Sextuplets

Kate Gosselin Parenting Lessons
parenting

What Kate Gosselin Can Teach Us About Raising a Large Family

For seven seasons, we've watched the famous Gosselin multiples grow up while their parents, Jon and Kate, became tabloid regulars.
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For seven seasons, we've watched the famous Gosselin multiples grow up while their parents, Jon and Kate, became tabloid regulars. After a controversial season, filled with conflicts, TLC has called it quits with the Gosselins, and the Kate Plus Eight finale will air this evening. Kate has received her share of negative press over the years, but everyone has shortcomings — especially when faced with a challenge like raising eight children. While we might not agree with all of Kate's parenting techniques, her example of raising a big family, has taught us a few important lessons. Here are five:

  1. Marriage and parenting is a partnership, not a dictatorship. Just as you tell your children not to be bossy, it's important to listen to your husband and know when to control a situation and when to let something go. Kate often struggled to give her husband control of even the smallest decisions like what the kids could wear for their daddy day out. It's always better to work together in the interest of the kids rather than your own personal preferences.
  2. Don't shun help. Even as a stay-at-home mom, sometimes extra help is needed, even if it's for a few hours a week. All moms need a little R&R to recharge.
  3. Expect the unexpected. Being prepared with all sorts of ammo will keep you one step ahead of the curve. Keep an emergency supply kit with extra clothing, diapers, snacks, and more in your car at all times.
  4. Kids enjoy adventures, but they also can be easily amused by little things too. Kate once entertained the whole crew by passing around a tiny plastic shark that she found in her bedroom. The kids loved passing it quietly around to each other, and after everyone had delighted in the surprise, Kate asked them to yell what it was all at once.
  5. No parent is perfect. Despite all the drama, the press, the split, and being on a reality TV show, Kate and Jon have raised eight intelligent, happy, normal, and pretty well behaved children. No parent is perfect, but Kate shows her love the best by providing her kids with a comfortable life, educational experiences, and college savings.

How do you feel about Kate Gosselin's parenting technique? What lessons has she taught you about parenting? And are you sad to see her go?

Kate Gosselin says "6 Is Just a Big Baby" on Kate Plus 8
Poll

Kate Gosselin Says "6 Is Just a Big Baby" Do You Agree?

Last night on Kate Plus 8, the mom of multiples talked about her sextuplets turning 6.
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Last night on Kate Plus 8, the mom of multiples talked about her sextuplets turning 6. The Gosselins have long referred to their twins, Mady and Cara as the big girls and Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel, and Leah, as the little kids. Kate wondered aloud when her youngest children will be considered just "kids" and quickly decided "6 is just a big baby — right?"

Photos courtesy of TLC

Mother of Septuplets Hasn't Held Them Yet
motherhood

Mother of Septuplets Hasn't Held Them Yet

When each of my children was born, the doctor handed them to me right after they arrived.
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When each of my children was born, the doctor handed them to me right after they arrived. While I wouldn't have minded if my husband had been offered the first hold, it was that moment when my eyes connected with those of my offspring's that I will never forget. I was shocked to learn that an Egyptian mother who gave birth to septuplets over the weekend had yet to cradle them. The report said:

A day after giving birth to septuplets, a 27-year-old Egyptian woman said Sunday she's only seen her babies on television and hopes to hold them and name them soon.

A medical emergency (the mother bled during her c-section) and hospital limitations (lack of incubators to accommodate the new babies) led to this delay. Medical professionals aside, who was the first to hold your baby?
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Get Motivated: Mom Runs Marathon After Giving Birth to Six!
exercise motivation

Get Motivated: Mom Runs Marathon After Giving Birth to Six!

Jenny Masche recently ran a marathon and it's one for the books.
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Jenny Masche recently ran a marathon and it's one for the books. No, she didn't break any records or finish first, but the point is that she ran it. See, Jenny completed the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego on May 31 and waiting for her at the finish line 5½ hours later were her six children: Sextuplets, who were not even a year old at the time.

The babies, all six of them, were born by Cesarean section and Jenny went into cardiac arrest during the delivery. So how did she go through surgery, heart failure, and figuring out how to raise six kids all while training for a marathon? Jenny recently told the Today show her simple training strategy, “As soon as I put them down at 7 o’clock at night, I’d literally throw my running shoes on and my friend and I would go and run for like two hours.”

Most new moms just want to hit the sack themselves so I am totally impressed! Now, on nights when the very last thing I want to do is go for a jog, I think of this story and it kicks my butt right into gear.

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