Hiking Minnesota Before and After Baby

As a Minnesota transplant, I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to cover this great state on foot. I’ve lived here for almost twelve years now and I’m still blown away by the magic of our trails and waterways.

I found out I was pregnant in May 2017. Among plenty of unknowns, I didn’t know how pregnancy, or having a baby in tow later on, was going to factor into one of my favorite hobbies – hiking. At first, I didn’t think there would be anything different about it. That quickly changed as my body and family grew. Just like everything about the pregnancy and new parent life, there are things I wish I would have known and things best to learn the hard way. Mostly, it has just made adventures even more magical. Here’s what I’ve learned over the last two years.

Give Yourself Extra Support in Pregnancy

The rule of thumb is that if it is an activity you did safely before pregnancy, it should be safe during. That’s assuming you don’t have any special considerations or conditions that arise in pregnancy. I thought I didn’t. I wasn’t high risk and there weren’t any concerns from my health providers (who are always your first resources before any friends or web searches).

After a ten-mile “hike” through Brooklyn, NY in my trusty slip-on sneakers (something that would have never been an issue before) I developed extremely painful tendinitis in every part of my feet. I was told the amount of the hormone relaxin my body was producing set me up for extreme stretching of tendons, especially in the feet. Being only three months along and barely showing, it wasn’t even on my radar. After a visit to a podiatrist, I was put on two weeks of mostly sitting (which turned into six with the amount of pain I was in), to constantly wear tennis shoes with supportive insoles even around the house, and that it might take a couple months to heal. It did not heal until after I gave birth six months later. Remember that your body is changing in unpredictable ways.

Continue reading at Twin Cities Moms Blog.

Leave a Reply