Big families.....

[V8]

Hi Everyone

I would just like to know how many of you mums out there have 4 or more, i am wanting to have at least 4 kids, we'll wait and see though! Just wondering, how do you find finances, your house, car etc, i would like to know what i am in for before i take the plunge! Thanks heaps

Oh, i come from a family of four and loved it.

[Jem]

my dp wants to beat his mums record of 12 :eek:
im not too keen :D

[V8]

Wow, you'd have to be like pregnant constantly for 12 years! lol I'm sure he would just like the 'practising' part! lol

[Jem]

Wow, you'd have to be like pregnant constantly for 12 years! lol I'm sure he would just like the 'practising' part! lol

lmao.. of course :D

[becca74]

I'm having #4 in a few months, and everyone is aghast at how many children I have.....but I grew up in outback NSW, in a family of 4 kids, and we were never considered a large family compared to some of the family sizes back then....

I would love to go on until my eggs run out, but my husband has put his foot down......(though he put his foot down after each of our babies, and that didnt stop us getting to 4 ;) )

So far financially it has been ok for us, though it hasnt been smooth sailing! But with only having sons, I have saved a tonne of money on clothing!!

[WeThree]

I have 4. :D
The most important thing is to be organised, and to not let the mess get on top of you, because otherwise it very quickly becomes overwhelming.
I cant believe the mess the 2 toddlers generate, and so quickly! so i just keep going throughout the day, but i dont beat myself up over things i didnt get done, unfortunately they will be there tomorrow.:rolleyes:
I buy alot of their clothes from opshops, particulary stuff for just day to day, I always happily accept hand me downs and pick up some lovely tuff from garage sales and ebay as well.
I find feeding them is what cuts the biggest dent in our budget, and the more i buy the more they just seem to eat! I always cook dinners from scratch, ive become quite the cook, lol, and i make sure their is enough leftover for dh to take to work that night or the next day.
I also make great big batches of choc chip biscuits and stuff like that instead of buying packet ones as well as muffins, they are great for lunchboxes and cheap to make.
Another thing is you need a big house, and thats not cheap either! but we very rarely go out, we dont drink or smoke and i dont splash out on clothes make up, shoes etc for myself, so it all averages out, if you want a big family, believe me all the wonderful, funny, cute things will more than make up for the hard work or the stretch on the finances. :)

[CJJHRA]

we have 6 rugrats

we've always managed to fed the kids, and just scrape by on the bills, been a little tought this last 12 months with DH on commission ony and a few other things, but we get by ok.

[V8]

Coopsntilly, thanks very much for the insight into how to manage a larger family. DH and i want 4 kids, but he can no longer work cause of an injury, so if we have 4 kids, i have to do the majority of raising them until they are school age, then will have to go to work i guess! :) So, i sometimes feel like i am a single mum with an extra kid who is 25!

[MummyCharmzy]

We are having our 4th - DSS 4.5 is with us 60% of the time at the moment but next year that increases when he starts school, DS is 3.5, DD is 9.5 months and I'm 27 weeks preg with another DD!

So not there just yet but not far off it either! If this bubba isnt born too prematurely then I would love to have another child in a few years time once we are set up a bit better and what not but of course I will see how we go with 4 first lol

I find organisation helps a lot with our 3. On the boys kinder days (mon and wed) I cook dinner between 3:30 - 4:30 and reheat it when they come home rather than pick them up and then cook. My dinner bath and bed time is down to a T now because if I don't do it the same way every time, everyone goes to chaos lol Have to fit the new bub into that routine soon!

When I cook things like spag bol and lasagne I always make at LEAST 2.5 times what we need... so we have one lot for dinner, then theres some for lunch the next day and I freeze a lot for another night as a quick meal.

I cook bellas baby food up in fortnightly batches but will soon make monthly batches to save effort when the new bub arrives.

We use cloth nappies A) because I love thme but also to help cut costs .. and no matter what anyone says if you go basic with them it REALLY saves a heap! (until it becomes an obsession and then can end up more costly than disposables lmao)

I always wanted 4 children gaining a SS has made me now want 5! I love being a SAHM :)

[V8]

Thanks Charmaine, sounds like you are pretty organised! Guess you have to be though huh?! I hope your little Savannah is doing ok and you are taking things day by day. :) Thanks for the tips, also, how do you manage so far as your house sharing rooms etc and your car.... Just wondering :)

[MummyCharmzy]

Hey,
at the moment we are squished in at my dads place but will be moving into our place by the end of the year (starts getting built in June)

So the boys share a bedroom and bella is in with us for now.. when bubs comes bella might get put in the boys room but not sure, sleepless nights so might have bubs in the lounge til shes sleeping through and then have both the bubs in our room as bella is still a bub, just a big one :)

When we move, despite having plenty of room we are thinking about keeping the boys sharing and have the girls sharing and then a spare room for a study or what not, as they'll only be in there to sleep as they have the rumpus room to play in. Sharing a bedroom MOSTLY works fantastically (except the time I heard Alex at 3am trying to tell zach its morning and time to get up and play... thankfully he went back to sleep until 4:50am but then there was no stopping them...)

Car wise we are about to upgrade my car to a Tarago in the next 2-3 weeks, at the moment we have a VS station wagon which with 3 carseats in the back is a tight squeeze! Looking forward to getting the Tarago!

