How many siblings do you have?

[Salli]

I am the oldest of my parents' 7 kids!! YAY!! Seriously, I love them all and wish I was a tough enough lady to have a big family myself. I always feel bad for only children, but when I was a kid there were MANY days I wished I was one .

I come from big families. My grandma had 20 siblings. I guess half were half siblings. Her mom married my widower great-grandpa who already had 11 kids and then she had 10. I have 42 first cousins and 22 aunts and uncles. I <3 big families Buuuuuut I am only having my 2 boys (feels like 8).

[mlp4me]

It looks like having half-siblings is quite common. Myself, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I always had an older sister but this information was kept from me for 37 years. (Probably would have been forever if I hadn't used 23andme.com for unrelated reasons. I'm more bewildered than upset, though.)

I honestly think you're taking this really well given the circumstances. I can understand why you're upset; it's like you have the right to know what children your parents have had! And all those years have passed when you could have had at least some bonding time. I'm glad that you're excited for nieces and nephews. :o) I hope that things go well as you establish your relationship with her.


(On the flip side, try dealing with having a half sibiling at an age when society is pressuring you to have (or already have had) your own children. It's quite difficult to accept a 25 year age gap! I think I'm "winning" at this time with that much of an age difference! urgh.)

[SajiNoKami]

technically 3.
Older sister and brother through my bio dad. Met them when I was really young, be damned if I remember their names. The brother tried to contact me 15-20 years ago, but I just have no interest in connecting to relatives, so never got back to him.
Then a brother younger than me through my mother. I've lived with that one.

[ashes]

I guess though since I'm adopted I probably do have half-siblings out there.  I'm not so inclined to meet my biological parents, but I'd be curious to see what the half-sibs are like.  Still, it's not enough for me to go track them down.

[First Born]

I have one little brother, who seems to hate mlp, but I think he wants to seem "manly". 

[Shy Violet]

I have 1 younger sister. I picked 1 but technically I have a step brother and a step sister now since my dad remarried last week. I haven't met them yet since my dad lives in Europe and I'm in Canada. It's very strange to think about having new siblings at 31 years old. I just hope they don't have more kids because that would be crazy weird. 

[scarletjul]

3 sisters, all older than me. 

[brighteyes]

I have three brothers and three sisters, but I was the youngest and my older sisters and brothers feel more like aunts.  I was an aunt by the time I was three and a great aunt before I was 30. 

[Beldarna]

I have three, Two brothers, one older, one younger and a younger sister. The age gap between oldest and youngest is seven years.

I can make it more complicated if i want. Moms boyfriend who she's been with for the last ten years has two kids. I never count them as siblings as mom and her boyfriend have never lived together, but in a way they are step-siblings.

Dad is engaged to another women since ten years also and she has a bunch of kids. However, I've only met the youngest and that was two times more than 8 years ago so I don't count them at all.

[Salli]

I think you are taking the "new old sibling" thing really well too. I get new old siblings now and again when my siblings marry So far its been great and I love my in-laws but one is a waste of skin (junkie/thief/abuser). Its amazing what an impact it can have on your life. It can change your whole family dynamic.

Is she excited about having siblings? I try to imagine what it might feel like from her perspective, maybe even a bit of jealousy that you were kept while she was given up. It must be really complicated for all of you.

[Einhornbaby]

Officially I am an only child. Some years ago though I heard rumors about at least one sibling. I did not find out anything yet, my parents are very strict and dont tell me anything; they dont want to talk about that topic and I dont have anyone who I can ask... so I secretly hope, if there really IS somebody who is my sibling they will hopefully contact me one day!

[Sukeile]

Wow, there are some amazing stories and complicated relationships in this thread…

Here's my weird one!

I am the fourth child of my parents combined children.
My fathers third and my mothers second.
And their first one together.

So, I have three beloved older siblings, two brothers who are the same age but they are not twins or even blood related ( One from dad one from mom ) and an older sister.

My brothers and I lived in the same home but my sister lived with her mother ( who is also the mother of one of my brothers, they are "full" siblings )

I love them all sooo much and I honestly miss them almost all the time.

It made me so angry when anyone would say half siblings did not count as real siblings, because alongside my parents they were the most important people in my life.

There are six and eight years between us.

My brother and sister also have another brother and sister on their mothers side, the sister is younger than me and we used to always call each other "Quarter sisters"

My other brother has another sister the same age as me whom I have never met and he has only met her once.
I think he would like to know her better but they have had no contact since childhood unfortunately.

I also have a non-blood sister who used to babysit me a lot as a child.
She was in the same class as my two brothers and my family was like her bonus family when she was younger so we spent a lot of time together growing up.

I see her as a sister also even though we are not technically  related by blood or by law.

Sorry for babbling on…

I was just always a weird kid, I had learning disabilities and got bullied in school quite a bit.

So for me, my siblings were not only my family but also my best friends and protectors.

[Salli]

WOW that's quite a story Sukiele!

[HavACrumpet452]

I voted 6+. My mom has 5 girls including me. My dad has a couple of kids, I know 2 half brothers but didn't grow up with them. My older sister and closest younger sister also have half siblings their dads' side.

[Motion-Paradox]

None.

And no possible half siblings; my mother was about my age when she married and my father isn't much older, my mother had fertility problems and had to undergo hormone therapy to have just the one child and my father only had one girlfriend before he met my mother when he was about fifteen.

AND no cousins on my mother's side, I have an uncle but he's never even been on a date. I do have four cousins on my dad's side, but only two are biological cousins since the other two are the children of his adopted sibling, though I've never had very much contact with any of them since the only one of his siblings my dad gets along with is also the only one not to have children.

I always feel bad for only children.

Oh, don't feel bad for us, there are some people who don't have the temperment to grow up in the same house as another person; I know I've always needed a bit of alone time and still do....not to mention my education cost a fortune