Four children a big family blog Nina

Sometimes people are surprised to see or hear that we have four children. When you have three, then people find it normal, but when you have four, well that's quite an accomplishment they say.

I must admit that occasionally during rush hour I would prefer earplugs. On other mornings I wish I could fast forward the time for an hour or two and 'huup-huup-barbary truck " (typical Dutch show).

With four children it can be really chaotic, but I can remember having this feeling when I still only had one child. Yet my grandmother had seven children, I’m beginning to believe the more you have the easier it becomes.

A bit cliché, but with the fourth child you do a little less. With my first child I was with him 24/7 for the first few months. It was only at 4 o’clock in the afternoon that I realized I had not showered. Basic, everyday errands seemed like a world tour, nights out with friends became a thing of the past. However it gets easier, you find a rhythm and after a while you begin to follow a regular schedule, your little one also finds his own schedule and then you start thinking, maybe I’m ready for baby number 2!!!!

The worst thing is that with our first two children everything was done deliberately, all clothes were chosen with care and love. (I bought things which were way too expensive without a care in the world but with number three and four it was really a matter of what was closest to the till). Their rooms were furnished with the highest quality beds and chests of drawers. I tried to, but the best and provide only the best for my children. During the whole pregnancy, I ate very healthy, I was active, I rested as much as I could and I followed all the rules the best I could. I read on as many books as I could and I really prepared myself for the birth.

After the birth of our third child, “hand me downs” became the norm I could quite easily dress her with the clothes of her sister and not be bothered by stains, a sleeping bag that really just sat tight during a holiday or matching her pacifier with her clothes. I would put her down with ease for a moment in front of the television, while her brother and sister were unaware of the existence of a TV. At number four I was a little more relaxed. I didn’t mind what time he slept or for how long, what he drank or how much, his brother and sisters were allowed to pick him up and play with him. All visitors were welcome and still are!

A cramp or two really didn’t upset me and visits to the clinic were a rare thing. This was definitely the “easy” baby is. He is accustomed to being the fourth child in the sense that he knows he has to wait for someone to pick him or give him bottle or put him in the bath. His sisters know this and they certainly have their fun, they put his hair in pigtails, they sometimes paint his nails, his sleeping bag is pink, and sometimes he has to wait it out, if we all go out for dinner he comes with us and only sleeps when his siblings sleep. The classic is that his older brother as "men under another "already told him the secret of Santa Claus…… Every morning they fight for him. It’s always a question of who can enter his room first when he wakes up, who can hold him and who can choose his clothes? Sometimes the combinations are not the best, but his siblings like it. He seems to be the happiest baby ever. If number is four is like this, how would number 5,6 and 7 have been like for my grandmother? :)