Exclusive: 'Octomom' to Return to School, Pen Book
Nadya Suleman said raising 14 kids "a lot less stressful" than she thought.
April 24, 2009 — -- Has Octomom morphed into Supermom?
Nadya Suleman told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview today that she's writing a book, going back to graduate school in the fall, and has found that caring for 14 children is easier than she imagined.
"I know I'm going to sound kind of crazy to say this, but [raising the kids] is actually a lot less stressful than I envisioned it to be," Suleman told "Good Morning America" in the live interview. "They're really good babies."
Suleman is raising the eight newborns with the constant help of at least seven nurses working in shifts -- four during the day and three each night.
"I never anticipated [having] more than one. I was praying for one more," Suleman said. "If one hadn't come, I'd be happy with six."
Speaking from her home in La Habra, Calif., Suleman gave the first ever live tour of the babies' nursery, crammed wall to wall with white cribs and introduced each baby by name. She said she only gets two of them confused from time to time.
"It's hard to tell between Jonah and Josiah. I can tell by the cleft. That's the only difference," she said. "I'm not any different than any other mother. I'm sure all mothers can basically be able to tell the difference between their kids no matter if there's two or 22."
In addition to the full nursing staff, the octuplets reportedly go through around 2,000 diapers every month, placing a hefty financial burden on the family. But Suleman was vague about how she plans to support all her children.
"I'm going to secure little opportunities here and there to provide for my kids anyway I can," she said. "I try to focus on what's important, what takes priority, and that's how healthy they are."
With all the babies in good health, Suleman said she is heading to graduate school in the fall to finish her masters degree and is "really excited" about writing a book.
"That's always been a dream of mine before all this happened, before this miracle happened," she said.
Likely the nation's most recognizable mother, Suleman made headlines in January when she gave birth to history-making octuplets.
Days after news of the miracle multiple birth spread from coast to coast, the public turned on Suleman when it came to light the 33-year-old already had six children who were born, like the octuplets, through in vitro fertilization.
Now all eight of the babies, the world's longest surviving set of octoplets, are home with Suleman and their six brothers and sisters. The last to arrive home was Jonah on April 14. Jonah weighed 1 pound 8 ounces when he was born on Jan. 26.; he now weights 4 pounds 10 ounces.
Radar Online posted a video of Suleman at home holding all eight babies on April 15. "They're all here and really, really healthy," Suleman said in the video. "They have very strong personalities."
Click here to watch the video or here for the first photos of the babies at home.