Oldest Living Octuplets Are All Grown Up - Today The Children Are At The Age Of Eleven

Nov 29, 2020 by apost team

Natalie Suleman first became world-famous as 'Octomom' in 2009, when she made headlines for giving birth to octuplets she became pregnant with as a result of IVF treatment. 

More than a decade later, the Suleman's are thriving in their home in Lancaster, California, with the doting mother posting regular updates about her children on Instagram. As the octuplets approach their 12th birthday, we're taking a look at how Suleman raises 14 children on her own, as well as just how much the adorable bunch has grown over the years. 

At the start of this year, Suleman shared a photo of her eight children sitting at a long table in anticipation of their birthday celebration meal. They are all wearing crowns and holding up a finger on each of their hands to symbolize their 11th birthday. Time does fly! Suleman wrote in the caption:

"Happy birthday to my beautiful angels. You are some of the kindest, most compassionate, caring human beings I've ever known. Words cannot express how grateful I am to be your mother. You all have blessed my life immensely and I thank God daily for trusting me to care for, shape the lives of, and influence all of you."

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She continued in the same reflective tone:

"Recent tragic events of loved ones lost are a powerful reminder of how fragile, precarious, yet precious life is, as tomorrow is never promised. We need to hug our loved ones a little longer and a little harder while they are here. You are my miracles, my angels, and I will love you with all my heart, forever. Happy 11th birthday."

The Suleman octuplets genuinely are miracles, as a healthy set of octuplets is very rare. Just a week into their lives, the eight children already made history as the oldest surviving set of octuplets, while their mother received a Guinness World Record for Most Children Delivered At Birth To Survive.

Suleman was already a mom of six when she became pregnant with the octuplets but dreamt of an even bigger family, which led her to seek IVF treatment. The treatment was the subject of controversy as Suleman's doctor at the time, Michael Kamrava, had implanted her with 12 embryos, a whopping six times the safe amount for Suleman's age. The incident followed another controversy concerning Kamrava, whereby the now-former doctor implanted seven embryos in another 49-year-old patient of his. According to NBC, Kamrava had his doctor's license revoked in 2011.

According to the New York Times, Suleman went into labor at 31 weeks pregnant, which had 46 doctors and nurses scramble to perform a C-section. She gave birth to eight children, Noah, Maliyah, Nariyah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, and Makai, on January 26, 2009. Since then, the mother of 14 became thrust to the public forefront, with tabloids scrutinizing her for her choice in having so many children as a single mother with no job at the time. Suleman, dubbed 'Octomom' by the press, desperate to put food on the table, would often cash in from media outlets for exclusive photos and interviews. In 2010, Suleman told Oprah that her playing into the media's hands made her feel "ashamed." 

"That is not my character. I am shy," Suleman said. "I always have shied away from cameras. But I feel as though I needed to do something. And in doing so, I was able to provide for my kids. We have some of that money still left until I figure another way to make ends meet."

It is clear that her underlying ethos has been to care for and provide a secure home for her children—she is only human, after all. When the octuplets turned 10, Natalie invited reporters from the NY Times to attend their birthday celebration to show the world her happy, healthy family and prove the critics wrong. The piece described the children as "small for their age," vegan, well-behaved kids who read two books a week and did their homework on their own account. 

The family currently resides in a townhouse in LA and tries to lead a quiet and normal life—well, as much as you can when you have octuplets! But her main aim is to ensure her children grow up happy and healthy, and don't have to deal with the media scrutiny that she has experienced.

The big family appears to be very happy together and we can't wait to see how the octuplets will celebrate their 12th birthday which is coming up soon. Share this incredible story with your own siblings today.