After becoming the first mum in Britain to have 10 boys in a row, Alexis Brett had resigned herself to life in an all-male household. Probably no one would argue that some of us like to stick to the plan at whatever cost and some of us would just rather go with the flow whenever possible. But, as the saying goes, man plans and God laughs. And despite one’s beliefs, probably all of us can find some kind of beauty in the surprises life brings us. This particular British family has probably had more of them than anyone else, especially when it comes to parenthood. But how else can it be living with so many children, they sure are in for a rollercoaster. Scroll down below to find out about their latest one!
But now the 39-year-old has a whole new a-gender. She has just given birth to her 11th child – a baby girl, Cameron, with husband David Brett on August 27. The couple were so convinced that they would have another boy, they didn’t ask the sonographer what their unborn baby’s gender was – but her arrival left them “delighted”. “We’re over the moon,” Alexis Brett, who is an only child, revealed. “I’d been expecting to hear we were having another boy. But when I found out it was a girl, my face was a picture. “I was shocked, but delighted. Now she’s here with us, it’s a fantastic feeling,” the 39-year-old added.
And daughter Cameron has already had a remarkable effect on her brothers, who range in age from 2 to 17. The happy parents say she changed the family dynamics quite a bit. This sure brings much joy to the parents, who say this last pregnancy was unplanned but did get them over the moon, as they expected it would be yet another boy after finding out about expecting another baby. The delighted mother adds that they are definitely stopping now. “There’ll be no more. I said that last time but this time, I absolutely mean it. I love my family as it is now.”
In fact, the mother-of-eleven is already planning her return to work as a part-time fitness instructor. She added: “Of course, we do get comments about the number of children we have – especially when I was pregnant again,” she said. “But it doesn’t bother me what people think, we’re well used to it.” “Some people think we must be on benefits, but we’re not. David has a good job, which means we don’t even qualify for full child benefit.”
Her day usually begins at 5.30 am, an hour after David goes off to work – she uses the “quiet” time for a coffee and a shower before the children start to emerge for nursery and school. Alexis does 49 laundry loads a week, and vacuums seven times a day. She said: “It’s not easy with so many boys running around, but I like everything neat and tidy. I can’t stand the mess.’ David, diagnosed six years ago with early-onset Parkinson’s, is a hands-on dad, sharing the housekeeping duties. Despite his daily health battle, he says of his huge family: “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I always try to have time for each of our boys. Most weekends David takes the older boys out while Alexis stays home with the younger ones. If they want to go anywhere as a family, David does a double journey.
David and I sometimes look at each other to say, ‘What have we done?’ But when the boys come out with something funny and make us laugh, it makes it all worthwhile.”
Thankfully, their children – which includes Campbell, 17, Harrison, 16, Corey, 14, Lachlan, 11, Brodie, nine, Brahn, eight, Hunter, six, Mack, five, Blake, three, and Rothagaidh, two – have been helping out around the house after the arrival of baby Cameron. “They’ve generally been much better behaved around her, trying to keep quiet in case they wake her up,” their 44-year-old dad, David, revealed. “They also want to help with holding and feeding her – it’s been great.”
