Althouse: "Octuplets Mom Has 6 Other Kids."

January 29, 2009

"Octuplets Mom Has 6 Other Kids."

"The woman and her children live on a cul-de-sac with her parents.... 'From what you know about this family, and this household, do you think they'll be able to support 14 kids?'... "Well... so far, they've been fine with the six they have. Fourteen I don't know."

Random photo from my files:

40 comments:

David said...: Hey, I had my car washed there last time I was in Madison.; 1/29/09, 9:26 AM
KCFleming said...: "The woman and her children live on a cul-de-sac with her parents."

High degree of likelihood she used fertility drugs. Why, if she already had six,and is apparently unmarried?

Mustn't judge, though.; 1/29/09, 9:27 AM
Drew W said...: Hmmm.

Single mother.

Fourteen kids.

It's gonna get mighty crowded in that shoe . . .; 1/29/09, 9:43 AM
kjbe said...: One was enough for me. Good luck to everyone, though.; 1/29/09, 9:44 AM
Bob said...: And just what is she doing for income?; 1/29/09, 10:12 AM
Simon said...: I suppose they'll find out if it is, indeed, cheaper by the dozen.; 1/29/09, 10:18 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This woman is Al Gore's public enemy #1.; 1/29/09, 10:20 AM
Triangle Man said...: No "tentacles" tag?; 1/29/09, 10:36 AM
reader_iam said...: Sounds like a show for TLC, on the same night as "Jon & Kate Make 8" and "17 and Counting."; 1/29/09, 10:44 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: Reader beat me to it. Look for the new series to debut by next fall.; 1/29/09, 11:40 AM
MommyLydia said...: There may not be any cases of naturally occurring pregnancies with 8 children, but there are cases of naturally occurring pregnancies with 10,11, and 12 babies. So seems 8 is at least feasibly possible to me.

Having 6 children at home already raises the likelihood for me there were no fertility drugs involved.; 1/29/09, 11:45 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: And in other news...Nancy Peloi was heard bemoaning the costs to the state.; 1/29/09, 11:56 AM
TMink said...: My wife and I have triplets who are 6. We are outnumbered. It makes a difference.

I cannot imagine having 6 children. 8 children sends me into a panic. A single mom with 14 kids strains credulity.

Is she using my money to raise them?

Trey; 1/29/09, 12:54 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Trey:

It could be the age 666.

I am sure things will be better & luckier when they are 777! :); 1/29/09, 1:41 PM
Revenant said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/29/09, 2:11 PM
Revenant said...: I've known two people (from separate families) who had more siblings than that, although in their case the kids were almost all born individually. So the older kids were available to mind the younger ones.

I can't even imagine dealing with eight three year olds in the same house. I get tired just TRYING to imagine it.; 1/29/09, 2:12 PM
TMink said...: AJ, you are a true friend! Of course it is becuase they are 6! Next year, I am gonna have money coming out of my ears!!!!!!

Trey; 1/29/09, 2:18 PM
traditionalguy said...: Try naming and remembering the names of these lookalikes. But they will all have individual personalities. The Toy-R-Us store nearby will have a good sales month every January. Is this what a Baby Boom means? If so its too much of a good thing... it's Wonderful.; 1/29/09, 2:38 PM
Cedarford said...: Lem said...
This woman is Al Gore's public enemy #1.

If she is a welfare momma parasite, relying on society to support her breeding choices - she is everyone's public enemy, not just Gore's.

And speaking of reckless and irresponsible.....Who the heck in the medical profession with any sense of ethics would give a single mom with 6 kids already - pro bono or public assistance for fertility treatments? Perhaps some pro-life ideologue?; 1/29/09, 3:01 PM
chickelit said...: This story was all over the John & Ken radio show last evening-nothing but phone-in hatred and venom. I listened for about 15 minutes, and then couldn't take it any longer.; 1/29/09, 3:09 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Let's do a real-live social experiment.

I recommend we get a bundle of Bill Gates's Foundation's money and give it to this lady and her 14kids so they no wants or needs for 20 years or so.

Then we can see if the kids turn out perfect!; 1/29/09, 3:11 PM
Deirdre Mundy said...: pro bono or public assistance for fertility treatments? Perhaps some pro-life ideologue?

Sorry, Cedarford-- We pro-life Idealogues also tend to oppose IVF! (Extra babies get frozen or "disposed of" doncha know....those of us who believe they're alive find that aspect a tad icky.....); 1/29/09, 3:38 PM
Bob said...: She obviously has that Pregnancy strategy down. Maybe we can have her post a few comments on the other thread...

What do the Grandparents think of all this? Their lovely daughter has, literally, filled their house with her children. I understand being a Grandparent is fun but to 14?; 1/29/09, 3:56 PM
KCFleming said...: I'm one of 13; no duplicates among us.

Some useful guidelines for the kids are:
1. survival of the fittest
2. take off my shirt
3. sneak into the kitchen at 3 a.m., the competition is lowest then
4. it's a good time to a take a hot shower before school too; tho you have to go back to bed
5. don't bother running away; no one will notice
6. eat everything you can find at neighbor's houses
7. oftentimes no one cares if you walk around nude, at least until age six, then at least wear shorts
8. every once in awhile, draw a big crayon heart for your momma; she needs it; 1/29/09, 4:13 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Pogo:

1 of 13! Good for your blessed parents. If you can, tell them I said at least one of their kids turned out pretty damn good!; 1/29/09, 4:18 PM
KCFleming said...: Thanks AJ.

