeks old, I woke up one morning to pick him up out of his bassinet and noticed my right shoulder was very tight. I lifted him out with some difficulty and proceeded to have our morning nursing session, while rolling my shoulder a little to try and loosen it up. Later that day, when I was burping Lucas, I noticed my right wrist was also incredibly sore. I flinched a few times while burping him, and then grabbed my wrist brace and put it on. I dismissed it as my carpal tunnel acting up. The next morning when I woke up, not only were those joints hurting, but my left knee made it incredibly difficult to even get out of bed. When nursing, I would sit in bed with the boppy pillow, sitting Indian Style. I had paid so much attention to making sure my back was in the proper position, I hadn't paid much attention to my knees. By the third and fourth days, when Lucas would wake up in the morning, Jeremy would have to pull him out of the bassinet for me. I was in so much pain, I had to attempt and switch holding Lucas to the opposite side as well as burping him with the other hand. It was difficult but I made due, until those joints started hurting as well. Now, with already being sleep deprived, and the house being a mess, this additional joint pain threatened to break me. I was in tears. I would take Tylenol on occasion, but I have never been one to take medicine unless absolutely necessary. I attempted yoga a few times while Lucas was napping, but more often than not, I ended up sleeping during his naps instead. So I decided to do what I always do when I have questions. I sought out answers.

None of the moms that I knew seemed to remember having joint pain around this time. They admitted to being sore, but I'm assuming that their sleep deprivation was stuck in their memory more than having a few stiff joints. I knew it made sense for me to have stiff joints. I mean, of course you're going to be stiff when you start carrying a 7-10 lb baby around all day. But I figured with some exercise or stretching, the pain would subside. When I googled post-partum joint pain, the results were a lot of people talking about having it, but not a lot of answers as to why, or how to relieve it. I had my six week checkup that week, and asked my doctor, and finally got some answers.

There is definite reason why a lot of moms experience post-partum joint pain but there are two speculations. One is what I previously stated; it is perfectly normal for your muscles and joints to get stiff in adjustment to your carrying around a baby. You spent the past 9-10 months with extra weight and had the pain and stiffness that came with that, so it is to be expected that after delivering there will need to be adjustments made as well. Now you are also using muscles that you haven't used as often in the past few months. You are carrying a baby in your arms, you are lifting them out of their bassinet and putting pressure on your shoulders, you are nursing and putting pressure on your back. 

The second speculation for the joint pain is that around 6 weeks your body finally ridding itself of the hormone Relaxin. Relaxin is a hormone emitted during pregnancy to help loosen your ligaments so you can grow to accommodate the baby. Simply put, your ligaments have gone soft during pregnancy and around this time they begin to firm up again, causing you pain. 

I wish I could tell you of some miracle cure that helped heal me from this post partum joint pain, but the truth is, I don't even remember how long it lasted. From what I can remember of those first few months, I'd speculate my joint pain lasted from Lucas being 6 weeks old, until he was about 9 weeks old. However, from what little research I have found on the subject, apparently the pain can last up until around 6 months. 

My recommendations to you if you are suffering from post-partum joint pain are simple. Take it easy. I know that it is tempting around this time to go a little crazy. The initial thrill has worn off, so yor family is not around as much. You have gotten the hang of how long your little one sleeps and when. It is very tempting to use this time to catch up on all that housework you have put off. I'm not telling you to ignore it (or there would probably be a lot of grumpy husbands). I'm simply telling to conquer it in moderation. You should be taking it easy around this time anyway. I suggest allotting one nap time to doing one or two easy tasks around the house. Maybe put one load of laundry in and wash some dishes. Maybe dust the house and wipe down some counters. But I would not recommend deciding you are going to do 6 loads of laundry, clean out the closet, scrub the bathtub, and clean the ceiling fans. Take it easy and do a little at a time, and then use the other nap times to do things for yourself.

Around this time I could count on Lucas to have about 3 naps. The first I would use to nap myself. The second I would use to eat lunch and then AFTER I ate j would do some sort of cleaning. The third I would use for myself, whether it be reading, taking a quick bath, tweezing my eyebrows, or taking yet another nap. I admit I went crazy in the beginning with the cleaning and I paid for it by not being able to pick my baby up without grimacing for at least two weeks. Trust me as a mommy who still remembers the pain, the cleaning can wait, those little moments with your little one cannot. You may not remember the pain later, but things are hard enough in the beginning for a new mom, why add to it?