Now that I’m past the pregnant waddling, random food cravings, and the sleepless nights, I wanted to write about what it’s like to go through pregnancy and being a first time mom as an avid diver and photographer.
We were told, “Life is going to change. It will never be about you again. Guess you won’t be diving anymore. You can kiss your hobbies and life as you know it goodbye.”
Well… Life has changed. But in a good way. There are diaper changes before dawn dives. Boob pumping on surface intervals. And the best part? A big goofy grin on my son’s face and snuggles when I come home from a dive!
I found out we were expecting in October of 2019. This was after my thrilling encounter with a great white shark while solo diving in Catalina. Turns out I was not alone after all. I was a few weeks pregnant with our son and I cannot wait to tell him he has already swam with a great white!
There was a mix of emotions at first. Excited to expand our family. REALLY sad to have to stop diving for a year. Scared I might screw the kid up. Bewildered that we were going to be parents, contemplative if I was even adult enough to BE a parent. And finally panic when I realized I’m a human incubator and responsible for taking care of this little life the best I can.
For those of you curious, I immediately stopped scuba diving. There isn’t enough research around to prove that it is safe. And all I could think about was if the pressure would squish my little mini. Or if any residual nitrogen would have any lingering effects. Or maybe the kid would just pop out with gills. (Which would be really cool!) I found my sanity with my pregnancy by still getting in the water to snorkel instead. But that still came with risks that I had to navigate.
I was labeled as a high-risk pregnancy already for my age alone. Since I was 38, they called it a geriatric pregnancy and quite frankly, that nurse is still lucky she didn’t get punched for calling it that to my face. This meant I was at a higher risk for miscarriage, genetic problems, etc. and had to be monitored by a high-risk doctor in addition to my regular OB. To top this off, I also was high risk because I had cancer a few years prior (I am now cancer free!), which with those complications, also increased my risk for possibly late term miscarriage or needing bed rest as well.
Trying to balance life as I knew it and taking care of the mini was mentally exhausting knowing all that information. So, I did the best I could, all with the doctor’s permission of course. One of the concerns the doctor (who was also a diver) had with me swimming in the ocean was adding another risk of infection to an already high-risk pregnancy. The concern was with the bacteria levels in our local waters, especially where we commonly snorkel. And while an infection would be rare, bacteria is real, so I understood his point about not adding additional risk when I already had so many risks stacked up. So, my response? “Well, can I just swim in my drysuit?” There was a moment of silence, then laughter as he commented “Oh you’re one of THOSE”. 😀
So that’s what I did! I put on my trusty Bare drysuit and was able to snorkel around like a giant pool floatie through almost 7 months of pregnancy! And it was magical to be weightless in the ocean with the extra weight pregnancy brought on. As an added bonus, the drysuit alleviated any concern for the colder ocean water temperature in the winter. Apparently, colder water can possibly cause the uterus to contract. Which might lead to pre term labor. So being nice, dry, and cozy mitigated that risk. I still took other precautions. I didn’t strain myself to swim as far and hard as I had done before, just relaxing swims across the reef. I didn’t freedive to avoid unnecessary breath holds. I also stopped wearing a weight belt after my first trimester to avoid any extra pressure on my abdomen. In my second trimester, I stopped going on boats, because you never know when some rogue swell might hit and things get bumpy. I just wanted to be as responsible as possible while being able to still be in the ocean with my “high risk” label.
There was one minor mishap… I did get hit by a stingray in my first trimester exiting the Marine Room… What did it feel like? A constant stabbing and throbbing in your foot when there’s nothing there but a hole and the only reprieve is scalding hot water. Luckily it was not dangerous to my pregnancy since I didn’t have an allergic reaction to the venom. Now maybe my son will have super hero ocean powers? 😀
So what did pregnancy look like? Naps. So many naps, especially in my first trimester. While I was waiting eagerly to hear scuba stories and dive reports from friends to live vicariously through, I took up more topside photography to pass the time. Stalked the harbor seals on chilly mornings and was able to film a live seal birth. Did I mention naps? I jumped into the ocean on calm days and made a goal to snorkel with as many sharks as I could so I could tell my son he already swam with numerous species before birth. We made it to seven shark species! I wanted beef and pickles all the time, sometimes together. And ironically, I completely lost my taste for seafood. The mere smell of cooked fish made me turn green.
Then on a beautiful Friday in April, while at a doctor’s appointment, it was noticed my amniotic fluid around the baby had dropped. I walked across the parking lot of my doctor’s office, to the hospital and was admitted. Then on Sunday, April 26th, Connor made his way into the world 3.5 weeks early. He was 7 pounds, 4 ounces of squishy cuteness with a full head of hair and we were in love.
I got my clearance from my doctor to start diving again 6 weeks after my c-section (sea-section?:D) I, of course, made plans to hit the water that week. And I finally got to sink back under the surface for a long awaited dose of vitamin sea. How do we make it work? Total teamwork and support. My husband and I took baby duty shifts early on to ensure we both got some decent sleep. It has become a routine. I have the late-night shift, he has the early shift. This allows me to sneak out for dawn dives some days, and he will go freediving to hunt at night. We let each other do day dive trips a few times a month to recharge. And each homecoming is greeted by a smiling baby so excited to see us walk through the door.
I still try to dive at least once a week conditions permitting. It takes a tad more planning, but totally worth it. For dawn dives I get up an extra 30 min early to pump and pack the car, then I’m home by 8:30am to take over baby duty for the day and luckily I can work from home. If I’m boat diving, I have to pack a few extra essentials, like my travel breast pump, containers for the milk, and a small cooler bag to store it. Being a drysuit diver is a huge advantage here. It’s easy for me to gear down and pump during my surface intervals. I actually picked out a breast pump that would be convenient for dive boats… convenient, not incognito. So, to whoever goes diving with me, I’m not trying to bring back the 90’s with a Madonna cone bra, I’m just pumping boob milk. You’re welcome for that ridiculous image. 😀
I guess my biggest point I want to make is that it is possible to still be an avid diver and a new mom. That you can create whatever dynamic that works for your family. And no matter what, it will be beautiful.
Life did change, but we still dive. Our little family definitely comes first, and we still find time to dive. And no, we do not have to kiss our hobbies goodbye, we can work together to make sure we can still do what we love and go dive!
Our adventures are not over. A new adventure is beginning. And I can’t wait to see what it brings.
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