I was a damned lucky kid; an idyllic time to grow up. We always had enough to play pretty much any sport. I never realized how freakish we were until I went to college. People were sometimes horrified when I told them.

Weird thing is, my mom was an only child herself. But she loved babies. Her favorite paintings are variations of the Madonna & child. My Dad was a big fat guy, and could balance a baby on his belly, and it would sleep there for hours while he snored, and never fall off.; 1/29/09, 4:32 PM
Anonymous said...: What's the big deal? So her home is now a day care.; 1/29/09, 5:21 PM
Eli Blake said...: 'From what you know about this family, and this household, do you think they'll be able to support 14 kids?'... "

Oh, don't worry. If she can't, you will.

Argument number one in favor of keeping abortion legal.; 1/29/09, 5:53 PM
Palladian said...: "Argument number one in favor of keeping abortion legal."

Yeah, if you can't pay for em, kill em!

Spoken like a true "humanist" liberal.; 1/29/09, 8:56 PM
Anonymous said...: I hope Social Services, or someone, is keeping an eye on that family. It's just plain weird.; 1/29/09, 9:53 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Wow Eli. You need to check and see if you still have a heart.; 1/29/09, 9:53 PM
Unknown said...: I would imagine that there is a strong possibility that at least some of those octuplets will have serious birth defects - cerebral palsy, perhaps. Twenty years ago, those first trips to the pediatrician were around $125 a visit. Every time one of those kids gets an ear infection....or one of those viruses they all get...with the diarrhea and vomiting...; 1/29/09, 10:37 PM
reader_iam said...: FWIW, it seems to me that, so far, there isn't exactly a surfeit of facts in evidence, and even less is there a patience for awaiting/discovering them. Is that the justification for the vituperation--and, of course, the validation for the underpinning speculation?; 1/29/09, 11:59 PM
theobromophile said...: I bet that Pampers and other companies will start donating products. For those companies, it's the cheapest advertising around. Eight kids is about one half-millionth of those born every year in the US, so they can get a ton of press for giving freebies to an infinitesimal portion of the market.

What you really ought to worry about is the cost of their college educations. All 8 will be eligible for financial aid, which means that the cost of educating them will be shifted, if ever so slightly, onto those who can pay more (i.e. have smaller families).

pro bono or public assistance for fertility treatments? Perhaps some pro-life ideologue?

As per above, pro-lifers are against IVF. Most of the time, you have to create excess embryos, which are either stored until they rot or thrown away. Some people even want to do research on them. Not our cup of tea. :); 1/30/09, 2:19 AM
jaed said...: nothing but phone-in hatred and venom

It seems to me this (the hate and vituperation) happens with pretty much every publicized multiple birth.

It also seems to me that it didn't used to happen. Twenty years ago when there was a multiple birth, people expressed a lot of trepidation for the parents but there wasn't invective and nastiness toward either parents or children.

I wonder what changed? Any ideas?; 1/30/09, 3:25 AM
KCFleming said...: "I wonder what changed? Any ideas?"

Because of the ubiquity of fertility drugs, the ease of having children on the taxpayer's dime, the prior rarity of these births compared to the numbing frequency now, the high cost of neonatal care, and the rise in unwed childbirth, to name a few.

But the octo- nano- multiples raise the issue of abortion, every time.

The Dionne quintuplets were a sensation precisely because it was rare. Now it's a common scientifically-induced freak of nature, a risk that doctors and women take on purpose, and it just smells wrong.; 1/30/09, 6:33 AM
Mike Ballburn said...: Apparently you don't have to have an octopus to have octobabes.

Bring back orphanages.; 1/30/09, 7:37 AM
Anonymous said...: Wonder which Beatles song she'd rank first: "Lady Madonna" or "Octopus' Garden"?; 1/30/09, 7:38 AM
Unknown said...: Is that the justification for the vituperation--and, of course, the validation for the underpinning speculation?
Hope i did not sound that way. The money is all I think about when I hear of multiple births. How in the world do they do it? I think: immunizations, well baby visits, braces, clothes, shoes, all those school fees that they nickel and dime you with, things you never, ever foresee when you get pregnant. I think it of those families on TV - how in the world do they do it.; 1/30/09, 2:06 PM
jaed said...: Because of the ubiquity of fertility drugs, the ease of having children on the taxpayer's dime, the prior rarity of these births compared to the numbing frequency now, the high cost of neonatal care, and the rise in unwed childbirth, to name a few.

Maybe. I'd contest most of these as factors. I question whether she was on fertility drugs since it doesn't make sense for her situation, and we don't know that. I'm sure there are more multiple births now than twenty years ago (actually, I'm not sure - selective abortion is far more accepted now than it was then, if it was even done then). But I don't see stories about lots-o-kids any more often now than then.

There was welfare twenty years ago, and a lot of state help for children. Didn't cause people to say vile things about such children. Neonatal care is costly now, but also was then. (Not to mention all the other costs of raising children.) Even if the parents don't have the means - and we don't even know that that's true in this case - again, it doesn't seem like adequate reason for hateful reactions to the children.

And as for unwed childbirth, this mother isn't married but I think most such publicized births are to married couples. This doesn't stop the spew against their children.

It might have something to do with the changing politics around abortion, but I'm starting to wonder whether it's biological - some sort of primate-level reaction, some instinct related to the instinct to kill deformed infants. I admit that's a stretch, but the reaction I see is so powerfully emotional, and so unmediated by normal compassion and courtesy, that I wonder. It seems so primal.; 1/30/09, 2:59 PM