New mum Alex Nation: “How the *$@& am I going to do this?”
"Day five with this little girl ... Big feelings out of nowhere."
After welcoming her third baby – her first by ‘belly birth’ – Alex Nation has shared the first week of her fourth trimester in her Instagram stories, revealing that the ‘baby blues’ hit hard.
Having had a c-section, Alex spent two days in hospital with her new daughter, Pearl, before heading home to her mother-in-law’s house.
“I instantly felt like a fish out of water as soon as I walked in the door,” the new mum said. “I think I was spacey from the pain relief I’d been on. Max had been teething so he’d been pretty grumpy. I’d instantly felt overwhelmed coming home.”
Alex shared a snap of her two sons, Elijah and Max, and a clip of Max trying to kiss Pearl.
It took a couple of hours for mum and bub to settle in at Carson Jory’s mum’s house but then Alex was able to spend time with her youngest son. “Max is really fascinated by Pearl,” she said. “I don’t think he quite understands but he’s absolutely fascinated by her.”
After a tough first night at home with Max teething, waking up every hour in pain and refusing comfor from anyone except his mum, and Pearl cluster feeding, Alex says it was a “s&*t show”. “But the sun did rise. The aroma of coffee was through the house at 6am. We made it through the first night.”
But things were about to take a turn when day five approached and the baby blues appeared out of nowhere.
“Day five with this little girl,” Alex videod. “Big feelings. Big feelings out of nowhere. Really overwhelming… Lots of feelings of self doubt. Angst.”
Alex’s honesty about her baby blues hit home for mums who have been through this, and in her Instagram story she talked about how she told her partner, Carson, about her feelings and that she needed him to be a “safe space” for her.
Alex Nation had a belly birth with her third baby.
As well as agonising over “Can I do this? Will I be ok? Will my kids be ok?” Alex is also dealing with feelings about her body after a belly birth. Having had two vaginal births, coming to terms with your body after major surgery is a huge deal.
“I looked at my incision site of my wound,” she says. “I was kind of touching it. It’s day five 5, I’m still swollen … I didn’t look at my body in any way other than positive with my other two, so these feelings, especially towards my body, are very new and confronting and confusing.”
“I barely got the blues with Elijah,” Alex recalled. “I was only 19 and didn’t really undestand what was happening. I knew I missed being pregnant and having him inside my body”
“With Max I didn’t get anything. I was really fortunate not to experience any of those feelings.”
Alex also pointed out that Pearl is her most vocal baby and that her sons didn’t cry much for the first three months: “Like her cry is quite high pitched, it’s quite loud.”
By the end of the first week of baby Pearl’s life, mama Alex’s hormones have started to settle a little.
“It’s not as intense, but I’m still having moments of self doubt,” Alex said on her stories. “Max is a very busy toddler. I have a newborn. How the f*&^ am I going to do this! BUT the night of day five was bliss. Max slept all night -12.5 hours. Pearl slept and fed four hourly so I was able to get really good sleep in. I woke to start my day … I can do this! The sun has risen again. I’ve gotten through another day. I feel good.”
Wrapping up the story, Alex shared a sweet snap of her son Elijah with Max saying he’s the “best big brother in the land” and cute footage of Max trying to kiss his baby sister.
Sex positive Alex closed out the first week of her fourth trimester in classic style: “It’s actually a bit cooked but I’m really quite horny … When you see your partner with your babies, I don’t know it’s just doing things to me. I’m like I just want to jump Carsons’ bones but obviously I’m in recovery.”
