Crowed house:The ever-growing family (from left) Febrianne, Brittany, Caitlin, Georgia, Natasha with her son Branford, Joanne Watson with Nerrily-Jade, John Watson with Lily-Arna, Mariah, Shanice, and Bradley with baby Armani and Charlie
Celebrity mothers are often praised for regaining their svelte figures soon after giving birth.
Liz Hurley, Victoria Beckham and Geri Halliwell doubtless have an army of personal trainers and dieticians to help them.
But Joanne Watson had no assistance getting back to a size zero - despite giving birth 13 times.
The 36-year-old grandmother says there is no secret to retaining her remarkable figure -although it may have something to do with the work involved in looking after her enormous family.
She and husband John, a 42-year-old lorry driver, feed and look after 11 of their children at their four-bedroom home in Guernsey.
And now they are expecting again.
But as Mrs Watson says: "I wouldn't have it any other way. My family is my life. We both wanted to have another baby. I have been pregnant so often that I miss having a bump."
And ever since she gave birth to Natasha 18 years ago, that bump has always disappeared pretty quickly.
Mrs Watson, who is 5ft 2in tall, has a 23in waist and weighs just 7st 3lb, has always been petite.
Before the birth of her first child, she was a trim size six. And miraculously she was back in her old jeans four days after giving birth.
Now even smaller at a size four - the controversial size zero in the U.S. - she recalls: "I certainly wasn't ready for a life in elastic-waisted trousers."
She insists she has never been on any kind of diet during her pregnancies, and even indulged in meals of burgers and chips.
When she became pregnant again eight months after Natasha was born, she never got any bigger than a size eight.
Bradley, now 16, was next to be born, followed by Shanice, 15, Mariah, 11, Georgia, ten, Caitlin, eight, Brittany, seven, Febrianne, six, Charlie, four, Lily-Arna, three, Nerrily- Jade, two, and one-year-old Armani.
The couple also had baby Augustina, who was born prematurely and died when she was less than a day old.
Not once has Mrs Watson had any trouble losing weight after the births.
She said: "A few days after giving birth to baby Bradley, I tiptoed on to the scales and gasped as the needle came to a halt. I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight, 7st 3lb. My friends would ask me what the secret was but I don't have one.
"It's not something I boast about - it's always just happened. I guess I'm just naturally slim. And of course there is a lot of running around when you have a family as big as ours, so that probably burns off a few calories too."
She added: "I sometimes get into trouble by borrowing stuff from my daughters' wardrobes."
It is not just her figure that attracts attention.
She said: "When we all go out together in our big red minibus, people look at us in wonder.'I don't know how you cope,' they say, bewildered.
"But for me it's natural. I took to motherhood like a duck to water.
"I loved nothing better than spending time with Natasha and all the other children since.
"And amazingly we manage to squeeze everyone under one roof."
Mrs Watson, who now has a grandchild after her daughter had baby Branford, is delighted to be pregnant again.
She said: "Every time is exciting again and all the children are excited too. Who knows whether I'll fit back into my jeans after this one? We'll have to wait and see."
Story By LUKE SALKELD
The Size Zero Mother Of 13
Re: The Size Zero Mother Of 13
