13 Things You Didn’t Know About OutDaughtered
Published on February 14, 2018.The TLC show OutDaughtered follows the Busby family – Dad Adam, Mom Danielle, and their six daughters. One of the things that makes this family unique is that five of their kids – Ava, Olivia, Hazel, Riley, and Parker – are quintuplets! The family has had their own reality show since May 2016 and in January 2017 it was renewed for a third season. Everyone loves the Busby family – they are like Jon and Kate Plus 8, but Adam and Danielle don’t fight! Since they are so popular, check out these 13 things you didn’t know about their TLC show:
13. Go Fund Me page
Danielle and Adam started a Go Fund Me page after welcoming the quintuplets into the world to help cover some of the medical costs and expenses. Some of the specific things they needed help with was money to cover Danielle’s bed rest, money for the babies to stay in NICU for a month after they were born, a full-sized van to transport a family of eight, as well as 1,500 diapers per months, formula, high chairs, and cribs.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram12. Learning that They were Expecting Quints
When the couple learned that they were going to be having quintuplets, Adam started shaking and dropped his coffee while Danielle started laughing. “It was a huge shock. We never thought this would happen to us and I became hysterical – laughing. I literally could not stop laughing at the situation,” she told Fit Pregnancy.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram11. There Were Initially Only Four Embryos
Since Adam and Danielle struggled with infertility, the quintuplets (as well as their daughter Blayke) were conceived with the help of intrauterine insemination (IUI) and fertility drugs. Although they used multiple eggs to get pregnant with Blayke, only one of them took, but with the quints, all four of the eggs took that time! The doctors warned them that some of the eggs might stop developing and that there was a small chance that some of the eggs could split in two, which is what ended up happening. One of the eggs split and the couple ended up with one set of identical twins, Ava and Olivia.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram10. She Consumed 4,500 when She Was Pregnant
Carrying five babies meant that Danielle had to consume a lot of calories! “There were parts of my pregnancy where I had to consume 4,500 calories daily,” she told Fit Pregnancy. “I had not one craving ever because I worked with a dietitian and I was able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted to just fill up that allowance – especially ice cream shakes!”
Source: Adam and Danielle Busby’s Instagram9. Doctors Recommended Selective Abortion
During their first ultrasound, which revealed that they were expecting five daughters, doctors told the couple that they should consider selective abortion to make the pregnancy more viable. They refused. “We are holding on to our faith and convictions as followers of Christ and refuse to abort over half of our babies per the medical doctors advice,” the parents wrote on their Go Fund Me page. “Every week not one baby showed any signs of having problems or issues. All heartbeats and scans have been great. How would you even choose at that point?”
Source: Adam and Danielle Busby’s Instagram8. Severe Lack of Sleep
Once the quints were home, Adam and Danielle didn’t get a lot of sleep – and sometimes that would cause them to fall asleep while feeding the babies. “I mean, just keeping up with the feedings every three hours – I remember so many times where I would be laying in bed feeding a baby in the middle of the night and I would be woken up by the sound of a bottle hitting the floor because I just completely fell asleep and dropped the baby’s bottle. You’re just running on empty, on no sleep, all the time. It’s just crazy,” Danielle told People.
Source: Adam and Danielle Busby’s Instagram7. Postpartum Depression
Following the birth of the quintuplets, Adam struggled with postpartum depression; however, it took him months to finally seek help with therapy. When he opened up on Twitter about his struggles, some fans called him “not strong” and told him “man up.” He responded with, “You know that depression isn’t a choice? Exposing my flaws for the sake that it might help others on a worldwide stage? No, that’s not strong at all.” Danielle offered her husband her full support on Twitter: “I am 100 percent [supportive] of my husband, he is my other half! It’s just shocking to hear what he has been going through,” she tweeted.
Source: Adam and Danielle Busby’s Instagram6. Exercise Routine
The mom of six has always enjoyed exercise and was always in good shape, but having quints really messed up her routine of eating clean and healthy foods and exercising regularly. With six kids, she now has to customize her fitness routine to fit in with her busy schedule as a mom. She will do sit-ups and push-ups every day and instead of the Stairmaster she will do the staircase. When she isn’t carrying two babies at a time up and down the stairs, she runs up and down the steps skipping every other step. She’ll also load up the stroller with the quints and go for a walk or jog around the neighborhood, and when she has time for herself she will hit up the gym for an aerobics, booty barre, or yoga class.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram5. Adam’s Job
Although Adam has a new job now as a reality star on TLC, he still works a full-time job outside the show. Since December 2006, he has been working as a Key Account Manager and Outside Sales at Intrinsic Solutions and Spring Safety. According to Glassdoor, the average annual income for this job is $81,176; however, in Houston area, the annual average salary is $61,874, which might not be enough for a family of eight.
Source: Adam and Danielle Busby’s Instagram4. Health Problems
Shortly after birth, it was discovered that all of the quintuplets have heart murmurs, which they treat with medication. Hazel has an eye condition called congenital nystagmus, that causes repetitive and uncontrollable movements in her eyes. As a result, she needs to hold her head at weird angles to compensate for her lack of clear vision. She underwent surgery to correct the placement of where her eye goes so that she can focus better and not have to turn her neck as much.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram3. Rush Cycle
The couple opened a spin cycle studio called Rush Cycle with four other people (Todd, Priscilla, Pete, and Kylie) who live in the same subdivision as them. One of the reasons they decided to open a business was because of how expensive it is going to be to send their six kids to college. Adam also decided that he was going to continue to work his full-time job as a key account manager, so he’s going to be really busy for the foreseeable future!
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram2. Beauty Consultant
Danielle was a team lead management for training in the petrochemicals industry in the Houston area and then she became an independent beauty consultant before she welcomed the quints into the world. After having the quints, however, Adam was the one who kept working and Danielle became a stay at home mom.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram1. Working at Target
The couple met in 2003 when they were working at Target and they were married a couple of years later. “We both worked at Target in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and just kind of hit it off from working side by side, and we fell in love. I like to tell everyone our carts collided in aisle 5,” Danielle told Style Blueprint.
Source: Danielle Busby’s Instagram