Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets in January, says she’s buying a house of her own, despite news reports otherwise.
“I earned it. … No, my father did not purchase this house for me. I did it on my own,” Suleman told Radar magazine’s Web site during a video tour of the home. “It’s 1,000-square-footage bigger than the old house,” she said as she showed the 2,583-square-foot house in a cul-de-sac with manicured lawns in La Habra, California. News reports had said that her father was buying the house. She did not say specifically how she was paying for the house, but told Radar: “My ultimate goal is not to be a burden on … taxpayers. So there have been a couple of offers. … I selectively picked a couple of opportunities to earn some resources for the kids.” A moving truck stood outside as paparazzi cameras flashed and curious neighbors gathered. “They [her older children] like it more than Grandma’s house,” Suleman said. Suleman showed the house, gesturing animatedly as she toured the living room, dining room and kitchen, and a den off the kitchen that she said she plans to turn into a nursery. All the cribs will be kept in that room and two babies will share each crib, she said, “unless one is sick, because they are so strong and healthy right now. … Six are ready to come home.”
Don’t Miss
Octuplets doing well, hospital says
Parents of 18 wonder how Suleman will cope
Suleman, 33, added that they would come home two at a time. “Two are little and they need to gain weight, and that’s it. There’s no medical problem,” she said. Suleman skipped upstairs to show her master bedroom, adding that she will be spending a lot of time on the couch. “I’ll probably be sleeping one to two hours … which is what I’m getting now,” she said as she walked around the room. People.com reported that the home, which was listed for $564,900, has four bedrooms and a large backyard. The magazine also reported that Kaiser Permanente hospital representatives inspected the home in preparation for the babies. Another Radar video showed the carpets and tiles ripped up in Suleman’s house as work was being done. Suleman — already a single mother to six young children — gave birth to the octuplets through in-vitro fertilization. News of her collecting public assistance for some of her children also outraged many taxpayers. Georgia state Sen. Ralph Hudgens, a Republican, has proposed legislation to limit the number of embryos implanted during in-vitro fertilization. Watch a discussion of fertility regulation »
“She is not married,” Hudgens said. “She is unemployed, she is on government assistance and now she is going to put those 14 children on the back of the taxpayers in the state of California.” Hudgens’ proposal would limit the number of embryos that a Georgia doctor could implant to two for women younger than 40 and three for women 40 or older.
