Skating and childbirth - fsf

[JimStanmore]

sceptique
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Post Title: Skating and Childbirth
Posted: 05-20-2007, 01:54 PM

I've been thinking about the subject a lot lately... may be too much. The thing is, I'm nearly 34, married, financially secure and have 2 spare bedrooms in the house. I also believe that my and my DH's combined gene pools could produce some cute offsprings. Yet, the more I think about it the more I realise that the only thing that stands between me and my happy motherhood is the fact that I will have to be off ice for a while... perhaps, quite a long while.

I just wonder if there are any adult skaters that had kids after they started skating and how long it took them before they could get back on ice (and lose the weight they gained, and get back lost skills, etc... etc...)? 

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Posted: 05-20-2007, 02:20 PM

Hiya I started skating at 12 I got up to double loop, albeit a very wobbly one when, aged 18 I started falling constantly. It took me a while to realise I was pregnant. I had to stop skating straight away or I'd have hurt myself, right from the start my balance was not right and it wasn't worth the risk for a very much wanted baby. I then had my 2nd child at 23. I finally felt ready to go back last year after a 5 year break. I LOVED skating it was my life, but somehow I didn't even miss it for a while, my priorities changed. Now I am back I realised how much I loved it all over again. I stepped back onto the ice last year and could do all my spins and up to a flip on my first session, you don't just forget it all like that. Although even an axel would be unthinkable at the moment. If anything; fear was the main problem since I now have to worry that if i snap my leg there is no one to get the kids tea! Skating will always be there to come back to. I'd say don't worry, if you wanted to you could be back on the ice a few months after birth, but just be aware that you may not want to for a bit however mad that sounds now.
Blimey sorry for the essay! HTH. xx 

saras
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Post Title: my experience
Posted: 05-20-2007, 05:40 PM

Well, I was in my 20-something-year skate break when I was pregnant. However, a coach at my rink though still competes as an adult skater sometimes (she did Masters Senior last year at AN), and she kept coaching and skating well into both of her pregnancies. She self-moderated - she kept coaching on ice until I forget when (7 or 8 mo at least), she kept spinning until not long before she stopped coaching, and she stopped jumping maybe at 5 months? Another coach stayed on the ice until her 7th or 8th mo too - she no longer competes, but gets on the ice to do power stroking etc.

A general rule of thumb is that you can keep doing what you're used to doing. Certainly don't tackle new big jumps - or any new sport or a new major approach to the sport (if you're used to jogging, don't set your sight on a marathon...) when you get pregnant.

As far as after the baby arrives, both coaches above were back pretty quickly. You'll want to give your body and ligaments at least 6-8 weeks post delivery to recuperate. But after that, you can start back slowly at a reasonable pace. You'll probably be sleep deprived, and you may want to take more time off for that - but there's no reason physically to take multiple years off. It'll depend on your alternate care situation and if you feel comfortable having someone else watch the baby while you go to the rink.

And pregnancy-wise, it's a really good idea to keep active - you'll recuperate from the delivery quicker and it's just generally a healthy thing to do

Sara 

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Posted: 05-20-2007, 06:27 PM

I have also seen people who have skated (ice-dance, pretty high level) well into their pregnancy (8 months?), didn't gain much weight and were back on the ice within a few weeks.

So it all depends, but it shouldn't be the end of skating necessarily. 

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Posted: 05-20-2007, 06:32 PM

I know there was a FOUR time Olympic ladies' figure skating medallist from Russia who had a child INBETWEEN those medals. The Ukrainean medallist ice dance (well, the lady of the couple) from the last olympics also has a child with the couple's coach, to whom she is married. Actually I'm pretty sure several of the Russian and/or soviet medaillists internationally had children in the middle of their careers throughout history. 

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Posted: 05-20-2007, 06:36 PM

I had my kids first, but want to address your question from a different point of view. Babies/children/teenagers are incredibly difficult to raise. From the start you and your partner will be stressed out, tired, and frustrated. There is nothing quite like a two week old who will not stop crying unless you dance vigorously with her for an hour. Nothing can match the three year old who got just a little too much of that hard-to-dose asthma medication (doctor's mistake, not parents') and runs and jumps constantly for twenty-four hours. I could go on and on, but I think you get the gist (let's not even think about kids with special needs ). If you are trying to decide between skating and kids, then in reality, you have already made up your mind. No one should have kids unless they desperately, passionately want children beyond anything else they could possibly have. 

