Okay, I'm wondering if anyone is NOT picking up their toddlers at all because they are pregnant.

My dr. told me not to pick him up, but come on! That's impossible! I have really tried to limit the times I pick him up now, but I just can't cut it out totally. Especially when we are trying to cross a street and he doesn't want to hold my hand so he lays down in the middle of the street.

Has anyone kept carrying their toddlers throughout their pregnancies?
Any problems because of that?
How much does your toddler weight?

My son is about 33 pounds now!
Thanks for the help!

tony's around 35lbs i'd bet. i do not lift him unless i have to. that said, i do pick him up quite a few times a day which is a lot considering i'm at work all day.

the worst is when he falls asleep in the car and i have to carry him into the house and up to the second floor to bed. i nearly have a heart attack! :lol:

if he is begging for me to pick him up, i'll have marc do the lifting, then pass him to me.

i really can see no way around not picking him up :dunno:

I haven't been told not to pick Jackson up. Like Kim said, I just don't see any way of avoiding it. :dunno:

Why is it such a big deal anyway? I never understood why people always say not to lift heavy things... I figure if you're using good body mechanics then you're not going to hurt anything. I highly doubt that my prairie-homesteading ancestors sat around while they were pregnant, telling people "sorry, can't do my chores I'm pregnant!" :lol: The cows got milked, the pigs got slopped, the meals prepared, etc, etc. That's just my take on it, anyway. :lol:

I didn't work on not lifting my toddler while I was pregnant, but she was only about 20-25 pounds during that time. What was REALLY hard was not picking her up after my c-section. I didn't really have a choice and it was very, very difficult.

I didn't NOT pick up Madelynn when I was pregant, but she's only like 24 lbs.

Around 20 weeks, I wasnt allowed to lift Aidan anymore. And I followed that advice, except to get him in & out of the van & into his highchair. Yeah - he disliked it.

I am curious as to why your Dr. would say that? Is it b/c of your bad back? My only reason was b/c of my high risk.

THanks for all the replies ladies! Well, my doctor said it - I think - because it's something they routinely tell everyone. Mainly, they said it's because you can strain your back or hurt muscles that aren't used to doing these things while pregnant. I didn't say that very well, but I think you know what I mean. Anyway, they also said that toward the end of pregnancy, some people think that it can cause you to go into early labor.

Basically, I'm doing what you guys are. I try not to pick Carter up when I don't really need to. He can get into the car by himself now (although, he likes to run into the front seat). When he wants me to "hold you", he pulls me over to the couch so he can sit on my lap. That is a big improvement since he used to insist I be standing when holding him. I told him that "mommy's back has owies" and so now he knows I can't do as much. Like Kim said, it's hard to get him out of the carseat when he has fallen asleep - the really bad part - this is how we get him to sleep for his nap EVERYDAY! UGH! I don't know what we are going to do toward the end of my pregnancy because it's killing me to carry him up the stairs and lift him into the bed and over the guard rail. I guess he's just not going to get naps anymore pretty soon. Actually, this week, he has been pretty stubborn about naps and has missed 2 or 3 of them. Okay, I'm starting to ramble.

Basically, I was wondering if anything bad has happened to anyone because of lifting their kids. I never really heard of anything, but who knows!

I pick Ethan up all the time. It's that or have a screaming toddler all day. I'm not supposed because of my hernia, but like the Dr. said to me right after telling me I shouldn't pick him up, when you're a SAHM home with your toddler usually alone, what can you do? I think it's important to lift properly, though.

I"m at 14 weeks and still lifting my 36-lb toddler. The dr. hasn't told me to stop yet and I still feel okay carrying her- but I know I will probably have to quit that sometime soon.

When I first started dilating (25 weeks) I was told I could not lift anything over 20 lbs...But since Janelle STILL isn't 20 lbs now it wasn't a big deal...I think at that point she was 16lbs.

During my second pregnancy I did lift and carry Macie around ( she was 22-25lbs). She was very clingy during the end of the pregnancy and would be attached to my hip. When dh was home she was pretty content going to him, thank goodness to that.

I've been picking Emily up all the time, she's right about 20 pounds, and I'm having Molly in 3 days. I will say that as I've gotten closer to the end of my pregnancy, I've been focusing more and more on proper lifting technique; ie: bending from the knees rather than just leaning over to pick her up. I'm dreading the restrictions post c-section on lifting, but TG DH or my mom will be here those first few weeks to pick her up and hand her to me once I'm sitting down.

Amy - I hadn't really thought much about not picking Carter up after the c-section. That's going to be very hard! I know my mom won't be able to come and help since she went back to college plus working full time. MIL has cancer and I don't really know how she'll be feeling by that time. She'll be done with chemo, but it might take her a long time to feel better.

I asked my doctor this last month, during my first pre-natal visit. She said I can lift Lexie up and doesn't see a reason why I can't/shouldn't. She said it doesn't cause m/c or anything. SO....with that in mind, I do pick her up when I want to. She weighs 22 lbs. 14 oz. As my tummy gets bigger and I'm nearing towards the end, I will follow my body cues whether or not I feel I can handle picking her up. :)

Other than for pre-term labor I can't see why your dr would say not to lift him. It seems very odd to me! My dr makes a point of telling me at every appt that as long as it feels fine to me I can still pick Abby up.

Well, I have been picking him up lately, but not as much as I used to. He seems very okay with this. When he wants me to hold him, he brings me over to the couch now. My back has been great lately.

I carried Maggie up to and including the day I went into labor with Katie. Its something I could have limited more if I had wanted to, but I didn't really see much reason. At the very end, I was hoping that lifting her would induce labor, but Katie was 10 days overdue, so I don't think it helped. :lol:

brandi, you should try a foam mattress topper!!! i just got one last week and i LOVE it! i'm not having any pg related back pain anymore!

I've been picking up Eliot pretty much all this pregnancy until last week... really not b/c the Dr told me not to but b/c carrying him and the belly is just too much and takes my breath away plus my back is starting to hurt when I do... we have been sitting on the couch when he wants to be held or snuggle and that seems to work, I'm hoping that gets him used to it some since I won't be able to pick him up after my c-section.

Kim - I should try one of those. We just got this bed not that long ago. Do you know why or how it works so that your back doesn't hurt anymore? That's awesome! I just had a massage tonight - woo! That was nice!

I had and have a similar issue with my 2 and 1 year old. When I was pregnant with my youngest my older dd was not walking yet, so not picking her up was not an option. I just tried to limit it and use good body mechanics.

Kim -o. Do you know why or how it works so that your back doesn't hurt anymore?
it's made out of 'memory foam' so it molds to your body, less pressure on your back. i am singing the praises of this thing everywhere i go :lol: i got it for $80 at bj's wholesale.

I have been lifting and carrying Vincent (now 21 months old) throughout my pregnancy and haven't had any problems, although he only weighs 18.5 lbs! It's hard sometimes, but I just deal with it. Frankly, it would be harder if I couldn't pick him up because I'd have a very fussy toddler on my hands!!