Below I’ll be examining The Radford Family on the TV Show 22 Kids and Counting Series 3 Episode 1 shown on My5 at 9pm GMT on Sunday 8h January 2023. Everything mentioned is from the show itself. All non-specific opinions given are my own.
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The Radford Family headed by Sue and Noel and their 22 kids and counting have been growing right in front of us for years. Personally I have been following them since 15 Kids and Counting back in 2012!
Personally I have also had many exclusive interviews with Sue Radford. But also I have had the pleasure of meeting Sue and Noel in the flesh!
22 Kids and Counting Series 3 Episode 1
The synopsis of this episode of 22 Kids and Counting is that, “Second oldest daughter Chloe is rushed to hospital with birth complications and Sue celebrates her 47th birthday with a decision to focus on her fitness.”
How this is all presented to us goes a bit backwards and forwards! How I am going to write about this is I am going to arrange it into topics!
Sue Radford The 47th Birthday
Sue tells us how birthdays are made a big deal of in the Radford house. Especially the children. But this time they were celebrating Sue’s birthday. Sue explains that they had all the kids round to celebrate – and that is what makes it all the more special.
Throughout the show there’s a reoccurring theme about how Sue isn’t the one having babies now. How it’s about the grandchildren. That now Sue is getting older she is going to get her body back and get fitter.
Sue Radford Getting Her Body Back
Sue Radford has decided that after 16 years of pregnancy she is going to get her body back. First off Noel and one of the boys think that running would be a good idea. Out comes the treadmill – that we have previously seen Noel using to try to get fit. Once the kids finally finish it Sue gets a turn. But she soon finds her back aches; which leads her to decide that it isn’t a good idea for her.
Then Noel comes up with the idea that swimming would be a good idea. He says there will be less pressure on her back and joints. Plus Sue used to love it when she was younger and even used to swim for county!
Great North Swim
Sue finds an open water swim – The Great North Swim. It is half a mile. Thing is she only has 4 weeks to prepare! It is in June in Windermere and she opts for the half mile distance. Trouble is she hasn’t done open water swimming and doesn’t even like her bath cold!
“I am not one for cold water – I do not like cold water. Never done a cold water swim before.”
Training for the Swim
The Radford family go to a swimming pool so that Sue can do some training. Trouble is Noel finds it difficult to watch all the children whilst Sue tries to swim some lengths. Plus the children keep following her!
The Aquatic Treadmill
The Radfords decide to replace their hot tub with an aquatic treadmill. This will mean that it is ideal for Sue’s training because she can just step outside and train with no excuses.
This was a huge surprise for the kids as they did not know that the pool was coming. Sue and Noel tell everyone that everyone has to be up and ready quickly. With 9 children going to school it is like a military precision.
However, when the pool arrives Noel asks the delivery driver to hide round the corner because the kids are late leaving for school! He rings the delivery people back and tells them that it all needs doing before 3pm when the kids get back!
The swim spa is so big that they are worried that it will not fit into their garden. It has to be suspended 30ft in the air to make its way over the fence. They worry that everything will not be finished but everything is completed just in time before the kids come home.
The kids are excited and get changed straight into their swimwear. Tillie says, “Are you wasting your money again?” However, Sue says that not only will she be getting fit but that the kids will be too.
Eventually Sue gets her turn and puts on her wetsuit and goes in.
In order to swim undisturbed Sue gets up really early in the morning and swims after she has had a smoothie.
The Race Itself
Sue says she did it to,” Get fit, do something for myself, and challenge myself.”
Noel keeps repeating how proud he is of her. That there’s no way he would have done it. That it is a massive achievement.
On the day the sun was shining but there was a strong wind. Noel said he thought that Sue would chicken out or that it would be called off. That it was quite choppy. At times Noel said that they couldn’t see Sue and wondered if she was okay. But yet, despite it all Sue did it!
In fact extra marshals were sent out in the course due to the conditions. Sue said that it was so windy that she had to swim out and go a different way around the course. According to the results a Sue Radford was bib 1527 and had a time of 00:06:34.
Chloe Radford’s First Baby
The show also concentrated on Chloe Radford’s first baby.
Chloe is the third eldest Radford child at 27 years old. She is the fourth to have a grandchild for Sue and Noel – joining Chris (33), Sophie (29) and Millie (21).
