My pregnant surfing experience so far…….
I found out I was pregnant at the beginning of my work season as a Surf Instructor. I thought to myself how long can I surf? Is It safe to surf? Should I be pushing people into waves?
There is no one size fits all answer to surfing during your pregnancy. So I did and I will continue doing what feels right to me and my body. Most importantly I am listening to my intuition.
Firstly you need to talk to your healthcare provider and discuss surfing with them. I was told not to start any new exercises and to just stick to what I normally do. Being pregnant and surfing for me isn’t about improving my surfing. I stick to what I know I can do, not the time to try new tricks and big barrels.
Here is what my journey has been like so far with a bun in the oven.
“Attending births is like growing roses. You have to marvel at the ones that just open up and bloom at the first kiss of the sun but you wouldn’t dream of pulling open the petals of the tightly closed buds and forcing them to blossom to your time line.” – Gloria Lemay
20 weeks
“Birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers.” – Anita Diamant
First trimester
I was fortunate that I was not sick during the first trimester. I was tired and slightly nauseas at times but for the most part I didn’t feel much different physically. The baby was still super small and lying on my stomach felt totally fine. I was surfing every day and did notice a difference with my balance. I was surf instructing 3-5 hours a day and teaching yoga. Not until the middle of my first trimester did I start getting more tired. I am not a person that takes naps and I would nap almost everyday for an hour. At the end of my first trimester I slept a lot more. I would surf, sleep, eat, and repeat. I started craving meat after being a vegetarian for 5 years. I had not gained much weight yet and was still surfing my regular short board, long boarding started to feel more uncomfortable.
Symptoms
tired
irritable
nausea
sensitive boobs
breast size grew 1 cup size
vivid dreams
“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.” – Rajneesh
Second Trimester
I felt amazing the first month or so of the second trimester. Surfing was a breeze, I had lots of energy and was surfing and working a bunch. The waves were amazing and I surfed a ton. I felt my first kick around 18 or 19 weeks. I was so excited,.
Around 20 weeks I was working for a big swell and around this time I did start being more selective in the water and distancing myself from the crowd.. Then my belly started to pop and I was over longboarding, It became uncomfortable to lie on my belly on the long board so I stuck to shorter boards with more volume.
I retuned home at 21 weeks and had officially finished work until after the birth. When I got home I realized I needed a bigger board. My regular short board was to small to paddle and I was about to quit. I had a couple really terrible sessions at home at my beach break. I took a decent size set on the head and got rocked. My mental state was changing and I was psyching myself out
.After I got the bigger board everything changed. I got my confidence back and could surf! The belly makes it hard to paddle, I lie on my boobs and kind of lift my but up to take the weight off the belly. Paddling is slow and my pop up has slowed down a bit as well. Once I am up and riding I am good to go.
I am at now at 24 weeks and still surfing and feeling good but I don’t feel comfortable when the waves are more then head high. My surfing has changed. I take off on the shoulder of the wave and sit away from the crowd.
Symptoms
gained weight
lots of energy
hungry
started to show
uncomfortable to lie on longboard
needed a bigger board
stopped surfing in crowded waves
small waves only for me
paddling is harder
Third Trimester
27 weeks paddle technique
In the last 6 weeks my belly grew rabidly. I am still surfing although things have defiantly change now. With the belly getting bigger and lying on it I run out of breath quickly. It takes me forever to paddle out so I just take my time and move really slow. I paddle with all my weight on my boobs and my but up in the air. (as seen above)
Now I am 28 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I surfed a few days ago and I am amazed I can still surf on a short board. My strategy now is just to paddle out and catch one wave and do a turn. That is a successful surf session for me.
I have been surfing most of my life and I surfed almost every day before I was pregnant. Stick to your gut instinct. Surf waves that you know well and stay away from unexperienced surfers. Have fun and keep it light. Surf for an hour instead of four hours. Listen to your body and follow your gut. As I got further along in my pregnancy, I became a lot less confident in not just myself but other surfers as well. There was this whole mind game happening.
Symptoms
belly popped
gained weight
tired/ napping again
slow
run out of breath easily
moody
1-year post-partum
I was actually scared to get back in the water after the birth, I think mostly because I knew it was going to be such a struggle for me. After my first surf. My ribs hurt; I had zero core strength. Getting to my feet took me about three seconds to long. And I felt like a huge kook. It was however magical to be back in the water again. The physical struggle was expected, the mental struggle not so much. I wanted so bad to surf like my old self, but she was hard to find. I knew it would take time to get back to the surfer I was before pregnancy and birth. I didn’t know the mind *uck it would be along the way. They say when you give birth you lose a of bit of your old self. Please Universes don’t let that be the piece I left behind I thought.
Fast forward to a year post-partum. Praise Jah. She is back! I feel strong, energized and confident in the surf again. If there was anything advice to give, I would tell you to have no expectations of your surfing when you get back in the water. Take your time, don’t get discouraged. Instead of focusing the woman you were before or how you used to surf, remember what you have done. You brought life into this world, you are strong, you have already surprised yourself once. I believe you will do it again.
Happy surfing to all you Mamas out there. Xoxo Coco