Posture

Find a good baby carrier that will help distribute baby's weight. Which carrier would depend on what you and the little one are comfortable with. Many of my friends swear by slings, but my kids didn't like them. My Asian friends wrap their babies onto their backs, which seems to work well for them, but didn't for me, because I wanted to be able to see my kids. For us the Baby Bjorn carrier was perfect - expensive, but worth it. My son liked to face me and feel snuggly, and my daughter liked to face outward and see the world. It put the baby right along my front. I could easily stand straight, and had the full use of both hands. And even though I'm busty, it didn't smash me. Other front carriers either smashed my breasts or left my little one jutting out at a rather ridiculous angle.

Your baby shouldn't feel any differences in your posture. If you dont keep your shoulders back you will end up with horrible back and neck problems so keep your chin up, shoulders back and eventually it will just happen on its own. A healthy, young woman's erect posture says a lot about you and gives an appearance of confidence. Your posture is as important as a nice smile is for first impressions. You gotta be a good role model, if you slouch chances are your kid will as well... do it for your kids if nothing else.

Being a mom of a 5 month old and a yoga teacher, this question is dear to my heart! I just went through having an infant for the second time and vowed not to let it beat up my body like I did with my first. When my daughter was born, though, I found that it was nearly impossible. Infants need to be held a lot and we spent LOTS of time soothing her in our arms. She would be almost asleep for 20 minutes sometimes and I knew that if I adjusted, she would wake up. During those multiple times a day where I was putting her to sleep, we found that running water soothed her. So, bouncing my baby in the bathroom in front of the mirror was common. I would try to see a nice line in my body where I was standing up straight and my lower back wasn't getting compressed, my shoulders back. Unfortunately, I could maintain it for only seconds and it actually looked very unnatural. When you are carrying 7-15 pounds in front of you, your body has to compensate. So, through all of this, I felt comfort in knowing that having an infant lasts an instant. I let my body do what it needed to do to snuggle her, gaze at her, nurse her, bend over her, etc. and know that I can undo the damage in yoga. I lay flat on the floor often and lay over a fit ball as well for relief. Your baby won't be an infant forever and this all changes around 3 months. Having a baby definitely becomes less physically taxing when they sleep easier and want to roll around and stretch their legs. I hope this helps :)

Your baby won't perceive you as stiff. Good posture is important.

Snuggle the baby. 2 years from now, you can sit up straight.

Tighten your tummy muscles and tuck your pelvis (which tightens your glutes). Keep your toes pointing forward. Don't arch your back to "accomodate" the weight of the baby.

I agree with the person who suggested yoga. Its a great way to train the muscles to do what they are supposed to do. When you have good posture, you should feed relaxes and natural - it's what is actually best for your muscles and joints!

It occurs to me that what you think of "good posture"
may be awkward and not especially good for your musculature and joints.

Have you ever tried lying down on the floor with your knees raised
and pushing the small of your back down so that it touches the floor?

Have you ever done (what I call) the cat exercise,
on your hands and knees, alternate raising/arching your back
while pulling in your tummy; then letting your tummy relax
and curving your back the other way?

This is not a fast movement;
it's a slow and thoughtful careful movement.
I don't think I explained that well enough
but perhaps someone else here will do it better.

See if you can find some books on Yoga at your public library,
and try some of the postures, or perhaps sign up for a Yoga class.

When I was young (waaaaay back in the last century)
the posture we were taught to assume in school and at home
was totally wrong. We were told to suck in our bellies, stick out our chests,
throw our shoulders back, and some other (imo) really dumb instructions.

As an adult, I have learned to visualize a straight line (a cord, perhaps)
coming out of the top of my head, reaching toward the sky.
I have learned to see that cord continue straight down
through my neck and back. I've learned to "tuck" my butt
so that my pelvis is tilted forward rather than backward.

When I remind myself to do these things, I feel so much better,
physically and mentally.

Back to the floor posture . . . .
this is a great position in which to play acrobat with baby.
Lifting, doing leg-raises, etc.

Please let us know how you and baby are doing.

I found that the Reebok Easy Tone shoes helped a lot with my posture.