KAYLEY VAN DER STOEL

1. You’ve been part of the Be Well Baby Mama community through both pregnancy and postpartum—what originally drew you to the program, and what kept you coming back? I had a few mom friends who were attending Baby Mama classes for a while before I got pregnant and it just looked like such an inviting space for any level of fitness and as a mom. I had just moved back to Lethbridge and was looking for a way to stay healthy during my pregnancy and hopefully make some community and that’s exactly what happened! Now I’ve been coming to baby mama since Fall 2023 when I was pregnant with my first. I feel like I’m honestly at the strongest point I’ve ever been in my fitness journey and I’ve realized that opposed to what I used to believe, I would actually rather work out surrounded by other strong women (especially moms who just get it) and my health all around has benefited because of this space Chantelle’s created for us all to share.
2. How did moving your body during pregnancy and postpartum support you—not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as a mama? Well with my first, I started working out around 14weeks and didn’t have a super strong baseline prior, so it was honestly so encouraging & strengthening mentally and physically to prepare myself to go through the labor experience and recovery. I was thankful to not have any major pelvic floor issues or abdominal tearing and I credit that to the strength training leading up to birth. Postpartum is such a wild journey of reconnecting to your body as its own entity again but also still nourishing another body full time haha, but being able to push myself again to an even healthier place than I was before pregnancy really kept me going. I also think staying active and involved with BabyMama just always gave me a reason to get out of the house and see other moms/babies and that alone is just the fix you need to be encouraged – at least for me as an extrovert, it was/still is the perfect fix.
3. Tell us a little about your family—who’s in your crew at home, and what does a typical day look like for you right now? I’m married to a wonderful fella, Alex – he’s a junior high teacher out in Taber. Then we have our sweet boy, Alder, who will be 2 in April AND we are expecting again later this summer!!! Then we have our silly, sweet and tailless golden retriever, Doug (he was born that way). Alder is in day care two days a week which are usually my get shiz done days or my me-time days! And the rest of the time I just hang out with my little buddy — coming to baby mama classes, walking Doug to the coulees, and usually lots of last minute hangs with friends/family throughout the week – we are a highly social family 😉
4. You balance motherhood with work and giving back in your own way—can you share what you do for work or how you contribute to your community? Right now I get to wear the hat of STAHM and professional photographer 🙂 I started my business in 2020 and I’ve been shooting weddings across Western Canada and some internationally since and now I’ve transitioned to taking on more family clients alongside my weddings so I can have a bit more time to stick around home and slow things down. You can find my work @kayleydphotography on IG or kayleydphotography.com. We are also really active with our church community (The Miz) and outside of that we have lots of really awesome social circles that seem to continually keep the calendar full!
5. Now that you’re expecting your second, what feels different this time around, and what are you most proud of from your first motherhood journey? I was lucky with Alder to not have any real major symptoms, except for heartburn in the third trimester and a bit of SI pain. I have definitely had some more nausea this time around and of course extra tired again this first trimester – however I’m really cashing in on naps when Alder naps these days. This time though I’m going into pregnancy quite active and working out through the first trimester which although is hard some days, always feels worth it after. I think the thing I’m most proud of is letting Alder change my pace of life but also bringing him along for the ride. I still do keep a full schedule but I think I learned to enjoy making more space for slow days at home and appreciating the beauty of them and the fun we can have together. I’ve really enjoyed that and all the time we spend hanging out and playing his favourite games. But with that, I’m glad I (and my husband) decided from the get go that we were going to keep doing what we loved. We made an effort from the beginning to have him be a part of our life so that’s what we do. We host as much as we can, or else we take the pack and play and if we want to go on trips we just factor the timing with a baby into it and make it happen. We’ve made some of the best memories as a family from keeping on living life even with a newborn (now toddler) and it’s been so fun to see Alder share a love for the things/people we do.
6. Can you share a moment from your prenatal or postnatal experience that made you feel especially strong, supported, or seen? Probably breastfeeding. Alder had a tongue tie which we thankfully got fixed right away but it still impacted his feeding and then I had supply issues around 4 months and had to go on medication + I started shooting weddings again when he was only 6 weeks old and I shot 13 weddings that summer which meant I was taking breaks to pump in back rooms and then hustling back to work 8-10 hour days haha. It was a grind but we somehow made it through that all and I was able to successfully feed him for 13 months which I’m really proud of. I know we had other options and I’m not against them at all, this was just the goal I’d set for myself and it was taxing… but a beautiful experience I’m grateful for!
7. How has being part of a community of other mamas influenced your confidence in motherhood? Greatly! Just from the get go, coming to classes and seeing other moms navigate a mid-class feed or melt down or even getting to hear other mom’s birth stories – all of it was so encouraging and showed me that A) there’s no one shoe fits all in motherhood/labour and B) we are all just out here doing our best and showing up is sometimes the most important move you can make for you and your kiddo.
8. Fun one: what’s your favourite exercise/piece of equipment or movement in class—and is there one you never thought you’d enjoy but now love? Probably deadlifts or spin. It’s honestly just been really encouraging to see the progression in myself from what I was lifting 2 years ago vs. now. I never thought I’d love burpees and still don’t, but I don’t immediately dread them everytime now…probably because in one of your challenges I participated in we had to do like 150 in a day hahaha so now anything less feels achievable!
9. You participate in classes at both of our studio locations and our outdoor sessions—what do you love about each space, and how does the environment support your movement and mindset? I love just getting to show up to the studio and use the equipment available and because we have more weight options I can really challenge myself that way. But I love that come summer it’s a great way to spend time outside, get some easy endorphins and I can challenge myself with more body weight exercise! I feel like by the end of each season I’m excited for the change of environment that comes with the next so it’s a fun cycle!