Allison Kuch Reveals the 1 Thing She'd Do Differently as a First-Time Parent as Daughter Celebrates First Birthday

Allison Kuch and Issac Rochell have officially been parents for a year.

The defensive end and social media creator, both 29, reflected on their first year of parenthood and their time with their one-year-old daughter Scottie Bee on the Sunday Sports Club podcast on Dec. 8 and shared one important advice they'd share with new parents: it's okay to over prepare.

"When it comes to being a first-time parent, you're so stressed about, 'Is this the right bassinet?' Or 'Are these the [right] diapers?' and over-prepping," Kuch explained. "So many people are like, 'You don't need that,' and I say f— them."

"If you wanna do a whole nursery... I say [do it]," she continued. "I think that [you should] take everybody's opinion or advice with a grain of salt, especially if you're a first-time parent because I think I got stressed [about] being perfect."

Kuch also opened up about her struggles with a "tough" postpartum period, candidly calling the past year the "the best year of my life, but also the worst year of my life."

"There's a huge stigma where if I'm dealing with postpartum depression or anxiety, people assume I don't love my daughter, which is not the case" she explained. "You could be literally the best, happiest mom and still be like, 'I actually am really unhappy.' "

"While I love being a mom, and I love being Scottie's mom... I do love being independent, and I love doing things outside of motherhood," she continued. "But I don't think that makes me a worse mom. I think that makes me a good mom because I want my daughter to grow up being able to do whatever she wants, whether that be a mom, not be a mom or working a nine-to-five and be a mom; like, you can do it all."  

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Kuch previously opened up to PEOPLE in November 2024 about dismantling negative stigmas around parenthood, like asking for assistance and how she and Rochell have come to appreciate the importance of that as parents.

"Isaac and I have done it all on our own up until now," she explained. "We don’t have family nearby, and our circle of friends is small. Recently, we realized we were kind of drowning, so we’ve started accepting help. But there’s this negative perspective around it, and I think breaking that barrier is really important."

Rochell added that while  "people think we have a nanny 24/7 or "constantly [leave] her with someone, they don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes."

"That’s part of the reason we don’t share her online," he continued. "People will make assumptions no matter what, and it just feels healthier to keep her offline."

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