Anyone out there with 5+ kids??

[OhmygoshREALLY]

This board seems to be mostly people asking about a third child and even a few asking about second, neither of which constitutes a particularly large family IMO! Anyone about who actually has a load of kids? Don’t get me wrong I know 2/3 has its own challenges but they’re not the same challenges as lots of kids!

hi I'm a mummy of 6 xx

I have 5 aged between 17 and 9.

I have 5 between 22 and 2.

I have 2 step children that live with us 60% and 3 biological children!
we are going to have another aswell. What’s 6 when you already have 5 haha

I have 4 but want 1 more. Mine are 15, 14, 10 and 6mo I feel like I need one more so baby will have a similar aged sibling. I am 43 this year though so time is definitely ticking.

@Dinosaurdrip mine are 22. 13 and 12, and then 4 and 2. So I've done tots and teen combination twice over. I'm definitely glad I had number 5, she arrived a few weeks before my 42nd birthday.

i have 9. Aged between 22 and 2yrs 9 months.

I had my first at 25 and 9th just before i was 45.

@urghhh47 NINE 😱😱 you’re very brave! And presumably also very knackered 😅
Nice to hear from some others with actual larger families. @Flowers94 v similar situation to you - I have 3DC (go to their dad EOW so 4 nights a month), 2 SDC (have SS 100% and SD 50/50) and also having another all being well (early days of pregnancy and history of mc so not counting on it just yet) so will also be at 6! First one for me and DP together though. How are the dynamics in your house? We’ve been v lucky with blending, relatively stress free but it’s still a constant juggle and much more complicated dynamics than if they were all our own shared kids. Are your 3 from DSC’s dad or previous?

I have 4 and I’m often told it’s an insane amount, I’ve had some very nasty comments on a MN that I often avoid mentioning it on here or feel like saying I have 3 as that seems the “acceptable” cut off point I think maybe why people with 3 comment on here is because of what I’ve just said that anyone with more than 2 is considered to have loads of kids by MN standards.

@BananaSlug yep I think you’re right, 3 seems to be considered a massive family on MN, although considering there are loads of people with 3, it is in fact a perfectly normal number of children to have 🤷‍♀️

Ive honestly had so much shitty comments about it on here and by MN Standards 3 is a lot but like you say I know loads of people irl with 3 children it’s not unusual but over 2 children is a “large family” on MN. I think it’s just a weird MN thing!

Three or four is not loads of kids? 7 plus I would say is loads

I have 5-15, 14 next week, 8, 5 and 2.
Lots of people where I live(social housing estate with big houses) have at least 4. Lost count on number 1 but its gotta be at least 7. Swear she had 4 with her ex and now 3 with her current partner. I know quite a lot of people with 4 or more children...

@BananaSlug mad isn’t it, there’s a lot of judgment on here! We get comments sometimes when we’re all out and about together (all ours look pretty similar so mistaken for full siblings a lot) but never anything particularly negative, mostly people just curious.
@Jas5mum location must have a fair bit to do with it - I know a couple of others with 5 but it’s definitely not the norm round here!

I have six. I think 4 kids is a very average and not really a large family (though larger for this day and age). 5+ is the start of a large family.

I envy your tolerance! 3 kids was definitely enough for us even though I had considered 4!

How does your mental health, and your finances, support it??

I have 5 + 1 SC.
Ten years between eldest and youngest. We lost my 2nd DC age 20. They're all adults now. Youngest moved out this year so I'm going through a strange period of adjustment to put it mildly. There have been REALLY hard times in the teen/early adult years but they're all thriving now.. Touch wood
I do remember the years and years of sleepless nights, lipstick drawings on the carpet, 45 million after school activities and constant, relentless laundry.
Solidarity to those of you still in the trenches.

I had 2 in my 20s, 2 in my 30s, and 2 in my 40s. One husband 🙃
Their current ages are 36, 34, 31, 29, 23, and 18 (19 in November.)
Oldest 4 are married, 23 year old nearly engaged, 18 year old has Down Syndrome and is developmentally much younger but cherished by all, including her siblings-in-law.
8 grandchildren ages 7 and under.
My life in a (rather large) nutshell!

Mum of 6 here. And I have bang on, 3 girls and 3 boys. How lucky am I!
Eldest is 15, then 10, 7, 5, 2 and 7mo.
Its great. I love it. We work hard and love them all and I would consider a 7. But that's my maximum as baby number 6 was an emergency c section and put me off after having anymore.
Everyone else was natural but this last boy born this year was hard work, and I actually was going to stop there but after you get over the recovery period, which is hideous, I am enjoying him and looking after him and feeding him, that I am like hmm, he is so cute, maybe one more hahaha.
I'm mid 30s so still do have the opportunity. God willing. My husband would go for 10, if he could !

I get lots of the typical comments and questions when we are out.
'Are they all yours?'
'You've been busy?'
'You've got your hands full?'
'Are you going to have more?

'Do you own a TV?' Basically yesterday in the supermarket a lady was implying in front of all the kids and loads of others behind us in the queue, I don't own a TV so my husband and I constantly have sex to pass the time as we can't watch the news and then ended up with 6 kids

And told I'm mad. Like all the bloody time.

Some people even ask me outright in front of the kids, how do you find the time to have sex/make more? Wait for it, in the school playground!
Told I don't care about the environment / global warming.

Told I cant possibly give them all love and attention..

Asked how do I work/clean/feed them all.

Then there are people who compliment us by saying you have 6 kids and you're always smiling and happy. Wow, you're doing well. They're all lovely and well behaved.

I only have four, between 7 yrs and 1 yr, and I came on this board expecting to find people saying four children isn’t really a big family. I’ve found the opposite, most people here are asking about adding a third. I’m nervous about admitting how many I’ve got or how hard it is because I know I’ll just get, “you brought it on yourself” or “you should have thought of that before you had four children”. Yes I KNOW that, thank you so much. 😂

I have 5 between 6-21 years old.

I’m 31 with 5 ages 3, 4 7,8 10 and 15 year old step daughter.

this summer holiday is killing me 😂😂

Definitely

11 dc here. 4 still at home.
Youngest is 8.