Fitness influencer Alice Liveing has offered her followers a remarkably honest glimpse into the challenges of new motherhood, confessing she's finding it difficult to even leave the house three weeks after welcoming her first child.
The Reality of Newborn Life
In a series of candid posts on her Instagram Stories, the social media star admitted she never fully understood or appreciated the demands of caring for a newborn until experiencing it herself. Alice and her husband Patrick Murphy welcomed their daughter, Jeannie Isabella Murphy, last month in what she described as a 'wild' and 'unexpected' delivery.
The new mother revealed that between constant feeding, changing, and comforting her baby girl, simple tasks like brushing her teeth or getting dressed have become monumental achievements. 'I never fully understood or appreciated that that is the reality of having a tiny baby,' she confessed to her 287,000 followers.
Solo Parenting Challenges
Alice particularly highlighted the increased difficulty since her husband Patrick returned to work after his two-week paternity leave. 'When it's me on my own I just cannot,' she explained, detailing a typical day where her plans for a midday walk were derailed by multiple feedings and a vomiting incident that required complete outfit changes for both mother and baby.
She described one chaotic sequence: 'She literally closed her eyes and then started screaming, got her, then threw up all over me, in my hair, all down my front.' This left Alice having to wash herself and change Jeannie's outfit, putting them 'back at square one with feeding because she's then hungry again.'
Exercise Takes Back Seat
Perhaps surprisingly for a fitness professional known for her disciplined approach to health, Alice revealed that exercise hasn't even crossed her mind as she approaches three weeks postpartum. 'I haven't even thought about exercise and I'm coming up to three weeks postpartum,' she shared. 'It hasn't even crossed my mind because I haven't had a second.'
The influencer admitted she had 'such good intentions' of going for daily walks but found the reality much harder than anticipated. She also confessed to struggling with basic self-care, noting she often goes without eating and feels 'permanently dehydrated.'
In a later post about her experiences with 'solo parenting,' Alice shared a video cradling Jeannie with a caption acknowledging her pre-birth expectations versus reality: 'I was the one who really thought 'how hard can it be'? I had ambitions of a beautiful morning walk, coffee dates with friends, getting my nails done, peeing alone...'
She added philosophically: 'And those things will come. But now isn't my time and I'm grateful that I'm learning to embrace the slowness of my days rather than fight to feel like I should be doing more.'
Alice first announced Jeannie's birth on Sunday, revealing they'd named their daughter Jeannie Isabella Murphy and describing her as '6lb2 of teeny tiny deliciousness.' She teased that the birth story was 'wild' and promised to share details later.
The influencer received numerous congratulatory messages from famous friends including former TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh, TV presenter Gaby Roslin, and Loose Women's Katie Piper.
Alice's honest account of early motherhood challenges resonates particularly given her own health journey. She previously revealed that her former 'clean eating' regime had 'ruined her health' and stopped her periods, with a fertility specialist warning she might struggle to conceive if she continued.
After changing her approach to exercise and nutrition, Alice has become an advocate for balanced health practices, moving away from her previous 'Clean Eating' persona to focus on strength training and proper fueling.
