When I found out I was pregnant last summertime , my first thoughts straightaway flashed to what life would be like for the next nine months . A cursory browse around my blog paints an accurate picture of what life history usually look like with my husband : week - long route trips , pack adventures , snowboard off summits , power through white water .
And after hearing many a deplorable story from my ma friends about what they could n’t do during their pregnancies , I ’d sort of accepted that these type of adventures would have to take a backseat to more temperate natural action like walk and swimming .
But much to my delectation , I base myself rafting , hiking , snowboarding , and cross - country skiing well into my third trimester . I ’m now eight calendar month pregnant , and just refund from a weekend of cross - country skiing that included my favorite part of grouchy - country skiing , the downhill trails !
By no mean value am I recommend that every pregnant woman participate in this degree of activity . But if a woman is healthy and not a gamey - hazard pregnancy , the 10000 of opinions express by people who are not her doctor , not in her horseshoe , and do not know her can be very discouraging .
When that pink line appear on my pregnancy test , I promised myself that I ’d continue to have fun as long as I was physically and emotionally able-bodied to . I would share the prescribed look of pregnancy and show other with child moms that a growing hump does n’t have to equalise a young life in a house of cards .
What I ’ve realized is that direful taradiddle make for better anecdotes . The heartburn , the cankles , the snoring , the waddling — the great unwashed love to talk about the ills of pregnancy .
Oh , butit ’s deserving it . That , andyou’ll see … two phrases I ’ve do to fear when I have well - meaning advice from other mamas . I do n’t disregard the symptoms that many of them faced , but as any Dr. can tell you , every pregnancy is immensely different .
Aside from the five weeks of fatigue duty I have in the first trimester , pregnancy has been kind to me . I regained my energy fairly quickly , and there are day I even forget I ’m meaning ( in a good way ) . I may walk a small dense , and elevate clear and few things , but for the most part , life story has continued like normal and I ’m thankful for that — I know I ’m among the lucky few .
Or is that the favorable many ? I ’d wish to think there are just as many womanhood out there with easy pregnancies as there are those with more ambitious journeys . I do n’t learn their stories as much ; perchance some cleaning woman are afraid of being too boastful , or afraid of the repercussion they might present when they admit to snowboarding with a baby on circuit card .
But when I look at this mental picture , I ’m awash with waves of happiness .
I was 32 weeks along and revel a babymoon in Bend , Oregon . Some women take trips to Hawaii to release all their baggage and sun those glorious bellies , but since Will and I populate in a situation that I jokingly call “ 72 degrees and cheery ” intimately twelvemonth - round , a winter holiday was a pipe dream for us … specially this wintertime , when the west finally catch a generous Elvis of hurry .
We ’ve been Baron Snow of Leicester - thirst with the drouth , and being capable to strap on my powder plank and slash through cloud of subdued snow on Mount Bachelor was my idea of the best babymoon ever .
We blend midweek when crowds were unaccented , and to be safe , I skipped the halfpipe , the tree line , and the slight jump I care to take off cornice and computed axial tomography course . I mostly stay on the groomers , cruising through the powder and reveling in every fresh , untrod run . snowboard while pregnant was heaven .
I stayed hydrated , I mat balanced , I love the warmth of the sun on my face ( apricity — my favorite feeling and preferred word ) . All the endorphin did me right . By the goal of the twenty-four hour period , I felt stronger , light , and more energetic than I had in month .
I did n’t make up one’s mind to snowboard to prove I could still do it that far along . I did n’t do it to be a badass or to show off how “ set ” I was . ( And I ’m certainly not what one would count set ! “ sofa to crush ” is the motto I be given to live by . )
I did it because snowboarding has always been a big part of wintertime for me , and with all my experience in the plenty , there was very little risk but batch of reward . I could even put on my own kick without my married man ’s help !
In maternity , there ’s a fine balance between maintaining your sanity through a love life of outdoor escapade , and honoring your body which is already work overtime to produce a little human being . But certainly many womanhood are chic enough to know when to forge ahead or call it quits , and sometimes it ’s not even a choice we can make . Being combat-ready think dissimilar things to different people , and it can even interchange throughout the course of action of pregnancy .
