Rent-a-baby.com

The other day, as I was waiting for my monthly appointment with the midwife, I came across an interesting article in one of these magazines for mums-to-be. It was about how pregnancy is a good time to come up with cool business ideas, a combination apparently of an improved creativity when you are pregnant (good to know there are some advantages at having your hormones all over the place) and the desire of many women to find a way to juggle work and raising their kids.I could not agree more. In fact, I recently came up with a great business idea, which Martin likes very much as well: we are going to rent our kid out.

Don’t start giving me grief or call the social services: I don’t intend to rent the baby out full time. But we figured a few times a week would be rather convenient for us, while being a perfect solution for childless couples too.Don’t get me wrong: we are obviously delighted and very excited (oh, and also scared beyond belief, if you insist), to soon welcome to the world a tiny new athlete. Still, we are also quite aware that fitting our sports sessions around feeding time, changing nappies time, sleeping time, and other I-don’t-fully-comprehend-what-I-am-getting-myself-into time, will be a challenge greater than any sporting event we have entered until now.

On the other hand, a lot of people are childless, some because they, like me until recently (OK, let’s face it: like me to this day), are not sure they are brave enough to give up their pretty cool current life for the big Unknown. What could be best then than a part-time baby? You want to play the devoted parents, we’ll rent you ours out for a few hours. It is time for your daily training session, you give it back. Meanwhile, we get a bit of “us” time for running, cycling, mountain biking, climbing, hiking, swimming (you see, I am not short of ideas) too. Perfect.

Oh, and have no fear: we will not rent our baby out to anybody: only deserving part-time parents, with values. You know: outdoorsy, dedicated to training, addicted to pain. We would not want our baby to pick up bad habits while away, and end up a couch potato. God, no.

So this is it. I got the business idea of the decade, did the market studies, drew the business plan, am ready to go. Just need to get the baby out, and I have the feeling that could be the biggest challenge.

Pregnancy, or Adventure With A Twist

Yes, I know, I have been AWOL for a while now. So long that some good souls have even pretended they missed the blog and asked for updates.

Updates? What on, am I some days wondering – and some of these days, with a bit of frustration I must admit. On the other days, it has to be said, I am just plainly not feeling like writing anything more taxing than the shopping list.

It is not like I could brag on a new running PB, dissert about a 50km trail race, go lyrical about some new mountaineering expedition.

So, no PB, no pushing-the-limit craziness then. Meaning: nothing to write home about? Well, considering the fair share of comments and sometimes nearly-abuse from observers and well- or no so well-meaning neighbours or strangers on the roadside, maybe not quite nothing.

After all, there have been a few adventures to recall. An hour and a half train run at five months, in tiny shorts and in the snow. A cycling outing which was uneventful until I decided to spice it up by falling off, or should I say, with (Martin and I are still debating on the technicalities) my bike. An 8 hour hiking epic (note to myself: maps are not just nice, they are meant to be used). Hour-and-a-half spinning sessions with gym staff clearly debating what to do in case I gave birth on the exercise bike. Quads that no weight training session could make so strong, courtesy of hiking and running with the added pregnancy weight. Not to mention more pregnancy-specific “sports” like breathing exercises using technologically-advanced devices such as straws and kid’s balloons (wonder if that could also help my swimming?).

So it looks like my sports life is not so limited, and pregnancy definitely is proving something of an adventure. Which means no excuses not to post. Aside, maybe, from the problematic pregnancy-induced softness of my brain these days?