Parenting Without Pain: Dressing and Clothing Life Hacks
I am proud to be a guest blogger with the wonderful patient resource Creaky Joints. I am currently writing a series of posts on the topic of Parenting Without Pain. The posts will tackle how parents with arthritis or other painful joint conditions can approach activities of daily living involved in caring for children in a way that minimizes joint pain. My first topic is Dressing and Clothing Life Hacks. In this post, I cover everything from clothing selection (more zippers, less snaps!) to joint protection strategies, regardless of materials used (such as using a hand splint, as pictured below). Click here for the full post! (Note: as of 2019 the post isn’t available due…
Bringing Home Baby Without Breaking Your Body – How to protect your joints when you have arthritis and a new baby
Despite infants’ diminutive size and stature, caring for a new baby is a very physical job! Many new parents and caregivers experience joint or muscle pain after repetitive stress caused by lifting, carrying, diapering, and holding their baby. It’s estimated that between 25-50% of new parents experience DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis (or “Mommy thumb”) alone. It is also common to have pain in other areas such as the wrists, shoulders and back. These issues are of course exacerbated by chronic underlying illnesses such as autoimmune arthritis. From my experiences as a new mom with rheumatoid arthritis and from my training as an occupational therapist, I would like to share tips on my…
Bringing Home Baby: Tips for Meeting the Caregivers’ Basic Needs
It’s hard to put into words how simultaneously joyful, exhausting, transcendent, stressful, surreal, and miraculous the first few months home with an infant can be. Now that I’m emerging from the fog but the experience is still fresh in my mind, I’d love to share some tips and strategies that helped me adjust to parenthood* over the last five and a half months. While pregnant, I found countless resources for how to care for a newborn, from feeding to sleeping to swaddling to safety. However, there were less resources available for how to care for myself and other primary caregivers in the newborn days. Thus, I will focus on these…
Arthritis Gadgets/Approaches that Help During Pregnancy and Pregnancy Gadgets/Approaches that Help for Arthritis
Throughout the last 9 months of my pregnancy, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to note that many of the gadgets and approaches that are recommended for arthritis can also be helpful for pregnant women. Conveniently, many of the strategies and gadgets recommended for pregnant women can also help persons with arthritis! I’d like to share some of my favorite items and approaches so that others with arthritis or pregnancy can discover how to protect their bodies and perhaps be more comfortable. Arthritis Gadgets and Approaches that also Help During Pregnancy 1) The Reacher / Grabber The reacher/grabber is a classic gadget that helps you avoid bending down to pick up items.…