Jon and Kate Plus Eight

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

La Leaky League leader was HORRIFIED -apparently, it would have been better for me to have continued to nurse her, even if it meant I had to suffer from breast cancer and possibly die. I really couldn't believe that it would be better for my daughter to lose her mother than have formula.

Wow yeah I can't believe how radical some of those LLL women's views are. I had a professor who was involved with them and everyday, we seriously had to sit through 20 minutes of her going on and on about the cons of formula and how it "increases infant death rates."

Mind you this was in a Business Writing class. How on earth are you talking about breastfeeding when we were supposed to be discussing the format of a memo?? We all defintely included that in our course evaluations at the end.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I was amazed by the La Leche League leader who lived next door to me long ago - about 4 weeks before I had my second daughter I had a breast cancer scare. The oncologist and I agreed that after I gave birth I would nurse for six weeks, then wait six weeks so we could see if we had real cause to worry. (Everything worked out fine, thank God. I didn't have breast cancer, and the now-sixteen year old daughter is beautiful, brillant and healthy). The La Leaky League leader was HORRIFIED -apparently, it would have been better for me to have continued to nurse her, even if it meant I had to suffer from breast cancer and possibly die. I really couldn't believe that it would be better for my daughter to lose her mother than have formula.

Oh, goodness, how awful.

I've heard great things about LLL re: how they can help you if you're struggling with breastfeeding and they have so many resources to help, but I've also heard about judgmental stuff (though nothing quite as bad as your story. ). One of my favorite chapter sisters is involved in LLL...

The thing is that breastfeeding is not always a workable solutions for all babies in all cases. What would be better - to have starving babies or to use formula? augh.

On the other hand, I know some women who've been so offended by LLL-types who poke into their business that they're very skeptical of any public education about breastfeeding. Specifically this campaign:

http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfe...page=adcouncil

They saw it as poor use of funds and government intrusion into private decision-making.

I think my stance is somewhere in the middle.

Ack, sorry for the hijack.

[DreamfulSpirit]

You should check out this article that someone wrote on the show...probably got some of facts from that forum you've all been mentioning:

http://www.parentdish.com/2008/07/25...arents-for-tv/

[epchick]

I hate the people who keep saying "how can she not let her kids do _____, just because she doesn't want them to get dirty." And then they go on to say how their kids do _____ and its no big deal.

Maybe its because Kate has 8 kids, and you don't! So if the kids get dirty that is 8 shirts, 8 shorts/pants, 8 underwear, 16 socks, and 8 kids that all have to get cleaned at one time. Multiply that by the number of clothes, sheets, etc that Kate has to clean on a daily basis, and then maybe it'll become clear why she gets upset if one little outing gets the kids dirty.

Ugh these people

[carnation]

I finally saw 3 episodes of this show in a waiting room this week. The one I really remember is the one where they visited the crayon factory.

As I mentioned, I have 13 children. Kate is going to crack up in a very short amount of time if she doesn't chill out. Why the heck was she obsessing over her kids using markers? Yes, some might get dirty! Frequently mine did all get dirty and so what? We washed the clothes! We were planning to wash them anyway at the end of the day!

Honestly, you can't have a large family and try to micromanage them. Even micromanaging 1 would drive someone around the bend but 8? I learned early in the game to choose my battles.

I don't buy her claims of "But I have 8! No one understands my problems!" That's right, some of us don't because we have many more than that and we think she's a piker. We raise 'em without help either.

[SWTXBelle]

Dirt comes and goes.
Children - they grow up before you know it.
Chill out about the dirt!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by epchick

I hate the people who keep saying "how can she not let her kids do _____, just because she doesn't want them to get dirty." And then they go on to say how their kids do _____ and its no big deal.

Maybe its because Kate has 8 kids, and you don't! So if the kids get dirty that is 8 shirts, 8 shorts/pants, 8 underwear, 16 socks, and 8 kids that all have to get cleaned at one time. Multiply that by the number of clothes, sheets, etc that Kate has to clean on a daily basis, and then maybe it'll become clear why she gets upset if one little outing gets the kids dirty.

