Pregnancy
Anonymous Mom: I Was A Pregnant Rock Climber
My husband and I, along with all of our climbing friends, are extremely safe. Rock climbing is definitely a risky sport, but the risks we take are our own and can be minimized. Sadly, a lot of people assume pregnant women have to be in a bubble until they give birth. Pregnant women are some of the strongest people I know.
The second trimester was amazing. I felt great and I was remaining active. Around my sixth month I had to switch to a full-body harness since my belly was getting too big for a standard one. I loved the full-body harness. It made me feel secure, even if it wasn’t the most flattering thing in the world! It left room for my growing belly too.
We continued to climb outdoors and at the gym. Now that I was obviously pregnant, the reactions were funny to watch. A lot of the people we met were climbers and thought it was great that I was still climbing while pregnant. Some women asked where they could get a full-body harness so they could continue to climb when they were pregnant too. Some people though, weren’t as nice.
I got a lot of dirty looks and whispers from people who thought I was being too risky. I remember going to a friend’s baby shower during this time and she introduced me as her “extreme pregnant friend.” Well, I’ll take that as a compliment I guess?
The third trimester was definitely tougher. I still felt great but my stomach was big enough to start “getting in the way†when I climbed. We continued to climb as much as we could. When I didn’t feel up to climbing, I would just hike in with everyone and sit around and eat. That was glorious. Just being outside would lift my mood if I was feeling down that day.
