More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
by Rebecca Hughes
Cheaper By The Dozen is nothing more than a funny film for some – but for one Medway family it’s the real deal as their 12th child is on the way.
Tania Sullivan, 37, of Aveling Close, Hoo is halfway through her latest pregnancy.
She already has nine children with husband Mike – Caitlin, 12, Harry, nine, Eddie, seven, Sid, six, Patrick, five, Oliver, three, Joseph, one and twins Anne and Libby, who are eight months old.
She has two from another relationship – Ben, 19 and Stephanie, 18, who have since left home – and has suffered eight miscarriages.
Alongside caring for her kids, including looking after the teething twins, Tania insists on home educating her school-age youngsters in their five-bedroom house. She and Mike, 39, never take a night off or hire a babysitter.
The family live off Mike’s salary from his own business, Sullivan Joinery and Crafts, tax credits and child benefits.
After keeping the pregnancy a quiet for the first trimester for fear of having another miscarriage, Tania broke the news to some of the children after pulling their 17-seater minibus up outside the hospital for a scan.
She said: “We obviously wanted to make sure the pregnancy was OK so waited until the first scan confirmed all was well and also how many babies were there!
“Everybody was thrilled to find out another baby was on the way and they immediately began to discuss whether they wanted a boy or girl and what the baby would be named.”
Despite being halfway through the pregnancy, she’s showing no signs of slowing down soon.
Already the author of two books, Tania has a third in the pipeline, runs a successful website based on her family, and has recently been doing publicity work with leading toy distributor Drummond Park.
She said: “I’m still feeling well – albeit tired – but tiredness is part and parcel of being pregnant especially when you have twins to take care of at the same time.
“We have been very busy though, so time has been passing very quickly and we haven’t really been able to sit and meditate on the new baby’s arrival really.”
