When a mom says she has a “big family,” most people picture three or four kids. For women raising 11, the scale of that phrase changes completely, and so do the tradeoffs that come with it. Behind the viral photos of matching outfits and chore charts is a daily grind of physical, emotional, and financial sacrifice that rarely fits into a cute caption.
The mother of 11 at the center of this story is part of a growing group of women who are unapologetic about wanting a huge brood, even as they admit the cost to their bodies, careers, and social lives. Her candor, and the experiences of other parents in similarly supersized households, pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to keep that many kids clothed, fed, and loved.
The decision to have 11 kids, and then want more
Choosing to have 11 children is not an accident or a phase, it is a deliberate life path. One mom who has become a touchpoint in this conversation has spoken openly about being a mom of 11 who is still ready for more, describing how her vision of family grew far beyond the two or three kids she once imagined. She traces that choice back to her own upbringing, explaining that she came from a family of eight and saw firsthand how siblings can become a built in support system that lasts long after childhood. That background helps explain why, even with a now ex husband in the picture, she has defended parents who feel called to build what outsiders label a “mega family.”
Her story is not just about nostalgia for a noisy childhood, it is also a pushback against the idea that wanting many children is automatically irresponsible or outdated. In her telling, the decision to keep expanding the family is rooted in faith, personal values, and a belief that love does not shrink when it is divided. That conviction shows up in the way she talks about being a Mom of 11 who is still open to more pregnancies, and in her insistence that parents of big families deserve the same respect as those who stop at one or two. She also points out that coming family of eight gave her a realistic sense of the chaos and the joy she was signing up for, even if the scale of 11 and counting still surprises her some days.
The physical toll: bodies that never really get a break
Pregnancy and birth are demanding even once or twice, and mothers who carry 11 babies, all single births, are blunt about what that does to their bodies. In one candid post, TitusandRoshawnda Pearson jokes that she laughs when people offer her a girdle, because after birthing 11 children, she is not chasing a flat stomach so much as basic comfort. Another mom in the same community spells it out even more plainly, describing how she has sacrificed her body, sleep, and social life for her kids in a way that cannot be undone with a few gym sessions or a spa day. That kind of honesty cuts through the pressure to “bounce back” and instead frames the postpartum body as a record of years of service.
The physical strain is not just about appearance, it is about chronic exhaustion and the way pregnancy after pregnancy reshapes a woman’s health. One widely shared reflection notes that Moms sacrifice everything from the day their children are conceived, with She giving up uninterrupted sleep, Her own comfort, and often long term wellness to carry and care for them. Another viral quote drives the point home, warning that You will never truly understand the sacrifices of motherhood until your body is no longer your own. For a woman who has been pregnant or breastfeeding for most of her adult life, that feeling is not theoretical, it is the baseline reality she wakes up to every day.
Time, work, and the myth of “having it all” with 11 kids
Even for stay at home parents, the clock looks different when there are 11 children in the house. One mother who left paid work to be home full time describes how there is no set schedule anymore, explaining that Most of the day revolves around her child’s needs, Whether it is feeding, naps, or school runs, and her own personal schedule has essentially disappeared. Scale that up to 11 kids, and the idea of neatly balancing work, self care, and parenting starts to look like a fantasy. The mom of 11 who is still open to more has talked about how every hour is spoken for, from early morning breakfasts to late night laundry, and how any notion of “me time” has to be carved out in minutes, not hours.
For mothers who are also primary breadwinners, the time crunch is even more brutal. A study of children who grew up with women heart surgeons found that What the Findings acknowledged was that their mothers’ unpredictable schedules led to missed family time and heightened emotional stress at home. Now imagine that kind of demanding career layered over the logistics of 11 children, and the sacrifices become almost impossible to ignore. Economic research from Japan has also highlighted how Looking at mothers who say they want more children, many cite physical strain and the burden of child rearing, which predominantly falls on mothers, as reasons they stop. For a woman who keeps going to 11, the choice often means shelving career ambitions or accepting that her professional life will move at a slower pace than her peers.
Money, judgment, and the online mega family spotlight
Raising 11 kids is not just emotionally intense, it is financially relentless. One single mother, Follow Ash Jurberg reports, had her first child at 14 after a one night stand and is now raising 11 children, 6 of whom have special needs, without support from any of the fathers. Kelly Norris has described how every bill, from rent to therapy appointments, lands on her shoulders, and how there is no backup income when something goes wrong. Her story underlines a hard truth for big families, love does not pay for braces, medications, or the extra gas it takes to shuttle a van full of kids to school and appointments.
At the same time, some large families are turning their size into a kind of brand, with mixed results. The Collins family, for example, has built a sizable audience on TikTok, where a video inviting viewers to Discover the joys and challenges of life with eleven kids has 4070 Likes and 179 Comments. Critics have raised concerns about Karissa Collins and broader rise of the mega family influencer, arguing that They have experienced rapid online growth by sharing intimate footage of children who cannot fully consent to that exposure. For the mom of 11 who is just trying to pay for groceries, the idea of monetizing family life can feel both tempting and uncomfortable, a tradeoff between privacy and financial breathing room.
What the kids see, and why the sacrifices still feel worth it
One of the most striking things about big families is how often the children themselves recognize what their mothers give up. In a televised segment that introduced viewers to a family of 11, producers described how the group had come together under really tough circumstances, and how the kids understood that their mother’s choices had kept them together as a unit. That family of 11 was framed as “unbelievable” not just because of the headcount, but because of the resilience it took to hold them all in one home. In another clip, a different large family appears on a talk show, with the camera lingering on the mom’s face as she explains the daily grind of meals, homework, and bedtime for 11, while her children sit beside her, visibly proud.
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