Climbing and Pregnancy: Round 2

Yep, sometime in late January I found myself puking in the car on the way out to Gold Wall in Sonora: a clear sign that baby #2 was on the way!  But in spite of the first trimester morning sickness, we're thrilled to have a new little one--a baby boy, we are told--join Team Christensen.

I will say, however, that as a climber, learning that you're pregnant brings with it quite a set of challenges.  Since I had Ainsley, now 19 months ago, I've been on a quest to get back into stellar climbing shape.  We had an amazing climbing year in 2012 and I was able to explore a lot of new routes in the Valley, Verdon Gorge, Grenoble, Lover's Leap, and Tuolumne, and got to revisit several "old friend" routes, such as the Regular Route of Half Dome and the Rostrum.  At the beginning of 2013, I was in the process of projecting 13s again, and was finally, after almost two years, back at the top of my climbing ability.  So there were a range of emotions that occurred when I learned I was pregnant once again. There was excitement, of course, about having another baby and for Ainsley to become a big sister, but I also found myself frustrated and a little bit sad looking forward to the upcoming spring, summer, and fall climbing seasons knowing that almost all of my climbing goals for 2013 would have to be saved for another year.  Furthermore, after finally feeling fully recovered and strong after pregnancy #1, the clock was being reset leaving me on another year-and-a-half process of losing strength then trying to regain it.

Luckily for me, however, I've been through the climbing and pregnancy experience before and I know that while it does change the game a bit, it doesn't mean that I have to opt out of it completely. I'll just have to learn and adapt, as I did during my last pregnancy, and as I did figuring out how to climb (and do everything else in life) with a baby--and now toddler--in tow.

As for my 2013 climbing goals, I'm happy to report that I actually have already ticked a few of my original goals and have since readjusted the others to accommodate for my ever-expanding belly.  So in spite of a slight change to my 2013 plans, I'm now nothing but happy about the routes I've already been able to do during this pregnancy, and optimistic about the many long moderate routes that I've got planned for it's remainder while I wait for the moment I get to meet my new little guy.