PADDLER 40
In May this year , my other half , Kerry , and I were lucky enough to welcome our daughter Freyja into the world . I may be biased , but she is amazing . And as my first kid , she has completely changed my life . Suddenly , I had a tiny human looking to me for everything , meaning I couldn ’ t drop what I was doing to dash to the river anymore .
PADDLER 40
Paddling with a
NEWBORN
In May this year , my other half , Kerry , and I were lucky enough to welcome our daughter Freyja into the world . I may be biased , but she is amazing . And as my first kid , she has completely changed my life . Suddenly , I had a tiny human looking to me for everything , meaning I couldn ’ t drop what I was doing to dash to the river anymore .
I was needed much more at home , and I didn ’ t want to miss a second of Freyja growing up . So , how do I keep paddling and competing while being a dad ? Something I had to work out as I had the World Championships coming up in a matter of months .
Understandably , paddling got put on pause … for a week . I lapped up the scrunched-up newborn phase , showed Freyja off to family , and slept where I could ! But the water was shouting out to me ; it missed me as much as I missed it ! Luckily , Kerry is very understanding and agreed to pack Freyja up for the day and come down to Holme Pierrepont to watch me paddle .
SHOWING HER OFF
The first hour or so was spent showing her off to all the paddling folk who would pay attention to us . But then I got into my kit and hit the water . I spent more time that first session checking that they were ok than actually paddling . Checking that the course ’ s microclimate wasn ’ t making her too cold , that she wasn ’ t hungry , if she was asleep , and so on . All of this was needless , as Kerry is a fantastic mum who had it all covered . Over the next few weeks , I could paddle more and worry less about Freyja on the bank .
Soon , my paternity leave was over , and I was back to work . More time away from Freyja ! How do I limit the time away ? I couldn ’ t afford to cut down work hours , but I also knew I needed to paddle ( well , I really wanted to ). I ’ m fortunate enough to have a hybrid workplace , working from home with the office just over the lake from the course at Holme Pierrepont .
So I paddled after work in the office , then picked up extra dad duties when I got home . Most of it was about compromise . Kerry cared for our family so I could do what I love , paddling . So when I was at home , I would try and do the same for her , letting her go out with friends , go to the gym , or anything else she wanted to do . And I think this is how we managed to get through those first couple of months , ensuring we could still have some of our pre-child life .
First time at Holme Pierrepont World Champs opening ceremony