In our latest edition of Mama Wisdom, we hear from Claire Falconer, who has spent the last five years traveling Australia with her family and navigating motherhood on the road. She shares her evolving journey of nourishment during pregnancy, focusing on the importance of eating well, even in remote areas.
She also reflects on the profound transformation motherhood has brought, from overturning her preconceived notions to embracing co-sleeping and trusting her intuition. She opens up about the emotional challenges she faced after two miscarriages and how her body became a source of awe during pregnancy.
Despite the struggles of balancing personal wellness with the demands of motherhood, she finds grounding in simple practices like nourishing food, daily sun exposure, and time in nature, accepting that this is a season of life with its own rhythm.
1. Nourishment is such a personal journey, especially during pregnancy. How did your understanding of nourishment evolve throughout your pregnancies, and what was one non-negotiable practice you kept to support your body and your babies?
Eating damn good food!! It’s not always been easy. We have been living on the road traveling Australia for nearly 5 years now. This means that I haven’t had a regular butcher or my local organic green grocer to supply me and sometimes I’m in Outback Australia and it’s hard to even get semi decent produce. But, we have managed ! I do a lot of online orders and stock up my freezer when we are somewhere decent.
2. Has there been anything that has surprised you about the way you mother? Perhaps you thought you’d approach motherhood one way, but found yourself doing the opposite. What’s been one of the biggest surprises in how you’ve navigated this journey?
Gosh yes, basically everything. Motherhood has turned every single thing I once believed on its head. It’s so crazy to think that before kids I judged mothers / parents. I judged them for decisions they were making, things they were doing. Now, after becoming a mother I have never judged another mother for what they do with their children/ babies. Motherhood is a wild ride that busts you wide open. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever been - in every aspect — emotionally, physically, energetically.
I think wholeheartedly being a mother is the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced.. I’m challenged daily. Everyone warns you of just how hard it will be, how lonely you may feel and how exhausted you will be.
But to me I think the biggest surprises is just how much I also love it. Nothing in my life has ever felt so much like it’s “meant to be”.
3. Motherhood often brings unexpected emotions. Was there a moment in your journey where you felt completely overwhelmed or unsure in what you’re doing - how did you move through it?
YES !! Every single day I feel like this at some stage. I think especially toddlerhood. Wow, toddlers are a whole new level of intense.
But I think my darkest days of motherhood were those early days with my first baby Beau. I was a mess. I listened to the external noise far too much. It consumed me. My intuition was screaming but I pushed it aside because everyone was telling me “that’s not the way to parent” “you’ll ruin your kid” “you must have a sleep schedule” etc etc…. I was consumed I tried to get my baby to “self settle” I tired to sleep him in a dark room, I tried my very hardest not to feed him to sleep, to put him down “drowsy but not asleep”, I tried to fit him into some ridiculous sleep schedule and he was having absolutely none of it. I thought my baby and me were broken.
The way I moved through it was to listen to my heart — sounds cliché I know but it’s what worked and what made my anxiety disappear. We started co sleeping, I breastfed him to sleep for every nap, sleep schedules went out the window - I napped my baby when he would just drift off on my nipple… my baby never left my side. I put him and ease and mostly he put me at ease. It felt right, for us. I never looked back. And for my second bub (Reef) we did this from day one - it felt so right, so natural and we were both so happy.
4. In your experience, how has motherhood deepened your relationship with your own body? Have there been moments of reconnection or rediscovery?
Early on in my journey of trying for babies I actually experienced two pretty traumatic miscarriages. I was someone who had never loathed or hated my body. But going through 2 consecutive miscarriage really challenged that. I, for the first time in my life had feelings of hate towards my body, I felt let down, I felt betrayed. It was a very intense period of mental and physical struggle. Thankfully after some external help I went on to have a beautiful healthy pregnancy with my first boy Beau. During that pregnancy I fell in love with my body and all that it was capable of in a whole new way. I loved watching my belly grow. I was in complete awe in all that we as women are capable of.
5. What’s one piece of wisdom or advice you’ve found yourself coming back to again and again as you raise your boys, something that grounds you when the days feel long and hard?
Wow, this is a tough one as honestly I have sooo many.
One thing that always gets me when I’m angry or frustrated with them is “take one look at there tiny hands, then in that moment your anger will disappear because you realise just how tiny they are”
Another thing that always helps me when I’m over thinking things too much or listening to the external world a little too much (which I tend to get effected by a lot)
“What’s the easiest thing to do?? Then do that” this rings so true for me and really helps me listen to my gut feelings as a mother.
And I think this is probably the most important. It grounds me every single time. Living on the road full time we come across ALOT of “grey nomads” and they often tell us that we are living the best years now. My hubby and I often laugh because It’s hard to see when we like we in the trenches of survival and so sleep deprived. But deep down I know when I’m older I will look back on this time and give anything to relive these moments. I will give anything to have my lil ones sleeping by my side in bed every night with me.
6. As someone who has dedicated so much of your life to health and fitness, how do you find the balance between maintaining your own personal wellness and the demands of motherhood? Have there been times where you’ve had to let go of your routines and redefine what health looks like for you?
Gosh, I still haven’t found the balance. I’m still looking. I’m 13 months postpartum with my second baby and my exercise schedule is all over the place. I have zero routine, my back is absolutely killing me and I definitely put myself last.
So yes, an exercise routine is sadly not working out for me right now in this season. But some non negotiables for me is nourishment.. beautifully home cooked food, daily sun exposure and time in nature … we do live in a caravan so this helps - we spend 99% of our day outside. And daily movement mostly in the form of just being outside, walks etc. This is health to me right now. Yes I miss my time alone on the yoga mat, my meditation practice and my regular workouts. But I know I’ll get that back very soon. This is just a season.
You can follow along on Claire's Journey via instagram:
@clairefalconer_
@vanlifestraya
@coachedbyclaire