I'm a mum of 6 AMA

[Ellomo]

Not sure if anyone would be interested but if anyone is feel free to ask i have 6 children, ages ranging from 15 to 1

What kind of meals do you have? Who cooks and cleans? Any fussy eaters?

Do you wee when you sneeze?
I deffiently have done in the past
Do you hope your kids will all go to uni? Do you worry about the financial side of this? Does having 6 kids give you financial anxiety?
I'd like them to go if they want to, I'd never stop them even if money may be a bit of a problem. It's not something I've worried about massively yet but will probably be on my mind more soon as my eldest is only a a few years off going. I do worry about money but we don't struggle too much to be fair, we struggled more when we only had 2. I've also learnt to budget quite well making things easier
when did you last have a weekend lie in.
I slept in till 9 on mothers day which was a nice present, probably won't happen again for a long time

As loaded a question as this is, did you plan to have six children and are any of them twins?

How did you deliver them? Were they mostly VBs? I only ask as I’m headed for my third and I’m trying to avoid a CS as I don’t want to have a horrible CS with #4 like I did with #2.

I have 5 and don’t wee when I sneeze . What a strange question.

Do you get invited round to other people’s houses a lot?

Do the older children have to look after the younger ones?
They don't have to but they choose to sometimes
How do all your children get on academically?
They're all quite different to each other, I have one with dyslexia who really struggles academically whilst the others get on quite well with school, they have subjects they're better and worse at but they're hard working most the time

What do you think are the best points of having a larger family and what are the most difficult things?
Difficult things would be it's hard to find something to do that everyone is happy with. There's also a limit on the amount of attention they get, I make sure to give them attention of course but they're obviously still going to receive a lot less than a child in a smaller family along with there being less space. We're never on time anywhere. The best points would be that there's always something to do for both me and the DC, i rarely here "mum I'm bored" because they're always playing with each other. Whilst they do argue sometimes they've formed a very close bond and it's good to know they'll always have eachother even after DH and I aren't around anymore.
How do you transport them all? Do you have some sort of mini van?
I drive a citroen spacetourer which is an 8 seater
How do you feel your children's experience compares to their peers? Do you feel your older children have extra responsibility?
I don't think their experience will differ massively, perhaps peers with less siblings may have more one on one time with their parents and a quieter house. Then with the age gap between my older ones and younger ones, not everyone has the memory of meeting their sibling for the first time. I think my older children have learnt responsibility from helping care for the younger ones but It's not something I expect from them

Was your first an ok sleeper? This seems to influence if/when some ppl have more children

DH was one of 7 and as a middle child felt that he was "forgotten" a bit because he was reserved and well behaved. Do you feel that you give equal attention to all 6 regardless of how they present?

How old are you?
I'm 38
Do you plan on having more children?
I would like one more if we move to a bigger house but I'm not sure that's going to happen anytime soon and I'm only getting older
How many boys & girls do you have?
3 girls and 3 boys
What kind of meals do you have? Who cooks and cleans? Any fussy eaters?
I do most the cooking, cleaning is more shared out between the two of us. We have a lot of foods that I can make lots of and then share out like pastas and curries. My second youngest is very fussy but I think it's mostly thinking she won't like it because she refuses to even try a lot of things but when she does she often likes it

Currently expecting dc5

Any words of wisdom to pass on?

What are their ages?
Any twins, triplets?

Do you have a job as well.?

Hey. I'm pregnant with my fifth and considering having a sixth (if this baby sleeps) because this is the first with my husband and he's awesome and I love having children

Do you get morning sickness? Mine is horrendous, and was the worst with this baby. It seems to be worse when I have a girl and this is my fourth girl! I'm really scared of it impacting my children again.

Is it scary driving/parking the minivan? I've got a 7 seater and was scared of that but it's been fine tbf, although I don't always like parking in it.

How much money are you on?

How are the children distributed between bedrooms?

I will not be having a sixth! My body is in bits!

Have you had any issues with spd op?

did youplanto have six children and are any of them twins?
I didn't specifically plan to have 6 but all of them were planned beforehand. I have a set of twins in the middle
How did you deliver them? Were they mostly VBs?
I had one emergency c section and the rest were all quite positive VBs
Do you get invited round to other people’s houses a lot?
Not loads but sometimes, I'd say I have people over more often than we're invited
Was your first an ok sleeper?
She was actually probably the worst, i don't think she knew how to sleep for the first 6 years
Do you feel that you give equal attention to all 6 regardless of how they present?
I do try to, there's probably times it's not completely equal

How do you afford to have that many children?

@IVEgottheDECAF how is your body "in bits"? Genuine question btw!

Do you work?

Do you receive benefits or does your DH work to support you all?

Birthdaykake I am currently nearing 20 weeks and have been in agony with spd since week 9. Each pregnancy it has started earlier and been more severe. My teeth have also gotten worse with each pregnancy and i have already broken a tooth this time around.

I feel you @ivegotthedecaf

We are planning on having number 4 in two years and I’m 33 weeks with number 3. Holy shit has each pregnancy been tougher than the last which means unless I become an Olympic powerhouse my next pregnancy when I’m 40 in 2021 (god willing) will destroy me.

@IVEgottheDECAF ah ok, that's completely understandable! One of my best friends has stopped at 3 as she gets horrendous SPD. Hope you're ok xx

Honestly paul i have days i wonder wtf i was thinking, my mw tells me my body is amazing having so many healthy pregnancies without complications. I do not feel fucking amazing.

How do you budget for Christmas?

Do you have a TV?
Tongue firmly in cheek.

I too am interested in your finances. I am seven weeks pg. with number 2. I have a frozen embryo I would like to try with after this one, but I just can not see how it will work financially.
The only people I know with large families like yours were given large sums of money/houses from relatives at some point. Were you?