Review: MULTIPLE BLES8INGS


TITLE: MULTIPLE BLES8INGS: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets
AUTHORS: Jon & Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson
PUB DATE: Oct 14, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-310-28902-9
PUBLISHER: Zondervan

“Today I could very well loose my mind” is a quote that we hear Kate saying during the introduction to the show. If you are a fan of the show like I am this is a great book to read. I have to admit I didn’t watch the first season of Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC, so there was alot I missed or didn’t understand. This is a great book that answers all those questions I had.

The first thing Jon said to Kate was “Are you going to let anyone else have a turn holding that baby?” upon seeing each other one day. He was a 21 year old soccer player and she was 23 years old having lunch with friends. After that Kate wanted to know more about Jon.

Six months later they were engaged and then on June 1999 they were married in a friends garden in Pennsylvania. Soon after the desire to have a baby set in. Kate discovered she had Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome. (She couldn’t ovulate.) They went to a infertility specialist and Kate started injections. Their first attempt was unsuccessful. They tried again. Finally Kate was pregnant. They shortly discovered that Kate was carrying twins. (Cara & Maddy)The girls arrived in Oct 2000.

Through the severe morning sickness, Kate was in and out of the hospital for dehydration and was put on medication for the morning sickness. I can relate with Kate on this cause I too had suffered this during my pregnancy with my son. Thankfully medication helped us both.

Kate was a nurse at a dialysis clinic but went on to become a labour & delivery nurse when the girls were one years old. In the back of Kate’s mind she kept thinking about having another baby. Jon was very reluctant. Kate longed to be a mother and Jon finally agreed that they would try one more time. They went to a new fertility specialist that lived closer to where they lived. It was in Nov 2003 that they discovered they were expecting sextuplets. Their doctor wanted them both to think about terminating some of the births cause it could turn fatal for Kate. With their strong belief in God they stood their ground and said NO!

Christmas eve Kate got the scare of her life. She awoke in pain and was rushed to the hospital. She thought that she was miscarrying. Thankfully she wasn’t. The pregnancy was taking its toll on Kate physically. She was put on complete bed rest and hooked up to fetal monitors etc. During this time Jon had lost his job and was worrying about what he was going to do.

Even in the book there isn’t much talk about the families of Jon & Kate. When Kate was in the hospital for the sextuplets her mother visited everyday and Jon’s dad (who later died) bought Kate a laptop with a web camera and calling cards so that she could keep in touch with the family. During the pregnancy Leah had low anomic fluid which was another thing I could relate with as Michael had low anomic fluid too. Thankfully Kate didn’t have to be induced like I was.

May 2004 the sextuplets were born: Alexis Faith (for the important role Faith playes in there lives), Hannah Joy (for how she felt carrying the sextuplets), Leah Hope (hope filled her days), Aaden Jonathan (named after Jon), Collin Thomas (after Jon’s dad), and Joel Kevin (after Kate’s brother).

I was always wondering how they knew Joan and Beth. The two ladies who always seem to be around them. Well Joan is a family friend. She was there when Jon was born and babysat him when he was young. Beth was a volunteer that came to help Kate when she brought the sextuplets home. She had written kate a letter and kate dismissed it until one night she read it and Beth and her got to talk and have been friends ever since then.

It was nice to read as the chapters all began with a biblical verse. You can tell they are strong in their faith as its well known throughout the book.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
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