B.A.B.E. Week 27: Outdoor living and 6 months old!

Trying on her cold weather gear Bahamas style...

This past week, we have had some dear friends visiting who always inspire us with their outdoor adventures.  It is a strong interest we share (they even planned a climbing segment to do with us during the korol dream in Sardinia, Italy and Corsica, France in 2012).   Now, they have a 19-month old son and with Elle, we look forward to the time that we can take the kiddos on a joint climbing trip.

This visit, we settled on enjoying the nature and outside living of the Bahamas.  A tough endeavor, even though the Bahamas has “cooled” down a little.  It is tough because babies are so sensitive to heat and sun, both of which we have in spades in Nassau.   When I see their little bodies begin to get heat rash, I start freaking out.  My mind goes to the worst place and it makes me reflect on what I thought about outdoor adventures prior to Elle and what I think about it now.  

Prior to Elle, I thought – oh we can just load her into the baby carrier and go…but that was NAÏVE.  Now, I realize how easy it is for her to get hot and uncomfortable even with an umbrella for constant shade.  I also realize that there are other barriers like sweating all over her in the baby carrier and a feeling of helplessness when she is upset due to the environment and I do not have any tools to help.  These realities have made me much more cautious when taking Elle for outside adventures.

This caution hasn’t really been tested since outside adventures in the Bahamas are in reality more like outside living.  Outside adventures in the Bahamas are not the sort that Wilson and I prefer – climbing, skiing, hiking etc.   Instead, most of the attraction here is the beach (and the underwater world I have dabbled in, Wilson much more so), eating outside, etc.   In her 4.5 months in the Bahamas, we spend a lot of time outside and happily, Elle doesn’t seem the worse for wear.

In fact, she (like many babies and children) is now happiest when she is outside (and not too hot).  This is really encouraging as she is more actively exploring her world with her eyes hands and feet.  She had her six month birthday this past week and is reaching for everything in sight (including the spoon from her first forays into real food --avocado and bone broth).  She also loves walks to see the big outside world.   Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to spend too much time trying to get her to crawl (or creep as they say here) outside.   But, we are getting her out a fair bit in her carrier and in the stroller.

Bone broth eating is yummy....

As Elle is having more time for outside living, I still get nervous when I think about taking her on some “real” outdoor adventures.  For example, I head to the western US to visit loved ones this week and I could take Elle on her first climbing trip in Nevada.    We have a little “peapod” (pictured below) that Elle can hang out in while my friend and I climb.   The friends who are currently visiting used a peapod for their son when I climbed last year with them at the Red River Gorge.  And in fact, the friend that I am climbing with in Nevada lent me Elle’s peapod from her climbing trips with her daughter.   The peapods have worked great for a bunch of friends to keep babies safe and bug free.

Elle's friend in the peapod

And my friends have really enjoyed climbing with their babies but, to be honest, I am scared.  And not quite ready to bring Elle on a trip that she might not enjoy, or risk any chance of her getting hurt.   Wilson thinks it seems like a lot of work for not much payoff. As I have blogged about before, motherhood has raised my anxiety level to an all-time high and my mind rushes to worst-case scenarios.   So for now, I will leave Elle with her grandparents and continue to tamely use the peapod for eating on scenic restaurant patios in the Bahamas.

Holding hands with her bestie.