Monday, October 01, 2012

Lifelong Adventure - Pregnancy is only the Beginning!

I spent the weekend at a dance conference and was more than a little surprised by the response I got from a couple young ladies when they found that I had a three year old child.  The one girl made a point of coming up to me to tell me that she was very impressed I had come out to the conference despite having a small child at home.  The other girl shared some of her own personal fears that she'd have to stop dancing when she had children.  Why would you have to stop dancing just because you had a child?  I was baffled.  If I didn't stop climbing, hiking, camping, traveling, and pursuing adventure, I certainly wasn't going to stop dancing. 

Dancer, Climber, Mother

Continuing to thrive as both a mom and active woman is a topic I'm very passionate about and that's why I sat down to write and share my story of how I maintained an active lifestyle while I was pregnant with our friends over at the Kid Project.  Alyssa has worked really hard on her current series, Expecting to Thrive, and I can't encourage you enough to please go to her website and check out the stories she has featured over the last week.  You can read my story, Expecting to Thrive:  Hiking, skiing, and international travel during pregnancy on Alyssa's site.  In my story I share our adventures travelling around Peru while I was pregnant - something I'd never written about before.

Standing at the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu, Peru - 5 months pregnant


Pregnancy isn't the end.  It's just the beginning of what will be the biggest adventure or your life.  And nobody will make you give up those things you are passionate about, be it dancing or climbing.  Many people choose to give up aspects of their former life BC (before children) and others find that they don't have the same drive or even time in which to pursue some activities.  But, in the end, it's your journey and you don't have to follow the path others have taken before you.  Boldly step out into the path that was designed for you alone and celebrate in it!

My path, my joy


For another inspirational story on pregnancy and adventure, please check out Meghan Ward's recent story called How (Not) to Cross a Glacier in a Thunderstorm while You're Pregnant.  The story is featured on her website, the Adventures in Parenthood Project, an inspiring project to check out with many interesting interviews on  families who have definitely (not) slowed down as parents.  You can read my interview with Meghan here, Mother of all Bucket Lists.  It was a privilege to work with Meghan on her project and I wish her all the best in her future adventures as a mom.  The best is still to come Meghan! 




8 comments:

  1. This was such a great post, Tanya! Thanks for linking to my story and the project, too. I think there is so much power in our community continuing to speak out and tell our stories. And PS - you do not look 5 months pregnant in that photo, but I believe you. :)

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    1. Thanks Meghan. It might have been 4 and a half. :)

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  2. Hi Tanya, I'm with you on all of this. I found out I was pregnant with my third child six weeks into a ten month journey biking the whole of New Zealand and then railroading across the States and Canada. Of course I panicked and thought it might be the end of the journey (if not the world,) until an Kiwi GP told me to go for it. I arrived at Ninety Mile Beach six months later, pulling one of my toddlers in a trailer and fitter and healthier than I've ever felt. In fact much fitter than I am now. And then I went on to backpack across America! Pregnancy is a state of mind and having kids, as you say, is one of life's biggest adventures. Good to come across some like-minded people. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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    1. Thanks Kirstie. Glad you had such an awesome third pregnancy.

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  3. Love it - I am pregnant with my first and am getting in lots of hiking while the sun shines at the moment, and we have plans to do lots afterwards; it's nice to hear something other than "oh but you don't know how much your life will change" from women like yourselves, I'm so glad I stumbled across your blog (and I saw Meghan's blog too, just awesome...apparently I need to move just a little bit further east so I can really indulge on the mountains with you ladies :) )

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    1. Thanks Cherelli. Let us know when you come to visit. :)

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