parenting and climbing

[Thinker]

baby

[scott]

my advice to you is to climb like there is no tomorrow.

[Bug]

Distel32 said:

Kids are cool and all, but I'm soo happy I'm only 19

 

Take your kids out climbing and get them interested and then Mom can't get mad if she doesn't climb.

We did that at teh kids ropeup. Attention spans are short yet.

Here are some more tips. Get a really good kid pack. One you can tie a tent and sleeping bag to. Also get a front pack. I hiked hundreds of miles with my kids in front or in back or both. I also got a double jogger that can be used as a bike trailer. I put about a thousand miles on that thing. It is for sale. $55. Comes with rain fly.

[scott]

i'm in california for now, but i'm sure i'll get all the baby apparatus.

 

do they really shit 9 times a day?

[sobo]

scott said:

...just wondering about people who continue to climb hard and also have a full life...

 

Mutually exclusive proposition. You either climb hard, or you have a full life with your children/partner. Look at folks like Messner, Lowe, etc. They climb(ed) hard, but they had to leave their families regularly to do that at a consistently high level.

 

You won't be able to have it both ways. Scale back your climbing, be with your family, and come back in a few years. That's where I'm at right now, and I thought nothing would change.

 

Your kids/wife will never regret that you did, and you won't either. Seeing my little boy grow and develop and do things just in the last 9 mmonths is not something I ever will regret or forget. Kids are just too cool to miss out on, once you've gone and done it.

[sobo]

scott said:

do they really shit 9 times a day?

 

No, about half that much, or even less. Changing a diaper is not as bad as everybody makes it out to be. Pretty simple and painless, actually. I'd rather do that then try to give them medicine.

[chelle]

sobo said:

scott said:

do they really shit 9 times a day?

 

No, about half that much, or even less. Changing a diaper is not as bad as everybody makes it out to be. Pretty simple and painless, actually. I'd rather do that then try to give them medicine.

 

Think about how many times you eat per day and how many times you go. The proportion is pretty similar.

[Billy]

Scott-

Don't worry too much about it. The first few months are the toughest. I was able to take my first "real trip" to canada at about the 5 month mark after he was born.

 

I find that I don't have quite the flexible schedule I used too, but I still climb a fair amount. I usually find that I am more focused and this helps make the day be more productive. I used to waste more days out there when I wasn't 100% pysched to climb. Now, when I go, I am all there mentally.

 

Of course, the most important thing is to keep communicating with your spouse about your goals and needs as well as hers and this will smoothen the ride.

[arlen]

ehmmic said:

sobo said:

scott said:

do they really shit 9 times a day?

 

No, about half that much, or even less. Changing a diaper is not as bad as everybody makes it out to be. Pretty simple and painless, actually. I'd rather do that then try to give them medicine.

 

Think about how many times you eat per day and how many times you go. The proportion is pretty similar.

 

My daughter shits once or twice a week. Hey, maybe I'd have that ratio if I were still breastfed.

[Lowell_Skoog]

A lot depends on what sort of partnership you have with your spouse. If your relationship is 50-50 (like mine) you will immediately find your free time cut by 1/2 when your child is born. (Actually more like like 2/3.) Some couples seem to have a different balance. I think that must be the case for parents who keep climbing at a high level. For me to disappear for long periods of time on a regular basis to go climbing would not go over well at home.

 

I never quit climbing when my son was born, but I cut back quite a bit. I've been ramping back up a little now that he is in elementary school. I have also diversified my interests. It was partly because I needed to be closer to home that I started writing a book.

 

Ultimately, I think most climbing parents don't regret the decrease in climbing time. To be honest, I think my obsession with climbing when I was younger was partly due to not having much else going on in my life. Kids change that, in a good way.

 

[scott]

this is why i recently bought a bicycle. i can get 2-6 free hours easier than i can get a full day or more-- i just roll out of my driveway and start from there. so i guess i'll start doing club rides and racing. shorter sport and trad routes and the occasional long route. this is going to be really interesting. thanks all...

[Kevin_Ristau]

Definitely focus on those activites you can do in a limited time frame. It is easy to get out for a run or to the gym, afternoons/mornings are usually not a problem. It is the all day or multi day trips that are tough. Not only will your spouse need (and appreciate) breaks of her own, but you will want to spend time together as a family.

 

Front carrier: Baby Bjorn. wear it with the kid up high on the chest. I used to go snowshoeing for hours in -20C weather with my jacket zipped up over top of Katie. She would sleep against my chest. Kid carriers are great workouts. It feels great to blitz past all the wannabes on the Grouse Grind hauling a kid on your back

 

[sk]

I agree. I had a back pack and walked every where when I had one child. once they uot grow the carrier or you have 2... diffrent story