Passion Brinessa Ajayla Quinatee Martin is 10 days old, has 11 siblings and her mother Brinessa Martin is done. Probably.
‘‘I don’t think I’ll have any more,’’ 38-year-old Mrs Martin, from Maryland, said yesterday.
‘‘But I’m not saying no, because I’ve said that before.’’
Three years ago, Mrs Martin thought newborn daughter Diammond Sparckle Zedekeyah Lilly Ann would be her last.
And the arrival of Passion in the Martins’ lives, while welcome, adds strain to an already groaning daily routine.
On a school morning, Mrs Martin gets up about 5am to help bathe, clothe and feed her younger children, including Brandi Shyla Molly Robyn, 8, Indigo Raindrop Sapphire, 6, Cruz Richard, 5, and Clayton Adam Logan, 4.
Cruz has cerebral palsy.
Since the break-up of her marriage last year, she has cared for 11 of her children alone. Her eldest, Samantha, 19, lives in Queensland.
Sleep in the family has been precious since Passion was born.
The family is blended from previous relationships, but Mrs Martin said her children don’t give much thought to having different fathers.
‘‘They don’t treat each other differently,’’ she said. ‘‘They don’t see each other as a half brother or half sister.’’
There are six loads of washing to be done each day, and family car trips take place in a modified 14-seat Toyota Hiace.
The Martins learnt long ago the virtues of buying in bulk.
A fortnightly shopping trip costs upwards of $600. Mrs Martin buys 24 to 30 litres of long-life milk.
The household munches through three loaves of bread a day.
Mrs Martin once thought she would have three kids, and named her eldest daughters Samantha Jayne, Shantelle Victoria and Stephanie Catherine.
She devised the younger girls’ names using verses of poetry, an iPhone name-generating app and a love of adding letters.
‘‘I think one of Passion’s [names] might be African,’’ Mrs Martin said.