We are super excited to have Alice Balcon come on board as our newest Baby Luno ambassador! Alice, most commonly known as Alice in Healthyland, is a mum to 16 months old Cruz and 21 weeks pregnant with her second baby. She juggles being a mum, nurse and running her awesome blog and Instagram account, @aliceinhealthyland, where she shares her pregnancy and motherhood journey and how to live a healthy lifestyle. She has even won social media awards including RSS Wellbeing Winner 2016 and started the best hashtags #showmehowyouhealthy inspiring others to be healthy and #showtherealyou encouraging self love. We love Alice because she is real, down to earth, positive, upbeat, makes amazing recipes and can relate to her views on motherhood and pregnancy. We asked Alice a few questions below to get to know her better.
Please tell us a bit about you - family life, work, who you are etc.
Well firstly, Hi everyone! I am Alice, AKA Alice In Healthyland (haha), I am the eldest of eight children. I am married to my soul mate David and we have a cheeky toddler named Cruz who is 16 months and we are expecting our new bundle of joy in July, oh and we have Evie our doggie. I am a Registered Nurse and I work at two different hospitals three days a week. I have a passion for learning all things health (hence why I share my journey) and believe knowledge is power. So I am always continuing to research new ways to look after our bodies. I LOVE LOVE recreating naughty recipes and making them super healthy!
Congratulations on your second pregnancy! How have you been feeling and have your pregnancies been different to each other? If so, how?
Thank you so much, I am super excited to be pregnant again. To be completely honest the first trimester was a challenge. I had 24/7 nausea and vomiting, no energy, trying to be a mumma and work at the say time. But hey, I am in the second trimester now and I have my energy back and the nausea symptoms have gone. So it's safe to say, I am loving it now. I have definitely grown a lot more in this pregnancy and my belly is slightly wider. I also haven't been feeling this bub as much, as I have a anterior placenta this time around. Other than that, pretty similar... maybe it's another boy? Haha who knows?
Do you have any secret tips for pregnant mummas?
Hmmm secret tips? No, can you tell me some haha? I do love to use natural organic oils only on my body (mostly my bump becuase hey, who has time to do the whole bod haha). Oh and write lists because baby brain and pregnancy brain is totally a thing!!! I forget everything!
What is your favourite thing about being a mother?
The love you feel for your child is just the most amazing feeling! Wow it blows me away! I love watching my son, Cruz (16months), learn new things every day too. Watching his little personality grow is unreal!
What is the toughest thing about being a mother?
The lack of sleep is one tough part of the gig, but I think if I had to choose the toughest, it is coming to terms that you cannot protect your babies from the big bad world completely and that scares the shit out of me! (opps can I say shit on here ekk?)
What advice can you give to new mothers?
You just have to laugh when you think your house can’t look any worse. Find anything/something little in which you can laugh every day. Laugh with your children and laugh at yourself or you will end up crying haha!
Join a mumma group that is right for you, make good friends so that you can vent to and support each other and then you can all have a big breath and let it go together. My mumma friends are amazing! I love them like sisters and appreciate all their support and advice. I also love that there is no judgement!
Also there is never a complete manual with all the answers, go with your gut and do what you believe is best for your child.
Your Instagram and blog are awesome! When did you start your blogging and Insta and why?
Oh thank you so much, you are so kind. Making me blush with all these comments! I originally started blogging and instagraming for motivational purposes. I was on a weight loss journey as I had lost 20kg and wanted to connect with like minded people to stay motivated. However, since starting my blog, "healthy" means a hell of a lot more to me than weight loss, fitness and clean eating. It's about practising mindfulness and seeking self love within yourself. I have gained so much more respect for my body since being pregnant! I owe alot of thanks to my beautiful followers for this journey that I am on. They have taught me so much and have been so supportive on this journey called life.
Why do you think you have become so popular?
Blushing again! I guess it is because I am honest with my followers, what you see is what you get. People like to relate to you and if you are being fake or dishonest or just showing the good times, I think people will only hang around for a while. I love to share women on my blog that arent just insta famous or in the light as I want people to relate to them too. Hence why I have the segment #showtherealyou.
My personal favourite thing about your blog and Instagram is that you always seem happy and positive (even when you aren’t getting enough sleep). Motherhood and pregnancy can be tough and you are also juggling work, your blog, being a wife and everything else that life throws at you. What do you do to keep yourself upbeat and positive?
Hmmm well I am positive and grateful person most of the time, but I am human and some days it can all get too much, I do cry some days haha yes even over my blog. I am practising meditation as much as I can and I always try to write down 3 things I am grateful for in every day (thank you Lorna Jane for the push haha).
You have now come onboard as a Baby Luno ambassador and we are very excited! What made you decide to be an ambassador? What do you like about the brand/shop?
Let me just say how excited I am to be on board! Thank you so much for having me. love that Baby Luno is ran by a mother. She knows first hand from experience what mummas need and want for their new bundles of joy. I love that the the brands are unique and you don't see the same products everywhere. To be completely honest, all the products are super adorable too and lucky I am already pregnant too because strolling through the items my ovaries ache. One of my favourite features online is that they now have a gift registry tab, that friends and family can go and check out for baby shower gifts or since I am not having a baby shower this time, I used it to make a wish list of all the things we may need to purchase.
Check out Alice's gift registry here where she has chosen her favourite items from Baby Luno's collection.
We can't wait to keep following Alice's pregnancy journey and eventually see who is hiding behind that gorgeous baby bump. Follow Alice on Instagram @aliceinhealthyland (and look out for a sneaky Baby Luno discount code). Also check out her blog as she writes more in detail about her morning sickness, the pregnancy announcement and more.
Photo credit for these amazing photos to Tahlia @wyldefolkstudio_
