20 | Family Life
Belfast Telegraph | 9 December 2016
Twinsetsmakeforbusy
ChristmasatMcBrides Mum of six, including two sets of twins, Leah McBride tells Maureen Coleman how she manages to run a harmonious home.
Sean Paul Jnr (left) at an awards night
Jack and Pearse
Leah with Lucia and Meah
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ith the help of her husband Sean Paul, the north Belfast woman runs the household like a well-oiled machine, co-ordinating schedules and organising timetables from the moment she wakes before 7am until she finally gets to bed around 11.30pm. It’s a system that works well, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, with six sets of clothing and gifts to sort out. But Christmas Day also means Leah gets the chance to relax and put her feet up for a change as it’s normally spent out of her own house. “Every year we get invited to spend Christmas with either my mum and dad, Sean Paul’s mum and dad or my aunt and uncle who live next door to us,” she says. “This year we’ll spend it with Sean Paul’s parents. There are just too many of us to have it at home, it would be manic! “The whole period before Christmas is really hectic; getting the tree sorted, their Christmas clothes ready, all the presents bought. The kids are normally up from around 4am, we have to tell them to go back to bed! And the house is covered in wrapping paper. “When Boxing Day comes round, it’s a chance to catch up on my sleep.
Seeing double - twice! Jack and Pearse with Lucia and Meah coaching at university, the other five all attend school. Carleigh is a pupil at Little Flower school, the twin boys at St Patrick’s College and the twin girls attend St Patrick’s Primary School in the New Lodge.
February babies
By coincidence, all four of the older children were born in the month of February and at one stage, when Carleigh was just a year old and the twin boys were born, Leah
Great support
“We’re very lucky to have such a great support network. We couldn’t function properly if it wasn’t for that support. And routine is important too. Family life wouldn’t work as well without routine.” Leah and Sean Paul’s six children range in age from 19 to four and all still live at home. Sean Paul Jnr is the eldest, followed by 12 year old Carleigh. Next come the twin boys Pearse and Jack (11) who are non-identical and then four year old identical twin girls Lucia and Meah. While Sean Paul is studying football
Because we both have twins in our families, we weren’t too surprised when the boys came along
was coping with three babies all under the age of one. Given their genetic make-up, twins were on the cards for the McBrides. Both Leah and Sean Paul have twins in their families, but as the female, Leah is the multiple birth gene carrier. Her great aunt Emily also had two sets of twins, but even so, the young couple were gobsmacked when they found out they were expecting twins again with their girls. “Because we both have twins in our families, we weren’t too surprised when the boys came along,” said Leah. “Although Jack and Pearse aren’t identical twins, they are very alike. They have very similar features and you’d know they were brothers.
Double shock
“When I was told I was expecting twins again with the girls, I couldn’t believe it. At our first scan we were told it wasn’t twins but then I was sent to the Royal and the nurse said, ‘Congratulations, you’re expecting twins’. I burst into tears. I was a bit worried about how I would cope but to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, it can be very full on, but I love
having a big family and Sean Paul Jnr and Carleigh are great with the younger kids.” Leah was looked after during her last pregnancy by Dr Samina Dornan, step-mum to actor Jamie Dornan, and Leah says she felt she was in very safe hands at all times. “Dr Dornan was doing research into multiple births and was very interested in my case. She told me I was the gene carrier and also that if you have one multiple birth, the chances are greater you’ll have go on to have another one.”
Feeling blessed
Every day life in the McBride household is frantic but each activity, each chore, runs like clockwork now – from breakfast in the morning to lights out at night. “The kids all go to bed at different times and it’s normally around 11.30pm before I get to bed myself,” says Leah. “I love that moment where there’s peace in the house and I’m normally that tired I fall asleep straight away. “Having six children and two sets of twins is a full-time job and I’m kept very busy. But when I look at my kids and see how great they all are, I feel very blessed,” she adds. “I genuinely consider them to be a gift from God.”