Zoe's Diary Entry #5: Back at it... Plus One
Hi there readers and welcome to my fifth exclusive diary entry with defibshop.co.uk.
As many of you are aware, I'm now a mum to a beautiful baby girl, Léa. Life with a baby is awesome! I honestly didn't know I could love someone that much.
As of the 9th of November, Léa is 11 weeks and two days old. Time is flying by! It only seems like yesterday that I found out I was pregnant.
Now that baby Léa has arrived, I’m certainly more aware of things in the environment which are potentially harmful and dangerous. I’m very keen to make everything as safe as possible for her; our house is baby proof central.
With having the little one around we’ve been super busy. There is enough time in the day to fit everything in but only just. I'm still getting used to being a mum and learning a lot every day so I think it should calm down a bit once I get into the swing of things.
If anyone is looking after Léa for me, I’m really keen on them being trained in paediatric first aid. I’m so glad we did the Paediatric First Aid training with imperative training over the Summer. It was brilliant! I keep my imperative training manual on my bedside table so I can brush up on the techniques easily, if I need to.
When she’s older I definitely want her to attend a school which has a defibrillator, there’s no question about it. As well as the sports centre, soft play centre, swimming pool and gymnasium she may go to. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a risk no-one is exempt from which is why it gives me peace of mind to know that there’s always one close by.
When I was pregnant a few people asked me if I thought I'd be less competitive and a bit more timid when racing once I was a mum. I had a few training races with my team mates this recently and I can say without a doubt I am just as competitive and determined as ever. Maybe even a little more.
I’m now back on the slopes and training is going well. I’m absolutely loving being back on the snow and am really looking forward to the competitions that are coming up.
Even after having a baby, I’m feeling pretty good. I felt really rough for a week or so after giving birth to Léa, but since then, I’ve been great. Don’t get me wrong, a little tired sometimes, but overall everything is great. I’ve done lots of fitness tests since being back in training and apart from my strength being down a bit – not surprising considering I couldn’t lift heavy weights whilst I was pregnant – all my scores were pretty good. So all in all, I’m good to go and eager to get on my snowboard too.
In the run up to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, I'm currently training on snow at the British team base in Austria and will be based here for the Winter. Competitions start in December and run until the end of March. I'm aiming to meet the Olympic Qualification standards by getting results in the competitions this Winter.
Next Summer, I’ll hopefully get on snow to do some training somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as lots of training in the gym, then there will be a handful of competitions before I head for the Winter Olympic Games in February 2018.
That’s all for now guys! I hope you’re all well and are staying safe this Winter, keep your eyes peeled for my Top Tips for Snow Safety which I’ll be sharing exclusively with defibshop.co.uk soon.
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