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Posted: 05-20-2007, 08:30 PM

I was skating for about 6 years before I got pregnant with my son. I was also 34 at the time. Heis now 8. I got back on the ice after 4 weeks. With my doctor's approval of course. Looking back, I should have waited at least 6 weeks because my abdominals were like jello. It was difficult in the early months because the baby was up at all hours and I was exhausted. But..I would go to the rink for an early morning freestyles when I could. I was able to stay home with my son so, when he napped I could rest too.

I started competeing that same year. Small local events. My skills came back slowly, but they do come back. And the weight comes off with the exercise and eating sensibly. Skating was the one thing that made me feel myself again. Hope this helps!! 

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Posted: 05-20-2007, 09:02 PM

I am coach/adult championship masters skater who had a son who's now 1 and 1/2 years old. I tried skating when he was three months, and ouch- the pelvic pain! So I waited another two months and slowly recuperated. Somehow, skating 1-2 hours a week, I got all of my doubles back fairly quick, and medaled at Easterns with the best skate ever. As a physical therapist, I recommend doing a lot of core strengthening and pelvic stabilization exercises once cleared by the MD before returning to the ice. As for competing again- go for it. Stephanie Cooke and I were the two with kids in our group at Easterns (she has 2!) and both proved their's good skating after kids. Good luck! 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 05:29 AM

Thanks everyone! It's really reassuring!

d b n y -
the only problem with your (very sensible!) advice is that if most people followed it, the humankind would now be extinct. Well, I would definitely not be born, as my mom had serious doubts about having a second child... A while ago on another board people went on and on about whether children need their parents 24/7 (sort of "working vs stay-at-home mom" debate) and at the end the things got realy heated... so let's agree to disagree. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 07:09 AM

Funnily enough, I've been getting broody lately, so discussed it with a couple of friends - one said: "Well, you do have to give up a lot ... no skiing holidays ... interrupted sleep ... etc ... (!) but on balance, it's worth it".

This particular family live in a nice smallish house in a beautiful road with all amenities, but they are now talking about moving house to a much more expensive area about a 1.5 miles away .... just to get their three-year-old into a better state infants school. (The local school is above average, but not outstanding). The expensive area is much less convenient for shops, transport, parks, ice-skating (!). For a similar house in the expensive area, they will have to pay an extra 300,000 GBP ..... 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 07:24 AM

OK! I started skating just before I got married. I subsequently married, and completed the learn to skate courses, moving onto private lessons and had been having private lessons for about 7 months when we decided we wanted to start a family. I was addicted to skating and the thought of having to stop wasn't appealing in the slightest, but mother nature said it was time and lo and behold I fell pregnant immediately. I actually felt incredibly sick and didn't feel like skating much anyway - I took that as nature's way of telling me to ease off. I then suffered a threatened miscarriage and so stopped skating immediately. My daughter was born 7 weeks prematurely following a placental abruption and I was back on the ice four weeks after giving birth and three weeks before she was even due!

Getting back didn't take too long. I wasn't at a high level anyway but within six months of returning on the ice I took and passed my novice one test. I did put on weight but I'm naturally that way inclined but I lost it all in a year.

Two years later I had my second pregnancy and was banned from any form of exercise at all. I wasn't even allowed to go swimming after having the first one prematurely. Of course this didn't help with the weight gain or fitness but I did what I had to do. Even so my son arrived 10 weeks early. Because of the time he spent in the neo-natal unit and the distance we were travelling backwards and forwards to the hospital each day, I didn't get back on the ice as soon as I had with my daughter, but nonetheless was back on within a couple of months and still before he was actually due!

Second time was harder to lose weight. In fact I never did lose it all despite trying several diets. Getting back to skating wasn't a problem. Yes, it felt weird to start with but I soon got back into it.

I successfully managed to be a mum and a skater though the early years were hard due to lack of babysitters etc. Both mine were pretty good and once a week I took each of them and they sat in the buggy on rinkside. It wasn't really until my youngest started at nursery school that I really got the freedom to skate when I wanted, and I would say that unless you have supportive family and friends to help out with childcare, it's not easy to carry on skating as much as you perhaps do now, but they do grow up and you do get that time again.

