Insights from Alana Spencer: Juggling Motherhood and a Photography Career
Mother’s Day - a day designated to appreciating our mothers either by buying them a bunch of flowers, or at least sending them a short and sweet text message. If you haven’t done that yet, you should ;)
At Db, we have moms in our head office, moms in our ambassador line up and of course, amongst our community. It's easy to take your own Mom for granted, but they’re pretty important for us all and probably deserve more than one day a year that tells them that.
Last August, long time friend of the brand and Db ambassador, Alana Spencer welcomed her baby, Skye into the world. About a week ago, we realized we were long overdue for a catchup call and who better to interview on Mother’s Day than a new Mom. Alana shared a post not so long ago on her Instagram about how she manages her work with a little one in tow, but we wanted to know more about that so we just went ahead and asked her…
Db: First of all, huge congratulations on having Skye! When was she born?
Alana: Thank you Db fam! We welcomed our daughter Skye earthside last August, just shy of a month before her due date. Time has never flown by faster and we are so obsessed with everything she does.
Db: We saw on your Instagram how you have had to work out a way to have Skye on shoots with you when you're working… What’s been your biggest learning when juggling a new baby and a freelance photography career?
Alana: I consider myself extremely fortunate to be a freelancer and I’ve had the luxury of creating my own schedule during pregnancy and post. Becoming a mother I had no idea how hard it would be to continue my typical work routine through this season. I was sick for over 3 months in the beginning of my pregnancy and hardly worked at all. I hate feeling unproductive and it’s taken me a long time to understand that productivity looks a little different right now. One of the biggest challenges I've faced so far is allowing myself the grace to embrace this season. There’s this thing called “mom guilt” and it hits me when I’m with my baby and not working on a project, and also when I’m working on a project and not with my baby. It’s a constant battle in my own head and I don’t know if that feeling will ever go away, but I’m grateful for these new challenges because Skye is my greatest gift.
Db: Travel is a huge part of your life, and will undoubtedly be for Skye too - have you already taken her on an overseas adventure? If so, how did that go?
Alana: The longest flight we’ve been on with Skye is 6 hours, and I expect travel with kids will have its different set of challenges depending on their age at the time. I will say that doing anything for the first time with your first child can be terrifying haha. But after that it’s usually great and gets easier. My partner and I always wanted to raise kids that go with the flow as much as possible, and traveling provides constant opportunities for that. Yes, it’s harder than it was before, but you just do it and life goes on. I see the world through a completely different lens now and my level of compassion and grace for parents that travel has gone way up. Not only for traveling with your kids, but traveling without them too. If you travel for work that means you’re going to be away from your baby, missing moments and milestones, and that’s not easy either. Long story short, if there’s a crying baby on your next flight just know that their parent is very very aware of it and is probably doing their best to soothe them. Or just get a pair of noise canceling headphones, that’s just Travel 101.
Db: What would be your biggest tip for parents traveling with kids or babies?
Alana: Try to get a seat for the baby. If you’re traveling with someone, try booking both ends of a row and cross your fingers no one books between you. You can also try bringing local treats for the flight attendants to get on their radar in a good way; they usually appreciate the thought and will return the favor by finding you more open rows and bringing you extra snacks during the flight. Having a seat for the baby gives them a place to sleep and lets you be hands free, which may not sound like a lot, but being hands free at any point as a parent is priceless. You can also just book them a seat, that’s ideal and I’ve done it when the cost made sense for us.
Db: Obviously, growing up in Hawaii, you’re a surf girl at heart - did having a bump affect how much you could enjoy your time in the water?
Alana: Being in the ocean was one of the best feelings while pregnant, I highly recommend swimming in a body of water if you can. The more my belly grew the more I craved that feeling of being submerged. I swam a lot but only surfed a couple times; knee paddling was really tough and my balance was all over the place. Swimming was one of things I felt like was creating a bond between my baby and I because we were both somewhat swimming at the same time haha.
Db: Thanks for your time, Alana! Give Skye a squeeze from us and we can’t wait to see her in the water soon.
To all the moms there, you’re true heroes of this planet.
