I'm a mum of 5. Boy,girls,teens and toddlers AMA

[uhtredsonofuhtred]

AMA

Why would I ask you something? It's not that unusual to have five kids

My friend has 5. Oldest 14 youngest almost 2. Her oldest daughter tends to play with the younger ones or bathe them if my friend is bogged down. Do your older ones help you with the younger ones?

I only have 2 and they sometimes fight like cat and dog. How do you cope with 5 fighting with each other?

@hannah1992 yes my older ones help me out lots,not because their made too just because they love their younger siblings and their kind a caring.

The fighting between the older 3 drives me nuts  but I'm hoping they will be as close as I am to my sibling when they get old enough to appreciate each other lol

The younger two are only 4 and 2 so don't really fight instead their extremely close and best friends which is a blessing 

@waterplease some people are interested in the difference in dynamics with older and younger children

How old were you when you had your youngest?

I like the idea of a larger age gap but think I might be a bit old to wait years and years

@PleaseLetMummySleep 33 when I had my youngest

Ah you must have started quite young then! I'm probably too old for a big gap, which is a shame as I like the idea of it, but I suppose I was able to enjoy my 20s child free so it's just a case of not being able to have everything.

It's lovely to hear your older ones enjoy doing some caring for the younger ones - great life experience for them.

@PleaseLetMummySleep yes I was 17.

I'm very fortunate to have them their good kids, and I hope they grow up together still as close 

@uhtredsonofuhtred my mum had 5 and now raising 3 GC, I speak to 1 sibling now... such a shame tbh.

@HJWT my mums one of 8 and only talks to 5 of her siblings it is a shame

You say in your OP that you're the mum of a boy (singular) and girls. Do you only have one boy? If so, how does he feel about having 4 sisters? Does he feel left out?

How much do you spend on wine/gin monthly? only kidding.

How/when/where do you carve out “me time” and what do you do to unwind?

@WaterBird yes one boy he's 16, he's at that age where he's out a lot with his friends or in his room so they don't really affect him, he was quite gutted that the last two was "more girls" lol but he adores them, regularly leaves he's room to come play with them wether it's playing Barbies or watching moana with them. It's quite sweet 

@DowntonCrabby haha you've just reminded me to text dh to tell him to grab me a bottle of wine on his way home from the gym  thank god it's Friday cheers 

enjoy!

What ages did you have them all?

@erja 17,18,20,29 and 32

@uhtredsonofuhtred how did you cope with 3 by 20? (As a general question as I'm completely impressed with you!) did you have your own home, work etc? Or did you wait until they were a bit older?

@erja it was hard,but I think being young helped me,I had lots of energy, I struggle now being older 🙈
I had my own home, but didn't work until the 3rd one was 5

You seem to have three, then a big gap, then 2?

Did you think you were done after the first 3? What convinced you to “start again”? Was it hard going back to buggies and babywipes?

Do you feel “done” now?

Is the financial aspect a struggle?

@Mumoftwoyoungkids yes that's right, I didn't think I'd have anymore after my divorce and then 7 years later I met my new husband (he doesn't have any other children) and he wanted kids and I knew I wanted them with him. I'm torn about wether i want one more or not so can't say if I feel done right now

@erja birthdays and xmas can be a bit of a struggle but otherwise it's fine