Pains after lifting son

[Lirpa11]

Hi mommas!

So I have heard we *shouldn't'* lift over 20 lbs. My son is almost 2 years old and is 20.8 lbs (maybe 21 lbs) and I have to hold him when getting out of the car, into the car, when going shopping etc.

It hasn't really bothered me before, but I am 16 weeks now and finding that he feels increasingly heavy and it's hard to hold him. We had to go shopping Saturday and he pitched a fit in the store (it was naptime). I held him but it was difficult. He would not sit in the buggy without trying to get out and stand up. If I let him down he ran around so I had to chase him, it was very frustrating.

By the time I got home, my stomach area was aching. It felts terrible like I had been doing a million sit ups. It was so painful, I guess from holding him.

So my question is, how bad is it to be lifting your other children? If possible, I will need to get him watched while I do any shopping, but that is not always as easy as it sounds.

 

[melissalynn]

If you're not high risk you're okay to keep lifting him.
I am still lifting weights and plan to continue throughout my pregnancy, my OB gave me the go ahead for it.

 

[xdxxtx]

Any "weight limits" if you're low-risk are guesses. The truth is, you need to listen to your body and not strain yourself. If you're hurting, it was too much weight for too long. My youngest is 15m old and about 28 pounds. My other kids are 42, 35 and 34 pounds. I'm allowed to lift each of them. I also sometimes lift two at a time, but I try to keep that to an absolute minimum. I avoid having to carry them while standing for more than a few minutes by not taking them out during nap times and always giving my youngest a place to sit (stroller, shopping cart, etc). That being said, my youngest will almost always try to climb out of shopping carts if I don't keep a close eye on him, so I am just careful and catch him and sit him back down before he is able to pull his feet out of the cart. I'd rather let him fuss a little and me just try to run through the store faster than me struggle to carry him and hurt myself.

Edit: I also want to add that it's highly unlikely that you will harm the *pregnancy* by carrying your child or doing other relatively heavy lifting. You CAN hurt your body, though. Abdominal separation, prolapse, etc. I wouldn't mess around with it.

 

[Lemonade]

You might have pulled some muscles carrying him around for so long. Am I right in thinking pregnancy hormones make your joints looser too? I have been lifting my 25lb two and a half year old and it has been fine (I am low risk).

 

[Lirpa11]

Thank you.

I am not high risk, so it should be fine. Doctors have always told us not to lift over 20 lbs past 2nd trimester if possible, so I was worried it could cause damage. I didn't have any other children when I was pregnant last time, so it wasn't an issue.

I've never had such pain after lifting him though, so thought I would ask.