7 Week Old Baby - Joaquin Miller Park

On Sunday, our little family hiked the Sunset Trail up to the Sequoia Bayview Trail in Oakland's Joaquin Miller Park. The Park itself has a nice playground and the Woodminster Ampitheater, which is anemically underused, much like the rest of Oakland's venues.

For the hike, we parked at the Ranger station and walked to the trailheads, which are at the base of Sanborn Drive. Here's the park map. I won't walk you through the hike step by step, but here are a few pointers:

1. The Sunset Trail is a little steep, so those with bellies or babies in a pack should be cautious. It's also a little rocky, but the rocks are loose, so watch the ankles.

2. The Bayview Trail is very flat, wide and easy. I think there may be a way to access it that does not entail such a steep* climb up to it. It also has a beautiful view of the whole bay. The downside of its perfection is that its a busy trail, with dogs, horses and bikes sharing the walk. Probably best for early morning and weekday hikes.

3. The Meadows near the trailhead are broad, mowed and have picnic tables, so bring food, water and frisbee (if that's your bag).

4. This trail gets a lot of fog, which is great for a couple of reasons. The forest is still green even in mid-September, and the mist can be lovely to hike in, if its not too cold. During the winter, it can be really wet, so bring a raincoat. Also, when it's raining the Sunset Trail can be complete muck, so study the map for an alternative route, if necessary. They don't have maps at the park, so print a copy from the link above.

* By "steep", I mean steep for a pregnant person. I don't think someone with some hiking experience would find it too difficult.

Losing the Pooch

The most annoying remnant of pregnancy (after labor aches disappear) is the Pooch. It's particularly pronounced after Baby 2 (I have learned the hard way). I found this article recommending walking as the best way to lose the pooch. My doctor also recommended crunches and Kegels.

The article recommends maintaining good posture, and I have noticed that my posture is terrible now, probably the result of curling over to nurse and to carry the baby. I feel a little silly correcting this by practicing good posture, but, duh, that seems like the only remedy.

More Hiking Advice

BabyFit just republished this article on Pregnancy and Outdoor Adventures. No new information from this earlier post, but I was surprised to see that you can burn up to 500 calories in an hour hiking. What a way to lose the post-baby fat. Must...motivate....

Helpful Exercise Tool

Since the birth of my lovely child on July 31, I haven't been able to take any actual hikes. However, I found this tool, Gmap Pedometer, that calculates your distance and calories on hikes around your neighborhood (or wherever else) based on Google maps. Very helpful for making you feel like you are "hiking" to the library or the drugstore.