OutDaughtered's Olivia Busby is part of one of reality TV's famous and beloved families.
As one of the first surviving all-female set of quintuplets born in the United States,
she's certainly special. But there's more to her than just being a quint. This is the
truth about Olivia Busby.
The Busby quints were born via C-section on April 8, 2015, when Danielle Busby was just
28-weeks pregnant, according to NBC News. Because they were born prematurely, the Busby
quints were extremely tiny and had to immediately be transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit, or NICU.
Despite being tiny herself, Olivia Marie Busby was the biggest of the bunch. She weighed
in at 2 pounds, 6 ounces. Olivia was also the longest quint, measuring at 14.4 inches.
In addition to being the heaviest and tallest of her sisters at birth, she was also the
second quint to enter the world, right behind her sister Ava Lane Busby.
Part of what makes Adam and Danielle's set of multiples so unique is that in addition
to Olivia, Ava, Hazel, Parker, and Riley being quintuplets, there is also a set of twins
in the mix: Olivia and Ava are identical twins.
When Adam and Danielle first found out they were having multiples, they were obviously
shocked. As Adam detailed in a blog post, they had first been told they were having
four babies, but at their fourth ultrasound, everything changed.
"We saw it as soon as the ultrasound machine started recording. There it was clear as day,
twins! We had one egg split and are now expecting five little ones!"
Don't feel too bad if you have trouble telling Olivia and Ava apart; even Adam has had trouble
in that department. However, there are some differences.
"Olivia's face is a little bit more narrow than Ava."
Even though all the OutDaughtered kids are close, Olivia shares a pretty special bond
with her twin sister, Ava. Their connection is so palpable, in fact, that Danielle had
to commemorate it in a blog post.
In the post, Danielle detailed how all the quints had changed since turning 2 years old.
And when it came to Ava and Olivia, they were still totally twinning. She revealed that
the two girls, quote, "are always asking where 'the other one' is if they are not around."
Danielle also added that Ava and Olivia "find a bit of security" in each other. Olivia may
be growing up, but she and Ava will always share a special twin bond.
Kids seem to grow up so fast. Before you know it, your little one is ready to take those
monumental first steps. Adam and Danielle are, of course, no different than other parents
in celebrating their children's milestones — although with quints, they're doing it
times five. But, even with five babies growing and developing, they still managed to capture
the special moments of Olivia taking her first steps.
The family shared the moment with the rest of the world by uploading it to their YouTube
channel. It was a great moment for the Busbys, especially Olivia.
One of Olivia's defining characteristics is her sense of humor. In fact, her bio on the
TLC website states that she's "the goofball who will keep you laughing" — and that certainly
seems to be the case.
For Olivia's fifth birthday, Danielle took to her blog to detail how the little girl
had changed, and even though she's grown up quickly since being born in 2015, she hasn't
stopped being a goofball. Danielle wrote,
"[She] never stops making others laugh. She is goofy like Ava but in a different way.
She wants everyone around her to notice her, but in a way where she [makes] sure others
know how fun and funny she is."
Being a quintuplet and a twin means that Olivia shares a special bond with just about every
member of her family. However, she is most dependent on her identical twin, Ava. So much
so, in fact, that when Adam and Danielle got ready to send the quints off to pre-K, they
decided against putting the twins in the same class. Danielle explained in a blog,
"We wanted to split up Ava and Olivia so they can hopefully grow a little bit more independent
and not lean on the other identical so much."
It was probably hard for Olivia to be in a class without her twin, at least at first.
After all, they'd always been together. Danielle even wrote on her blog that when they were
babies, they always found their way back to each other.
"If you don't place them next to each other, they will find their way together ... even
when they are swaddled."
Still, Adam and Danielle knew it would benefit both girls to foster some independence.
Whether it's because she's a twin and a quint or just a seasoned reality TV star, Olivia
is a show-stealer. Not only can she make people laugh with her goofball tendencies, she also
knows how to get attention — even if it's not necessarily good attention.
