18 Alice

In this week's episode Alice shares her parenthood journey and reflects on life with her husband Dave and their son Hugo.
 
 Alice found out she was pregnant after a dinner with a friend. 'I had sort of convinced myself that I was pregnant, but I was like nah I am just being silly.' On the way home from dinner Alice picked up a test and couldn't resist the temptation when she was home. Alice reflects on seeing the positive result 'it was very exciting, neither of us could really believe it.'
 
 Alice shares her pregnancy - reflecting on how she was feeling physically and emotionally, becoming the most active she had ever been, finding a work life balance, and sharing the journey with her kinship network. In the final two months of her pregnancy Alice developed pelvic girdle pain 'I just felt a bit sorry for myself, really...' Alice had planned to work for as long as possible to save all her family leave, a plan that changed with the pelvic girdle pain. Alice finished work, and after a whole lot of encouragement from her mum began swimming - something that immediately eased her symptoms. 'It was honestly one of the best months of my life... I was reading... I was swimming. I was sitting in cafes...'
 
 Alice and Dave had a dress up party the day after Hugo's predicted date. Alice resisted planning her outfit as she was sure that she would be in the babe bubble by then, a feeling she had right through until that afternoon. They were foraging for olive branches for their outfits hours before the party, and even packed the hospital bag in the car. 'I remember feeling period pain like cramping in the car... At the party I was up and about... eating a lot of food - it was the most amazing food!' Alice got home, went to sleep, and woke up a few hours later with regular contractions. 'I must have just had a lot of oxytocin flowing courtesy of all of those canapes at the party.'
 
 Alice speaks so beautifully about the birth day - going in to the zone, reflecting on her choices of health care providers, the intensity of staring in to Dave's eyes in those last few moments, and the feeling of meeting Hugo. Oof! Prickly eyes.
 
 Alice speaks so openly and honestly about her experience of matrescence. Alice reflects on whiteboarding their parenthood journey prior to becoming pregnant. 'It's hilarious to me now.. And it is particularly hilarious given how much my goals have changed. It was very much done from the perspective of we will slot the baby in here, and that is going to be fantastic, and I will go on being the person I was always going to be and we will just have a baby along for the ride...' Alice reflects on the identity shifts that have come for her with parenthood, ‘it is just major… I feel unrecognisable in so many ways… In a good way… But it’s hard.’

You can connect with Alice on Insta @villageforme and see all of her gorgeous offerings at villageforme.com

This episode is an absolute must listen wherever you are on your parenthood journey. I really hope you enjoy this week's show. You can see more photos of Alice and her gorgeous family on Insta @kinbycharlotte and on the In Your Own Kin website

Tales from the Fourth Trimester
Julia Jones, including the link to Julia's podcast