I’m a big family mummy

[Devonmum2022]

So whist talking to a random mum at soft play she was surprised at our “big family” 9 children (full time custody of 3 step children) l. Never thought of us as a big family lol but ask away

How do u manage? How is possible to to give 9 people your attention. I am genuinely curious as I find three very difficult and do struggle with guilt that I can’t give them a lot of attention

Op, how many bedrooms in yout home?

@JanisMoplin yes it does. She obviously had another 2 after she took on the step children. I was repeating what OP said upthread.

I simply can't fathom why. Or how anyone pays for this in the current climate.

Feeling faint at the thought of 9 sets of A levels!

you say you give all children individual attention each day . How? If your working how do you fit time in with dinners , homework, baths, housework etc ?
I have two , work part time ( term time only ) and between the children’s activities and all I mentioned above , I don’t think I give daily individual attention- apart from bedtime

I wanted to ask the same basically. I would love to know roughly what your schedule is like in a day

So this is 9 kids across 4 parents (unless the other mother and the 2 dads have other kids of course), not bad when you look at it like that really. But of course the woman gets all the flack hey! OP, OP’s husband, his ex-wife and presumably the 4 kids OP had before she married her husband have a father.

OP I am interested in your organisation systems and bedrooms too!

I'm sorry I'm actually pissning myself laughing at the comments containing 'better for the planet' give over and take a day off

Well done to you and your partner standing up and taking responsibility for your stepchildren not many do 👏👏👏

Honestly, MN is literally the only place I know where having wains and the environment are spoken about in the same breath.
Back in the real world people are thinking about the tear in the paddling pool, the dried cat vomit on the stair carpet and Celebrity Masterchef.

Frankly 4 is a pretty large family even before the 3 stepchildren and 2 further children

It’s really not.

What's your annual gas and electricity usage?

God, yeah. Imagine thinking about things other than reality telly, eh? Fucking weirdos.

Have your children missed out on play dates, and extra curricular activities for the sake of more siblings?

What's your daily schedule like?

Do you work and self fund the cost of having so many children?

I hope your little one is doing well, OP.

9 kids is my idea of utter hell but hats off to you for taking in the stepkids.

Yes then they had 1 more and one unexpected birth when she didn't know she was pregnant!!

But I agree with OP that having 4 (looks like 2 were twins) then gaining 3 more another one wouldn't seem like a lot more. The surprise was probably fun to fit it?!!!!

So you struggle to find days out as a family OP? I know the baby most likely just fits at their age but it must be hard entertaining 15-17yo and a 3 yo at the same events?

I imagine the 8-12 yo would all enjoy the same sort of things?

Yes they would've of course

Me too, I have 1 and feel like I’m juggling everything that needs to be done. 9 kids would probably kill me. How on earth do you give them one to one time? One seems incredibly expensive how do you manage? Are you extremely well organised?

Two 12 year olds- are they twins or half siblings?

@Lindy2 she said on the first page they both work.

When's his vasectomy booked for?

What would you consider a big family

How many big families do you know

If everyone in 'the real world' really thinks ... dried cat vomit? ... is more important than the environment, then that is probably the exact reason we are all fucked.

Apologies to all of our offspring.

Enjoy the heatwave, everyone. Gosh, it is hot, isn't it?

In the real world it is 40 degrees in London and children are drowning in floods across the world.