Keep Getting Out- Tips

[Here is something I wrote when our son was 10-months old; although he is now a bit older (18 months), it still seems accurate. Anyway, thought I should explain references to summer when it is actually winter.]

Before we had K, a huge worry about parenthood was that we wouldn’t be able to continue in our outdoor adventures. In my area, there aren’t that many examples of mothers that ski tour, climb, or mountain bike, so I wondered if it just became too hard to continue. Or, was it that those moms just weren’t that interested in these activities in the first place. After 10 months with baby K, I have learned some things about continuing with outdoor fun after a baby joins the family, so I thought it’d be fun and maybe interesting to highlight those lessons. Of course, I can only speak from the perspective of a parent of a single baby. I’ll keep posting as he gets older as I’m sure there will be different points for the toddler years and so on. And if (IF) we have another, my guess is it gets much more complicated.

• Take turns- Sadly, I know many women who discontinue their outdoor fun while their husbands continue. I’m lucky to have a super supportive hubby. This winter, we took turns ski touring, lapping our local hill and even getting out in the backcountry a bit. We also had some fun lift-skiing. I’d go for a few runs then come back and let him go. Now that summer is here, we’re doing the same thing with running, mountain biking, and hiking. True, our adventures have become shorter in duration, but there is no reason for them not to happen.

• Plan, plan, plan!- Obviously, life gets a lot busier with a baby, especially if both parents are working. If we don’t make a plan for outdoor fun, it can get pushed aside for other things. We used to adjust our plans with the weather or our mood. Now, if it’s on the calendar to go skiing and the snow sucks, we go anyway. I’ve heard it said and it seems true: ‘Even a bad day in the woods/mountains is a good day.’

• Be spontaneous- Occasionally, you get a moment of downtime you weren’t expecting, so it’s important to allow spontaneity and get outside. A few times this winter, I came home from work to find dad and baby napping together. I grabbed all my ski gear quietly and slipped out the door for a 45-minute lap up the local hill. In the past, I might’ve been more reluctant to head out for an unplanned outing, but now I take any moment given me to do the things I love....

• ...Make it a priority if it is one- leave the house a mess, your car unwashed, the laundry unfolded, the yard full of weeds, and so on. Trim your ‘to do’ list down to the most essential items every day. Obviously, you have to do some laundry, make meals, wash some dishes, and pay your bills. Everything else will probably wait for you, and you’ll do it some day. Or you won’t, but it just doesn’t matter that much.

• Take baby outside- This is super complicated and also very easy at the same time. We have a baby that doesn’t sleep well, not for naps or night. The obvious downside of this is that we are exhausted and irritable. However, given that he doesn’t have a sensitive routine, he is very flexible. So, we take him hiking, skiing, climbing, and bouldering. We do try to build nap-time into our day, either on the drives to and/or from our activity or the pack while we hike. K LOVES being outside. He coos at the dogs we meet on the trail, giggles at the streams we cross, touches the trees that overhang our path, and babbles on and on in his pack. It makes sense to me that babies would love the natural world. It is fascinating and beautiful and I’m thrilled to share it with him.

• Do it anyway- When you are caring for a little one, you are exhausted, bone tired. You have so much to do and no time to do it in. You are overwhelmed and stressed. It is hard to find the energy to go out hiking or skiing. It isn’t what you ‘feel’ like doing, often. There were many times this past 10 months when sitting in front of the television sounded like the best way to spend my downtime, but I drug my body out the door for some ski touring or running and I always came back exhilarated and energized.