The 30-Year-Old Mum With Eleven Children: Couple With a Massive Family Share How They Vacuum Five Times a Day and Rely on a Minibus to Get Around — All While Both Holding Down Jobs
A couple who once imagined a quiet, child-free future now find themselves raising a bustling family of eleven children.
Joseph Sutton, 35, and his wife Nicole, 30, share their three-bedroom home in Aspatria, Cumbria, with eight daughters and three sons. When they met in 2005, neither of them pictured parenthood as part of their lives — but after Nicole unexpectedly fell pregnant with their first child, Rhiannan, now 14, their family quickly grew beyond anything they ever imagined.
Today, the Suttons say they wouldn’t trade their lively household for anything, even if their former dreams of sleek cars have since been replaced with a 17-seater minibus.
Joseph admits the lockdown period brought challenges:
“People say they couldn’t cope with looking after this many kids. Some days are harder when we’re tired, but the children have a routine, and most of the time they get along like any siblings.”
Nicole, however, found unexpected joy in the slower pace:
“Lockdown was brilliant for us. Life wasn’t as rushed, and we had more time for BBQs, movie days, and making memories. No one here ever gets bored — that’s for sure.”
Despite their big family, the couple rely only on standard child benefit. Joseph works as a coach driver, while Nicole has a part-time job as a shop assistant, and together they juggle work with managing their full house.
After welcoming Rhiannan, they went on to have Lacy (12), Mackenzie (10), Skylar (9), Henley (7), the twins Cobi and Parker (6), Hadley (4), River (3), Ocean (2), and Navy, who is five months old. The couple also sadly lost a daughter, Hallie, who was stillborn last year.
Nicole keeps the household running like a well-oiled machine. Each night she lays out school uniforms, toothbrushes, and breakfast dishes. She wakes at six, gets the children up at seven, spends an hour dressing the eldest eight, completes the school run, and looks after the youngest three during the day.
She makes 12 beds in about half an hour, does three loads of laundry daily, and vacuums five times a day. Their groceries are ordered online — about 12 baskets delivered weekly.
“It’s all about routine,” Nicole explained. “Uniforms, dishes, toothbrushes — everything is ready the night before. I ditched ironing years ago; the dryer does the job.”
Dinner is served at five.
“I set out the plates while cooking. Six kids fit around the table, three go in high chairs, and the rest sit on the sofa for some quiet. It’s total chaos — but organized chaos.”
She cooks in bulk, preparing massive portions of spaghetti bolognese and roast dinners, though she admits chicken nuggets and chips sometimes save the day.
Toys are constantly being picked up, and Joseph handles bath time and bedtime because he leaves for work before the kids wake.
“Friday’s the worst washing day with PE kits — that’s two extra loads — and Saturday is bed-change day, so even more washing. But we still have fun,” Nicole said.
With such a large family, transportation is a production in itself. Joseph bought a 17-seater minibus to fit everyone, and holidays require two apartments.
“We converted a downstairs room into a bedroom,” Joseph added. “Meal times are hectic, and the washing up is endless.”
“Getting everyone ready for school takes around an hour. We spend about £1,500 a year on school uniforms because Nicole likes buying everything new. Our weekly food bill is around £200 — and we never run out. Nicole is superwoman. I don’t know how she does it.”
Ironically, the couple never set out to have a large family.
“I didn’t even want kids,” Joseph admitted. “No idea how we ended up with this many — but I’m glad we did. It’s a madhouse, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Nicole recalled her shock when she discovered she was pregnant with their first child despite having a contraceptive implant.
“We didn’t find out until I was four months along. I took a test because I’d gained weight — I never expected it to be positive. I had no idea how we’d cope, but every child is a blessing.”
Her love of motherhood only deepened with each baby.
“I’m not close with my family, so the more children I had, the more I loved it.”
The Suttons attract attention wherever they go. Nicole even makes numbered T-shirts to keep track of everyone.
“When we’re out, I’m constantly counting heads,” she said. “To me, we’re just a normal family with a few extras. Parenting is parenting — whether you have one child or twelve, we’re all doing our best.”
Joseph says they sometimes get negative reactions:
“People pull faces, but we’ve stopped caring. On the school run, Nicole gets asked if they’re all hers. At work, when I say I’ve got eleven kids, people joke I’d be better off on benefits. They don’t understand how we manage, but you have to work — we’ve always worked.”
“People should mind their own business,” he added. “It doesn’t affect their lives. We chose this.”
After welcoming Navy five months ago, the couple say they are done growing their family.
“No more,” Joseph said. “We’ve got enough, and Nicole’s decided we don’t need any more. Having Navy didn’t change much except we’re tighter on space.”
Nicole added: “Navy is definitely the last. After losing Hallie, I found pregnancy too difficult to enjoy.”
