OutDaughtered

This Spring there was a little series on TLC that I really enjoyed called OutDaughtered.

The reality show followed the Busby family as the parents and their five-year-old daughter welcomed baby quintuplets -- all girls -- into their family.

The show is adorable no matter who you are... but for me, having a two-year-old and twin babies this Spring, it really has a special place in my heart.

Having just come through the season of our twins being infants and moving into the season of their being babies... working their way toward being toddlers, it was really fun to compare and contrast the humor, joy, and challenges of our life with twins plus a toddler compared to their life with quintuplets plus preschooler.  Also, it gave me a good perspective of our crazy life with two babies -- I understood their chaos, to a degree, but also understood that our chaos is less than theirs by a long shot.

Here is the the trailer:

What I found through watching the show were the following differences in their having quints:

• Two babies are pretty easy compared to five... we at least have man-to-man coverage of each baby and then we share our toddler.  Between Hubby and me, we really can physically hold all our children at one time if need be
• Our twins were not premature and did not have to be hospitalized in the NICU at all whereas all of the Busby babies were very premature and held in the NICU for weeks -- there is definitely an added challenge to that situation that Hubby and I never had to handle
• I could definitely relate to the round-the-clock assembly-line feedings... but the Busbys never talked about breastfeeding or pumping at all.  They only talked about giving the babies formula.  Honestly, I doubt if it would be possible to nurse all those babies, and I think the mom would literally have had to pump 24/7 in order to try to supply the needed milk, so I absolutely understand why the babies were formula fed... but because they were, the mom on OutDaughtered was not as tied to her babies as I am to my twins.  She can skip a feeding or two or twelve (as long as other people are covering for her) and her body is not at all affected.  I nurse our twins exclusively so I cannot take the same time away if needed that she can.
• Physically, she looks amazing.  In the show, she does not look as though she has recently had one baby, let alone five.  To be honest, that part was hard for me to see as I am dealing with some physical aftermath of having our twins, and I do still look like I have recently had a baby.  Plus, with nursing, I cannot just go on a crazy crash diet or over-the-top exercise program (not that I'm saying this mom did) but her body became her own again after the babies were born... I am still sharing mine.
•  A mother is a mother is a mother... it was very funny to hear the things the maternal grandma was saying to her daughter (mother of the quints) throughout the show.  They rung very similar to things I had heard from MY mother during our first months of having the babies.  "What are you going to do after your husband goes back to work?"  "I just don't know how you're going to do this on your own."  "You really need to find some sort of help to come in here with you."  Doesn't matter the age, a mom always looks out for her daughter -- even when her daughter is a mom.
• Although it happened in a different order for us, the family has the quintuplets and then realizes they need to buy a larger house and so they begin the process of house-hunting.  Hubby and I did that when I was in my second trimester of pregnancy with the twins and had the same thoughts as The Busbys had about the size of the house they needed and should they move home closer to family.  A lot of their conversations were identical to ones that Hubby and I had less than a year ago.
• Finally, watching the show made me feel so good about my hubby and what a great dad he is.  Let me be clear, the dad in OutDaughtered is an awesome dad and never for a moment does the couple imply they are anything but thrilled about all their girls... but they do have a brother-in-law who does not seem to love his time with all the babies.  The brother-in-law says at one point in the show that the day the Busbys called them and told them quints were on the way was the day he called and made an appointment for a vasectomy.  To watch this guy, you can just tell he is not the biggest fan of kids -- he has his own kids, but having to help out with all these babies out of family obligation is not he favorite thing.  He does it, but you can always tell he is glad to leave when the time comes.  I am so glad that I married a man who loves children.  He loves our children, he loves his nieces and nephews, he loves his job working with students in our community.  When we found out we were having twins, neither of us for even a minute was upset or negative about that news -- we were shocked, a little panicked, and sometimes overwhelmed, but we both have been thrilled every step of the way with our family and how many children God has given us to date.  My husband is even the crazy man who excitedly said to me a few months ago (when the twins were about eight weeks old), "So, we had one baby, and then twins... what if next, we get pregnant with triplets?!?!"  

All in all, similarities and differences, I really enjoyed the show and hope that TLC creates more episodes as the girls continue to grow and develop.  The show ended when the girls were about four months... so everyone starting to move was still yet to be seen, which, I can only imagine brings its own special degree of chaos.  We are right on the verge of that stage here and I'm pretty nervous.