Apparently We’ve Been Carrying Car Seats The Wrong Way

Carting an infant car seat around can be a heavy and painful exercise. The cradle carry or the one arm-hook is probably the method that most of us use.  If you cradle it in both hands, then you can’t open a door or hold the hand of your toddler. Then if you hook it over your arm it can cause some pain in your arm and hip, until it gets so bad that you have to switch sides.

Now…  there’s actually a much easier way to carry your baby’s car seat, and it’s been right under our noses this whole time.

Dr. Emily Puente of Bridge Family Chiropractic in Mansfield, Texas recently shared a video on Facebook displaying how a simple switch in hand placement can make transporting the car seat around a lot easier.

It won’t hurt your shoulder or your hip! Puente says “Someone taught me this before, and it’s been the greatest thing.”

Instead of hooking her elbow through the handle of the carseat, she slides her hand through the handle and down towards the base of the carseat. Then she twists her wrists and lifts it up from the bottom. “As soon as we switch to this,” she explains while demonstrating, “it’s a completely different change in how I’m using my body, to be able to use and distribute this weight from this carrier to be able to carry it around.”

The video has been viewed over 3 million times and people are tagging their friends with new babies!

In an update to the original video, Dr. Puente says that not all infant car seats might work with this technique. A commenter also said the position was uncomfortable, so the Dr. suggested that you get the all clear from your personal doctor “prior to trying any new regimen if you would like to ensure you are fit to perform actions like the one shown here.”