‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman is celebrating her octuplets’ twelfth birthday.
The 45-year-old, who has a total of 14 children, took to Instagram on Tuesday night to wish a happy birthday to the eight children she famously welcomed via in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 2009.
‘Happy 12th birthday to 8 of the most kind, caring, and respectful kids I have ever known,’ the Los Angeles resident wrote. ‘Your compassion for all living things and value of humbly serving others is the definition of love.’
Almost teenagers! ‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman is celebrating her octuplets’ twelfth birthday
‘Happy 12th birthday to 8 of the most kind, caring, and respectful kids I have ever known,’ the Los Angeles resident wrote
‘Your compassion for all living things and value of humbly serving others is the definition of love,’ 45-year-old Nadya said
Eight of a kind: Nadya had Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, and Makai via IVF
Her post went on: ‘You make my heart full, and have blessed our lives abundantly. I am honored to be your mother. I love you Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, and Makai.
‘I know grandma would be incredibly proud, and is lovingly looking down upon you from above.’
Nadya included a pair of photos of the octuplets — whose last name she spells Solomon, unlike her own — smiling in a living room while wearing onesies with animal hoods. Two cradle cats in their arms.
While the birth of the octuplets 12 years ago made the family famous, it was the fact that Nadya already had six kids at home that really raised eyebrows.
In the spotlight: Nadya became famous when she carried her eight children after having 12 embryos implanted at once
‘I was misled by my doctor,’ Suleman asserted, saying she thought she would have only two children
Busy mom: Before the octuplets, she had already had six children via IVF (pictured 2012)
Wow! When Nadya gave birth to the octuplets at 31 weeks in 2009, 46 doctors and nurses were on hand to perform the C-section
Nadya was 21 years old and divorced when she began IVF in 1997, using money from a $165,000 settlement she got from suffering a back injury at her job.
Taken to court: Nadya’s doctor, Dr. Michael Kamrava, lost his medical license for negligence after he transferred twelve embryos, despite the recommended amount of three (pictured 2010)
She had her first child, a son named Elijah, in 2001, and her second, a daughter named Amerah, in 2002. She continued doing IVF, getting pregnant three more times, once with fraternal twins named Calyssa and Caleb.
Nadya still had 12 embryos left when, in 2008, Beverly Hills fertility specialist Dr. Michael Kamrava transferred all of them into her uterus.
The pair have differing stories on whose idea it was to use all 12 embryos at once, but in 2011, Dr. Kamrava lost his United States medical license, according to the New York Times.
‘I was misled by my doctor,’ Suleman asserted, saying she thought she would have only two children. ‘He told me we lost six embryos, he said they were expelled out of me, and that’s why he wanted to implant another six.’
When Nadya gave birth to the octuplets at 31 weeks in 2009, 46 doctors and nurses were on hand to perform the C-section, delivering six boys and two girls weighing between 1 lb. 8 oz. and 3 lbs. 4 oz.
The siblings became the longest surviving set of octuplets to be born in the U.S.
Home life: She documents the family’s life on social media, but mostly only shows the younger children because the older ones don’t want to be on camera
Plant-based: Earlier this year, she opened up about her family’s healthy lifestyle, sharing that 13 out of her 14 kids are vegan
‘We parents couldn’t possibly conceptualize how impactful our actions are on our children,’ she stressed. ‘They are sponges, seeping in everything we do, far more than everything we say’
Now, Nadya’s younger kids are featured predominantly in her social media photos, but she will occasionally post pictures of the older ones with their permission.
Earlier this year, she opened up about her family’s healthy lifestyle, sharing that 13 out of her 14 kids are vegan.
She explained that she is a ‘predominantly raw, ethical vegan’ and her older children have continued to follow her eating habits by choice.
‘My daughter Calyssa (pictured ingesting raw chard) has internalized and now exhibits similar healthy behaviors as me,’ she wrote. ‘My oldest, Eli, used to eat burgers nearly daily, and now is vegan on his own volition.
‘We parents couldn’t possibly conceptualize how impactful our actions are on our children,’ she stressed. ‘They are sponges, seeping in everything we do, far more than everything we say.’
She said her children eat ‘whole, plant-based foods with nearly no added ingredients’ aside from spices, while claiming their vegan lifestyle has prevented them from getting sick.
Healthy: She said her children eat ‘whole, plant-based foods with nearly no added ingredients’ aside from spices
Nadya has remained focused on maintaining their vegan diets amid the global crisis
Almost teens: Suleman’s octuplets — Noah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Nariyah, Maliyah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah — celebrated their 11th birthdays last year (pictured)
‘Though the byproduct of leading this lifestyle is strengthened immunity (my kids and I have never had a flu shot), increased energy, a heightened sense of mental clarity, physical fitness, and slowing the aging process.’
Nadya has remained focused on maintaining their vegan diets amid the global crisis, and the mother of 14 has shared numerous photos of her younger children accompanying her on her grocery shopping trips to Whole Foods.
‘Families, the MOST effective line of defense against pathogens (such as COVID-19) is to strengthen your immune system. How? By significantly increasing your daily intake of raw vegetables (particularly green leafy) and fruit!’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘Plants supply our bodies with a vast array of micronutrients (more essential than macronutrients). Though my kids eat a plentiful variety of both, I ingest so many raw plants, it became more pragmatic to blend.’
Like most parents across the country, Nadya has also been dealing with the stress of trying to navigate distance learning.
Honest: Earlier this year, she opened up about her family’s healthy lifestyle, explaining that she lets her kids have vegan ‘junk’ food once a week to keep them from feeling deprived
Adjustment: The mother of 14 has been dealing with the stress of trying to navigate distance learning with her kids amid the pandemic
Learning curve: In March, she shared photos of some of her kids sitting at separate tables with laptops in front of them while focusing on their online classes
In March of 2020, she shared two photos of nine of her kids sitting at separate tables with laptops in front of them while focusing on their online classes.
‘Made it through the first week of distance learning with 14 students!’ she wrote. ‘Guaranteed I’m not the only parent slightly stressed; though gleaning out the good in every situation, and teaching my children to do the same, is imperative.’
In 2019, Nadya revealed that her then-14-year-old son, Aidan, is severely autistic and needs total care and assistance at all times.
‘This is my adolescent infant Aidan. He is 14 years old, going on 1 in his head. Aidan is severely autistic and total care. He requires complete assistance in meeting all needs in activities of daily living,’ she began the lengthy post.
‘Aidan is non-verbal, requires feeding, changing (he is not potty trained), bathing, and one to one supervision, as he has no safety awareness and would walk aimlessly into traffic. I, his mother, am, and always have been, his ONLY care provider. This “job” is my life (other than caring for 13 other children singlehandedly).’