Good For You Momma

January Baby is so lucky that we have a big family. You may remember a couple years ago my niece Kiera and Baby Hayden shared their stories of navigating motherhood during the early days of the pandemic. Well, now another niece Kayleigh is here to share her adventures with Baby Jett. 
Kayleigh is an outdoorsy mama and Baby Jett has already had his first hike on Family Day. 
Thank you Kayleigh, Jett and dad Josh for sharing your adventures with us.

  

Good For You Momma 
by Kayleigh Walsen 

“Good for you Momma” the nice lady said to me on the trail as I hauled my postpartum body up the trail. She asked how old our baby was - 2 months - and then offered her praise for us getting out and hiking. 

Hey! I’m Kayleigh, living in Calgary, Alberta with my husband Josh, baby Jett, and dogs - Brooke and Storm. 

Like most Calgarians we concluded that we should spend Family Day going on a hike. We settled on a trail called Troll Falls. Josh is a fan of anything water related and the 5km round trip seemed reasonable. Note: Josh has suggested this trail pre-pregnancy but I complained that it was too easy (5km was now the perfect length of trail for me at this stage). 

The trailhead was packed! Every other Calgarian, especially those with little kids, also thought Troll Falls was a good idea for Family Day. Nonetheless, after stopping for the dogs to poop and stopping to change Jett’s diaper (twice) we were off!! 

We walked through a sunny meadow, climbed up the frozen cascades and returned via a side trail that skirted the riverbank. Bliss. 

Here are a few things that made our day successful:

• Jett was overdressed which meant he was cozy and slept the whole time in the carrier. 
• Josh and I were also dressed very warm - better to delayer than be chilly. 
• Jett was well fed prior to starting the hike. 
• ICE CLEATS! 
• We just brought water on the trail, but loaded up on snacks when we got back to the car. 
• Low expectations: we chose a shorter trail and had a win, better than being over faced and over tired. 

Not everyday do we get to head to the mountains. Not every trip to the mountains is so smealess nor will be so smooth. Not every Mom is ready to start hiking at 2 months postpartum. BUT! Any moment you spend outside with your baby, with your family, is a win! So get outside and know someone out there is thinking “Good for you Momma.” 

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