Nicki 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 08:37 AM

My best advice is to get a good support network in place now. You need to find someway to make the time to go to the rink and skate. It's not always best to take a baby in a stroller to the rink. (No offense, Nicki.) I've overheard many people gossiping about the "lock the kids in a hockey box" approach to child care. Unless you bring things to keep the child entertained, it comes across to others as selfish.

When I taught Mommy & Me a few years ago, I had one mother whose daughter HATED skating. I was miserable trying to get this kid to participate in the class, she was reluctant, uncooperative, and didn't want to be out of sight of the mother. Thank goodness she liked d b n y better -- (((d b n y))) -- she switched to the other instructor.

So why did they sign up for every set of lessons? Because it included a "Mommy" lesson as well as a half-hour practice session. The Mom wanted to skate and had no one to watch the pre-school age daughter, so she forced the kid into skating. When the DD's lesson was over, she didn't stay and play with her Mom (which was the intention of the class) - the DD got locked in a hockey box (nothing to play with) while Mom skated. Kid had tears on a regular basis - Mom kept skating. That's just wrong.

So, take my advice and figure out how you can arrange a few hours weekly of childcare for the first years of your child's life. That'll let you get to the rink to work out. I know my oldest really enjoyed visiting Grandma & Grandpa, going to the playground, etc. She didn't care a fig that I was going to the rink.

FWIW, I stopped skating when LIFE got in the way - house, marriage, DD, grad school, etc. It took me years to get my life back in balance and make time to actually skate. While I love coaching skating, it puts up some roadblocks to practicing - it's uncomfortable having your students see you blow something simple. The lure of "fitting in" an extra lesson for a student takes away from your own skating time. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 09:22 AM

Hi! I'm 33-going-on-34 and am currently 24.5 weeks pregnant with my second child (a girl). I had my son almost 2 years ago. With him, I was on the ice into my 7th month and will likely be with her, too.

I've long stopped all jumping, spinning and turning and am really only out there to help coach my synchro team and teach some Snowplow Sam classes. I did start skating as an adult, though I am not competitive -- fine by me, LOL! I can still get my groove on and stroke around, which are my favorite things to do anyway.

I was off the ice about 8 week after Milo and, as a previous poster mentioned, the core muscles are the ones that are hard to get back. In all honestly, I did't start feeling like my body was back to it's real configuration for about 9-10 months post-partum. Of course, it's not really in my nature to push myself to GET six-pack abs, so, although I was back to running and weight training, I wasn't pushing too hard.

My balance has never been an issue -- in fact, my coach says I skate BETTER pregnant because I very consciously bend my knees much more than when I'm not pregnant. Although, I am the pregnant woman all other pregnant women hate -- my only symptoms are that I tire more easily and I have cravings for lemonade. I have other friends who run from the ice when pregnant because they get so nauseas that watching someone spin makes them hurl. You have to do what your body tells you and mine, so far, hasn't told me that it wants to be off the ice. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 09:26 AM

Mom didn't want me either.

She danced well into her pregnancy, till the 7th month about, then quit because they didn't really even have money for decent food, let alone for the dancing, she needed the time to study and earn money (she was in university too, as was my biological father). She took up dancing when I was about 12 again, she's dancing on the Dutch top level for adults now (i'm talking about ballroom dance btw, not ice dance).
When I was about 9 she was taking skating lessons. I wasn't allowed on ice since the lessons were for adults, so I rollerbladed around the rink for a few hours a week. Mwuah, I loved the smell of ice rinks then already. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 09:50 AM

My coach used to bring her small children to the rink. THey would play with the sister of one of her other skaters who was around the same age. The other skaters mom would watch them. They would make up all these games and occupy themselves quite well. Maybe all you skating moms could come up with a rink play group, get the kids together so they can play at the rink, while the mom's skate for a bit. 

[JimStanmore]

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by sceptique 
d b n y -
the only problem with your (very sensible!) advice is that if most people followed it, the humankind would now be extinct. Well, I would definitely not be born, as my mom had serious doubts about having a second child... A while ago on another board people went on and on about whether children need their parents 24/7 (sort of "working vs stay-at-home mom" debate) and at the end the things got realy heated... so let's agree to disagree.


