Pregnant with baby no.2 - concerned about lifting toddler

[lottytheladybird]

I have a 15 month old toddler and I'm also 9 weeks pregnant with our second baby. My DS can walk, but I still have to lift him up quite a lot, like going downstairs, putting him in the high chair, lifting him in and out the play pen, putting him in the car seat, lifting him in and out the bath...etc.

How concerned do I realistically need to be about all this heavy lifting and being pregnant? My husband will do most of the lifting when he's home, but it seems that all this lifting is pretty much unavoidable the rest of the time.

I'm 17 weeks pregnant with an 18 month old. I'm encouraging her to do things for herself (going up and down stairs etc) and avoiding any unnecessary lifting but I haven't stopped lifting her. Sometimes it's unavoidable and also we have always done a lot of it, she likes it. I am just rationing it and being careful how I lift her (knees bent etc).

The one I'm struggling most with is in and out of the cot. Should have got one with pull down sides!

I don't think you news to worry too much. I'm 20 weeks and still picking up my 4 year old regularly for cuddles!
Just use your knees not your back.

pommedechocolat - we have a cot with pull down sides, but a couple of weeks ago, our DS worked out how to lower it himself! Now, we've had to position the cot so that the moveable side faces the wall. So, now I do find it difficult to lift DS in and out of his cot, as I've been used to being able to lower the side.

I have a 25 month old toddler and I'm 17 weeks pregnant.

Only place where I have to lift him is his highchair and car seat.
He knows how to do stairs etc.

My husband takes him in and out of his bed.

I have a 10mo dd and am 21wks pg. Lifting for me has been unavoidable, she can't yet walk so has to be carried. Just be careful how you do it and try not to get too stressed over it.

Noooooo! Dont do it. I am 34 weeks pregnant and DS is three. I reduced lifting massively but didnt stop completely and two weeks ago was diagnosed with SPD. The muscles around the pelvic bones have become inflamed and stretched and it hurts to walk! I never had anything like this in my previous pregnancy and its so frustrating as now I can do even less for DS!

You can lower the chances of getting SPD by making sure you dont lift heavy things, do your pelvic floor exercises and other exercises to strengthen your core muscles.

I have read that SPD mostly disappears after birth, but for an unlucky few it doesnt! So think about long term consequences of lifting, better to upset DC a little bit now, than for a much longer period of time later on.

I don't know how you could avoid it. There is a 20 month gap between mine so dd1 was 11/12 months when I got pregnant. Couldn't walk until 16 months.

I only found it difficult when I was too large to carry her comfortably, particularly when she was throwing a strop having a dificult day and I had to pick her up from a prone position on the floor.

Just be careful and get your dc to help themselves as and when they can.

We moved DS to a bed - I'm now 30 weeks and not only is it hard lifting him out, the bump started getting in the way. He's nearly 2- a bit early for a bed with hindsight but we'll need the cot at some point anyway.

I try not to lift too much but do do pregnancy yoga which helps with core muscle strength. I'd recommend it!

I worked in a nursery when I was pregnant with ds so did lots of lifting all day! Nursery policy was lifting was fine til 5/6 months (can't remember exactly) and then avoid after that.

I've got spd and am 19 weeks with a 15 month old.

It's unrealistic not to lift him at all, but even more unrealistic to think it will harm the new baby.

I get him to do the up stairs on his own and walk to the changing mat. But who the heck else is going to lift him in to the car? Carrying downstairs is horrible because of spd, not his weight. But you just have to suck it up.

You can get pregnancy support belts? Might be worth a try.

A far as I was aware you were fine to keep doing activities that your body was use to doing eg. lifting toddlers. Your body is use to doing it. I am 27 weeks with no. 4, eldest being 6 the month after this one is due so have always had to do some lifting of toddlers when pregnant for all but no. 1. As a PP's have said bend from your knees, encourage them to climb up/down stairs etc.

I find continual bending up and down to lift things off the floor the hardest so I kick all toys/clothes round the floor into a pile then bend once to pick them all up. Even if you just put them on a higher surface and put them away from there.

Hadn't thought about that re the cot Lotty!

We are planning to move dd into a bed around Xmas time so she'll be 21 months then.

I have been lifting my 112cm, 47lb DD as usual, including putting her in her carrier when required. It had never really occured to me not to. Who else will do it? I can understand not taking up marathon running mid pregnancy but something you're already used to doing and have to do isn't going to hurt surely.

I am still lifting 2.4 year old at 18 weeks pregnant, just being really careful about bending knees and lifting correctly.

With regard to the cot, when DD was 15 months we took one side off and put in a bed guard, she was fine could be worth a try?

If he is walking can you hold into his hand when he goes down the stairs, so that you do less lifting?

My doctor told me there was nothing to worry about except later when you are bigger, to watch your back. It's not as if nature didn't think about this when we were designed to have more than one baby.

To be fair we weren't really designed to have more babies while still carrying the first one - breastfeeding and carrying children for the first few years would have stopped you ovulating and having another one too soon (back in our primitive history, obviously).

I asked a physio this exact question recently and she said - avoid lifting if possible, but if you have to, make sure you do it carefully - get down to his level (rather than bending over) and keep your back straight.

I am 36 weeks here with my second and have a 23 month old. We live up 2 flights of stairs on the 3rd floor and I have to carry her up fairly often if she is too tired to walk up (though I make sure she is flat out before I do!). It' s abloody nightmare but hasn't done any harm - yet!

Same as Allboxedin - was living 2nd floor pregs with 3rd and lifting 2 plus bags up stairs. Pregs with 4th and currently lifting 5 year old, 3 year old and big fat 18month old all the time - you'll be fine - seriously

you can't really avoid lifting, but keep it at a minimum and make it easier:
get your toddler to climb on a chair or stool and pick him/her up from there. practice going up and down stairs safely.
let her/him climb into the pushchair by him/herself.

The "danger" with lifting things is that you hurt yourself, not the baby.

When pregnant we produce hormones including relaxin, that soften the ligaments and muscles. So you are more likely to strain yourself by lifting.

Keep loads (including a toddler!) close to your body when lifting, not at arms length. Bend your knees, have a stool next to the bath so your toddler can climb halfway out and then you help him down. Encourage them to climb into their carseat or up/down the stairs with supervision.

But don't worry unduly, it's unlikely to cause any harm.