Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with a house full of kids.

And the same is true even for Kim Kardashian. In fact, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum recently got candid about the challenges that come with being a mom to her and ex-husband Kanye West’s four children, North, 11, Saint, 8, Chicago, 6, and Psalm, 5.

“I think you and I've mostly connected on parenting,” Kim said to pal Zoe Winkler on the Nov. 12 episode of the iHeartRadio What in the Winkler? podcast. “And judgment, and feeling like sometimes you're in this alone, even though we have great support systems and we have people around us.”

“But sometimes in the middle of the night,” she continued, “when they're all sleeping in your bed kicking you and crying and waking up—it’s not something that I talk about a lot because I feel like there is always a lot of judgment or people always will jump to the, ‘Oh, but you have the resources to have nannies and to have help.’ And I just think that no matter what kind of help I have, basically raising four kids by myself.”

The SKIMS founder went on to detail the busy morning routine she has with her children, including getting them ready for school.

“I mean even carpool this morning, I had five kids that I had to take,” she remembered. “And everyone wants to leave at like different times or wants different stuff. And I feel like I'm at like a pit stop of a race car driver.”

As Kim, who previously posted a glimpse of the agreement she and Saint had made over his social media account, continued, “You got to give yourself grace.”

And this idea of grace is something the 44-year-old has carried with her since she and Kanye split in 2022—especially when it comes to navigating and speaking about her divorce with her children.

"Ultimately, what matters is that kids feel loved and heard," Kim told GQ in an article published November 2023. "You want to be sensitive because they're just kids, and it's hard to go through no matter what age."

As the Kardashians star noted, "You have to make sure that you only go to a level that they can understand. It's okay to show a vulnerable side. You never go to a negative side."

However, Kim also allows herself to be honest and open about how she is feeling, even on the harder days.

"Just because I know how to manage my stress well doesn't mean that I don't feel the emotions," she said. "If I'm sad, of course I will cry and feel it."

For more of Kim’s candid thoughts on motherhood, keep reading. 

"Ultimately, what matters is that kids feel loved and heard," Kim—who filed for divorce from the rapper in 2021—told GQ in a November 2023 interview. "You want to be sensitive because they're just kids, and it's hard to go through no matter what age."

"She'll be like, 'Dad is the best,'" she shared on a November 2023 episode of The Kardashians. "'He has it all figured out. He doesn't have a nanny, he doesn't have a chef, he doesn't have security. He lives in an apartment.' And she'll start crying, 'Why don't you have an apartment? I can't believe we don't have an apartment.'"

In a November 2023 episode of The Kardashians, Kim joked her sister Kourtney Kardashian "always says that North is my lesson on this planet."

"I'm supposed to learn even more about patience—she teaches me patience," she quipped of her oldest daughter. "She has taught me a lot about life."

"I worry about giving my kids too much," she wrote in a Wealthsimple essay published in July 2018. "We don't do gifts. They have to really earn it. But we talk about it all the time, about not getting too much and just trying to be as grounded and well-rounded as possible."

"Being a mom just not makes you give a f--k about anything else but what's immediately going on inside in your home," she said during a Calvin Klein ad campaign photo shoot in 2018. "Sll the other stuff kind of fades away."

The SKIMS mogul added, "Nothing matters but your family, so I think it really helps you center and get grounded."

"It completely changed my life. You have a different set of proprieties," Kim once said in a Mobio Insider Q&A. "Nothing matters except your brand new family."

"I have such unconditional love for my kids," Kim shared in a 2017 blog post. "No matter what, I will always love them and support them in anything they choose to do in life."

Being a mom also shined new light on her own upbringing.

"My family was so close growing up; now that I'm a mom, I understand the bond my mom and dad felt with us," she added. "There can be ups and downs with kids but no matter what, I always learn so much from them. Being a mom is the most important job I have."

"I try to share my life. I definitely love doing that, but I think I'm a little bit more cautious these days about what I do share," she explained on The View after her Paris robbery. "I've learned through experience that things in real time I might change up a little bit. I might take a photo, save it, post it when I leave the place or when I'm in a different location because I don't think that worked out for me so well when I was posting every last detail."

"I took a hiatus after I had the baby, and found it challenging to start working again because I didn't want to spend any time away," she revealed to E! News after the birth of North West. "But you adjust and prioritize, and just figure it out!"

"I have to figure that out first before they really see and then if we're celebrating, you know, her, I just want to celebrate the baby," Kim shared on The Real in 2017. "I think I have to explain it to my kids first and figure out how I'm going to explain it to them."

"I'm like really thankful," she shared in a 2017 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "I'm seriously so grateful for her and that someone is just so like selfless and kind to do this."

"I know some people find breastfeeding such a private, personal experience, while other people are very open and even breastfeed in public," she wrote on her app in January 2015. "Now that I'm a mom, I say whatever makes you comfortable goes."

"We talk about baby brother all the time," the reality star told E! News in 2015. "She's so sweet and yesterday she said, ‘Mommy, can I give baby brother a kiss on your tummy?' and she kissed my stomach. "

Calling her daughter "super sweet," Kim admitted at the time that North does have "a hard time when I hold other babies but she's been getting a little bit better."

She added, "I'm hoping that with her brother it's a whole new experience."

"I don't take it for granted," Kim said in a 2015 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "The fact that this is a miracle that's happened and I'm just so blessed to be pregnant again." 

Then expecting her second baby, Kim wrote on Twitter June 2015, "Pregnant KiKi does not play!!!! *BLOOP!*"

"Precious moments like this when we were traveling on tour with you are what I live for," Kim wrote in a June 2015 instagram post. "You're such a good daddy to North & you will be the best daddy to our new son too!"

"I secretly loved the rumors I was faking my pregnancy bc I was so skinny!" Kim tweeted in July 2015, while she was pregnant with her son Saint. "LOL Well can't hide it now! 5 month (20weeks) and 20lbs up."

"You know it was really hard for me to get pregnant so I do feel really blessed that I am pregnant," she told E! News in November 2015, "and at the end of the day it is a million times worth it." 

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star fired back at trolls who claimed that she was faking her pregnancy, posting a nude selfie with the caption, "First they said I'm too skinny so I have to be faking it...Now they say I'm too big so I have to be faking it...SMH!"

"Everyone's body is different, every pregnancy is very different!" she continued in an August 2015 Instagram post. "I've learned to love my body at every stage!"

"This pregnancy, I would love a Lorraine Schwartz diamond choker, like the ones I've worn before to the Art + Film Gala," she quipped on her app in November 2015. "Too much? LOL!"

"Having my daughter is my biggest achievement. All the things you used to do, you just don't care about anymore. Your child becomes the #1 priority." -Kim Kardashian, Twitter, February 2015.

"Having my daughter is my biggest achievement," Kim tweeted in February 2015, before she welcomed her young daughter Chicago and sons Saint and Psalm. "All the things you used to do, you just don't care about anymore. Your child becomes the #1 priority."

"Feeling extra thin with all of the super models!" she joked on Instagram in October 2015. "LOL #InStyleAwards"

Kim recycled the Givenchy gown she wore to the 2013 Met Gala, during which she was pregnant with North, for a Halloween costume amid her pregnancy with Saint. 

"Still fits," she captioned an October 2015 snapshot. "I think I nailed the Kim K costume!"