Octomom Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman is ready to tell her story.
During the docuseries Confessions of Octomom, the mom of 14 opens up about everything, from her in vitro fertilization journey to harrowing moments in the delivery room. Despite being told that she was only carrying seven children at the time, Suleman said she knew there was an eighth child, calling it “mother’s intuition.”
“Something in the back of my mind told me there’s eight. It’s mother’s intuition,” she said. “I kept asking. I keep reiterating over and over, ‘Are you certain there’s not an eighth?’ and [the ultrasound technician] said, ‘Absolutely not. I’m a very skilled ultrasound technician. If there were eight, I’d see them.’ ”
“Not that he wasn’t a skilled technician, but the more [children] there are — all the doctors were confirming — the less likely you are able to discern exactly how many there are,” she continued. “So after [the seventh baby], a resident went in to examine the uterus to make sure everything’s okay, and he felt a hand. So, there was a hidden baby H. He was one of the biggest. How did they miss a 3 1/2 pound baby? He was pretty big, so that was shocking.”
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Suleman admits that her pregnancy with her octuplets “shockingly enough had zero complications,” as she continued her life as usual. The proud mom said she was “extremely active” until one move landed her in the hospital.
“I was making myself a lot of food in the kitchen, and I went back to the room to bed and laid down and I started eating my food,” she explained. “I crunched on a cracker, and then I turned and I heard cracking.”
“My ribs were broken and I was in such excruciating pain, but I had to force myself to get to the phone to call 911, so I kind of flopped myself down on the ground from the bed, like a beached whale, and I pulled myself to the phone and I opened it, called 911, and I said, ‘I need help.’ ” she continued.
It’s been 16 years since she first made headlines and history, giving birth to the world’s first surviving octuplets, a feat that earned her the nickname Octomom and led to a chaotic life of infamy before she retreated from the spotlight in 2013.
As she remerges with a push from her now 16-year-old octuplets, and with the help of a new Lifetime film I Was Octomom and subsequent docuseries Confessions of Octomom, Suleman is taking stock in her incredible, and at times harrowing, journey.
Suleman was already a mother of six children — Amerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Caleb, Joshua and Aidan — when she gave birth to her octuplets, Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Maliyah and Nariyah. The docuseries will feature the octuplets and her six older children, who were all born via IVF. Ahead of it all, she opened up to PEOPLE exclusively, saying, “My family and I are taking our life back,” as she works to own her complicated narrative.
“I’ve been saying, I want to keep [her children] safe and protect my kids, and well, they’re older now,” she shared. “They’re turning 16 and making the decision to really do this.”
I Was Octomom premiered on March 8, while Confessions of Octomom premiered on March 10, both on Lifetime.
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