Savannah is still cooking obviously, hopefully got at least another couple of weeks left but my doctors think she'll be here any time in the next 2-4 weeks. I'm currently 28w4d.

Anyway time to go get the kids organised for bath and bed :)

[moonblossom]

WOW charmzy, you really do have your kiddies early :) We are due around the same time, I hope your little one is fighting fit and healthy if she comes early.

Hello once again all us big families :yelclap:

[clairebear]

Hi Everyone :)

This is my first post so I will introduce myself as well

Im Claire, Im 26. I just moved to Hampton Park, I moved in with my boyfriend as we found out I was expecting our 3rd :). I know I dont have as many as some but I think we are slowly becoming a big family

I have a 5yr old step daughter Allanah, she is from my boyfriends previous relationship. She stays with us on the weekends only.. feels as if we are the main parents sometimes, we seems to be buying her everything.. and they never come back :( I dont think her mother has bought her anything, she just seems to expect us to get it all. But thats another story I guess, If I dont stop now, I never will
If anyone knows about a section for step parenting issues.. please let me know :D I cant seem to find one

There is also little jack He is my son and he is 3, prett close to 4 now. He certainly is a handful!! But very entertaining

I am also due with my 3rd, and am expecting early november

We would like to have another one after this little one, In time this will happen though hehe

But I guess thats all from me. Im sorry if I posted in the wrong section or if I blabbed a bit.

Claire

[natalie7]

Hi I'm brand new to this forum and I'm pg with my 7th baby:smiliedance:
I think I'll be a regular here!!!

[CJJHRA]

Welcome Natalie and congrats on expecting bubs number 7. How old are your other children

[V8]

I really admire people with big families i think it's great. :D

[mykidzrokk]

I only have 3 kids 8,6 and 3....but more and more everyday, i feel i want #4, which is what we originally planned......anyone want to tell DH??????.....lol.....

[V8]

I am so itching to have our second bubs straight away cause i would like to have 3more babies by the time i'm 30 which is in 5 years! lol. I am just really anxious on how we would cope financially etc. We are just in the process of buying our first home and don't have a reliable car at the moment. I'd really like to be in a better financial situation, but then sometimes i just think, it will all work out, it's so hard to decide whether to make these decisions either going by my head or going with my heart.

I'm interested to hear any stories about how you felt about having 4 and how much impact it had financially and whether things would have been easier with a smaller amount of kids. Any pro's and con's would be greatly appreciated! :D

Vee

[mrsd]

Hi I'm brand new to this forum and I'm pg with my 7th baby:smiliedance:


I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps, Natalie.

I've got 6 with my eye on no. 7 (hubby's not quite so keen - he's the housedad !).

Our kids are alphabetical so I can remember them (lol) :

Anastasia is 11 in Sept.
Beatrice is 10 in Sept.
Cecilia turned 8 in March
Dominic turned 6 in June
Edward turns 3 in October and
Francis is 1 in December

Doesn't Guinevere sound nice ? (lol)

We've got a Tarago which has just passed 300 000kms so perhaps it will have probs soon but it's been great so far - we took on the Nullabor a couple of years ago with it and won ! I'll need a bench seat in front if we have possible no. 7, though !

It's great to see so many other big families !

[Clesthaven]

Congrats to all of you with large families. I have one and am expecting number two next February - I hope to reach at least 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:fingerscrossed:

[V8]

What are the biggest challenges with having 4 kids?? Do you also think it's possible to have 4 kids on a limited income?? By limited i mean basically centrelink payments....

[mrsd]

Gosh, we'd better not all reply at once !:)

I don't know about your finances but I can talk about our experience. We found it hardest on a single income with only a couple of kids. Once we had three our finances started to improve but that was about when the Govt. brought in extra family assistance, too.

I reckon it all depends on what your goals are. Our kids know better than to ask for stuff from the canteen at the pool or "extras" at the supermarket because I'll say no. They don't need them and you can get twice as much for half the price at Woollies.

Breastfeeding and cloth nappies, homemade lunches, caravan parks instead of motels, only buying stuff on special, second-hand furniture (I love ebay), DVD's at home instead of going to the movies, picnics instead of restaurants, no cigarettes, beer / wine only on special occasions ... there are heaps of ways of saving money and keeping to a tight budget but it depends on what's important to you and how much you're prepared to sacrifice.

Good luck with your decision - making !:confused:

[V8]

Thanks so much for your replies, you have been marvellous! :D I hope we get to have 4 kids, and i don't mind making sacrifices, i just hope we can afford our mortgage and living costs, if that happens i'll be happy! :D

[FourAngelKisses]

I love big families, the more the merrier. I'm hoping to have a 4th child in a year or two....the sooner the better.
I love the noise, I love the challenge and I don't mind the mess. I'll have to buy another car, but eh.....it's just money.

[kymmy]

What are the biggest challenges with having 4 kids?? Do you also think it's possible to have 4 kids on a limited income?? By limited i mean basically centrelink payments....


I hope so because I want 5.
I think it depends on your priorities.
I am only interested in building my family - not a fancy house or car.

[FourAngelKisses]

I hope so because I want 5.
I think it depends on your priorities.
I am only interested in building my family - not a fancy house or car.


Me too, but I only want 4.