Jon & Kate Plus 8

Infobox television
show_name =


caption =
format = Reality Television
picture_format =
runtime = approx. 23 minutes; specials approximately 46 minutes.
creator = Figure 8 Films
featuring = Jonathan, Kate, Cara, Madelyn, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel Gosselin
country = USA
network = Discovery Health Channel (2007)
TLC (2008-present)
first_aired = April 16, 2007 – Present
last_aired =
num_episodes =
list_episodes = List of Jon & Kate Plus 8 episodes
producer = Jennifer Stocks
imdb_id = 1124348
website = http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/jon-and-kate/jon-and-kate.html
tv_com_id = 72745

"Jon & Kate Plus 8" (sometimes styled as "Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht") is a reality television show produced in the United States by Figure 8 Films about the Gosselin family, consisting of parents Jon and Kate and their eight children—a set of fraternal twin girls and a set of sextuplets (three girls and three boys). The show follows the family through their daily lives, focusing on the challenges of raising multiple children. The show originally aired on Discovery Health but starting with Season 3, airs on TLC. The family originally appeared in a one-hour special titled "Surviving Sextuplets and Twins". The family lives in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

tory

Kate Gosselin is one of five children.Gosselin, Kate (2008-02-05). " [http://www.orato.com/arts-entertainment/2008/02/05/naptime-musings-jon-amp-kate-plus-8 Naptime Musings From Jon & Kate Plus 8] ". Orato. Retrieved on 2008-07-03.] She has three sisters and a brother. The latter, Kevin, is often seen on the television series with his wife, Jodi, and their four children Ashtyn, Braden, Alyssa, and Benney.

Jonathan Gosselin is the middle child of three boys. His brothers are Thomas and Mark. His father, Thomas Gosselin, was a pediatric dentist who died in 2005. The couple met on October 51997 at a picnic. According to the "How It All Began" episode, Jon was working at a hotel and Kate had recently graduated from her nursing program. According to Kate, "I never believed in 'love at first sight', but this came really close." They were married on June 121999 in "a perfect garden wedding with equally perfect weather".

Kate's desire to start a family was met with a feeling that she would not be able to conceive. She underwent testing and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome. The couple decided to turn to fertility treatments and immediately began intrauterine insemination or IUI, a procedure where no embryos are left over from the procedure. [cite web|last=Mosteller|first=Rachel|url=http://www.parentdish.com/2007/05/09/celebrity-dish-jon-and-kate-gosselin/|title=Celebrity Dish: Jon and Kate Gosselin|publisher=ParentDish|accessdate=2008-06-17] By February, Kate was pregnant with twins. The couple was thrilled, admitting to having prayed for twins because they were both baby crazy and feared they would fight over one baby. On October 8 2000, Cara and Mady were born, after a "rough" pregnancy.cite web |url=http://sixgosselins.com/Our_Story.html |title=Our Story |work=Sixgosselins.com |accessdate=2008-06-14] They were born six minutes apart. In birth order, they are Cara Nicole Gosselin and Madelyn "Mady" Kate Gosselin.

Quote box
quote =Your whole life flashes in front of your eyes... we had a house that was too small, we didn’t have a vehicle big enough, we didn’t have the income that would be required... there were just all these things flying at us. All those thoughts flooding through my mind equaled completely impossible.
source =Kate Gosselin
width =30%
align =right

When the twins turned three, Kate began to think about the possibility of having another child, while Jon was not so sure. On the couple's appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that aired on February 222008, Kate admitted that she had wanted to have another child because she wanted to know what it felt like to not have to split her time between two babies, while Jon was hesitant because he felt like the world is built for a family of four. According to Kate, a Korean infant became available while Kate was an obstetrics nurse. They decided not to adopt the baby boy, but instead return to fertility treatment. By October, Kate was pregnant. Five weeks later (after being hospitalized for over-stimulated ovaries), at the initial ultrasound, the doctor announced that there were seven sacs with six yolks, or embryos. According to Kate, this was very emotional news for them, and left her shaking and sobbing and Jon near tears, unable to look at the sonogram screen. The doctor suggested selective reduction, but the couple was absolutely against doing so.

