What's the heaviest thing you pick up? « Back to Group Discussions

[swissmiss2584]

What is the heaviest thing you pick up?

I was so used to picking up my daughter before this pregnancy and now I have to avoid it and other things that I am used to. I don't want to hurt myself but I find it annoying to avoid things over 25lbs. Is it really that bad?

[thefreckledmama]

On a regular basis, my son, who is around 35 lbs. I've never really paid attention to not trying to lift anything heavy while pregnant. I've only really ever been restricted lifting or carrying later on by a big belly.

[letniaLynne]

I would listen to your body. Pregnant woman don't need to be coddled without a good reason. From personal experience during my first pregnancy our house was under construction. I helped lay solid hardwood floors, scrap and sand wallpaper etc And move furniture and boxes all over the house.

The best memory I have is of what I did while I was in labor. I rearranged 2 bedrooms and moved many boxes up a pull down set of attic stairs all by myself! An hr after I showed up at the hospital and my midwife arrived I was 10 cm!! I truly attribute that to 16 hrs on my feet accomplishing huge goals the entire time I was in Labor.Overall I just listened to my body. Don't put up walls unnessisarily but do be aware of your pregnant state.

[katalopolis]

I am stealing the advice my sister in law's doctor gave her which was if I feel I can lift it, I can and if I can't then I can't.

[dakipode]

I like your attitude, katalopolis and I completely agree with you letnia about listening to your body.

I'm a personal fitness trainer so I "pick things up and put them down" all day. The heaviest is probably 35lbs. I'm also demonstrating exercises etc. so my job keeps me pretty active.

I've got so many clients who are completely unaware of their body and how it moves, or where it aches, until I point it out to them, they don't feel anything from the neck down... I think in general paying attention to your body and respecting that would save a lot of people trouble.

It also depends on how you lift it. 35lbs on the scale doesn't necessarily equal 35lbs worth of resistance (how you hold it, where you hold it, how fast you move it etc.)

[Jennyanydots]

I agree with the 'listen to your body' rule of thumb. I haven't given it any thought, really, but my son is probably the heaviest thing I pick up regularly, and he's about 25-26 lbs.

[vc2013]

i must be a wimp. my body complained when i brought in a load of firewood once, so i now do avoid lifting heavy things. i carried a tray containing 3 full bottles and a few glasses today, and that felt like it was already too much. but then again, it's my first baby so i'm probably extra careful. also, i am able to avoid lifting heavy things because my fiancé is picking up the slack for me, thankfully. 

[KaliHekate]

My husband is babying me and won't let me do anything barely.  Well, I can't say I mind too much being pampered and coddled. 

[haurelia]

I agree with those who've said that they lift what they feel they can lift. I lift my son (40lbs), shovel loads of heavy snow, etc.  Sometimes I have to lift the rear end of our arthritic 90 lb dog into the back of the car. I'm not worried unless my body complains.  I like lifting weights and feeling strong in regular life and pregnant life, and I'm very conscious of body mechanics (using legs to lift, squatting rather than bending at waist, etc).  I figure if it's too heavy, I won't lift it. 

After giving birth, I will limit lifting and activity for 2 weeks if possible, to give my pelvic floor/pelvic ligaments as much chance to heal and rebound before increasing stress on them (except Kegels). 

[fernmama]

Probably my kids. 32-45 pounds. I have also been unpacking the house. I do ask my 11yr
Old to help me lift if I need it.

[katalopolis]

I'm really not looking forward to when I am "out" about this and people start trying to tell me I can't lift things. My job doesn't involve THAT much lifting but I can see already which people are going to be trying to do my work for me and it will make me very crankypants. Already thinking about how to be diplomatic but firm about what I can do. Luckily I'm not getting it from the fiance (he knows better :P ).

[nettlesoup]

Katalopolis; I have a good example of that from my crazy mother. When I visit the parents my mum actually tries to stop me from setting the table because I'm pregnant. You know what this involves? Getting placemats and napkins out of the table drawer and putting them on the table. But according to her I'm doing too much!
 

[katalopolis]

Haha! Wow, that's definitely a bit of overkill there. If that was too much for you, you'd never get anything done!

[dakipode]

nettlesoup, that's crazy and it would drive me nuts too. I'm starting to appreciate not having told many people yet. Since I'm not showing either I can avoid the over-coddling and unsolicited advice for now. I don't mind a bit of pampering but I also don't want to be treated like a porcelain doll.

[nettlesoup]

That's the only silly comment I've had so far which is nice. But I try to avoid my mum anyway just because she's crazy. Fortunately she feigns being bed ridden, so we don't need to see her much.

I have picked up my daughter a couple of times, but each time I did it it felt like my stomach muscles were going to split so I try to avoid it. I am going to try gardening once the snow's gone, but I will also be very aware of my limits.

[MamaMash]

I agree with listen to your body. I lift my daughter constantly. She's maybe 25 pounds though. I draw the line at the 50 pound bag of dog food. I put it in the cart and then into my SUV and felt my body complain. This was early on too, maybe 5 weeks. I leave it to the husband now. But, I would and probably will have to lift the back end of my injured 110 dog at some point.

[CDsMom1031]

I work at the animal emergency clinic here and my boss put me on a a 35lb restriction... But other than that, I lift whatever I need to. I hate feeling dependent on others to do stuff I'm damn capable of doing.

[kmarie8284]

I lift my 25 lb 21 month old DS constantly, and it doesn't seems to bother me at all. I have actually cut back a little on picking up my closer to 35 lb DD, not because of any weight restriction, just because she feels really heavy. I am out of shape . On another note, I a friend of mine who is 35 weeks or so had one of her care providers tell her not to pick up her 14 month old son anymore. The little guy is right around 20 lbs, so it's not like he's huge, and she's not in danger of pre-term labor or anything, so I don't really get that one. Of course this same provider told my friend that she wasn't going check to see the baby's position (by palpating) because she "might hurt his head" .

[OrmEmbar]

Listening to your own body is a good thing . . . hopefully you get clear messages!  I ignored mine the first pregnancy and it took years to recover.  The heaviest thing I'm lifting these days (at 26 weeks) is a full laundry basket, and it feels heavy.  I look at my garden and the needs of our farm animals and get frustrated that I cannot maneuver 70lb bales of hay or 50lb sacks of feed or dig in the garden for hours any more.  But, a history of uterine prolapse and a significant split in my abdominal muscles makes it clear that I must be careful or I might end up with all the issues I had last time.  Frustrating, but all good in the end.  My kiddos are learning a new sense of pride in contributing to the house and farm work.  : )