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Like many couples, Jon and Kate
Gosselin planned on having children,
but 8 children, all under the age
of 4, were not exactly part of their
plan. Plans change.
Kate had a "hunch"
that she would have difficulty getting
pregnant and she was right. She
suffered from Polycystic Ovarian
Syndrome, which prevented her from
ovulating on her own. Both she and
Jon were desperate for a family,
so they turned to fertility treatment.
Almost immediately they were pregnant…with
twins. They were thrilled.
Their twin girls, Maddy and Kara,
were perfect and Jon and Kate couldn’t
have been happier with their new
family. But Kate had another “hunch”.
She thought they should try for
more. After all, the twins were
pure joy, so why not add to that
joy?
But the next round of fertility
treatments gave them considerably
more than they bargained for. Kate’s
ultrasound was something neither
of them would ever forget. One by
one, 7 babies appeared on the screen.
As each one was counted, Jon and
Kate's excitement lessened. Both
Jon and Kate are very honest about
their feelings on this particular
day- they were devastated. They
didn't feel they could handle 9
children and certainly didn't think
they could afford them.
Feeling strongly against reduction,
Jon and Kate had to come to terms
with their situation. Reproduction
is a normal human event necessary
for the survival of the human race,
so infertility is simply not the
normal course of events and will
sometimes have exceptional results.
They were to be a family of 10.
In May of 2004, Kate gave birth
to 6 babies (one fetus never developed),
and the Gosselin's lives were changed
forever.
In the beginning, Kate had help from
many volunteers. Schedules and detailed
instructions were posted all over
the house. But eventually Kate was
exhausted by
the constant parade of helpers and
decided that she needed to take care
of her babies on her own. Jon, an
IT analyst, is gone Monday through
Friday from 7am to 7pm. Kate's day
is a nonstop rotating schedule of
feeding, changing, napping, bathing.
There are days when although her children
are bathed and dressed, she isn't.
This "day in the life"
will not only highlight the chaos
of a family of multiples, it will
also chronicle the emotional highs
and lows that these parents experience
each and every day. It is not Jon
and Kate's intention to sugar-coat
their lives. While they would not
change one thing about their family
and are totally in love with every
single child, they do admit that
there are many days when they truly
feel like giving up and must rely
on one another to get to the next
day.
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