By Laura, Peak District Organiser
I’ve found the adjustment from one baby to two harder than I expected, for lots of reasons, but mostly because it’s hard! Blaze has been a real lifeline for my mental health.
I have two days a week when my pre-schooler is in nursery and I just have baby. Since my baby was 6 weeks old, I’ve been organising or attending weekly Blaze walks and it’s a highlight of my week.
It’s a chance to get some fresh air, chat to other like-minded parents, get some exercise, and see more of where I live. It allows me to feel a bit more like me, as that can easily get lost.
Blaze has allowed me to challenge myself and achieve things I’m proud of - like walking 7k carrying both my pre-schooler and my baby, or walking 17k carrying my baby.
But the beauty of Blaze Trails is that your adventures can be as big or small as you like. You can contribute and take as much or as little as you want, to suit you. You can attend short buggy walks in a park once a month or you can organise a challenging, hilly hike.
Sometimes people worry about coming along and doing something that is ‘for them’ rather than ‘for baby’. First of all, it’s important to do things for you and to help you carve out a bit of you time. But also, walking is such a wonderful thing to share with your baby from a young age. Babies love fresh air, being carried close and gently rocked. It’s win-win.
As my maternity leave nears its end, memories of Blaze walks and the relationships I’ve made on those will stick out as some of the highlights…
Like seeing ahead of me, mid-walk, a group of parents scattered over the hill feeding and tending to their babies
Watching the sun rise from our local hill (if it hadn’t been so cloudy) with my baby and a group of like-minded parents
Eating homemade birthday cake in the sun to celebrate one of our lovely organiser’s birthdays
Seeing parents pass a baby over a stile as they climb over
I’ve met such lovely and interesting people through Blaze Trails. It’s so much easier to chat to people on a walk as that’s all you’re doing - talking and walking - compared to at a 30-minute baby class where you might get to talk to the person either side of you at the beginning and end.
Because of Blaze, I have kids who’ve seen more of the Peak District than my husband, a pre-schooler who knew the word ‘trig point’ before he knew the word ‘lamppost’, and lovely friends who’ll carry their babies up hills for fun.
Parenting these two wonderful little humans is hard, but Blaze makes it a bit easier.
Find your nearest Blaze Trails group here.