Any Nurses That Can Answer A ??

I worked at a daycare with my first and near the end I switched to the 4 year old room so I did not have pick up the children. Maybe you could switch with someone until the baby is born.

I'm not a nurse but I agree with the very last post - your ligaments are growing and stretching. BUT if you are experiencing pain lifting these children, it sounds like your body is telling you to take it easy. Are you lifting properly - with your legs and not back? Is there a way that you can move the changing station closer to the floor?

My doc told me not to lift more than 20 lbs....but I have a history of preterm labor. There is going to be pain, but if the pain is happening specifically when you lift the children, I would be asking for help. Or, is there anyway you could just change them on a pad on the floor?

Hi KM,

I am a nurse and I do agree with Karen. Your ligaments are very stretched out from it's normal position. She is spot on. Lift with your legs. NOT YOUR BACK!! Very important whether you are pregnant or not. Congrats on the little one on the way!! Take care.

Jaime

I'm not a nurse, but I am pregnant with my 2nd child, and I thought that the weight lifting restriction while pregnant was 20 pounds. My doctor even told me not to be lifting/carrying my almost 3 year old who weighs 32 pounds.
If you're feeling any kind of discomfort while lifting, use your own common sense and DON'T LIFT! change the kids' diapers on a changing pad on the floor! there's no reason you need to lift an 18 month old up to a changing table to change their diaper... Any parents would certainly understand that you don't want to put your own child in danger.
I might also consider finding a different doctor if I were you. What your doctor told you about lifting 40 pounds while pregnant sounds like very bad advice to me.

I was always told that there is a reason why you hurt, something is wrong. Now I don't mean with your baby, but if it hurts to be lifting the kids I would talk to your boss and tell them that you need some adjustments made to do your job. Tell your boss that it hurts to lift the kids and see if you can get that part of your job eliminated for now. Kids grow so fast that it can be hard to realize that they just got too heavy for you to lift.

Talk to your doctor also and demonstrate how you are lifting the kids and are lifting properly. Lifting straight up and down without twisting your middle, bending at your knees not your back etc. However, I never heard of being allowed to lift more than 20 pounds in the last two months.

When you're preg all of the ligaments in your body get much looser (to prepare for birth) and - as you're well aware by now - your abdominal muscles have to do a lot of stretching to make space for the baby. So, you are a bit more prone to injury when you're pregnant because of the changes. I'd say listen to your body on this one. If you get pain when you do something you can either modify how you do it or avoid doing it.

Make sure you're using a good lifting technique - 40 lbs is pretty heavy and you want to make sure you squat with your knees and keep your torso upright so that you lift with your legs. Also, you're probably already carrying about 25-35 extra lbs - mostly in your belly. This already puts you "off balance" and when you carry something heavy in front it only adds to it. Try lifting the children on your hip or a little off to the side rather than directly in front. Doing both of these things will put much less strain on your back and stomach and should be more comfortable. If you feel like you're already doing this and still get pain, I would suggest having someone else change the heavy kids (there is usually more than one adult with the kids, right?)

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! (ps - I'm not a nurse, but I am a professor of biomechanics - hopefully this qualifies me :) )

I am an Ob/Gyne nurse and at this point in your pregnancy I would not recommend lifting more than 20 pounds. The other posts are right about the ligamnets being all stretched out and it is very, very common to have sharp pains when lifting, bending or stretching. The problem with lifting too much weight is that you will end up hurting your back and straining the muscles and connective soft tissue in your pelvis. It is much easier to incur an injury when you are pregnant. Take it easy if you can!! Maybe change the kids on the floor or switch rooms for a while? Best of luck and congrats!

I am not a nurse, but in my opinion you probably shouldn't be lifting too much, especially this far into your pregnancy and if you are getting pains.
It's not worth it to cause yourself problems.
Take advantage of all the help you can get.