While it's certainly true that many, if not most, babies are conceived by women who may not want them at the time, why put yourself into the position of choosing something that will most likely choose you if you wait. I and many of my friends had our first child when the urge hit us like a ton of bricks. One day I was not thinking much about it, and the next, nature kicked in and I HAD to have a baby. So, all I'm saying is that when you get to the point that you really want a baby, nothing will stand in your way. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 12:45 PM

Rectification: what I meant was, mom didn't want to get pregnant. When she eventually decided not to get an abortion, obviously, she did want to have me. And she does say I'm the best thing that happen to her and stuff.

All I'm saying is, she wasn't sure about children just like the topicstarter is, but she found ways to keep doing the sport she loved and she's gotten really, really good at it. Just because you're not sure you want children MORE than you want skating doesn't mean you shouldn't get children. Children are a life-changing thing, of course you're not sure. You're comfortable with the life you've got right now. But obviously something's gnawing, else you wouldn't be thinking about children either. 

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Post Title: I agree and yet -
Posted: 05-21-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by d b n y 
I had my kids first, but want to address your question from a different point of view. Babies/children/teenagers are incredibly difficult to raise. From the start you and your partner will be stressed out, tired, and frustrated. There is nothing quite like a two week old who will not stop crying unless you dance vigorously with her for an hour. Nothing can match the three year old who got just a little too much of that hard-to-dose asthma medication (doctor's mistake, not parents') and runs and jumps constantly for twenty-four hours. I could go on and on, but I think you get the gist (let's not even think about kids with special needs ). If you are trying to decide between skating and kids, then in reality, you have already made up your mind. No one should have kids unless they desperately, passionately want children beyond anything else they could possibly have.


The flip side is that it is SO important as parents to maintain a level of what keeps us sane as grownups. For me, that's skating. Having a hugely supportive network of other adults around to pitch in is crucial. While both my partner and I work, she works part-time (and me full-time), and as such, she does the lion's share of the kid stuff during the daytime. One of our kids does have special needs (CP), and requires a lot of management of therapy schedules etc. I would NOT be able to function without all of her help. Nor would I be able to function without skating. Nor would I give up the kids

It's all about balance - and to some degree, I feel that folks questioning how they'll balance life with kids *before* they have kids is a really good thing. It doesn't just happen.

I agree kids should be wanted - but there are all sorts of ways for kids to happen - and as long as the grownups are on board with arranging for their needs once the kids have arrived, that's what they need most. And part of what they need is healthy happy grownups - with patience and sanity and all that. I firmly believe that outlets like skating can help provide that. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 12:52 PM

Think I'd have to agree with Sceptique here. I cant' think of many people I know (in fact hardly anyone) who were that desperate to have kids - except for the ones who for whatever reason can't and for some of them it was because they left it too late before trying.

I think most of us asked ourselves do we really want kids and had to consider what we would be giving up by having them, whether it's a much loved job, simply free time with the husband or any sort of important recreation or hobby. I think it's a very sensible question to ask of people here, as to what it did actually involve for them and for some they didn't have to give up much at all.

I wasn't skating when I had my kids but I did sail 470 Olympic class dinghies every weekend which I loved and the idea of not being able to do that was hard. I continued sailing until 5 months pregnant when it just got to be too much effort and then I started again within a few months. Would have been sooner except for the first one being an emergency ceaser. I was lucky in that my husband enjoyed having the kids on the beach and in fact ended up looking after everyone else's kids too, as he was so good at it. We would be out for approximately an hour each race and went out 3 times in an afternoon.

You might need to rearrange things slightly and it does depend on the personality of the child. I used to marvel at how Nicki T's kids would sit quite contentedly in the push chair by the rink doors and watch. Mine would never have done that.

Two of our coaches have had babies and they are often at the rink and they are never short of babysitters - all those teenage girls just can't wait to look after the babies!

Babies are pretty resilient though and can get used to anything as long as they know they are loved. And having some thing to do that you love and can make time for, can save your sanity when you do have kids 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 12:56 PM

Also i think everybody's forgetting one important aspect: money.
Skating is expensive, and boy, are kids expensive. How much finances have you really got is worth taking into the equation. 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 01:08 PM

They don't have to be that expensive when they are small - of course if you want everything new and the latest designer babywear and feed them formula and a fancy nursery etc they cost a bomb. But the kids themselves don't care if they are wearing hand-me downs (not as babies anyway), sleep in a drawer, etc and breast-feeding costs nothing except maybe a little extra food but that's where all the weight you put on when pregnant goes!

