121: How to return to the water as a surf mom, sleep deprivation, & learning to love our bodies with Katharine Gerhardt
Episode Description
In 2021 the pressure we put on ourselves as moms to be all and do all is at an all time high. Today’s mama is a longtime surfer who admits she is still adjusting to motherhood-after almost 3 years. Katharine Gethardt, mom of a toddler & former model/ actor, talks about learning to accept her new identity& body more openly.
She also shares about how intense sleep deprivation in new motherhood can be. Like my personal experience, Kat didn’t sleep for more than four or five hours a night, the first two years of motherhood. She also shares about how co-sleeping is sometimes frowned upon, and how she had to accept that listing to her own motherhood intuition was the best solution.
Katharine grew up surfing in the San Fransisco area and has a deep seated love and respect for the ocean. As a surf instructor of many years and lifelong athlete, it wasn’t super easy returning to the water when her muscles were weakened from pregnancy. In addition, Katharine had been a part of the modeling industry for years prior to pregnancy, and realized in new motherhood that body shaming was often still a part of that culture. Learning to ;pie and accept her own postpartum body has been liberating, but isn’t always easy.
Take-aways:
Choosing to have a child later in life and being considered an "older mom"
The identity shifts that went along with returning to the water as a new mama
how being a female surfer and mom is often the minority when there are so many men in the water
Learning to accept her new body postpartum and realizing that her former world in the modeling industry wasn't healthy for body image.
Navigating the physical changes that go along with new motherhood
How she chose to co sleep with her son and how it made her felt guilt.
How sleep deprivation affected her personally, and how it can change our entire lives.
How she tries to eliminate mom guilt from her life, but it's not always easy