When she told the family that she was expecting (8 months earlier) apparently Sophie started crying! Sue said that they were really shocked with Chloe’s announcement. Plus Chloe herself said that it felt weird that it was her that was pregnant and not her mum.
The Gender Reveal
The show covers Chloe’s gender reveal party. This is the first time that Chloe and her other half Jake have brought their families together. They say it is a nice way to get the two families together. That when you’ve got a big family then family events are amazing. It is mentioned that when the Radfords come in it’s like a stampede of people. That even Chloe’s 2 week old nephew Chester is there.
Neither of them know the sex of the baby which is revealed with confetti cannons from the clinic where they had the sexing scan. Chloe says that she is like a kid at Christmas.
The family members each decide which sex they think the baby will be. Sue is Team Boy and has blue nails and a blue top. Noel says he’s going to be different and say girl.
Sue and Noel Radford have had 11 boys and 11 girls. Sue thinks about how many gender reveals they have had and that now it is the kids’ turn. Sue and Noel say that they were not expecting Chloe to have children for a good while; but that it’s lovely.
Chloe seems disappointed when it is revealed that their baby is a girl and says to Jake about always wanting a boy. They both say they will not be having 22 kids! In fact this is repeated more than once.
After the reveal one of the Radford children says that she knew it was a girl and that she had even ordered a “girl’s” romper!
Chloe Radford’s First Baby Shopping
Chloe and Jake shopping for their baby. They talk about wondering what she will look like. Chloe is excited and says that she is counting down until she’s due.
The shopping trip is the first time they are faced with the expense of a baby. Plus Chloe is stopping work which is making things even tighter. When shopping Chloe is thinking about what things they really need. Jake is excited about a sling carrier – I think they said it was £130. It gets Chloe thinking about how expensive it has been for her mum and dad bringing up all those children!
Chloe Radford’s Bleed in Pregnancy
After shopping they go to The Radford Family home. Whilst there Chloe to the toilet. Sue is worried she has been gone a while so checks on her. Chloe says that there was blood on the tissue .Sue tells her not to worry but that she is going to have to ring the midwife.
At this point Chloe is 25 weeks pregnant, and is told that she and the baby have to be checked out immediately. Sue is genuinely worried. For sue any complications in pregnancy is a real trigger – bringing back memories of Alfie. Sue feels like it has been ages since she has heard from Chloe and hope she rings soon.
The midwife finds heartbeat to confirm she’s okay. She says she is absolutely fine. That sometimes it happens and they don’t know why.
Mother and Daughter Spa Day for Sue and Chloe
Sue decided that Chloe needed R&R so booked them a spa day. Chloe says she thinks everyone should have that quality time with their parents and that it’s not something that they get that often. She also goes on to say it will be nice to see Sue as a Nanna. They discuss how they think Jake will manage, and if they think that he will pass out.
Chloe’s First Labour
Sue is in the pool and jumps out and her phone is brought to her. At 37 weeks gestation Chloe’s waters have gone but there’s blood in it. Chloe tells her the hospital have said that it is an obstetrics emergency and to ring an ambulance. Chloe said there’s no need for Sue to go up. Sue asks her if there’s blood and when she tells her that there is Sue says that she is worried now. Chloe’s blood pressure is high. They say that they will check in half an hour and hope it comes down.
There is silence from Chloe so Sue and Noel don’t know how she getting on. They start to get worried. Noel says that it is a happy and exciting moment – but always that bit of worry.
After a worried night Chloe does a video call – she’s on a hormone drip. Then at 2:30 on the 23rd July they get a call to say that Mila has arrived. She was born at 1:10 in the morning and weighed 6lb 3oz. Sue and Noel discuss the fact that their smallest was Chris at 6lb 8oz. They ask Chloe about Mila’s hair and she shows them that she has got loads.
Mila joining the Other Radfords
Chloe says that the birth went well that it was just long. She feels a bit overwhelmed with it all.
This means that 4 of the eldest Radford children are now parents making it grandchild number 9. Noel says that it is no more for Sue and I but watch the grandchildren roll in.
The first stop for Mila is the Radford family home. There is the tradition of passing the new baby round. Chloe says how it is weird being on the other side – she is used to waiting to meet the new baby.
The next episode is on next week 15th January 2023