It's the teenage years that really do get expensive - but hopefully earning power will have gone up as well by then!

I do believe it's important to retain a sense of your own identity and not be totally bound up with the kids and their needs - not healthy for them or the parents. But you do tend to find it's easier to give up things for the sake of your kids than you ever believed possible before you had them!! 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 01:28 PM

Diapers are expensive, no matter if you wash them or throw them away. Every time I look at a package in the supermarket I'm like: not-getting-kids-not-getting-kids

Breast-feeding is better for kids. Keeps them from getting allergies and a number of other things you really don't want your kids to have according to research Of course, those researches were probably all done by men whose wife made them get up in the middle of the night to feed the child a bottle. j/k 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 01:51 PM

Aha - so the real equation then is how many skating lessons do you have to sacrifice to keep one child in nappies for about two years. Early potty training is a must!

Reminds me of how I tended to value everything in terms of skating lessons. I still do now but not so much.

Hmm - the new dress or 3 skating lessons? A week's holiday or gosh that's how many lessons I could be having!! ?

You do get a return on your investment though, as it's hard to beat the love of your children and the pride you feel through their accomplishments as well as your own. I have had so much joy from my own and feel I would have missed out on so much had I not had them.

It's not for everyone though and we'd certainly have been a lot richer financially if we had never had kids. Still for us they are one of the best investments ever! 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 02:29 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by BatikatII 
Hmm - the new dress or 3 skating lessons? A week's holiday or gosh that's how many lessons I could be having!! ?


Luckily, since I started coaching, the skating arithmetics got much simpler - "want a lesson - give one". With that, and free ice time, my skating is now paying for itself. And I can even claim back VAT on my new skates and deduct their cost from my taxable income!

I think Batikat and NickyT really got to the point here - it's not the reluctance to sacrifice life pleasures for the sake of kids, it's just wanting to understand the true extent of that sacrifice. I know exactly how much I'm willing to give up for my skating - I have pulled a plug on a 10-year-long professional career, with its London office, perks and prestige for a tiny rink in a tiny town. And even just thinking about giving up some skating for a while and putting on hold my skating dreams - to medal at British Adult, to go to Oberstdorf with a decent programme, to land a clean axel - is already a big step for me. I want children. And I want to skate. And I don't want to give up one for the other. So, I'm looking for "the third way". 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 03:35 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by sceptique 
And even just thinking about giving up some skating for a while and putting on hold my skating dreams - to medal at British Adult, to go to Oberstdorf with a decent programme, to land a clean axel - is already a big step for me. I want children. And I want to skate. And I don't want to give up one for the other. So, I'm looking for "the third way".


Sadly there is no third way. Unless you adopt so avoid pregnancy and then employ a nanny to care for your children so you can skate! Like I say, I've been there - I really did want kids but I really didn't want to give up skating either. It was hard in the beginning but believe me, kids grow up so fast. Mine are 12 and nearly 10 now and I don't know where the years have gone.
They don't stay babies for long!

Nicki 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 03:56 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by sceptique 
Luckily, since I started coaching, the skating arithmetics got much simpler - "want a lesson - give one". With that, and free ice time, my skating is now paying for itself. And I can even claim back VAT on my new skates and deduct their cost from my taxable income!

I think Batikat and NickyT really got to the point here - it's not the reluctance to sacrifice life pleasures for the sake of kids, it's just wanting to understand the true extent of that sacrifice. I know exactly how much I'm willing to give up for my skating - I have pulled a plug on a 10-year-long professional career, with its London office, perks and prestige for a tiny rink in a tiny town. And even just thinking about giving up some skating for a while and putting on hold my skating dreams - to medal at British Adult, to go to Oberstdorf with a decent programme, to land a clean axel - is already a big step for me. I want children. And I want to skate. And I don't want to give up one for the other. So, I'm looking for "the third way".



There is a third way - I think you can tell that just from the numbers of people posting here who both skate and have children.

But, and I think it would be irresponsible of those of us with kids not to tell you this, it isn't going to happen straight away. There will be a period after you have a child when you think you will never skate again. Hell, there will be a period when you think you'll never sleep again, or do anything apart from wash baby clothes and change nappies. It doesn't matter how carefully you have everything planned, it will all fall apart and you will feel like you made the wrong choice and all you want is to be child free again. And there's no way back.