Ugh these people

No one made her have 8 kids. If she wanted something that sits quietly in a corner and never gets dirty or makes a mess, she should buy a Teddy Ruxpin.

And I doubt if all 8 of the kids are going to get equally filthy to the point that it necessitates washing every item all 8 of them wore. Honestly, except for undies and socks, they don't need clothes fresh from the washing machine every single day. There's a concept of PLAY CLOTHES, buy some!! (From the thrift store or Goodwill, not Gymboree.)

[SWTXBelle]

I think another important point is - if you have kids, you have messes. Be it 1, 4, 8 or 13 kids, messes will be made . It's a part of life. So you can just deal with what you have to do with a good attitude, or you can obsess about it and let the idea of having to do it turn you into a witch.
Plus, she has someone who comes and folds ALL of it. I don't - nope, for my mere 4 children I had to do the laundry, fold it, and put it away (until the kids were/are old enough to do it themselves - my teens do their own laundry).Throwing clothes in the washer and then the dryer really isn't a big deal. Even treating stains in this modern era is hardly on the level of having to beat them out on the rocks in the stream.

[AGDee]

She had less choice in having 8 kids than most do. Yes, she could have aborted some of them, which would REALLY have her under attack, but who plans to have 8 kids with only two pregnancies?

I think they're doing dang well for the situation.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AGDee

She had less choice in having 8 kids than most do. Yes, she could have aborted some of them, which would REALLY have her under attack, but who plans to have 8 kids with only two pregnancies?

I think they're doing dang well for the situation.

I probably should have said "no one made her have kids" period. But if you take fertility drugs, you need to know that you are rolling the dice for a possible multiple birth situation. I understand she had issues conceiving and that's why they went that route, but you need to prepare for the most extreme of things to happen.

Plus - the twins are old enough to be helping with chores like folding laundry and things of that nature.

[pinksirfidel]

Originally Posted by AGDee

She had less choice in having 8 kids than most do. Yes, she could have aborted some of them, which would REALLY have her under attack, but who plans to have 8 kids with only two pregnancies?

I think they're doing dang well for the situation.

I agree.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by AGDee

She had less choice in having 8 kids than most do. Yes, she could have aborted some of them, which would REALLY have her under attack, but who plans to have 8 kids with only two pregnancies?

I think they're doing dang well for the situation.

Well, many many many women who undergo fertility treatments and have huge multiple pregnancies DO choose to reduce the number of fetuses. It's the doctor's standard recommendation AFAIK. Of course in many cases some of the fetuses will die anyway before birth because it's just not a good situation for them.

And if she had decided to do that, she wouldn't be a semi-celebrity with her own TV show, so no one would care. I don't think that most women who reduce their multiple pregnancies advertise that fact...

Last night they visited Thomas the Train at the Strasberg Railroad Station.

I never thought I'd ever get to say this, but I really thought that all 8 kids were more well behaved than the parents last night. Jon and Kate now are definitely not the Jon and Kate of the "Surviving Twins and Sextuplets" episodes.

They go another another summer vacation next week, complete with a U-Haul truck and all. Can't wait to see this one!

Originally Posted by Jen

Regarding the actions of insane internet women, it's totally true and it doesn't matter if it's weddings, parenting or whatever - you get a group of 20-40 year old women together on one board and it turns into a snarling junior high full of flounces, arguments, name calling, insanely paranoid theories, you name it. The boards at NKOTB.com were closed and removed because of the insane, crazy women.

I don't know if it's like mass PMS or what, but when it's all women, the claws and tears and bitching and whining and dictatorship behaviour come out in a way they don't on more gender mixed boards.

SRSLY? I haven't been on there since May, so I had no idea they shut the boards down.

I've noticed several 'Guests' reading this JK8 thread recently. I won't be surprised if some of them are escaped psychos from the JK8forum.com forum.

I don't know...these most recent episodes have been just BLAH.

I'm starting to miss Beth and Aunt Jodi.

Last night, Kate mentioned that they're hoping to move to warmer weather, and they looked at properties (one in VA and a piece of land somewhere else) on their way to the Outer Banks. I can't help but wonder if it's because their entire community's shunned them. It's probably best for the kids, anyway.

Makes me want to go back to the OBX now.