get a grip or a small 3ds?

I recently got this beauty (my first NEW 3ds, and, oh boy, I can finally fully enjoy the 3d), modded it, added some games and went straight to playing Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Big mistake.. I had forgotten what a pain it was to play KI:U, even on my og3ds. I changed the controllers in the game, and it’s somewhat manageable, but I still get cramps.

I tried other games that didn’t require the use of the stylus, and yeah… cramps again, but I did get a good amount of playtime.

I’m not sure whether a grip would help — cause I’ve got small hands (like 16cm) and fingers that can’t even reach the strings on a guitar, — or I should look for a small new 3ds.

Has anyone gone from an xl to a regular sized 3ds for this reason? If yes, how was the experience? Better, worse, the same?