Octomom Gets Baby Care Gifts

Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) - The Southern California mother of octuplets was given a baby shower of sorts on television's Dr. Phil show, with cribs, bunkbeds, upgrades to her new home and nursing help to care for her 14 children -- all provided free of charge.     
   
Various providers appeared before Dr. Phil McGraw's applauding studio audience to pledge their help creating a safe, clean home for Nadya Suleman's 14 children.     
   
Suleman said she's grateful for the help, which is to include a new nursery, new flooring and other construction upgrades in the La Habra home she intends to live in with her children.     
   
The fixes are being made in order to prepare the home for inspections from hospital officials, which determine whether the house is suitable for children, according to McGraw.     
   
Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center spokeswoman Beth Trombley said she and a social worker from the hospital walked through the house Wednesday to provide recommendations, but would not specify what they were.     
   
"We're encouraged to see that she's really doing as much as she can to make sure to provide for these babies," said Trombley.     
   
Suleman has said all but two babies were healthy enough to leave the hospital and that they would be released two at a time after the new home passes muster.     
   
The octuplets will require around-the-clock care from at least two caregivers. Angels in Waiting, a nonprofit group of nurses that specializes in caring for fragile infants and children, estimates the babies combined will need 64 feedings a day. At half an hour a feeding, that adds up to 32 hours a day just to keep the octuplets nourished.     
   
Lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Angels in Waiting, said Wednesday that the nonprofit will provide training for Suleman and nannies that she hires and pays, and will also supervise the babies' care.     
   
In a video posted to Radaronline.com on Wednesday, Suleman said the group had received no donations.     
   
In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Allred countered that Suleman had no knowledge of whether donations were being made to the group, because even she didn't have that information.     
   
Allred acknowledged that "Angels in Waiting's care can only continue if it is supported by donations from the public."     
   
There was also discord around the ownership of the home Suleman intends to live in. In the Radaronline video, Suleman said her parents were not paying for the four-bedroom, three-bath home where she plans to raise her brood, and that she's on a lease with an option to buy.     
   
Prudential Realty listing agent Mike Patel refuted that on Wednesday, saying the home's title was made in the name of Ed Doud, who is Suleman's father. Patel also said the house was being bought, not leased.     
   
In the video, Suleman said she made the initial payment on the house and her parents "had nothing to do with it."     
   
Suleman's lawyer, Jeff Czech, did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking clarification.     
   
Suleman made her remarks during a recorded walkthrough of the 2,583-square-foot house in La Habra, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles, where she intends to live with the octuplets and her six other children.     
   
The four-bedroom, three-bath home was listed for $564,900.     
   
Suleman said she is paying for the house with money from "opportunities" she has selected, but did not elaborate on what they were.     
   
Suleman gave birth to the octuplets on Jan. 26. They were born nine weeks premature and are the world's longest-surviving set of octuplets.