Moms of 5

[Ourbabies18]

I am contemplating adding a 5th addition to our family, my eldest is nearly 8 and youngest is 11 months.. am i crazy?? How hard is it?? Should i stop at 4?? Hellllllppppp

Number 11 is 4 so maybe don't ask me!!??

11 kids?
Omg u brave lady haha cN i ask how u found 5 and how old your eldest/youngest were?
Im due to go back to work next month but desperately want another but a) dont want to take the piss and b) i kno family will be disapointed but i cant stop thinking about it

I have four and that’s enough for me. I really like even numbers and I also have two boys, two girls so very even all round . I knew DC4 would be my last during the pregnancy so really made the most of every moment. Four is a nice round number imo.

I have 2 boys and 2 girls too, we had planned for hibby to have snip but life got in the way and now were discussing another 🙈🤭 i an slightly addicted to labour pain and those beautiful 1st moments 🥰

Can you give enough time to your existing kids? Can you afford another?

I grew up as one of five and it was hard. It's lovely now we're adults but I'm not sure any of us have reached our potential as we just didn't get the nurturing and support we needed. There wasn't enough parent to go around!

I've no ill feelings towards my parents at all, they tried their best, but no way would I choose to have 5 kids myself.

Were not struggling financially and have about £500 left over a month at mo,
Eldest two r in school and have after school clubs which they love, i only work 2 days a week, 3rd is starting nursery school sept youngest is nearly 1...
My mom is 1 of 5 and she says the same as u... my kids have never expressed these feelings as of yet... i think it would b hard for forst year but i love the idea that the gaps r snall wnough for then all to grow together and go through stages at similar times etc
5 would b my absolute limit though im jus so confused but really want one more but also like u said dont want to b selfish

Dc were 11 down to 4 when dc 5 was born, at nursery and a couple of months off ft school so was a doddle tbh!!

U staying at 5? X

Ignore me u hav 11 dont u 🙈 is that hard?? Lol

my kids have never expressed these feelings as of yet...

That's because they don't know any differently. To any child, in any circumstances, their circumstances are "normal" - even if the circumstances are less than ideal.

I have four and I'm sticking at that.
A part of me would love a fifth but my fourth is starting school in September and one thing I've noticed is it's very hard to fit in all the homework, reading and after school activities.
If I had another baby I would find it impossible to give the ones I've got the time they need.
As they get older it definitely gets busier!
That's just me though, everyone has a different cut off point.

Does that mean 5 will b ok as will always b normal for them
Or stick at 4?

Thats y i was thinking of having the 5th sooner rather than later so that once theyr all at school i wont need to go back into any baby stage and can focus all my time splitting it between them- i could then dedicate 1 night each week to each of them plus weekend time ...

It's your call op but at the moment my y3 daughter has three pieces of home work a week, reading every night, spellings and times tables. She also does IDL, SpellingShed and the rockstars online.
My reception son has reading every night, comprehension, and spellings. (This will all ramp up in year one)
Next child starts in September.
Eldest has about an hour and a half of homework a night which I often read or she needs help with.
They have swimming and jujitsu. Dd has recorder lessons and is about to start drama after school.
Dd1 is choosing options and needs support and time to talk as she is bag of hormones.
Dd2 goes to a tutor once a week (help with visual processing disorder)
Let's not even start with all the parents evenings, curriculum evenings, holy communion preparation.....

I thought it would be easier as they got older and in some ways it is but life becomes a lot lot busier!!

6 was much better than 5!! A year between those 2!!

My eldest is in y3 and prepping for communion too... they get 1 piece of homework a week and they have rockstars n hit the button but not a neccesity, 2nd is in yr 1 same homework and a book everynight, 3rd due to stsrt nursery school and youngest 11 months... i hate homework lol but indont fuss too muxh about it... i explain to them what they need to do and to be fair they need minimal help at mo... jus so confused... im due back to work march so it wont be now i think im gonna leave it see how i feel after 3rs has startes nursery school thank u all x

My eldest was 7 when we had number 5, who was a surprise after 9 rounds of ivf
I would recommend sticking with four
The years when they were young were really hard and the admin of five older children is mind blowing, not to mention the cost. We unexpectedly had twins for number three so only ever expected 3. I work from home which makes things easier and they all get on really well but they do miss out on holidays because of cost and may also miss out on other things as they get older because of cost and I say that as a family earning 6 figures

Thank u 😊
I dont find 4 too hard at the moment, and we do still go away twice a year but its also nice to hear how much harder it got as they got older esp as your eldest is same age as mine now...
So wereu trying for the 5th initially? I suppose in my head it makes sense to stop at 4 i have 2 of each but i cant stop thinkingof having another one... initially i wanted to waot tilyoungest was at nursery school but hubby said hes rather do it sooner rather than later...