It gets better. You get some time for yourself. And provided you've got available child care, you can certainly use that time for skating. I took up skating a few months after my second child was born, and it was the evening I had out of the house while my husband looked after the kids (which was a bigger issue than it sounds, because I was breastfeeding).

There is a sacrifice, and at the start it's total, no compromises, no "some". Your whole life goes on hold. You will be giving up all skating for a while, no question, even if that while is only a couple of weeks either side of the birth. If you end up having problems in pregnancy, or a C-section, it will be a lot longer than that. Only you can say how much of a disaster this would be for you. Because the one certainty about having kids is that you can no longer plan the way you can without them. If you've arranged a lesson the day before an important test while your child should be at daycare and they're throwing up every ten minutes - tough. Unless someone else can take over from you, you won't be going to the lesson. It doesn't happen often but it does happen. And babies know. You can pretty much guarantee that it happens at the most awkward time possible.

But the answer has to be - no, there is no third way which will allow you to both have children and be as fully committed to skating as you are now. You don't have to give up one for the other in the long run. But you will, occasionally, have to give up a particular skating experience because your child needs you right then, and sometimes it might be a big dream you're giving up, or, at least, postponing. You have to be prepared to accept things like "I can't do Oberstdorf this year because I haven't been getting enough sleep to practice properly, but I plan to do it next year, and I definitely will as soon as circumstances allow". But no way do you have to accept "I can't do Oberstdorf because I have kids". 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 04:59 PM

But don't forget that Sceptique works in an ice rink, and that makes the rules different! Husband's coach was off the ice for a week with her first child, and three days for her second.... I was horrified to come into the ice on Friday to find her with a skater on the end of the harness, having given birth three days earlier. She swore she was only holding the harness while her husband went to get something, but even still....

Another mum had her baby in the middle of our Open competition ("Well, I had to do something to get out of helping, didn't I?") and has barely been back on the ice since.... but then, she didn't work at the rink!

And don't forget that for all it seems endless at the time, it goes by all too quickly. My baby is now a married woman! Mind you, I didn't start skating until she was about 14 or so.... but where did the time go? I just blinked, and she was grown and gone... 

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Posted: 05-21-2007, 05:36 PM

A few other things to bear in mind.

One is how supportive your husband is/would be with the child care and your skating. If he would be happy to be the one left holding the baby, literally, while you skate in your competitions etc., maybe travelling with you to Oberstdorf or wherever, then you have a much better chance of being able to follow your skating dreams and have a happy family.

Two is how you think you would feel if something went wrong with the plan - health problems for the baby or yourself after the birth say, that meant you could not go back to skating. For most people that will never thankfully be some thing they have to deal with but babies are born with various disabilities all the time and it's worth thinking about how you would cope with that eventuality given how important your skating is to you.

Three is to think about what would cause you the most regret when you are old. The fact that you never medalled in skating or the fact that you never had a child. With luck you will be able to do both but if you had to choose....

four: realise that however passionate you feel about your skating now you may feel completely different about everything once you had a baby and the sacrifice may become insignificant. I dont think anyone can tell how they will feel towards their kids until they have them. I've known people who had great plans to be the earth mother types and loved kids but then suffered from post natal depression or just found that motherhood didn't fulfil them as much as they expected, while others who seemed the least maternal, career types, ended up being very happy stay at home mums.

Good luck with making your decision. And dont' forget even if you had a baby now and didnt' return to skating til the child was 3 you'd still be younger than I was when I started skating and I have medals from British adult champs! 

Sessy
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Posted: 05-21-2007, 06:04 PM

My uncle's wife had to stay down for 7 months of her pregnancy. As in, lay flat on her back in the bed, and nothing else.
She could barely walk for like a month after the pregnancy let alone do any sport. That sort of things could happen too. But it's all been worth it apparently, cuz she did it a second time for their second child a few years later (she has a chronical problem with her uterus which is why she needed to stay put) 

AW1
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Posted: 05-21-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by d b n y 
While it's certainly true that many, if not most, babies are conceived by women who may not want them at the time, why put yourself into the position of choosing something that will most likely choose you if you wait.


Or then you could be like me and fall pregnant ever so unexpectedly, and then try for 6 more years to have another only to find out you can't actually fall pregnant any more