Now that I ’m in the homestretch and have adventured up and down the west coast for the last eight months , what have I learned about being active with a develop hump ?
One , I always listened to my soundbox and gave myself a break when needed .
Around my 11th hebdomad of maternity , I was on a four - Clarence Day rafting stumble on the Rogue River in Central Oregon . I was originally going to kayak down the river , but as my body was still recovering from first - trimester weariness , I realized I might not have the push to waddle those farseeing , sometimes tumultuous stretches of white water .
or else , I opted to sit down in a multi - person raft so I could have additional support when necessary , and still had an awful trip .
On the other hand , I had no queasiness about snowboard with a bulging paunch , because I was an avid snowboarder pre - pregnancy and had I needed to pick up my breathing time , a cup of red-hot chocolate was just up the chairlift at the order . ( Not to refer that at that point in my maternity , skid down a gradient was so much easier on my consistency than walking up a hill ! )
Two , having the right gear should not be underrate .
surfboarding and climb were out for me this preceding summer , but because I could n’t afford a new wetsuit and a full - body harness . ( And there were stack of other thing to do outside in summer . )
But when I found a duo of waterproof bib pants for $ 25 , I was thrilled I would n’t have to give up snowsports this wintertime . Those drawers , along with a winter casing borrowed from my husband ( and subsequently , a larger snow cap that I ’ll sell after the pregnancy ) , set me up for snowboarding , skiing , and Baron Snow of Leicester play all season . It was a small investment that aid me feel like myself in the third trimester .
I lived in theseone - size - fits - all leggingsall winter , and long route trips were tolerable thanks to a duo ofcompression socks . For me , staying active was dependent upon staying prosperous .
Three , if I woke up feeling fabulous , it was the world tell me to curb the 24-hour interval !
To be honest , not every day is rosy . Most , but not all . There are daytime I outride on the couch all day , too lazy to tackle my to - do inclination . But on the Day I ’m feeling spry , I ’m all for get outside !
I ’ve been take this maternity week by week , well aware that at any turn of events , something could happen and put me on bottom rest for the rest of the pregnancy — which was all the more reason to bask every bit and take in the fresh zephyr that made me happy .
Our bodies are able of unbelievable things , bearing a baby being only one of them . If you sleep with your limits and you ’re feeling fab , embrace that salvo of vim ! Even if signify something simple , like a walk along the beach .
Finally , I take heed to other multitude ’s advice , but did n’t countenance them distract me or influence my activities .
Three musical composition of advice , in particular , stood out when I foretell to my friends that I was expecting : that the first trimester was hell , the second trimester was a honeymoon , and to enjoy it while I could because it would all go downhill again in the third trimester .
None of it proved to be true in my slip , and the lesson learn was that I ca n’t liken my maternity to anyone else ’s .
Maybe I ’m an anomaly , but I have n’t gotten the itch to nest . I have n’t gotten to that point where I need this baby out of me , now . I ’ve continued to sleep soundfully like I always have , and please , pleasestop tell I should sleep while I still can . ( It ’s not like I can stock up on sleep and cash in it in once the infant arrives ! )
If you ’re an out-of-door charwoman who ’s used to a higher degree of challenge , accept this kind of advice with an unfastened mind but lie with that maternity does not always intend you ’re doom to the insomnia , nausea , and pickles - and - ice - cream scenario people often show .
I kept waiting for “ that mean solar day ” to come when I ’d be miserable in my final months , but I ’m happy I did n’t inhabit on it , and I ’m twice glad I did n’t let other multitude ’s judicial decision stop me from pursuing passions that my doctor and I deemed safe and healthy .
So , to all the adventurous gentlewoman who are pregnant or planning to be pregnant : be optimistic , be realistic , and be good to yourself , whether that means resting in bed as long as you require to , or hit the incline as long as you finger up for it !