I have 5, my oldest was 7 when she was born, second was 5, 3rd was 2 and fourth was 15 months old. So the younger 3 were all under 3. I found the leap from 4 to 5 harder than the other leaps. She was an early baby by 9 weeks, spent 5 weeks in NICU. She breastfed a hell of a lot when she came home up until the age of 23 months. Things are just starting to settle down now...routine is key. I’m now expecting my 6th baby and this will be my very last haha.

I don’t regret my decisions of a larger family, life is busy but I like it this way. The kids don’t know any different as there has always been a number of them, I manage my time between them and I don’t think there has ever been major rivalry between any of them. The youngest 2 together are so sweet

Only got 2 but youngest of 5 siblings myself. Loved it as a child. Love it now.
Have you resources- time, money, space for 5???

Oh gosh that sounds tough glad she made a full recovery and is blossoming now...
If i was to try and catch straight away around xmas my eldest wud b nearly 9, 2nd 7, 3rd 4 and 4th 2 ...
it sounds so perfect in my head lol
How did h find going frim 3-4 initially? I found it really hard as 4th had terrible reflux and cmpa so very screamy and clingy to only me but now its all setlled iv forgotten all bout the hard times lol

Unperfect life- how do youe older siblings feel about being 1/5?

3-4 I found fairly ok, my 4th was a relatively easy baby minus sleeping, but my previous 3 had been poor sleepers anyway so it wasn’t anything new. He was early too but only by 6 weeks and he was a good weight so he only spent 8 days in NICU. So the initial 8 days was tough as it was school holidays also but after this it was fine. I am in a panic about the 6th time wondering if this one will be early also and if the transition will be difficult haha. My youngest has always been very clingy to just be so I’m hoping she won’t be too disturbed by the new baby.

See only 1 of 4 of mine was a bad sleeper the others slept through from bout 5 weeks.... super lucky i know... youngest was a good sleeper jus very screamy and whiny add an 18month old whiny toddleer i did find it hard as some weeks hubby works 6 days and he leaves at 8 and gets in gone 6 so its all down to me 90%of the time whixh of course i love but can b stressful at times...
Were ok financially we still go away and i still manage to spoil them all which is nice... they all have a wardrobe full of stuff which is mainly next/river island and hnm
So i know if i needed to cut down i could go supermarkets or primark etc i have all the big stuff like cot, moses bas, sterilisers, steamer blender, ny 3rd is just xoming out of a pushchair now but i hav both single and doubke pushchair...
so on paper indont see any major cons but im worries if i will cope on my own 90% of the time and though myolder children are out at clubs or school whether they will cope... they all fight over the 11 month old which is annoying but also so lovely that they all still love the 4th “annoying little baby” we are in the box room, the girls share at mo thers bunk beds, wardrobe, chest of drawets , little vanity desk and cot in ther as youngest to small for bed, and the boys hav our wardrobes, their wardrobe, chest of drawers and the bunks but ther is room in there for a cot/single bed
Could also hav loft convert and we have 2 lounges downstairs one is my lounge n one is a pure play room.... my 2nd child (boy) found an old scan pic in the drawer the other day and got so excited he was like omg mom yes i love babies melted my heart 🥰

We're all grown up now, so used to our 'roles' or 'places' in the family. My eldest sister is slightly bossy... but, these days, she just bosses us into having a good time! We all had our own lives, interests and friends when we were growing up. I'm grateful that my parents did not rely on (/ exploit!) the older ones to look after us younger ones. That really wouldn't have been fair. I think my brother would have liked a brother when he was younger ( we are 4 sisters, 1 brother) but he knows we all adore him