My man had testicular cancer and a vasectomy, but we still had 13 kids
“When Oliver finished his treatment and was given the all clear, I felt guilty for feeling heartbroken at the possibility of not being able to have children, when really I should have just been grateful that Oliver had recovered.”
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A husband and wife who were once told they might never have a baby have just had their 13th child.
The couple, from the UK, were dealt a devastating blow when husband Oliver was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
They froze sperm to use for IVF before he had one testicle removed and chemotherapy.
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But Natalie, 44, and Oliver, 45, never needed it, after they fell pregnant naturally time and time again.
Even after conceiving their 10th child and Oliver had a vasectomy, the super-fertile couple still managed to get pregnant three more times.
Stay-at-home mum Natalie Jackson said: “We’ve gone from thinking we would never have kids to having thirteen. I feel so lucky. I love my family and there are so many positives to having a big one, one being how much fun we have.”
But Natalie says she is often made to feel bad for choosing to have a large family: “I was out one day with the kids and a woman asked me if they were all mine.
"When I said yes, she looked disgusted and walked away. It’s frustrating because people don’t know me but feel it’s okay to judge me.”
She and husband Oliver have never used contraception and decided early on to leave conception down to fate.
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"I felt guilty for feeling heartbroken"
They first met in 2000 while both working in the RAF. When they tied the knot in Vegas in 2005, they thought they might never have children due to Oliver’s cancer diagnosis the year before.
The stage 3 testicular cancer had spread to his stomach and lungs and doctors told the couple their chances of conceiving were very low.
Natalie said: “It was a scary time and started with Oliver finding a lump on his testicle. We froze some of Oliver’s sperm before he started chemotherapy, because we were keen to try IVF.”
Oliver finished chemo in October 2004 and a test in the following April showed their chances of conceiving were extremely low.
“When I was younger, I never saw myself getting married. That all changed when I met Oliver. I imagined having four boys, so the cancer diagnosis and being told we may have no children was incredibly painful.
“When Oliver finished his treatment and was given the all clear, I felt guilty for feeling heartbroken at the possibility of not being able to have children, when really I should have just been grateful that Oliver had recovered.”
But the couple never needed IVF because just months later, in the September, Natalie’s period was late.
“I panicked, paranoid there was a problem with my fertility too. So when I saw the positive pregnancy test, I was gobsmacked.”
Aged 26, Natalie gave birth to their first child, Elliott. Seven months later, unbelievably, she fell pregnant again. The pair went on to have Casper, Rhett, and then a girl, Seren. But they didn’t stop at four.
“With Oliver surviving cancer, we felt incredibly fortunate to have what we had. So we left the rest to chance to see what happened.”
The family-of-15 love to go on days out and their large group are always given lots of attention.
“While we’re out, I always want the children to be on their best behaviour, because we get so many looks and comments anyway.
“We get all the usual comments including, ‘Don’t you have a TV?’ Oliver has been asked how many women his children are with, assuming there is more than one mother. The worst comments are mostly on social media, so deleting and blocking are required at times.
“My husband works hard in the RAF, pays a lot of tax and we don’t receive benefits. Our six eldest attend a military boarding school and we are raising our children to become productive members of society.
“The judgement does get to me, but as long as my family and I are happy, that’s all that truly matters.
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"We'd told them we definitely couldn't have any more!"
In 2011, Oliver’s job took the family to America when Natalie was 34 weeks pregnant with baby number five. They stayed until 2014, having babies six and seven there too.
The family returned to the UK where they had baby eight. Then had babies nine and ten in Florida. Two months before their tenth, Kit, was born, Oliver had a vasectomy in September 2018.
But to Natalie’s surprise, she fell pregnant for an 11th time in May 2020.
“We just couldn’t believe it. Oliver’s vasectomy had been confirmed as being successful at the beginning of 2019 and people asked him: ‘How do you know it’s yours?’
“The older kids were stunned too. We’d told them we definitely couldn’t have any more!
“But actually, we were quite relieved the vasectomy had reversed itself because afterwards, we’d regretted getting it done. We decided expanding our family was just meant to be.”
