After years of fertility struggles, Kate Hall was prepared for the possibility that her daughter Orchard might be her only chance at motherhood. So after discovering she was pregnant again when Orchard was just nine months old, the news was both a dream come true and a huge surprise.
“I had been preparing myself mentally like, ‘You may just have one child and not the multiple children that you always wanted,’” says Kate, 29.
The sustainability influencer, known online to thousands as Ethically Kate, and her husband, Tim, 36, had always hoped to give Orchard a sibling with a small age gap. But it felt uncertain after their difficult road to becoming parents, including a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy and Kate having one of her fallopian tubes removed.
Kate had experienced only one period since Orchard’s birth, and was still breast-feeding when she noticed changes on the wearable basal body temperature monitor she uses to track her cycle and ovulation.
“It’s hard to say we were trying because I didn’t have my cycle back yet, but we were secretly hoping,” explains Kate.
A cautious joy
While she and Tim were delighted by a positive pregnancy test, previous losses meant there was trepidation too.
“You fall pregnant and you’re not saying, ‘We’re going to have a baby in nine months.’ You’re saying, ‘Today I’m pregnant and I’m grateful for that,’” she says.
Although, she adds, as she cared for busy, book-loving 15-month-old Orchard, she felt reassured knowing her body had successfully grown and birthed a baby before.
“It definitely healed a lot of the angst and anxiety I had when pregnant with Orchard because I’d only had losses at that time.”
Life is also much busier with a toddler to keep up with. Orchard took her first steps at just eight months and has been on the move ever since, preferring sticks, puddles and household objects to almost anything in the toy box.
The power of their village
Beaming as she talks about motherhood, Kate tells the Woman’s Weekly she’s most grateful for their village of extended family. Her mum Nicky looks after Orchard two days a week and Tim’s mum Joanne has her one day a week.
“It’s totally changed my experience of motherhood because I get to enjoy it a lot more,” smiles Kate, adding that grandads Bryce and Matt are a great help too.
“I love the opportunity to miss Orchard and I get excited driving to pick her up.”
That support has also given Kate space to continue working, exercising and making time for things that make her feel like herself.
“It is often about taking the chance to have a nap rather than clean my house,” she shares unapologetically.
Going with the flow
It’s all part of a broader understanding of sustainability – not just caring for the planet, but creating a life she can happily sustain too. Baby Squid, the nickname they lovingly use for their second child, is due in November and the couple has again decided not to find out the baby’s sex.
“We loved having that surprise at Orchard’s birth,” she smiles.
Talking about how parenting has changed her, Kate readily admits she is naturally someone who likes plans, structure and knowing exactly what’s coming next. But with her daughter, she has found herself letting go far more easily than expected.
“I was intentionally like, ‘I’m just going to go with the flow, be present and not even try for that structure because I’m just going to let myself down.’ So I guess I surprised myself that I was actually able to do it,” she smiles.
Cretaing their ubran homestead
This new, easy-going attitude has come in handy as Kate and Tim renovate their Hibiscus Coast home, transforming the 476-square-metre section into an urban homestead covered with fruit trees, vegetables and a few chickens.
“We have some really cool projects already in the works and it’s really lovely to be back in our home,” says Kate, who before this year spent three years house-sitting full-time.
“When I was pregnant with Orchard, and we were travelling and house sitting, I couldn’t really fulfil my nesting needs, so it’s nice to be in one place for this pregnancy.”
Ready for baby number two
Looking ahead, Kate is excited to be in the newborn stage again, this time armed with a year’s worth of practical knowledge and a little more confidence. And while two babies so close in age will undoubtedly bring their share of noise and mess, Kate can’t wait.
“I’m really looking forward to having two babies in my arms and watching Orchard’s interactions with Squid, and all that good chaos.”
To keep up with Kate’s urban homesteading project, visit instagram.com/ethicallykate
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