OP, yes, you can visit on your ESTA. Just be careful. We did it (Australia) during our journey, but we kept visits to about 80 days max, and did the twice-as-long-out-as-in route. We were also VERY prepared to say, "Yes, I am am married to a US Citizen, but we have filed the I-130, and we do not want to jeopardize the process at all. I am going back to Australia, and we will follow all the rules."
We had no issues.
Best of luck on the (too long) journey!!!
Sukie in NY