Parenthood requires us to pick up Your Baby and kids! But it is important HOW we pick them up.
If we have a less optimal setup, we could end up hurting our back, which could affect our ability to care for our kids. Let’s break down a few different ways we could pick up our baby from the floor!
4 Techniques to Pick Up Your Baby WITHOUT Hurting Your Back
All of these techniques require us to focus on how we are setting up as we pick up baby from the floor.
We want to focus on:
- Setting up the spine in a fairly neutral position (remember there is a range to neutral, so some arching or some rounding is okay!)
- Exhale to lift up and in with the pelvic floor to counter the increased pressure.
Each of these techniques requires different levels of strength and mobility, as well. You may find that one technique is much more achievable for you than others.
Let’s explore the different techniques plus ways we can prep to do each one!
1. Half Kneeling Pick Up Technique
In the half kneeling lunge pick-up technique, we will start in a half-kneeling lunge position.
- Reach forward to hold baby, supporting their head and body in each hand.
- Bring baby to your chest.
- Move to an upright position with your torso.
- Then stand up from the lunge.
If you want to bring baby down to the floor or a lower surface, do this technique in reverse!
- Step back into a half-lunge position
- Lower torso towards the surface you want to place your baby on
This position will require some mobility in the half-lunged hip. In addition, you’ll need single-leg stability to stand up and lower from the lunge position.
Caring for a baby and kids requires strength, mobility, and stamina! Stay strong throughout motherhood with our postpartum fitness programs.
We offer programs to support your sport-specific and fitness goals:
- General Strength and Conditioning
- C-Section Recovery
- Olympic Weightlifting
- Running
- Military/First Responder (always 20% as a thank you for your service)
2. Squat Pick Up Technique
The squat pick up technique requires the most hip mobility, but can be great to pick up a heavier kid as you can use both legs to stand up!
Starting from the bottom of a squat:
- Reach forward to grab baby and bring them to your chest
- Exhale to stand up from the bottom of the squat
If you need to bring baby or your child to a lower surface, you can do this all in reverse.
- Lower to the bottom of a squat
- Place baby or kid down on lower surface
But, as you can see, this movement requires leg strength AND mobility! If you have trouble dropping into the bottom of a squat, and then moving around in this position, you may need to focus on some mobility.
The squat therapy is a series of three movements that may help you find a deeper squat so you can get down to the floor as you need with your baby!
Watch the breakdown video below for some tips!
3. Kneeling Squat Pick Up Technique
The kneeling squat pick up may be the easiest of the four options! Starting in a kneeling position:
- Lean forward, maintaining a neutral spine position, to pick up baby
- Bring baby to your chest
- Sit back onto the heels to find an upright position
- Extend in the hips to come up onto the knees
- Bring one leg forward to step into a lunge position
- Stand up
If you need to bring baby back down to the floor or a lower surface, you can do this all in reverse!
- Step back into a lunge position.
- Step the forward lunged leg back into a kneeling position
- Sit down to the heels
- Hinge forward at the waist to bring baby to the lower surface
We can train these movements with our postpartum fitness programming! The kneeling squat is incorporated into the first two weeks of our postpartum programming, because of how well it transfers into motherhood’s daily demands!
Watch the video below for a breakdown of the kneeling squat. We include breakdown videos like this in our postpartum fitness programming!
4. 90/90 Pick Up Technique
The 90/90 pick-up technique is probably the most complex and requires the most mobility but can be an easy way to get up from the floor!
Starting in a 90/90 position, with one leg in front in external rotation, and one leg behind in internal rotation:
- Hinge forward to reach down and pick up baby
- Bring baby to your chest
- Sit back into the hips as you move to an upright torso position
- Extend in the hips as you shift weight into the knees and front leg shin
- Bring back leg around front to step into a lunge position
- Stand up
If you want to bring baby down to a lower surface with this technique you will:
- Step back into a lunge
- Swing the front leg behind into the 90/90 hip extended position
- Sit back into the hips
- Lower the torso to bring baby to the lower surface
