Gliding, floating, surfing through pregnancy
Surfing no longer became the soul term I would use to describe the feeling of being in the ocean, on a wave, or by the sea. It embodies so much more now, all because I have come through fiercer, stronger and more aware in the water after giving birth to my baby girl, Floriane.
I recently read an article in Surfers Journal about women surfing postpartum, and the decision to have a baby riding on the idea of still being able to live the free life that comes with surfing. Ultimately the words free and baby don’t really fit. As many of you know, once we have a baby a lot of our freedoms go out to sea and only sometimes drift up on the shoreline for us to quickly dip our toes in before heading back. The gist of the article was overall quite realistic – scrapping the picture of surf checks and hangs down at the beach and turning it into dragging kids and their things to the beach, with more of a focus on them as opposed to you. But giving yourself the time of day to do something for yourself generally makes mums happier, and it can also give your kids something to aspire to. Exercise (just like eating well) is healthy – we should be modelling this from a young age.
Last week, Renee and I delivered a presentation on nutrition to the Turia Pitt RUN program, inspiring mums to get back into exercise, specifically running, after giving birth. This sparked something in me to tell my story because, while I haven’t been running, getting back into the water was a huge goal for me postpartum. So here goes.
I was 3 months pregnant, down at a heavy beach break and I paddled out feeling slightly nauseous after a cheeky spew (thanks to the morning sickness) followed by scoffing down my porridge for breakfast. Just your average morning being pregnant, right!? My board no longer felt like it could hold the weight I was putting on. While I wasn’t showing, laying on my belly didn’t feel right and my balance felt a bit off. After that I surfed a few more times on a long board and called it quits, much to my dismay, as I’d read about all these women who surfed up until the day they popped! But I had goals and I was determined to reach them – it was due to be Summer when I gave birth and I wanted to be back in the water. So I just kept swimming. One of the old men with a beer belly lent me their wetsuit so I could keep swimming ocean laps while my own ‘beer’ belly grew. It was here I felt like I could glide, I could float – it wasn’t surfing, but it was something magical still and I was in the ocean.
After giving birth, there is a power, a certain feeling that one can achieve anything. You survive birth and you come out the other side a better person. But then, along with that feeling, comes the little human that you carried for 9 months. So here you are, feeling like you can literally take on Everest, while being chained to a couch – feeding, burping, changing nappies and sleeping whenever you can. Ah the paradox!
My first surf threw me, as my back and neck muscles weren’t in condition. I paddled out, caught one wave and found myself exhausted and getting washed into the rocks. 20 minutes, was that really all I had in me? But it got better and my lack of fitness didn’t stop me. Slowly but surely I was taking on waves I once was and with even more prowess than before.
But this is where your support crew must come to the party. My partner and I would do an ocean check in the early hours (sometimes 5am if Floriane was awake) and while she slept (as newborns do a lot) I would drift out into whatever conditions and blissfully float around, trying to catch as many waves as I could in the space of 45 minutes, which was usually all the time I had. We had a system - if baby needed food wave me down or hang a towel on the car for me to see. Sometimes my friends would paddle out and give me the reassurance I needed; ‘Floss is sleeping; stay out and catch a few more.’
Obviously it’s not all sunshine and roses. There were times when I’d stay out that bit too long and baby would be melting down on the shore unbeknownst to me. Or days when I’d paddle out and not catch a single wave. Or days when I’d be so tired, I’d wonder why I was even attempting surfing. Or days when it would look so good, but I just couldn’t leave Floriane (this tended to be the afternoons) and so I would watch with just a touch of envy and a lot of sadness. The grief that comes with change is real, particularly when you glimpse sight of your old life that is no more.
All in all, exercise throughout my pregnancy and postpartum was so important to me. If you make it a priority and have some support you can achieve feats that you never thought possible. You can get back to your ‘old’ self physically and your mind (though it may change) will take on a whole new idea of what it means to appreciate the time you can spend with just you and your body and what it means to be free.
For those interested, the article from Surfers Journal link is here: https://www.surfer.com/features/how-does-becoming-a-mother-affect-your-surfing-life/
Written by Georgia Gregory
