‘WE HAD SEVEN BOYS & FINALLY TWO GIRLS!’
After seven sons, this NSW mum decided to take matters into her own hands
There was a time when the Snowy Mountains home of Jodi Mcmahon was a male domain. With six boisterous boys and her then-husband Andrew running around the lush Tumut property, it was little wonder proud Mum, Jodi, was feeling somewhat outnumbered.
“The desire for a little girl was pretty acute,” she told Woman’s Day. “We tried all the old wives’ tales… different positions, high-calcium diets, decaf coffee… We don’t smoke or drink, so in theory we should have had all girls!”
While Jodi was pregnant with the couple’s seventh son Cody (an earlier boy, Riley, sadly died in infancy) she started to ask about choosing her baby’s sex via IVF gender selection. “But just as we were looking into it, it was banned in Australia. I was completely gutted.”
The Mcmahons turned to US experts for the controversial technique that screens out male sperm and boosts the 50-50 chances of having a girl to 90 per cent probability. Then Jodi and Andrew’s dreams came true with the triumphant arrival of daughter Addison.
A year later, Jodi opted to try to give her a sister. “I had one more frozen egg in the US, and this little one, Evie, is a bonus,” she says, beaming.
Jodi and Andrew have since separated and the four oldest children have grown up and left home. Both girls are at school.
“Luke, 24, owns a gym, Ayden, 21, does gym work in Sydney, Josh is 19 and in the army, Billy is 17 doing an apprenticeship – they’re all out of home,” says Jodi. “Cody is 13 and in year seven, Declan’s nine and in year three. Addison is seven and in year one and Evie is six and in kindy.”
Jodi runs a dog grooming business and says only having four children at home seems easy after looking after nine!
As for having any more, she says “absolutely not!” and she’s quite happy to wait a while before becoming a grandparent.
“I’m 45 so it’s a bit soon for that!” She says having a large family has been a joy though – and her two girls are the icing on the cake.
“They’re very close,” she says. “Addison is very girly, while Evie is a complete tomboy. All the kids are close, actually. I’m very lucky,” she says.