After their 11th child, the super-fertile husband and wife went on to have two more, Kiefer, one, and their youngest, Indy, 10 months old.
“I’m now 44 and I know Tana Ramsay has just had a baby at 49, but when Indy is 20, I’ll be 63. That’s quite hard to get my head around.
“Saying that, I’ve never torn giving birth or had a stitch. I have some saggy skin on my stomach and a few varicose veins, but that’s about it. I think my body is just good at having babies."
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"It's so easy to get completely overcome with stuff"
Natalie and Oliver met when they were both working in the RAF.
“I was working in air traffic at RAF Valley and Oliver was training to be a fast jet pilot. We met at a Christmas party in 2000 and I just had a good feeling with him.
''I liked his work ethic and his drive to be the best. He was also wearing a really terrible shirt, which started our conversation!”
Oliver joined the RAF as a pilot when he was 18 and is currently a qualified flying instructor (QFI) on the P8 (Poseidon) aircraft.
Natalie said: “We live in married quarters which is armed forces accommodation. We have been fortunate here to have a house big enough for us all.
“I desperately want to settle somewhere and buy a home that we can adjust to suit our family. However, all my life I have moved around. My father did 30 years in the Navy and then 13 years in the RAF.
“I have no idea where I want to settle - it needs to be somewhere that Oliver can fly.
“Our family is funded solely on Oliver’s wage. We earn over the £60k child benefit threshold and pay tax at a rate of 40%.
''We’ve noticed how prices have increased considerably, with fuel and groceries two of our biggest outgoings.
“We spend on average about £300 per month in fuel and around £250 per week in groceries when all the children are at home.
''I do most of my food shopping at Aldi and generally, branded items are a no-no. I meal-plan to save money and prevent waste.
“I’ve always used reusable nappies and wipes, and the younger children wear a lot of new and preloved Scandi brands.
''We have lots of hand-me-downs as we buy quality items that we look after, so they last. I also sell items we’ve finished with.
“My biggest tip for big families is not to hoard. It’s so easy to get completely overcome with stuff.
''Luckily, I’m very good at clearing out, and the constant moving helps. The only thing that I can’t get rid of is books. We own about 2,500, mostly children’s.
“We drive a 15-seater Ford minibus, which doesn’t leave us any additional seats for new family members, though Elliott is 17 and learning to drive. We also own a seven-seater car."
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"It's extra special when we're all at home together"
Now, with the six eldest children at boarding school, Natalie can’t wait for their return.
“I’m looking forward to the big kids coming home in December - and so are the little ones, who are counting down the sleeps.
''It’s great being at home with the seven younger children, but it’s extra special when we’re all at home together.
“This Christmas, I’ll hang all 13 stockings above our fireplace, and we’ll sit around our big table for lunch - no turkey, just a couple of large chickens!
“My family will visit, and we always eat Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve to leave the big day for family time.
“On Christmas morning the children take it in turns to open presents so the rest of us can watch and take it all in.
''If we had them all unwrapping at once, we would miss their reactions.”
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"The best part? We're never lonely"
With Oliver working away a lot, Natalie is used to looking after the children without him.
“I love having a big family but having 13 children isn’t easy. Oliver works away a lot, so it’s left to me and sometimes I’m up all night with the youngest.
“But when Oliver gets through the door, he goes straight into ‘dad mode’. We work so well together. Our dynamic just wouldn’t work if we weren’t a team.
“The best part? We’re never lonely. With so many of us, there’s always others to play with and someone to have your back.’
Oliver Jackson said: “As a father of 13, I feel extremely lucky, grateful, and exhausted in equal measures!
''I feel very proud of the children and while I don’t want to wish time away, watching them grow and start to think of careers and what they want from life is exciting.
“I have utter respect for all that Natalie has endured, if that’s the right word, in giving us our family.
''To grow 13 children takes a very strong person. Her ability to plan and carry out everyday tasks, family events and holidays for a family of 15 still amazes me.
''People always laugh when I say I go to work for a rest.
“Natalie is what holds our family together. Our family works because of her and I will always be grateful for all she has given me.”
This article was originally published on The Sun and reproduced here with permission.
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