A SINGLE MUM WITH 14 CHILDREN

Feeding frenzy: Nadya and her brood gather around the specially made semi-circular table. From left: Makai, Jonah, Isaiah, Maliyah, Nariyah, Noah, Josiah and Jeremiah.

It starts with a solitary wail but quickly reaches a crescendo of ear-piercing proportions.

As eight hungry babies howl for their supper, their mother Nadya Suleman holds up her hands and says with a weary sigh: ' Welcome to the music of my house.'

Within seconds, the children's four full-time nannies start the well-rehearsed process of seating the children at their specially made semi-circular table with its eight bright yellow plastic seats.

Gradually, the noise subsides and a greedy, slurping calm descends as each is given a bottle.


Nadya, you may recall, achieved overnight celebrity last January when she gave birth to the world's second surviving set of octuplets - the first set, the Chukwu children of Houston, Texas, will shortly celebrate their 11th birthday.

But fascination with the so-called 'Octomom' turned to almost universal revulsion when it was revealed that the 34-year-old is single, unemployed and already had six children under the age of eight. Furthermore, all 14 of her brood were conceived through IVF using the sperm of Nadya's ex-boyfriend, a man who says he wants no part in their future. Even

worse, she was claiming £2,500 a month from the state of California in food stamps and benefits.

Multi-million-dollar endorsement deals from nappy and baby-food companies were quickly rescinded. Nadya received dozens of death threats, had an army of paparazzi camped on her doorstep and became the butt of tawdry jokes.

But today they live in a detached, fourbedroom house in a quiet cul de sac in a family neighbourhood of Los Angeles, bought from the proceeds of a £500,000 deal with an American magazine.

And it is impossible not to be moved by the sight of eight ten-month-old babies lined up at dinner time.

They are, Nadya insists, remarkably healthy and are regularly tested. 'They are still young, but at the moment they are perfect. If they do develop problems, we will deal with it. But, touch wood, they are good so far,' she says.

Nadya is a slight figure, weighing just eight stone - down from her pregnant weight of 17 stone. Her jet-black hair is blowdried to perfection and her nails are coated in a flawless French manicure. Her make-up is immaculate and she speaks in short, staccato sentences.