Your Pregnancy, Birth & Baby by @aliceinhealthyland

INTRODUCTION

Tell us about your life growing up – where you grew up, how many siblings, home life, etc.
I was born in the England, but my parents decided to immigrate to the land of Australia in 1996. My mum brought 6 children to Australia by herself. My dad moved her 6 weeks before to buy a block of land and find us a school to attend and to get a job. My parents had 8 children in 10 years. I am the eldest of the 8. We are all still very close now too. It is so special now we are all starting to have families of our own. It was a very fun upbringing for myself and my siblings.

What’s your life like now – family, work, lifestyle
So, my husband and I have 3 children of our own and we are expecting our fourth in February. This will be our final addition to our little tribe (or football team haha). I am a part time Registered Nurse, a part time blogger AKA @aliceinhealthyland and of course a MUMMA. We live in sunny QLD and we love being outdoors. I walk to our local café with the children most days a week, when I am not at work at the hospital. It is so good to get out. We currently have a 4-year-old, 3-year-old and a 19-month-old. I am 4 months pregnant.

YOUR PREGNANCY

Was your pregnancy planned or a surprise?
All my pregnancies have been planned. For my first child I had to try for about a year.

How did you find out you were pregnant?
All babies I found out by my nausea. It hits me hard 24/7 for the first trimester. All confirmed by a pregnancy test.

What were your initial emotions?
I cried every time and even know they were planned I cried in shock haha.

Did you feel ready to become a mum?
Yes, I was 28 and with my first I had been wanting a baby for the 2 years prior.

Do you believe you were prepared enough and knew what to do and where to source information or did you walk in flying blind?
Hmmm, kind of because I was the eldest of 8 myself, but honestly, I feel with motherhood you learn on the job. My gosh some days are challenging but it's all beautiful chaos. Can you ever fully prepare? In my opinion no.

Did you have an easy pregnancy or had some struggles?
My first two pregnancies were straight forward. However, my third was not. We were high risk from week 20. I had multiple tests, care between three hospitals and the anxiety hit hard. She was also a breech bubba to top it off haha.

Did you find out the gender?
No x four haha. The surprise and suspense are the best.

YOUR BIRTH

Did you have a Birth plan, if so, what was your plan A
Yes, pain free vaginal labor. Hmmm this didn’t go to plan. Now I am very open minded about birth and empowering women with all birth choices!

Please provide a brief synopsis of your birth.
First two were posterior labors, both vaginal births and I had pain relief. However, I felt everything with my first. My third birth was care between 3 hospitals, an ambulance trip, 20hr breech labor, emergency c section under a General Anesthetic, blood transfusion, and a week in hospital, plus she was born at 35 weeks. All very different experiences.

How was your birth experience different to what you have expected?
I guess I had hoped for straight forward vaginal labors. However, that wasn’t always the case. All women are so amazing no matter how they bring their child into this world. No way is the easy way, but Mumma’s bodies are unreal.

YOUR BABY

Explain the moment you met your baby for the first time.
My first two, were pulled straight on my chest, placenta still intact and wow I cried words cannot explain. My third I was asleep for her birth. I was so out of it when I woke up and had leads all over me. Still beautiful but the connection was different for me.

What was your baby’s weight and length?
First Baby – 50 cm and 2.9kg. Second Baby – 51cm and 3.3kg. Third Baby – 47cm and 1.9kg.

How did you decide your baby’s name?
It was always fun picking when we didn’t know the sex, lots of searches on the unique baby names list haha. We have a Cruz, a Winter-Rose and a Lottie. The fourth babies name is a secret we have a name picked for both sexes.

Explain what the first 6 weeks were like with your new baby?
So surreal. A newborn bubble is unreal. Tears, so much love and also WTF’s haha!! Love this moment. My third I had to speak to lots of consultant's post birth and trips to the hospital due to my health and my daughter being a prem.

How was your birth recovery?
All experiences were different, the emergency c section recovery was my biggest challenge. Gosh mums deserve so much more support than just the 6 weeks checkup.

TIPS

What is your top 5 items you needed/used during your pregnancy, birth and with your baby?
My double pram, pregnancy leggings, baby carrier, feeding bras and nursing pads.

Any advice or tips for new mums?
Go with your gut, you know your child like no one else. Ask for help of you need it, it takes a village to raise a child and Mumma you need love too. Take everyone's advice but please do what is best for you and your family.

Follow Alice on Instagram @aliceinhealthyland