Single Mom Who Gave Birth to Octuplets Proves Her Critics Wrong Celebrating Their 14th Birthday

The world was stunned after news of a mom giving birth to octuplets hit their televisions back in 2009. The mom's children are 14 years old and in the 8th grade in 2023, proving many of her detractors wrong.

Stories of moms giving birth to twins, triplets, and even quadruplets have become normal news in recent years. However, it's not every day the world hears about an "Octomom," the nickname coined by the media for Nadya Suleman back in 2009 after giving birth to eight babies.

Despite the moniker, Nadya prefers to simply be called mom and not "Octomom." This is because although she has her octuplets, she is also a mom to six older children who came before her youngest batch of children.

The World's First "Octomom"

When Nadya discovered she was pregnant, she wasn't expecting to hear what the doctor had to tell her. She was already a mom of six then, so it's easy to imagine how stunned she was to discover she wasn't carrying one child in her womb but eight!

Even the news of bearing quadruplets might have come easy for Nadya, but to discover being pregnant with eight children is a lot to take in for anybody. Despite it all, she endured the pregnancy, and her children became the world's first-ever surviving octuplets.

Her children, Nariyah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Maliyah, Josiah, Jonah, Noah, and Makai, turned 14 years old on January 27, 2023, and they are in the 8th grade. Nadya, now a single parent, marked her youngest kids' special day with a trip to a go-kart facility, followed by a fun pizza lunch in Orange County, California.

Nadya's Motherhood Journey

Being a mom was simply in Nadya's destiny. She gave birth to her first son in 2001 before giving birth to her first daughter a year later. She continued on with her In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments, which resulted in three more pregnancies, one of which gave birth to twins.

Although Nadya has embraced her role as a mother to fourteen children, she has openly admitted she never planned to become a mother to that many kids.

Already a mother to four sons and two daughters, Nadya was surprised to learn she was pregnant with octuplets but welcomed them anyway with open arms. When news spread of her pregnancy, people were quick to judge her situation.

"The mother's a nut. The mother—is something wrong with her?" Billy O'Reilly once said. She was called many names, from irresponsible to unstable. However, through it all, Nadya believed she was none of these.

Nadya insists she stayed responsible through the years. Despite choosing to remain single, she has worked hard to provide for her kids. She raises her fourteen children in a three-bedroom home in Orange County and has revolved her whole life around her kids.

Her Children's Unique Traits

Every year, Nadya is amazed by how her children grow up with their unique personalities. During their 13th birthday, she couldn't help but gush about them, saying:

"You are all growing into some of the most kind, humble, grateful, and loving human beings I have ever known. Each of you possess rare and unique characteristics, and are unlike any other child of your age, particularly in our society today."

There's nothing more fulfilling to a mother than to see her children grow up to be kind, compassionate human beings. For Nadya, her children's unique characteristics make her feel so many emotions, especially since she's worked hard through the years to raise them as a single mother.

A Medical Accident

Although Nadya has embraced her role as a mother to fourteen children, she has openly admitted she never planned to become a mother to that many kids. When she fell pregnant with her eight kids, she said she was "misled" by her doctor into thinking she would only have twins.

Her doctor, Dr. Michael Kamrava, ended up losing his medical license and moved out of the United States. Kamrava implanted a total of 12 embryos after saying they had lost six and needed to add six more.

By the time she fell pregnant with her octuplets, Nadya was already accustomed to how IVF treatments went down. In fact, she began undergoing IVF treatments in 1997, when she was only 21 years old.

Embracing Motherhood as it Goes

Despite it all, Nadya couldn't be happier. She has fought for her family and done everything to provide them with what they need. In fact, even her children see and appreciate all her efforts and make sure to acknowledge them whenever possible.

The proud mother marked the first day her eight kids entered the 8th grade. She commended her kids by telling them to be proud of themselves for being great role models to younger students and for being "kind, respectful, and helpful" to all those they meet.

She tries her best to document every single "first day of school" moment, but it can be quite difficult to arrange with fourteen children rushing to get ready for school on time. So, sometimes, these pictures come later on, but they still celebrate the start of a new school year.

Through the years, Nadya and her children have received comments from critics, particularly about how she never shares photos of her six older children. To silence these comments, she clarified that her older children did not want her to post a photo of their first day of school—a common situation for all parents of teenagers!

Acknowledging the Struggles

Nadya loves all her children unconditionally, but she'd be lying if she said it didn't come without struggles. Being a mom to fourteen children is no joke and comes with some overwhelming situations.

One of the most stressful situations for the mom is school season when she needs to plan six drop-offs and pick-ups. She calls herself the "official bus driver" but shares she wouldn't have it any other way.

Ultimately, Nadya doesn't know what she did to deserve being blessed "so bountifully" with her children. She has dedicated her life to her children and will continue to do so as they grow up.

Click here to read about the couple who adopted four children only to find out they are pregnant with quadruplets.