"Soul Surfer" Bethany Hamilton loves being a mom--but she wishes her two-month-old son, Tobias Dirks, would stop growing so fast.
The 25-year-old Christian surfer recently shared a sweet photo of her son lying on top of a grocery weighing scale on her Twitter account (@bethanyhamilton). "'Momma says I'm growing too fast!" Thank you Healthy Hut for the weigh in," she captioned it.
Baby Tobias was born on June 1, weighing 7.9 pounds and measuring 21 inches long. The boy's name, which was taken from his great grandfather Tobias, means "the goodness of God."
A few weeks after giving birth to Tobias, Bethany and her husband, Adam Dirks, decided to take their son to the beach and show him what his parents are passionate about: surfing. At the time, she shared an Instagram photo of Dirks carrying Tobias, who was wearing a tiny orange beach hat. "Family beach day! Tobias had his first time in the ocean with his papa!!! He didn't love it," she revealed.
While Bethany and Adam adore their son, they admit parenting hasn't been easy. The new mother recently posted a family photo in which she and her husband gaze fondly at their little boy. The photo caption reads, "Well most of us have heard how tough the first two months with a newborn are especially the first child. Adam and I can attest to that! It's been a huge challenge these last two months. Good thing the sweet moments outweigh the tough. I can just sit there and admire how adorable our lil guy is and be filled with love for him."
Meanwhile, in a recent update emailed to the Gospel Herald, Bethany revealed that she is working to get back into shape and resume her normal surfing schedule as she has future "big goals" for her surfing career.
"I'm feeling back to my normal self again surfing, and very motivated!" she write. "It has been a big adjustment feeding baby in between surfs. Either Adam or grandma will hang with Tobias while I surf, and then wave the red flag when he is hungry and ready for momma! I am very grateful to be back in the water. I have some big goals in the next year with my surfing so I really try to take advantage of our lil guy's nap times!"
She also revealed that she and her family recently took an infant first aid class from Tiny Hearts First Aid.
"It was enjoyable and has made me feel more confident as a mom if anything were to go wrong! Rather than being in a panic during a medical emergency, I know I will be able to take action and quickly identify the right steps to help our little guy," Bethany explained.
She shared a picture of the experience on her Instagram page, along with the caption, "Thank you to @TinyHeartsFirstAid for teaching Adam and I, along with my entire family, infant and child CPR and first aid! I now feel much more secure if something were to go wrong and what steps I would take. I highly recommend any parent or parent-to-be to participate in this course."
The young mother is also gearing up for a "bunch of events" she's involved with over the next few months, including a Youth Conference on Kauai, numerous church and book signing appearances, and an upcoming surf competition.
