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Bella

@boulderingbelles

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Trying to find time to climb around my baby, my business, and my busted left knee.
Main @ohbelles

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Testing out the grip strength of my new climbing buddy 👶🏻🩵

Baby Belles arrived 3 weeks ago via emergency c section after some late pregnancy complications sent labour a bit haywire. It currently feels a bit unimaginable that I’ll be climbing again in 3 weeks but I am super excited to take him climbing soon 🩵 by @boulderingbelles

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a year ago

I officially hung up my climbing shoes this week at 33 weeks pregnant. I’m struggling a lot with back pain now (hypermobility and pregnancy are a tough combo!), and my bump is now big enough that the harness has started to press on it, so it felt like it was a good time to call it a day. It’s wild to think the next time I go climbing in 3/4 months’ time, I’ll have my son with me 🥹

It felt really emotional to say goodbye to White Spider and to this phase of my climbing journey. I’m really proud of myself for advocating for myself and pushing my body to keep climbing the last 7 months. It’s definitely helped give me confidence in my body’s ability to do hard things and helped with my mental health so much as well as my physical health.

I wanted to share this journey to be the visibility that will maybe help someone else on their journey. Being very real, I hardly ever see anyone who looks like me in the climbing world; even before I was pregnant. It can be hard being plus sized in a world where no one else is, and frustrating when people make assumptions based on your size - that you’re here to lose weight, or that you’re a beginner. Most of the time when I’m at the gym and always when I’m in the outdoors I’m the only plus size woman there.

And then add being pregnant on top…! I have never seen a visibly pregnant climber IRL in the more than 7 years I’ve been climbing, and especially not a plus size pregnant climber. It’s very inspiring to see professional climbers like Shauna Coxsey & Hazel Findlay climbing through pregnancy and advocating for pregnant climbers and cutting through the concern trolling on social media. But it’s also a long way from my experience as they are climbing professionals.

So I wanted to put my own ordinary amateur climbing experience out there for anyone else to see that it’s possible even for ordinary amateurs. You can be plus sized, with a chronic illness, and have a healthy, easy pregnancy and still go climbing! Listen to your body and trust your limits and do what works for you. Don’t listen to concern trolls and people who don’t understand climbing or pregnancy and haven’t got any medical expertise (more in comment) taken in White Spider Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

A fun fact about me is I have literally no balance so starts like this always wreck me. But if you never try you’ll never learn!

#climbingisforeverybody #vauxwall taken in VauxWall Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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2 months ago

Before I had a baby, I was determined not to quit climbing. I looked at all the professionals climbing as hard post partum as they did beforehand and I thought hell yeah. I thought the physical changes and the actual birth would be the hard part.

Turns out that’s one of the (many) differences between me and professional climber. Because it turns out having the baby was the easy part - even though boy it was not easy. I was lucky enough to have an easy pregnancy and be able to stay active through pregnancy and climb until I was 33 weeks, so even though I had the worst labour imaginable ending in an emergency c section after 3 days (😵‍💫😵😵‍💫) I was back on the wall 9 weeks later.

And during the potato phase, aka your baby is under 6 months, I was able to climb about once a week, and my fingers were coming back to themselves and my abs were healing up.

Then I went back to work and my son started moving and putting everything in his mouth and it was game over. There’s not been a week since February that one of us hasn’t been ill, and the knock on impact that’s had on my life can’t be overstated. I run my own business so there’s no back up when I have to take time off sick, it’s just me. So every spare minute has been used up with trying to cram in work wherever possible so that my business doesn’t go bankrupt, and climbing has taken not just a back seat but been jettisoned entirely.

And that’s why although it’s amazing and cool to see so many professional climbers climbing strong after a baby, for anyone with another profession, it’s a rough comparison. Because their JOB is to climb. That’s what they’re using their childcare (whatever form that takes) for. That’s what they do for money. It’s not a hobby they need to squeeze in alongside everything else.

Anyway, I’ve climbed 6 times this year. I want to change that and I hope I get to climb more over the next 6 months. But if I can’t I won’t beat myself up too much because I’m keeping my baby and my business going and that’s enough for now.

#climbingismypassion #postpartumfitness #climbingmum taken in VauxWall Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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3 months ago

Note to self: do not attempt to free solo buildings ❌

Will try the block again in a couple of weeks when my fitness is back up if it’s still there… will never try the real thing ofc.

It’s at @vauxwall east in Kennington if you want to try it.

#vauxwall #alexhonnoldtaipei101 #postfailsnotsends taken in VauxWall Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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8 months ago

Had so much fun trying this climb at substation with @georgebuckerfield my favourite climbing partner always 💕

They don’t have grades but this felt like the hardest thing I’ve tried since maybe before I was pregnant? Either way definitely the biggest foot placement!

#climbingisforeverybody #plussizeclimber #climbingismypassion taken in Substation Brixton by @boulderingbelles

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10 months ago

Wasn’t expecting to flash this, pleasantly surprised as this whole set feels pretty hard and I’m pretty physically ground down at the moment because life is lifing. Glad I made time to show up to climb today instead of napping because it was nice to do something for me… and who knows; maybe my baby will sleep tonight and let me rest!

#climbingismypassion #climbingisforeverybody #vauxwall taken in VauxWall Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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10 months ago

The problem with climbing is as soon as you get to V3 and above, you actually have to trust your feet and work on your footwork 🤭 after 9 months off that feels harder than before, but I’m trying!

I always love a corner climb and this was a fun V3 at Vauxwest last week.

#climbingisforeverybody #plussizeclimber #climbingismypassion #girlswhoclimb #vauxwall #postpartumfitness taken in VauxWall Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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a year ago

Satisfying V2 on the comp wall. I’ve managed to reignite a finger injury I had in 2019 so I’m trying to stay away from crimps for now… this was a great option instead.

#climbingismypassion #climbingisforeverybody #plussizeclimber #vauxwall by @boulderingbelles

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a year ago

Whichever way you give birth, it’s a major trauma for your body, and if you have a severe tear or a c section it’s an added surgery on top and that’s definitely scary to think about in the run up to giving birth! I remember being so anxious about it, and especially anxious about having a c section because I’d heard so many negative stories (and a lot of fearmongering from people who’d never had one!).

So I just wanted to put my positive story out there and say… your body is amazing and capable of so much! Birth is tough but you are tougher and with time you will find you’re as strong or even stronger than before! PLUS you’ll have a cute baby too 👶🏻

#girlswhoclimb #climbingismypassion #climbingisforeverybody #plussizeclimber #vauxwall #pregnantclimber #postpartumjourney #postpartumfitness taken in VauxWall Climbing by @boulderingbelles

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a year ago

8 sessions & 5 weeks into my post partum climbing journey I finally felt able to give a proper full gas try and I had a really good session! My fingers are still feeling weak but they’re coming back and the rest of my body is feeling more like itself. I enjoyed this V2 on the new cafe arch at @vauxwall a lot.

#plussizeclimber #climbingisforeverybody #climbingismypassion #postpartumfitness #postpartumclimbing # by @boulderingbelles

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a year ago