STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

CarrieS · Marc Jacobs

RE: I am so upset over this!

Kincali · Dooney & Bourke

I decided to do some research on my own and I found this newslink interesting(I highlighted my favorite quote in red)

I'm just a big fair is fair, person, and I feel if people/media are going to attack her then their stupid show should be ganked and I don't effin want to hear about the Duggars again.

Mother Of Sextuplets Faces Loss Of Medicaid-Funded Nurse (Society has a responsibility, says Mom)
Associated Press ^ | May 8, 2005

Posted on May 10, 2005 3:27:46 PM GMT-05:00 by Wolfie

Mother of sextuplets faces loss of Medicaid-funded nurse

WYOMISSING - A Berks County woman with year-old sextuplets and 4-year-old twins will appeal for continued nursing help from Medicaid beyond a one-year cutoff.

Kate Gosselin, whose husband has a 90-minute commute to a state job in Harrisburg, said she cannot safely manage eight small children.

The sextuplets - only the second set born in Pennsylvania and among fewer than 30 sets born worldwide - arrived 8 weeks premature but are thriving as they near their first birthday Tuesday.

"I will shout from the highest mountain that these are my children and I love them and I need help," Kate Gosselin said.

While the Gosselins appreciate the volunteers who streamed through their home in the early months, the children's routines improved with the arrival of Angie Krall, a licensed practical nurse who spends 30 hours a week with the family. Medicaid provides the temporary nursing support for premature babies, Gosselin said.

"She's fine-tuned and I trust her," Kate Gosselin said of the nurse, Angie Krall. "She's as good as a parent in this home."

The family cannot afford to pay Krall on their own, she said. Jonathan Gosselin, an information technology specialist who now works in the Gov.'s Office, was unemployed for much of last year.

Kate Gosselin said she feels society has a responsibility to help with the children, since modern medicine promotes the use of fertility drugs, which can lead to multiple births.

She has talked by telephone with Bobbi McCaughey, the Carlisle, Iowa, woman who delivered the world's only set of surviving septuplets in November 1997. McCaughey named the loss of privacy and the oversight of volunteers as among her biggest difficulties, Kate Gosselin said.

On the bright side, the Gosselin babies seem to have skirted the health problems that can plague premature babies and multiples. Each now weighs between 18 and 22 pounds.

"I look at six healthy babies and I feel a lot better, because it could be a lot, lot worse," Jonathan Gosselin said

CarrieS · Marc Jacobs

Kincali, Kate Gosselin also sickens me, especially for the comment in the red font. I'm so tired of people feeling so freaking entitled!

Suasoria · Chanel

That's disgusting - those people offend me too, as do the ones with 18 kids. Speaking of entitled: why do people feel they're "entitled" to have as many children as they want?

jj · Kate Spade

WOW! I did not knw that about the Gosselin. When she is interviewed, she says she chose to get pregnant after twins because she wanted the joy of having one baby. It was completely HER choice, they chose to spend however much money on IVF and they should be responsible for handling the situation they put themselves in.

Another thing that scares me: turing these families into celebrities. Jon and Kate have a TV show and get boatloads of free stuff. So did the McCaugheys - I think they got a house donated to them and full college tuition funds for each child. That's not normal.

Elle · Hermes

jj wrote:

WOW! I did not knw that about the Gosselin. When she is interviewed, she says she chose to get pregnant after twins because she wanted the joy of having one baby. It was completely HER choice, they chose to spend however much money on IVF and they should be responsible for handling the situation they put themselves in.

I don't love the comments from Kate Gosselin either (and those comments were made more than 3 years ago, so maybe her opinion would be different), however, I don't think she deserves to be crucified by those who don't know their situation. FYI, she used clomid (a mild, oral medication which is step 1 in infertility treatment and is frequently given by regular GYNs without monitoring) and did in intra-uterine insemination, which involes sticking a tube full of sperm into the uterus and discharging it. That's it. Probably less than $300 total per attempt. No thousands of dollars and insane amounts of embryos transferred. She had a perfectly normal/expected response with her first successful attempt, there was no reason to believe the outcome would be so different. She has PCOS which in some women prevents regular ovulation, so the probability that she could have gotten pregnant at all without intervention is slim to none. Medical condition, meet treatment.

Everyone takes a chance, fertility treatment or not, when they choose to get pregnant. Some people can afford one but not two. Or two but not three. Did they plan on six? Did they wish for six? Did they do whatever they could to increase their odds for high-order multiples? No. Maybe you would have made a different decision when it came to talking reduction, but I think they made the decision they thought was right for them, which is all anyone can do.

Now, going through multiple IVFs with an unheard of number of embryos transferred when you already have 6 other children and have no job or help raising them simply because you want lots of kids is horrifyingly irresponsible. And a goodly portion of that responsiblity lies with the doctor that was making the decisions on her cycle, IMO. I don't think it matters if she was the world's first purple trillionaire - one person simply cannot care for that many children by themselves and provide the nurturing and individual attention that they need.

I also agree with Relrel that a person's personal reproductive choices are theirs and theirs alone, so obviously I'm conflicted as I'm sure many of us are. I also find the media coverage of it highly disturbing, since they are turning her and her family into a circus sideshow and telling people what to think about it at the same time.

-- Edited by Elle at 20:35, 2009-02-17

blink · Coach

I totally think OctoMom is nutters, but this whole story doesn't stir me up.

Yes, it sucks that taxpayers have to foot the bill for her irresponsibility. I would be in favor of stricter laws on the medical providers who allowed this to happen. Obviously, it's not fair. But in the grand scheme of things, hers are innocent children and I am kinda okay with tax money going to them instead of less meaningful things like congressmen having luxurious dinners, private jets, hotels, entertainment, etc. It just seems like there are many more substantially wasteful ways our tax dollars can and are spent.

I had a big laugh when I was watching The Insider the other day and they stated that they had interviewed some of OctoMom's neighbors (who must obviously not have young children or maybe work instead of stay home going crazy with kids all day) who described a "volatile" home life, lots of yelling and sometimes children running around naked. Isn't that so hilariously beyond obvious? HELLO, these are young children...and lots of them, they aren't going to be "quiet." I only have 2 toddler boys and sometimes that is how someone could describe MY HOUSE! LOL! Kids are noisy, toddlers strip their clothes off and run around and squeal and how in the world could someone seriously expect that they would be properly dressed and tucked in all day? Now maybe Octomom's house is truly volatile as the neighbors supposedly described, the imagination goes wild here, but I just thought that The Insider's observation of the situation was just a huge DUH. She's basically running a home daycare, it's gotta be crazytown all day every day in that house, even if she were the sanest and most organized person we'd ever seen.

Anyway...the story doesn't get my blood boiling, but it's definitely given me more than a few laughs. She's just so flippin' weird! WTH is up with her?

Sandy · Kate Spade

Re: Jon and Kate Gosselin... I try not to judge them. I've seen their show. I may not like her attitude, and I may not think that allowing your children to be on television every. single. week. is a good idea. But at the end of the day, I think they're trying to do what's best for their family in the best way they know how. I just try to be happy that those 8 children get opportunities to do things that they certainly wouldn't have had without the show. They get to see Mickey Mouse at Disney World, wear pretty clothes, and spend more time with Mommy and Daddy. That's how I like to look at it.

Re: Octo-mom... I just think she's crazy. I feel sorry for her 14 (!!!) children, and I pray that those 8 little babies might get half as many fun and happy opportunities as the Gosselins. I hope that they lead normal lives filled with hugs, kisses, and love. I'm not so sure that will be the case, but I sure hope so.