PERFECT SIX Y BABY ESSING!

The political journalist's busy household is full of love and happiness

Being a mum gets better with every baby," says political journalist and māmā-of-six Maiki Sherman, sitting down to chat during a rare moment of peace at her Wellington home.

It's 9am on a Tuesday and Maiki and her partner Anaru MacDougall's newest love, six-month-old Onoaio Eve, is asleep in her cot, with big siblings Hemaima-te-wai, 13, Kahikatea, 10, Mihipaea Te Tonga, six, Rangitukehu, five, and Turei Heke, three, all safely  dropped at their kura and kōhanga reo.

"It's not often this quiet in our house," laughs Maiki, who is deputy political editor for 1 News. "But I love our big whānau. Our house is busy, but it's full of love and happiness.

And the beautiful thing about each baby is it gets easier. There is no anxiety... You become a master, you know what you're doing and you can just enjoy it." With her six-month maternity leave ending this month, Maiki, 35, is relishing her final weeks at home with her tamariki.

It's the longest period of leave she's taken since the t birth of her first child and Maiki has loved every second spent with Onoaio, who was born on 6 December, the same date as her brother Turei Heke.

Maiki laughs as she recalls Onoaio's arrival, telling us she'd spent the day rushing around preparing for her little boy's third birthday celebrations. A quick midwife visit revealed she was 6cm dilated, yet she had hardly noticed any contractions! "I was four days past my due date, but I was in full-on birthday mode, so I think I was too busy to realise what was happening," she smiles. After celebrating with pizza and cake with whānau, her contractions really made themselves known.

But instead of rushing to the hospital, the dedicated student, who is studying towards a Bachelor of Mātauranga Māori (Māori Knowledge), logged on to her two-hour online class.