Dear all, we’ve reported on Mona’s large family on several occasions, most recently shortly after the birth of her ninth child (read about it here). Little Matteo is now three months old, so here’s a quick update:
Dear Mona, your youngest child is now three months old – what sort of little character do you have with you now?
Yes, our youngest is now three months old; he’s a real ray of sunshine, he laughs a lot and already sleeps through the night from around 9 pm to 3 am. In terms of looks and personality, he’s just like Dario, our 11-year-old – very calm and even-tempered; both are Aquarius.
Dario never misses an opportunity to carry the little one around the house or play with him. Maik and Dario are, I think, very happy that we now have another boy in the family. The boys take him into their room and the little one is already allowed to ‘play along’ properly. Dario then shows him his Lego dinosaurs and all his other toys.
The birth came quite quickly and by surprise – how long did it take you to realise that you’d become a mum again?
It took a few days, because I’d actually imagined it would be different. But you can’t plan births, and it’s important to accept and embrace that. As it was my ninth natural birth, it’s of course not unusual for it to have gone quite quickly. After a few days, I was simply delighted with this sweet baby.
You’ve already mentioned that the boys love their little brother very much. How do the other siblings get on with Matteo?
The older girls play with him, rock him or take him for a spin in the pram. Tamira didn’t react jealously at all; instead, she immediately loved being a big sister. She cuddles him constantly and makes sure he’s wearing both his little socks. Nowadays, the two of them often lie under the trapeze and play together.
You also have a 20-year-old daughter. What’s the relationship like between the eldest and the youngest?
Lea started working in Switzerland a few months before the birth. She came to visit just before the birth, and Matteo was born just one day after she left. She was really gutted that she wasn’t at home on the day. Naturally, she didn’t see much of him during the first few months because she was working in Switzerland.
Right now she’s back home with us, and of course she holds the little one and cuddles him. But you can clearly tell now that her focus lies elsewhere; she’s grown up and is currently cutting the apron strings. That’s absolutely fine and okay, of course.
Summer is just around the corner, and you’re planning to travel to Spain as an extended family. What exactly are your plans?
Yes, for a long time we weren’t sure if it would work out, because we still have quite a bit to do here at the house, but now we want to go on a motorhome and holiday home trip through Spain. So, a week travelling from beach to beach in the motorhome, followed by one or two weeks in a holiday home, and then another week travelling from beach to beach in the motorhome. The holiday home has a fenced-in pool and is just a kilometre from the beach, so there’s something for everyone.
How do you manage all the packing and planning – it must be incredibly stressful with so many people…
As we’re travelling by motorhome, I can plan ahead well. I stock the shelves with spices and tinned food, and pack the clothes into the cupboards. We buy fresh food in Spain. The older children have been packing their own bags for ages (I just have a quick look over them), so we only have to pack for five people. And I think to myself: in an emergency, we can always buy something in Spain. That makes the planning much more relaxed.
How do strangers abroad actually react to your large family?
When we’re travelling in Spain, Portugal or Italy, everyone is always delighted by the lovely ‘bambini’, but in Switzerland we do get the odd stupid comment now and then, asking if we don’t have a TV or don’t know how to use contraception…
We were in a shopping centre in Germany recently and people were counting the children, quite conspicuously with a finger held out – and then counting again, because they’d probably miscounted or couldn’t believe how many children there were.
But I’m always delighted when people – often older people – say: „How lovely that there are still large families.“ And when people praise the children for their friendliness and good behaviour.
What are the most challenging moments of the day for you?
Whenever several children want or need something at the same time. For example: the little one is hungry. So I take him into the bedroom, because he often falls asleep straight away there. But then Tamira wants a drink or needs help getting a game off the shelf. I don’t want to keep putting her off; her needs are important too, and she shouldn’t feel neglected because of the baby.
So I sometimes end up going back and forth from the bedroom a few times, and everything gets delayed. Luckily, the little one is very relaxed and is happy to wait a few minutes. Sometimes, though, Tamira joins us with a book and waits, which makes the whole thing much more relaxed. I tend to spend quality time with the older ones in the evening, once the little ones are asleep.
And what are the best moments?
The best moments are when we’re really having fun as a family, running about on the beach or when the children can’t stop laughing. Or when the children draw pictures for us full of hearts, or when they simply give us a hug in everyday life and tell us they’re happy to have us as parents. Or when we helped Lea prepare her job application, she gets the job and then thanks us on the phone – that’s brilliant too.
We’re delighted by every little or big step in each child’s development. There are so many lovely moments for which we’re very grateful. You could say that everything has fallen into place wonderfully for us at home.
