I’m a mum-of-13 at 36 and a nan too – I colour code the kids when I take them out and dinner takes three hours to prep
A SELF-STYLED “mad mama” famed for being a young mum-of-twelve revealed she has welcomed a new child into her brood.
Veronica Merritt had her first child at 14-years-old and admitted things “escalated quickly” after her first pregnancy.
And after years in the limelight with her clan, the 36-year-old is now welcoming another family member via adoption.
Artist Veronica lives in a nine-bed home with twelve of her kids and husband Marty, 37, whom she bought the “fixer upper” property for just £14k with in July.
Her children are Victoria, 23, Andrew, 18, Adam, 17, Mara, 15, Dash, 14, Darla, twelve, Marvelous, ten, Martalya, eight, Amelia, six, Delilah, five, Donovan, three, and Modi, one.
She now wants to adopt her “summer son” Michel who has spent a lot of time with the family over the years as Veronica is friends with his mum.
However, her extended family do not agree with her constantly expanding her family – particularly her sister Diana.
“When I first started having a large family, I remember my sister was not so supportive,” Veronica, based in New York, US, told Truly.
“She kept saying, ‘why would you have another baby? Why would you get pregnant again?’”
However, she assured that Michel will definitely be the last addition to her brood.
As she has so many children to keep tabs on, Veronica dresses them in different colours to tell them apart.
“I colour code the kids most of the time when we leave the house, although sometimes I’ll opt for matching clothes instead,” she told Fabulous.
“The colour coding system is incorporated into everything – their clothes and rooms.”
What’s more, making dinner can take up to three hours with so many people to cook for.
At 36-years-old, Veronica became a nan when her oldest daughter Victoria welcomed a baby of her own last year.
The mother-daughter-duo were pregnant at the same time which she described as “fabulous” because their babies are just two months apart in age.
Veronica unexpectedly fell pregnant in school, subsequently marrying and divorcing her then-boyfriend – the father of her oldest two children.
Despite being a teen mum herself, she’s strict on her kids not dating until they’re 18.
“I’m not very strict, I guess,” she said. “I have rules when it’s important, like don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, no dating until 18, come home before dark.
“But for the most part I’m just really chill.”
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