Jon and Kate plus 8

[Jb1227]

Has anyone else seen this show??? It's on the discovery channel, I think. Maybe TLC?

I watch it with almost a sick obsession.

The mother of the show, Kate, who is Dxed with PCOS had a set of twins after IVF. When the twins were two years old, she decides that she wants to have another baby. She does everything the same but when she goes in for her first US, the tech found 7 heartbeats. One of the 7 died inutero but she still 6 babies at once! 6!!!! So this brings her to a total of 8, sextuplets and a set of twins.

I've been on clomid for a couple months now with no success. This scares me to death to have this many kids at once. Part of me would be ecstatic and then shortly afterward when I would regain consciousness, I don't think I would know how to feel. I somehow see that at the end of the road. There's always another step if something doesn't work. There are always more treatments and medications. It seems like at the end of the road you have more and more chances to have crazy numbers of multiples. I know there have to be people on here with multiples.

What have your experiences been like? Did you have any complications with multiples? I'm just so curius after watching that show!

[A1Bailey]

Wow! I don't watch the show - but now I'd like to catch an episode just to see how she deals with that! You would have to be very organized!

One of my friends has had many more fert treatments than I have and she once told me that most Drs won't do IVF with more than 2 (at max 3) embryos. IVF has come a long way and good Drs don't have to use so many, typically. If fact, she wanted 4 embys implanted and he said that doing that was an ethical issue for him. He had a very high success rate and thought it would be in the best interests of the kiddos to limit her to 2. And now she has 2 very healthy babies! Yeah! She is a 36 year old PCOSer. She is getting 2 more implanted this summer.

Bailey

[Jb1227]

Bailey,
I didn't know that about only using 2 embryos. That eases my mind some.
Do you know how insurance covers IVF? I know it's very expensive and I'm sure insurance doesn't really help with covering it.

[~Sandra]

I love John and Kate and the kids!
I watched the original special a year ago and hoped they'd make a weekly show.
Are you sure that they had IVF though? On the original special she said that she had PCOS and used "IUI" to get pregnant.
I would imagine it was injectables + IUI.
I can't imagine that it was IVF. I bet she overstimmed and wasn't monitored closely enough.

Just my opinion though

[jennlynnmahan]

I thought that she did IUI and not IVF when she got pregnant with the 7. Which I think makes more sense, because they can't limit how many eggs are implanted with IUI's. My clinic will not transfer back more than 3 at a time with IVF. We put back 2 and have 2 beautiful babies from it.

[jennlynnmahan]

Sandra - We were posting at the same time with the same thought. The chance of twins/triplets is higher with IVF, but typically (of course there are some exceptions) you don't see higher multiples than that. You get the higher multiples when you ovaries respond well to Clomid or injectibles and you release a ton of eggs.

[hopeful06]

I saw the show too and loved it! Her twins were IVF and the sextuplets were IUI from what i understood them to say on the show last week. I just don't know how she doesn't pull her hair out. LOL But, I guess if you are blessed with that many, God would get you through it. So far on the show I have not seen anyone there to help her with the kids, she is doing the everday care herself. quite an amazing woman.

[~Sandra]

I feel bad for the family, there's a lot of negative stuff floating around the 'Net about them. They seem to be taking it all as it comes though. I love that they're so real on the show. They know that they bark at each other and don't always come across as loving but in the grand scheme of things, it works for them.

I also think it's so great that she's a neat freak and germ phobic. Because really, it's pretty much the only think she has any control over in her day-to-day life. A woman after my own heart!

[A1Bailey]

Jen,

My friend paid all out of pocket for her IVF. Every insurance is different, but it's $$$ any way you look at it. There are not many plans that cover it.

Bailey

[KeLLi23xo]

I watched this last night and they were actually on Dr. Phil this afternoon. I would go crazy with 6 kids. Seriously, and she has 8!!

[happywife]

I watch them too....I see how she lost all her weight!!! I thought to myself,she sure is a slim PCOSer...w/ her lifestyle,I'd be slimmer too!

[Coastal]

Gah!!! I meant to watch that last night! I watch Little People Big World and kept seeing the commercials for it. Of course, by the time it finally came on, I had gotten caught up in other things. I can't even imagine myself with twins, let alone EIGHT!!! More power to them!

[mommy1]

I've only seen the show once. I too enjoy watching those shows and wondering how would I cope?? I know a family that has quadruplets and it was iui w/ injectables. She has pcos too. She says that after many years of ttc when you get blessed with high order multiples you just find a way. It is overwhelming at times but they have a really good support system. You'd have to I guess.

[Coastal]

I would imagine that since high order births get so much nat'l attn they probably get a lot of donations for the first couple years. But after that, WOW!!.. I can't imagine the income you'd have to have just to make ends meet! Just think about college tuition!

[HOLLAND]

I had no idea IUI could get you so many babies at one time