Lifting/ Carrying Children While Pregnant

I continued to hold my almost 6 y/o - who just recently made it to 40lbs (YAY!!) up until my 7th month when it started getting hard for me. I'd say if you start to feel pain, then that is the time to stop. The little bit my daughter asks to be held, I didn't want to deny her that comfort either and I offered it for as long as I could.

Now she will sit on my side rather than on my lap because my belly has been so big since the 6th-7th month. It's harder with a much younger child, you cannot really explain why things need to change and the child may see it as rejection. Even with us always talking about it, my daughter would still sometimes take it as rejection.

Well, I'm 13 weeks pregnant, and I pick my 5 1/2 year old up. Ok, I know I probably shouldn't, but I'm careful, and I don't do anything that feels uncomfortable. I guess my point is that I would have no qualms picking up a 25 lb. toddler.

wow, my doctor told me not to lift anything heavier than a sack of potatoes. Well sorry, 12 weeks pregnant or not I have an 8 month old at home. Basically you gotta do what you gotta do. You can't not pick up your daughter. She's little, and what you aren't going to leave the house alone for the next 6 months? You have to pick her up to get her in the car, out of the car, into a cart or stroller.... into her crib. Use common sense. If it causes you pain don't do it. Don't carry her for extended periods of time, don't carry her and other things. I still have to lug my 8 month old 19 pound little man upstairs 3 times a day at least to put him to bed, such is life. My first three kids are 11, 10 and 8 so I've done this before, and they are all just fine.

The rule of thumb is that you can do anything now that you could do before. If you were a couch potato that slept until noon and never lifted anything then you shouldn't run out and start training for a marathon. But woman really do get silly when they get pregnant. I know we don't want to hurt our babies. But woman have always worked and worked hard through pregnancies. Just use your common sense.

There are no restrictions on lifting if your pregnancy is not a high risk one. Mothers worked on the farm back in the day. The more activity, within reason, that you have the healthier you will be and the easier your delivery will be. Yes, you can lift your toddler.

It's OK to do heavy lifting if you are fit and it's comfortable.

I just found out i was 11 weeks yesterday!...(i thought i was only about 4 weeks, lol whoooops)...Im wondering this too so i asked my doc yesterday, mostly the concern with lifting things over 25 lbs is the issue of wielding it, or throwing it etc.... an activity that takes your whole body. We can lift our babies/toddlers, but easily...slowly and be weary of too much movement.

I have four but they are more two and two because it takes me eight years to forget why I only had two kids for eight years but I digress.

I always picked up and carried the older one when I was pregnant. Yeah towards the end the younger one might kick them but other than that you should be fine. I have very big kids, not chunky mind you, tall little monkeys.

Obviously if you are at risk then be careful.

I lift/lifted my older kids when I was pregnant before and still do now. I'm 10 weeks. They are over 25 pounds. I hurt myself really bad taking my son out of his carseat when I was 35 weeks-had to go to the emergency room. It ended up being a severly pulled ligament. Nasty non stop pain. So, I would say go ahead and lift if needed, but be super careful of your movements the farther along you are.

My doctor explained it to me that picking up weight isn't harmful to your baby, the risk is pulling something like your back. So I just try and limit lifting my 36lb 3 year old, and am careful to lift with my legs and not let him squirm around when I'm holding him.

Contrary to popular belief, lifting children while pregnant does not hurt the baby nor contribute to miscarriage. However, lifting improperly may cause back problems for you. When you lift your little ones, bend at the knees or have the child climb up on a chair before lifting them in order to avoid lower back strains. Listen to your body in advanced stages of pregnancy. It will let you know when lifting is no longer a good option. My last 2 children were 20 months apart and I lifted my next to youngest up until the last month when it became uncomfortable. I did, however, routinely perform back exercises to keep my lower back and core strong. Congrats on your pregnancy! Enjoy every moment, for it passes very quickly. Midwife Mom of 3

I have a 2 1/2 year old boy who I've been picking up this whole pregnancy. My doctor said it's fine. As long as you are low-risk and know your limits, it should be fine. I should add that my son was 35 lbs at the beginning of my pregnancy, and 38lbs now, and I'm 31 weeks pregnant and am doing fine.

You're more likely to hurt yourself than your baby. I got in the habit early on of sitting down for my little one to climb up in my lap as often as possible- that helped the load on my back.

I am 36 weeks along, and will still pick up my 40 lb. 5 year old if I absolutely have to (if he's hurt, Daddy isn't there, etc.). I have definitely limited it the past few weeks, but it isn't so much about the weight, but what that weight can do to your body. Congrats and good luck!

While pregnant, I had weight lifting restrictions of 25-30 lbs and I stuck to them. When my back was particularly bad I didn't even lift that much. My kids were able to walk so that wasn't an issue. They were able bodied and therefore able to get themselves where they needed to be or else they were in a carriage or a shopping cart. We did a lot of hand-holding walks too. They didn't "need" to be carried once they were that heavy and able to walk.

We did all of our snuggling and playing and bonding when I was sitting or on the floor or swimming. I didn't have to carry them all the time and frankly it wasn't a habit I wanted for them to maintain anyway. Of course at the time I didn't realize all of the pain issues and back problems were related to fibromyalgia.

My girls are 19 months apart and I always carry her without any problem, if you r healthy and have a normal pregnancy I don't see the problem, any way I think you mean lifting for normal activities like getting toothed high chair or the car seat or sometimes just to give some love for a few minutes, and not all day long like a babie , that's not normal for a toddler.

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My girls are 19 months apart and I always carry her without any problem, if you r healthy and have a normal pregnancy I don't see the problem, any way I think you mean lifting for normal activities like getting toothed high chair or the car seat or sometimes just to give some love for a few minutes, and not all day long like a babie , that's not normal for a toddler.

I pick up my daughter all time. I am 31 weeks and she is about 38 pounds. You just have to know when she is getting to heavy and how long that you hold her. Talk to your dr about this and see what he/she says. If you are not at high risk then I wouldn't worry about it. When I was pregnant with my first I worked full time and did alot of lifting. At around 25 weeks he restricted my lifting and bending. This time he has said nothing about the lifting. I have no problem with picking her up but she does get to my back after a while so I have to put her down. My neighbor up until the day before she delivered carried her 2 1/2 yr old around.
So again if you have any concerns talk to your Dr. Everyone is different and every pregnancy is different. Best of luck and Congrats!!!