Gathering my courage, I asked my new boyfriend an important question.
‘So, how do you feel about kids?’ I said.
‘I’ve always really wanted a big family,’ he replied.
‘Oh, that’s such a relief, so do I!’ I told him.
Though I’d grown up with just one younger sibling, I’d had friends with big families, and I’d always loved visiting their houses.
I adored the chaotic, energetic atmosphere.
When I started dating Lucas, I’d known pretty soon he was perfect for me.
And now our shared family values confirmed it!
The two of us were engaged after a year of dating and married on Valentine’s Day the following year.
While Lucas was training to be a neurosurgeon, I worked as a health administrator.
And almost immediately after our wedding, I fell pregnant with our first child.
I was very lucky with my pregnancy.
‘Have you had any morning sickness?’ a friend asked.
‘Honestly, no,’ I replied. ‘Just a craving for oranges!’
Then one evening, a few days before my due date, I went into labour.
Lucas rushed me to hospital.
Fortunately, the labour was just as smooth as the pregnancy.
When the nurse handed me my new baby to hold, it felt totally surreal.
No matter how much I’d pictured the moment, nothing lived up to the real thing.
Looking at my daughter Jenna in my arms, I was in total awe of what my body had made.
Less than a year later I fell pregnant again, and gave birth to my son, Samuel.
Then came Liam, Evelyn and Inga, one after another.
'Should I stop having babies?'
All my pregnancies were remarkably smooth, and I bounced back into shape quickly after each baby.
‘It’s your German genes on your dad’s side,’ joked Lucas.
‘Running around everywhere after the kids helps too,’ I laughed.
It wasn’t until my sixth pregnancy with my son, Ben, that I had any difficulties.
The umbilical cord came out before he did and his oxygen supply was cut off.
I watched, terrified, as doctors and nurses struggled to revive him.
Thankfully, they did. But it had a real impact on me.
‘Should I stop having babies?’ I asked my doctor later. ‘That really frightened me.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about your health,’ she said. ‘It was a freak accident, not an ongoing problem.’
And though our family had always felt complete, I wasn’t ready to rule out more kids.
‘Is there a magic number you’re trying to reach?’ my pal asked.
‘It’s not like that,’ I giggled. ‘We just love our kids so much!’
Around that time, Lucas’s medical residency came to an end, and we moved cross-country for his new job.
Despite our six children, I’d still been working in healthcare.
But now I decided to quit my job and become a full-time mum.
We built ourselves a huge house with eight bedrooms and space for both Lucas’s and my parents to live on the same property.
Babies Rosalyn, Cora and Beau followed soon after.
Life with such a big family was hectic to say the least!
‘You’ve got your hands full,’ people commented when they spotted us out and about. ‘Are they all yours?’
I’d always been an organised, methodical person, and I turned that to childcare.
Numerous charts and calendars helped me juggle all the kids’ various extracurricular activities.
Sometimes I’d spend five hours or more in the kitchen.
I’d cook one meal, then clean it up and get started straightaway on the next one!
Often, I’d find myself faced with 10 loads of laundry piled up.
I soon discovered that trailing round the shops with the whole brood wasn’t working, so instead I started ordering all my groceries online.
When I cooked, I’d typically double or triple any recipe.
It could be difficult persuading all nine kids to eat the same meal, but my rule was they always had to at least try what I’d made!
Our new home was in a rural area, and the kids tired themselves out playing outdoors.
We had sheep, chickens, cats and dogs, and my dad built the kids a wonderful adventure playground in the garden.
When Lucas was home from work, they all loved helping him with landscaping.
All nine siblings formed close bonds and took care of each other.
'We'll end up with 100 grandchildren'
‘It’s crazy how different they all are,’ I commented to Lucas one day.
‘You’re right,’ he replied. ‘None of them are a mini version of me or you.’
Our eldest, Jenna, turned out to be a real caretaker, always making a special birthday cake for the other kids’ birthdays.
Samuel was sporty and athletic, Liam was a true old soul, Evelyn was kind and loving, Inga was the wild child, Ben was the animal-lover, Rosalyn was a princess, Cora was a fashionista and Beau was a total cuddle-bug!
One afternoon, I was chatting with our neighbour, Jerry.
‘You know, I used to work in the media industry,’ he said, ‘and I think you should try posting on social channels. Your family has something special people will want to see.’
So, on his advice, I started a blog.
To my surprise it soon exploded in popularity.
Other mums had plenty of questions about how I organised my life.
They were shocked when I revealed I’d never relied on nannies, cooks or cleaners, tackling everything myself.
So, I ended up publishing some eBooks featuring charts, planners and other advice for mums.
Women got in touch to tell me how much I’d helped them organise their own family life.
Soon, I expanded to posting on Instagram and TikTok as well.
As well as the encouragement, there were a few concerned comments too.
Some people worried about my health and questioned the impact on my body of having so many pregnancies in succession.
Your body needs a rest! wrote one commenter.
But everyone we knew in real life could see I was happy and healthy.
And the kids loved being part of a big family.
‘All our friends say how fun it is at our house,’ grinned Liam.
‘I’m going to have 20 children when I grow up,’ announced Rosalyn.
‘Imagine if they all have 10 kids,’ I joked with Lucas. ‘We’ll end up with 100 grandchildren!’
It was sweet seeing how fond they all were of each other.
Jenna even moved into a room with Rosalyn and Cora for her final year at home before going to university.
‘I want to spend as much time with them as I can,’ she told me.
Less than a year after having Beau, I was pregnant with another baby.
By then, my craving for oranges had been replaced with eggs, but the pregnancy was smooth.
Unfortunately, Laura-Kate’s birth was another scary one.
She was born with the umbilical cord wrapped round her neck and her heart rate dropped right down.
Thankfully, she pulled through totally unscathed.
‘We’ve got an even 10 now,’ Lucas pointed out.
When we did the maths, we realised I’d been pregnant for 2754 days in total!
There’s a 16-year age gap between Jenna and baby Laura-Kate.
But, I don’t think I’d rule out having any more!
When people ask me how I handle it all, I always stress the importance of taking a moment for yourself to reflect and calm down.
After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup!
Karla Bradley, 43
Follow Karla on Instagram and Facebook @thebradleybunchadventures