In a video promoting Season 3 of OutDaughtered, Adam and Danielle describes how each quint
has changed since the previous season. And when they get to Olivia, it's clear they were
already exhausted.
"Olivia is a hundred percent the entertainer, comedian in the house."
All siblings argue or fight at some point in their lives. However, some siblings do
fight more than others — and that certainly seems to be the case with Olivia, who has
a long history of fighting with her quintuplet sister, Riley.
When the youngest OutDaughtered stars turned 2 years old, Danielle took to her blog to
describe each of the quintuplets and couldn't help but note that Olivia, quote, "definitely
goes to war the most with Riley." And in a blog post detailing how to tell the quints
apart, Danielle revealed that,
"Olivia is pretty demanding and [she] and Riley bicker the most, only because they are
both so strong-willed."
The ongoing battle between Olivia and Riley is so well-known that there was even a TLC
clip highlighting their rivalry.
"Riley and Olivia have always had, like, rivalry for some weird reason, from like such a young
age."
Adam added that,
"Those two have always bickered more than anyone else. They just don't mesh well."
Compared to her siblings, Olivia was actually quite an easygoing baby. As part of a six-month
update on the quints, Danielle revealed on her blog that Olivia was a carefree baby.
"No matter what time of the day it is, Olivia will instantly smile with her big ol' dimples
every time you look at her. She loves to laugh, and everything is funny to Olivia."
As Olivia has grown, she's retained her laid-back attitude. For the quints' fifth birthday,
Danielle gave an update on the OutDaughtered star, writing on her blog that Olivia, quote,
"is the 'adapter' ... meaning she just goes with the flow and plays whatever anyone else
[is] doing."
Olivia isn't the oldest Busby daughter, but she sure acts like she's in charge. In a 2018
blog post describing the many ways the quints have changed, Danielle wrote that little Olivia
had a bit of a tough side.
"Olivia will stand up for any of her sisters if she sees one doing something to another
that they shouldn't, and she will be the first to 'throw a punch.'"
Still, Olivia balances her serious side with a very silly side, with her mom explaining
that she "is still the 'class clown."
As the OutDaughtered family lives in the often-sweltering state of Texas, it's no wonder that the Busby
quints love to escape the heat and hit the pool. And in one video posted in September
2018, Adam and Danielle shared some sweet moments of the girls swimming in the pool.
Olivia particularly stood out in the video, as she can be seen shedding her floaties and
starting to swim underwater, which made both of her parents totally proud. Adam added,
"So we just got in the pool, and Olivia is already wanting to swim underwater, She refuses
to wear her floaties, which is a good thing, but now all of them don't want to do that,
especially Riley. Riley sees Olivia not wanting a floaty, and so she doesn't want to wear
a floaty."
Olivia may be known as the silly one of her family, but she also has a sensitive side,
even if it comes out in interesting ways. For instance, when Olivia was in the thick
of her so-called terrible twos, Adam and Danielle recognized that she was being more sensitive
about, well, everything.
In a video for TLC, Adam and Danielle sat down to explain how the quints were really
starting to come into their toddler years.
"The twins, Ava and Olivia, are just super sensitive towards their tantrums. It's dramatic
screams."
And that sensitivity wasn't exactly anything new for Olivia. Danielle wrote on It's a Buzz
World around the time of the girls' second birthday,
"She doesn't get jealous much, but if she sees Ava getting cuddled, she instantly needs
cuddles too.
As the Busby quintuplets were born prematurely, it's not entirely surprising that they needed
extra care as newborns. Many OutDaughtered fans know that Hazel has had some health issues,
as she was diagnosed with nystagmus and had to have surgery. However, Olivia also encountered
health problems as a baby. Danielle back in August 2015,
"Olivia's one remaining follow up after being discharged was her eye appointments. We had
to follow up to make sure her blood vessels were connected to the retina ... and after
2 visits, it was finally matured. So she is all clear too"
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