After experiencing the "worst weekend of [her] entire life", Jon took the girls to the family's church. He asked if he should tell anyone about their situation, and Kate agreed that he should so that the church could start praying for their family. As soon as church was over, Jon and Kate received many calls of encouragement. According to Kate, "I began to feel like we could do this! With God's help, of course!"

In an article written for orato.com, Kate admitted that the video of her when she was pregnant with the sextuplets was actually three weeks before she gave birth. She added:

The sextuplets were born on birthdate |2004|5|10 at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. All six children were delivered within a span of three minutes with more than fifty doctors, nurses and other specialists involved. Since the sextuplets were born in Hershey, they are called "Hershey Kisses" by the nurses and doctors who delivered them.

Children

Born October 8, 2000
* Cara Nicole
* Madelyn "Mady" KateBorn May 10, 2004
* Aaden Jonathan – 2 lbs 7.5 oz (1.12 kg), convert|13|in|m
* Hannah Joy – 2 lbs 11 oz (1.2 kg), convert|13.8|in|m
* Alexis Faith – 2 lbs 11.5 oz (1.23 kg), convert|15|in|m
* Collin Thomas – 3 lbs 5 oz (1.4 kg), convert|15|in|m
* Leah Hope – 2 lbs 14.8 oz (1.33 kg), convert|15.4|in|m
* Joel Kevin – 2 lbs 9.7 oz (1.18 kg), convert|15.4|in|m

Production

Following the first two one-hour specials and prior to beginning filming on the series permanent light fixtures were installed in the Gosselin's home to facilitate filming and prevent the children from tripping over the wires and cables of temporary lighting. Unlike some reality series in which the stars are filmed at all times, "Jon & Kate Plus 8" is filmed only three days a week with one day set aside for the interview sessions where Jon and Kate, and occasionally the children, discuss the events which take place in each episode. Jon and Kate also work closely with producers to decide what themes will be presented in each episode. In addition, Jon and Kate have admitted that over the years the production crew has become part of the family.cite web|url=http://www.koreamjournal.com/Magazine/index.php/kj/2008/may/cover_story/just_the_10_of_us/(page)/1| title=JUST THE 10 OF US | publisher="KoreAm Journal"| author=Woo, Michelle| date= May 2008| accessdate=2008-08-07]

Videos and books

* Jon, Kate, and family friend Beth Carson have written a book called "Multiple Blessings" to be released November 12008. Originally, the book was listed with Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson as co-authors, however the cover credits Jon as a co-author as well. [ [http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/815071198?item_no=289020&netp_id=524244&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details Multiple Blessings: Surviving To Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets] book listing. Christianbooks.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-03.]
* Seasons 1 and 2 of "Jon and Kate Plus 8" were released on DVD on July 16 2008, distributed online only by Discovery.cite web|url=http://shopping.discovery.com/product-71335.html|title=Jon & Kate Plus 8: Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Set|work=Shopping.Discovery.com|accessdate=2008-06-03] . It will be released to mass market on September 9 2008, to be distributed by Genius (www.hotmoviesale.com). After this, TLC started selling Season 1 and Season 2 on separate DVDs.
*Seasons 1-2 will be released on October 21, 2008 in Canada.
*Season 3 DVD is coming out in November.
* The Gosselins are managed by Media Motion International in Los Angeles. [Media Motion International client listing. [http://mediamotionintl.com/ mediamotionintl.com] . Retrieved on 2008-07-03. ]

Episodes

Music/Soundtrack

* Scott Pearson & David Imhof through Influence Music Publishing, ASCAP

pecial guest appearances

* "The Martha Stewart Show" (October 2005)
* "The Dr. Phil Show" (April 2007)
* "The Today Show" (October 22007)
* "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (October 162007)
* "Access Hollywood" (October 222007)
* "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (February 222008)
* "The Today Show" (June 122008)
* "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" (June 132008)

External links

* [http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/jon-and-kate/jon-and-kate.html TLC: Jon & Kate + 8]
* [http://www.sixgosselins.com/ Gosselin Sextuplets & Twins] (family's official site)
* [http://www.figure8films.tv/shows/sst.htm Surviving Sextuplets & Twins] , Figure 8 Films
*
* [http://www.pacificcitizen.org/content/2007/entertainment/july20-lin-gosselins.htm "Eight is Great!"] "Pacific Citizen" feature article.