Mom of Six Reveals She Hasn’t Slept in 10 Years: Here’s How She Manages!

Emmeline was 25 when she had her first child, a daughter named Sarah. After separating from Sarah’s father, she met Romuald, her future husband, with whom she had five more children: Léanne, Marie, Gaspard, Arthur, and Gabriel. “I had magical pregnancies without any complications. I love being pregnant; it feels natural to me, but I didn’t sleep for ten years. I was either pregnant or nursing. I loved nursing at night because it was the only time I could spend alone with my babies,” shared the mother, who also worked as a nurse. Initially, she worked full-time with her first two children and then part-time for the others. “The kids went to the daycare at my clinic. I could even nurse them during the day; it was perfect. It seemed so easy that I thought I could keep going, but reality and finances eventually dictated otherwise.”

Indeed, having six children is costly: “I’d say we spend about $250 on groceries every week, and then you also need a car big enough for everyone.” Having six kids also means doing a 22-pound laundry load four to five times a week. “I’ve completely given up my obsession with ironing! My life is a dance among everyone’s schedules. We have a calendar at home that each child updates in turn. School, music in the evenings after school, sports. Everyone has their activities. Every September is a flurry of activity to organize it all: making sure activities don’t overlap and that I can manage the logistics. It’s a tidal wave every October, I breathe a sigh of relief and say: Phew, I survived!”

“Being the mother of a large family means juggling all the time. And the part I like least is nagging. Yet, I spend my life telling them to hurry up. I sometimes lose it, especially when they argue among themselves. For instance, my youngest daughter and oldest son can’t stand to breathe the same air. So, we have to strategize, make seating plans, and place them as far apart as possible in the car.”

There’s perhaps one thing we regret: we never ensured that the kids took care of each other. We always said that we didn’t want to impose our choice of a large family on them. The oldest was never tasked with babysitting, for example. It was important to us… We didn’t want to delegate, but perhaps we overdid it. However, they do help out around the house. Setting the table, clearing it, emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash: that’s the kids’ domain.

By the time I was 40, I had all six of my children and suddenly felt a need for change. So, I suggested to my husband that we all move to my native Australia. He was totally against it, but we ended up moving to Rouen, to a home with a 300 square meter yard and finally, eight bedrooms!

At the same time, never one to do things by halves, I quit my job and decided to switch careers. Everyone around me thought I was crazy: a mother of six, in the middle of moving with a house to expand, and you quit your job? I wasn’t really worried. I trust life. I went back to school and passed the teaching certification exam, and now I’m an English teacher while the renovations continue.