A day in the life of mum-of-six Jana Pittman: “Get help, it takes a village to raise a family”

Jana Pittman has already achieved a huge amount in her life so far – from being the first female Australian athelete to compete in both the Summer and the Winter Olympics games, to making a career change at the age of 34 and re-training as a medical doctor.

The proud mum of Cornelis (15), Emily (6), Jemina (5), Charlie (20 months) and girl-boy twin babies Willow and Quinlan, shares exclusively with Bounty Parents a day in the life of a mum of six!

What time does your day start?

Very early… or right now maybe it never finishes since the twins wake up all night. Let’s go by the rest of the family that get up at 5.30am most days.

What routines do you have in place to get everyone where they need to be for the day?

We prepare everything the day before – lunches done, uniforms on the bed and bags packed. A little rule we have is we can’t go downstairs and eat brekkie until we are all dressed and ready as a team. We routinely brush our teeth as a crew before we leave the house, too.

The kids are obsessed with Grin Natural’s range of products currently, which makes this quite an enjoyable experience. Homework is done as soon as they get home from school and then off to sport or playtime. If I am working this is either with my mum or our babysitter.

Mornings are typically challenging for families. We’d love to know your least favourite and most favourite thing about the mornings?

A fresh day means a new start no matter how the previous day turned out. I adore the first morning cuddles, all my kids are very snuggly (even the 15yr old) and they will come in to say hi and get their morning hug – or they might have rocked up at some time in the night to sleep with me. There is nothing better than those happy little faces.

Least favourite is usually the amount of washing I find has piled up in 24hrs… that’s six kids for you!

What does a meal look like for you these days? Do you manage to get a decent meal with time to enjoy it, or are you eating the kids’ scraps on the go?

Ahh yep! 90% of the time it’s kids’ scraps or leftovers but that’s ok. I love cooking and will do more once the twins are older again.

You’re so busy (congratulations on presenting at the #TSANZ conference!). With so many ambassador commitments and more, how do you find time in the day to get work done with those adorable twin faces to stare at?

Use their sleep time as much as you can. Get help, it takes a village to raise a family. Accept that sometimes you won’t get the work done you needed to and that’s ok too. Often, I work over the top of their heads! haha!

I’m also very passionate about only partnering with like-minded brands such as Grin, as this allows me to get the kids involved too so it’s nice to mix it up, enjoying time with them while working.

It really feels like you are accomplishing a lot! Is there anything that you’ve let slide or let go of during your parenting experience that you miss?

Yes, lots of things, but that’s a small price to pay – like most parents. I haven’t been to see a movie in ages, I miss cooking an extravagant meal and socially having a wine with my girlfriends, but that’s ok; there will be time for all that again in a few years.

Willow and Quinlan are three months old now and more adorable than ever! What’s your favourite thing about the twin-mum experience so far?

The smiles… definitely after a long night of sleeplessness to wake up to them both smiling at you is extraordinary.

What does a typical evening look like at your place? Are there any hacks or routines that you’ve developed along the way to help nights run smoothly at your place?

Same as the morning in reverse, but obviously lots of preparation for the next day. We all eat together and then its upstairs for baths and brushing teeth using with their Grin 1-2-3 Kid’s Starter Pack, which includes a sticker chart to keep them on track and makes it a fun experience.

The middle three jump in the bath/shower while I feed the twins and then they all read to each other or watch some tv while I get one baby asleep and the other helps me put the bigger kids to bed. Having lots of kids means they help each other a lot.

All the kids are in bed, sleeping. What’s the first thing you’re doing?

Ummm, not sure I remember the last time they were all sleeping! If they are all asleep so am I!!!