Mum Deborah Douglas, 38, and her husband Craig welcomed baby number 13 on Mother’s Day – while number 12 was being tested for Covid-19 in hospital. The newest addition, Nate Theo, weighed in at 8lb 4oz when he arrived six days early.
But the last few days of Deborah’s latest pregnancy were far from easy as the schools shut indefinitely on the Friday because of the coronavirus pandemic and then 18-month-old Eboni became poorly.
Deborah said: “Pregnancy this time was fine, but we had a scare as our youngest at the time, Eboni, was put into hospital and got tested for the virus. “On the Monday, the day after Mother’s Day, it came back negative. She just had bronchitis so she was in until the Wednesday.”
Raising children has been Deborah and Craig’s life since 2003 when they welcomed their first child, Ellie, now 16. But this time round they have faced uncharted waters as they have all 13 children at home 24/7 due to the national lockdown.
The Heathhall based family consists of: Liam, 15; Troy and Cora, both 12 but not twins; Eva 11; Zac ten; Indi, eight; Rio, seven; Ezmae, five; Aria, three; Zuri two; 18-month-old Eboni and little Nate.
Deborah said: “It’s a hard time just now with them all here and a new baby. “But we’re doing as best as we can. “In terms of food, we have had a lot of help from family making sure we are not running low. “But it is definitely not as easy, places only allow a little of what we use, such as milk, bread, wipes etc. It has been a hard few weeks.”
