Dear ones, you will no doubt remember our blog post „We have seven children and are now expecting twins“. Now the mum has contacted us for an update. She wrote: „Good evening, we wanted to let you know that our 8th child has been born – not twins as we thought, but a singleton. But we are very happy about our little, healthy princess, who was born at home as planned.“
Love, congratulations on your eighth child. Why don’t you describe the little one for us? What does she look like, what is she like?
Dear Lisa, thank you very much for the lovely congratulations, she looks like her siblings, dark hair, very petite like our second daughter and is calm and balanced.
How did the birth start, when did you realise that things were getting serious now?
This time I had a very long latency phase for weeks, thought many times that it was going to start, went into the bath, the contractions stopped again, we went for a walk, tried everything to get the contractions to come back.
But it wasn’t until I had let go and cleared my head and thought to myself „stay in there forever if you want“ that it really started. However, due to the many false alarms, my husband didn’t think it was serious and only realised in the last few minutes of the birth.
Were your other seven children with you or how did you organise the home birth?
The children came round after the birth to greet the baby while I was still in the bath with the baby. We had bought a birth box with modelling clay and craft things in advance and all 7 of them kept themselves busy with this, even the eldest enjoyed playing babysitter and art teacher for a short time this time. My husband moved from the bathroom to the living room and I didn’t even notice the older kids during this time.</p
How long did it take and what were the first moments with the little one like?
It took three hours from the first slight contraction to the birth, we spent the first hour cleaning the kitchen, I tried to keep moving and then after an hour I absolutely had to get into the water. My husband prepared the birth room, the large bathroom with candles, a scented lamp and heating, filled up the bath and it was wonderful how lovingly everything was organised. There was no midwife there either, it was a solo birth.
You were expecting twins, what was it like after the little ones were born? A wait?
Yes, we waited, I was very exhausted afterwards, but I palpated my stomach and tried to feel if and how the second child was lying, but… there wasn’t a second one.
When did you realise that there wouldn’t be a second child after all, that it wouldn’t be twins?
When the baby was born and the placenta was there. The belly was easy to palpate and then we were sure: there won’t be another one.
Did you sometimes have doubts during pregnancy as to whether it could be two, because it felt like the last children because you hadn’t gained that much weight?
I have a friend who also had very slim twins, my belly was also very big for a child, there was so much movement everywhere, so we had no real doubts.
Did you not have an ultrasound during the entire pregnancy?
However, we did hire an ultrasound several times, but the quality of home ultrasounds is not particularly good, unfortunately. We had relied completely on the midwife’s care during the pregnancy and she had suggested that we might have twins.
Was there also a little disappointment that there weren’t two after all – for you, your partner or the older children?
Not for me, I was just happy that the baby was here, my husband was rather surprised and the children asked where the second one was, but then immediately admired the little one.
Have you already made preparations for two children?
Yes, we had just about everything in duplicate: bassinet, bath bucket, baby loungers, bouncers, TrippTrapp baby sets, twin pushchairs, car seats. Well, my husband has stored the surplus in the loft, packed it up well and we will soon be selling it to make room again, and the bassinet in the bedroom too, she sleeps with us in the family bed.
What is your family life like now, with a newborn and eight children?
I actually settled in well straight away, my husband went shopping with the older ones for the first week and always brought home the most delicious things and flowers and I was very well looked after by everyone.
What are you most looking forward to in this first year with a baby?
We’re looking forward to the summer, planning a trip, the little one is so balanced that we want to go travelling with a small baby too. And, of course, every step of her development. With every child, it’s just so nice to see how well they develop and how lucky we are to be able to accompany them. We are simply looking forward to our family life, which has now been enriched by another child.
