Of course, as soon as news broke last week that California woman Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets, media outlets scrambled to talk to TV’s most famous mother of multiples, Kate Gosselin of the hit TLC show, “Jon & Kate Plus 8.” Kate and her husband are currently raising a pair of twin girls and sextuplets–all conceived via Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), another form of infertility treatment.

And while much of America is arguing about whether Suleman–who is single, living with her bankrupt parents, and has publically come out with her desire to be a TV “parenting expert”–was irresponsible in having so many children, in an interview with Michael Starr of The New York Post, Gosselin, a Christian, says, ” I believe that every life that is created has a purpose. However, personally, I would never have set out to even have a seventh child – especially if I was a single parent!”
Late last year, I interviewed Gosselin on her new book, “Multiple Blessings.” Here’s some of her advice for big families:
What are some of your favorite tips to raising a big family on a budget?
The funny thing is, with the economy the way that it is, we’re still doing the same things that we’ve always done because I felt very strongly about it. Long before they were telling us–when gas prices went up–to group your trips, I’ve been doing that just because it made sense for years.
Obviously, I stock up when things are on sale and watch the sale flyers. I plan my meals according to what is on sale that week.
I always said that …my job was to stay at home and make [Jon’s] money stretch further. I had always done this, but I got very serious about cooking from scratch. We like to eat organically. A loaf of bread is $3-plus, and you can make an organic loaf of bread–that tastes a hundred times better, by the way–for probably a nickel or a dime.
That’s probably the biggest thing that I have done and stuck to– just everything I can make from scratch, I do.
Where do you find the time to do that?
Fortunately, I love to cook. It’s my hobby, so it’s not a chore for me. I know it is a chore to a lot of people, but when I’m in my kitchen with 50 messes around me and I’m creating something, that’s probably one of the times that I’m happiest.
Stay tuned for the complete interview with Kate Gosselin.
So what do you think about the octuplet mom, Nadya Suleman? Do you think she’s done the right thing by giving life to so many? Or has she acted irresponsibly? Post your thoughts below.