Our Story: The History of Seven Messy Babies

Questions I’m asked quite frequently:

Did you always want this many kids?

When do you have the time to make soap?

How on earth do you do it all?!?!

Well, you asked. So here are the answers! The story of how we became Seven Messy Babies.

Yes, I always wanted kids. Seven? Never even on my radar. But I couldn’t wait to be a mom! Like most young women, I’d dreamed and imagined what life might look like. When I got married just after college, I thought perhaps we’d have 4 little ones running around some day, and hopefully sooner rather than later. I was a teacher back then, and my husband was furthering his education. We decided to put children on hold until his schooling was done, and like most people, we thought we could plan it all out and control it. But God had something else planned for us. He knew we needed a control wake-up call.

When we started trying for children, no baby came. Month after month, waiting with hope turned to disappointment and frustration. Many months and many doctor visits later, we discovered that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), meaning that I didn’t ovulate regularly and would continue to have problems trying to get pregnant. We spent nearly 3 years trying, and then the doctor decided I needed a break from medications and procedures, a time to relax and reset. After a 3 month respite (and an anniversary vacation), we found out we were expecting our first little miracle baby! No medications. No doctor help. Just God.

And so came along our first beautiful baby girl. The moment she was born, I looked at my husband and proclaimed, “We have to do this again!!!!” In spite of his shock after watching me endure that natural delivery, he agreed that this baby thing was pretty incredible.

When she was about 6 months old, we started trying to get pregnant again, guessing that this would be a difficult process like the first time. After a year of trying, we revisited our doctor to try a newer ovulation medication, one that did NOT increase the chances of multiples. He explained to me that I was starting on such a low dosage that I probably wouldn’t ovulate at all that month. No worries. We’d just monitor how my body responded and go from there.

Imagine our huge surprise when I returned after that first “trial run” month, pregnant. Not with one, not two, but with THREE babies! Triplets. THREE. The doctors and nurses were actually apologetic. They couldn’t understand how it happened. The chances were less than one percent! This just didn’t happen with that medication, without in vitro. We told them we believed God had other plans. Again. And they needed to stop apologizing! For the next several weeks, we would look at each other with wide eyes and say, “THREE!” More miracles. We had prayed and prayed for children, and God had answered in a BIG way. Much different than we’d expected.

So came along the triplets, three more beautiful baby girls. They were a blessing, and yes, they were a challenge. Three babies and a toddler were a lot to handle. I decided to stop teaching and stay home to take care of these precious gifts.

Over time, they developed some eczema, and I tried everything under the sun to help them. After much research, I came across natural soap and wanted to try making it. Thus began another unexpected journey! I made my first batch of simple soap in 2011, started connecting with other soap makers and learning as much as I possibly could, and then I started a blog one random day so that I could communicate with the soapmaking world a bit more easily.

Here’s what I said when I started this blog as Four Messy Babies in 2012:
OK. So I don’t actually have four babies… I have three toddlers and a preschooler. Yes, three toddlers. Triplets to be exact! And all of them are girls! And my preschooler is a girl, too. My poor husband!

Fast forward a year and a half after the triplets were born, and imagine my surprise when I discovered I was pregnant again! No medications. No doctors. Another miracle. The doctors had told us that it wouldn’t happen, and yet…God still had other plans.

The mid-2013 blog update:
My household now has FIVE messy babies!  Yep, you heard me right. F.I.V.E. And just as you probably already guessed, our newest addition is another girl! We are now five messy girls (plus mommy, so it’s actually six messy girls). The triplets are now into the terrible terrible twos! My oldest is now in kindergarten, and our precious littlest girl was born in January. Here’s the story of how we got to number five.

And then in 2015:
We’re now SIX messy babies!!! Our newest addition is………yep, you guessed it. A GIRL OF COURSE! Baby girl #6 was born in February, #5 is 2 years old now, the triplets are 4 years and in preschool, and our firstborn just turned 7 and is in first grade. Here’s our introduction of the newest messy baby!

Another addition in 2016:
Number SEVEN has arrived, and it’s a BOY! He made his long-awaited and late appearance in October. We now have 7 kids ages 8 and under! Take a peak at his preciousness at the bottom of this post.

Are we crazy???!!! Absolutely! But in the best possible way, I like to think! After struggling so much to get the first 4 babies, we realized that we were certainly not in control. God takes care of us, and He has plans for us beyond our wildest imaginations or dreams.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says,

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

We decided to let go of our plans and see where He would take us.

We are thankful. And, yes, we are busy. And messy. Even chaotic sometimes. And we are blessed.

I have a sign in my home that says, “If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart.” Yep.

As you can imagine, life gets pretty messy around here! I’m one busy mama chasing, cleaning, feeding, cleaning, changing diapers, cleaning, playing, cleaning, chasing, cleaning… You get the picture, right?!

I first started this blog simply because I wanted to communicate with other soap makers, but it’s turned into more than that. I love to talk about our family, all of our messes, and my adventures with crafting, cooking, and soaping, of course!

I decided to start making soap for many reasons:
1. I am constantly cleaning hands, faces, baby bottoms, etc. So why not use a safer, all-natural product that I made?
2. We use cloth diapers, and “cloth-safe” detergent is expensive! Why not find a way to make my own that’s inexpensive and just as good or better? But my girls reacted to the other bar soaps out there commonly used in homemade laundry detergents.  So I needed to find a way to make my own better soap!
3. My kids have rather sensitive skin (as evidenced by the detergent reaction mentioned above), and three of them have a bit of eczema. Isn’t there a gentler soap that could help? Yes!
4. I need a creative outlet! All I do is chase after kids (and clean), so when I came across this whole new world of soaping, I was thrilled! Total creativity in every batch AND no kids allowed!

My husband’s response upon seeing my first batch of soap: “Congratulations! You’ve just stepped back in time 200 years!” He has a point. But this endeavor is so much more than just making soap for soap’s sake. It’s about creating beautiful, delectable, artistic masterpieces that help me to have a little escape when I’m showering or doing laundry or wiping baby tushies.  And it’s about using my own two hands to create something utterly useful.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 tells us “to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
Here’s hoping that I can do just that and make my world (and maybe yours too) a little cleaner in the process!

So when do I have time to make soap? The answer is simple: I make  time (during naps or after the kids go to bed) because I need to keep my sanity! It’s fun to create, and it helps me to “get away” for a little while.

How do I do it all?!?! Another simple answer: I don’t.

I do what I can, when I can. I try to enjoy what I do and give thanks. We laugh. I ask for help when I need it. I pray often. I’m learning to embrace change (because we all know that a baby changes everything). My husband is INCREDIBLE. And we all forgive often and love deeply.

I distinctly remember a time during the triplet pregnancy when I was scared to death, worried about what the future held, crying out to God for help. I felt His answer deep in my heart, His presence beside me, His loving arm wrapped around my shoulders. His response went something like this. “Katy, you had no idea that you’d have triplets. But I did. I made you for this. I designed your body to carry these babies. I knew. And oh, the joy I have in store for you.”

Such joy.

So what’s next? Well…….

Number EIGHT arrived in 2018.

Are you shaking your head in disbelief?

So am I!

And laughing?

Me too!

Who would have ever imagined….eight? Eight.

Another beautiful baby girl. If you’re tallying, that’s 7 girls and 1 boy, ages 10 years to newborn. WHOA!

Our eight messy babies are living proof that God still works and moves. Amen and amen.