Can you describe your current family dynamics? So my current family dynamics is different then most. I am a stay at home but I also run my own business from home. I run a skincare business called Rodan+Fields in the cracks of my life which has been amazing because it allows me to help others and push myself as a business owner.

However, the biggest challenge and adjustment for our family has been my husbands new job as a power lineman. About 4 years ago we started the journey of my husband becoming a power lineman, which has lead to 6 months of him living in Idaho full time and for the past 2.5 years he lives in another town 5-6 days of the week. It has been the greatest reward for my husband professionally and personally but it has also been the biggest adjustment for our family.

What was your road to motherhood like? Did it take a while to get pregnant or did you get pregnant quickly? My road to motherhood was quick and emotional. We were like most couples and thought we would get a dog first to see if we were ready to have a child and as soon as we got our amazing dog Bubba I found out we were pregnant! My pregnancy with my daughter was an emotional one for the first 3 months.

I went to my first doctor’s appointment at the 10 week mark and it was not as exciting as I had hoped. They lied me down on the bed and started doing the ultrasound and could not find the heartbeat… my heart sunk and I was so sad and felt alone. They informed me that if I did not miscarry the baby naturally within the week I would need to come back the following week and they would have to do it for me. To say that was the longest week of my life is an understatement. Every time I went to the bathroom or woke up in the morning I feared what I would find, but nothing happened.

So the following week I went back and the did another ultrasound because I wanted them to double check, and thank god Justin could come with me this time because when they hooked me up we heard a perfect ba bump ba bump!!! I couldn’t stop crying we were so excited! The next month flew by as the joys of all day sickness and nausea sunk in I couldn’t have been more excited about being pregnant. We went in for my next ultrasound appointment and that’s when things got interesting again and we learned we were having twins.

My world flipped upside down and immediate fear of OH MY GOD I can’t believe this is happening. We ran right home and told our families and immediately starting looking for names for two boys or two girls!!! We were so exited for this new adventure and couldn’t wait to watch these little monsters grow.

Our excitement again quickly came to an end when we went to one of our ultrasound appointments and were greeted with bad news again. The ultrasound technician could only find one heartbeat… I instantly lost it. I didn’t understand what was happening and started arguing and asking for someone else. She kept looking and trying to find it but Baby B was gone and we were left with the biggest hole again. It took me a couple of months to feel excited again about our pregnancy, but with the help of my husband, he helped me understand why this all happened and how lucky we were that we still had an amazing baby still growing.

6 months later we were greeted with a beautiful little girl who we named London! And she has been the greatest in my life to teach me what it means to live life by following your heart!

Our second pregnancy was a quick surprise! We were in the process of trying to sell our house and move to Idaho, where I would be a stay at home mom when a new job opportunity opened up here with PG&E and we decided to stay. But now we were pregnant and no longer moving and my husband was starting a new job where he would be gone all the time.

Our pregnancy with baby Romney #2 was easy. We grew like crazy and allowed me to keep working and enjoying my last year with just our little London. But as delivery day got closer we soon realized that my husband would not be able to be there. See he had just started his new apprenticeship with PG&E as a lineman, which meant no vacation and no time off so unless we had this baby on the weekend I would be flying solo.

I enlisted my amazing friend Lindsay to be my partner in crime, she was my pillar of strength and kept me calm. My amazing friend Symphoni came and captured every amazing moment so that Justin and I could relive the moment together when we saw him and my Mother, who I needed so badly to be my strength and be my MOM! Delivery day came and Justin was gone at school getting ready for some big tests so these amazing women helped me welcome our amazing little man Liam into the world! I could not have done it without them!!

 

How did you feel physically when pregnant the first time? What challenges came up? During my pregnancies I felt amazing. I continued to work my over full time job at Starbucks. Because of where I was at in my journey with Starbucks I felt like I couldn’t let my pregnancy change the way I did my job, because I was competing for the next manager position. So I just kept telling myself that if people in the 1800’s could truck it across the country and farm land being pregnant I could work on my feet and be pregnant. And to be honest I loved being pregnant, it was the most amazing experience that I would do over again!

 What coping methods did you use when you lost the twin? What helped you get through the loss? I didn’t really cope with it at first. To be honest I didn’t focus on it for awhile. I buried myself in my work and just went through the motions. It was until I felt London move that it all came rushing back and I felt the loss again. I ended up discovering yoga during my pregnancy and an amazing teacher named Andrea helped me focus on myself and finding ways to come to terms with what happened and with talking to my mom I learned how common miscarriages were and that it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t do anything wrong.

 How did you navigate through fear with the remainder of your pregnancy?  Fear is such a sneaky and persistent bugger. Fear of miscarriage has always been a huge fear of mine. So we decided to keep our pregnancy a secret for as long as we could the second time and I felt like it was time and everything was going to be ok.

Are you planning on more children? What is your favorite thing about where you are at with your kids right now? I would love to have another child but given our current lifestyle with my husband being gone so much we are happy with our two loves. My favorite part about my kids right now is that they are discovering who they are and how they belong in this world. They are figuring out what they love to do and I love getting to see it happen.

Kristy~ Thank you for sharing your story with us. You truly are amazing, managing so much while your husband is at work. Your children are some of the kindest we know!! You are a strong and inspiring Mama!