I have five children AMA

[JacintaJones]

Ask me anything 😊

How many hours sleep do you get each night?

About 6.5-7 on average.
Bed at midnight up at 6.30 or thereabouts.

Perhaps 10 one night a week when OH leaves me to lie in.

Do they all have the same father?

Did you consider the environmental impact re:overpopulation before having 5 children and if not do you think you might have had less had you been aware of it?

Oops. That's meant to be a colon and not a grinning face!

What ages are they?

Interested in this thread as I also have 5 children !

Two are my ex husband's.
Three are my partner's.

No tbh I didn't consider the environmental impact, no I don't think I would have given it a second thought had it occured to me.

Why do you have so many children?

What do you think of smaller families?

Did you come from a large family yourself?

12, 9.5, 6, 4.5 and 19 months.

I'm scared of going from 1 DC to 2 DC what would you say you found the hardest transition? E.g 1 to 2, 2 to 3

did you always want a big family?

I didn't think five was very many until I joined MN.

I'm an only child.

I don't think anything much of smaller families. Different family sizes have their positives and negatives I suppose.

How do you actually manage 5 kids? I've two, one with special needs so having two kids totally dependent for all their care needs is HARD, how do you manage 5?!

I take my hat off to you, can't work how anyone would have the patience for more than two!

Do you work? How do you afford to have 5 children? I find two expensive...

Why does the environmental impact not bother you?

Do you every wish you had concentrated your resources on fewer children? Not necessarily wishing your children away, just thinking that DC1 could do XYZ if you weren't paying for DC5's nappies etc.

Four to five was hardest, but 5 was unplanned. 😁

I always wanted three or four but more than happy with our bonus baby.

Do you find general things hard to do like holiday etc? I'd love a big family I just worry about things like eating out/getting anywhere... also do you work? If so how do you get anything done! I have 1 and the constant housework drives me insane x

Do you have a car big enough to comfortably fit your whole family in?

Yes I work full time.
I have a career and work freelance in my spare time.
OH is a sahp.

I'm hoping to TTC my fifth after I get married in August. It would be my first with my new husband.

People can't imagine it but it's gradual. It's not as if you just wake up one morning with several children haha

Do you think you’ll have any more children ?

What have been the biggest “sibling rivals”? Like, do say DC2 and DC4 fight like cat and dog but DC2 gets on famously with DC3 if you see what I mean?

What car do you drive?

Do you think only children miss out on the “pack” aspect of having siblings and maybe that is why you’ve had so many children?

(I’m an only and I want four, thought I was pg this month and devastated when AF came and DC2 is only 9 minths)

How much individual attention does each child get? How much ‘me time’ do you get?