When Danielle and Adam Busby learned they were having quintuplet daughters — the only all-girl quints in the nation — they started a blog to keep all of their friends and family informed of developments along the way. But when their readership grew and a producer from the cable channel TLC came upon their blog, the Busbys suddenly found themselves starring in their own reality show, “Outdaughtered.” Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Danielle Busby, who exudes confidence and calm throughout each and every episode. Off camera, she’s just as composed and easy-going, and she’s quick to discuss her love for and dedication to the Lord, her husband and raising their daughters — both the 20-month-old quints and their 5-year-old sister, Blayke.
When she’s not doing laundry, feeding babies, washing dishes, changing diapers (approximately 30 a day!) or filming the show, Danielle focuses her efforts on nurturing a new venture — a spin cycle studio that she, husband Adam and four of their friends/business partners are opening in their town of League City, TX. We were excited that she carved out some time from her busy schedule to talk with us, even if she did have to chat from her car while simultaneously eating her lunch. (How’s that for multi-tasking?!) We asked all the curious questions viewers likely have for a mom of quintuplets, but we also got some pointers on maintaining sanity, finding joy and so much more. The Season 2 finale of “Outdaughtered” airs on TLC on January 17, 2017. Till then, welcome Danielle Busby as today’s FACE of the South!
Danielle Busby is today’s FACE of the South.
OK, before we dive into the obvious topic of the quints, we have to ask: How did you and Adam meet?
Adam and I met at Target. 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.
After marriage and prior to having kids, what were you doing?
Both Adam and I worked in petrochemicals over in the Houston area. He’s in communications and sales, and I was a team lead management for training. We are going to be opening an indoor cycling studio, though, which is going to be me getting back into the groove of things, so I’m excited about that. We’re just starting the construction phase now, and I’m ecstatic about it! I’m excited to be getting involved in the fitness industry because it’s a passion of ours. We’re going into it with two other couples, who are great business people but also great friends of ours. I’m just excited — I think it’s going to do well in our area. I look at nothing but greatness because failure is not an option.
Danielle and her husband Adam are pictured here with daughters Blayke, 5, and 20-month-old quintuplets named Ava, Hazel, Olivia, Riley and Parker.
Describe that moment when you found out you were having quints.
It was a joke, right? That’s what I thought. Adam and I took it very differently. When I found out that we were having more than one — it was three, then four, then at the next appointment it was five, it just was a comical thing to me. I always grew up with a heart for kids, and so did Adam. I always had hopes to be a mom and have a big family. Adam was like, “Let’s have one and spoil the heck out of it,” and I was like no, we need at least three. We knew with our infertility struggle that this was going to be our last round of trying to get pregnant and trying to have a sibling for Blayke. Well then it turned out that we’re having our large family all at one time, so I kind of take it as God’s humor. Infertility is hard, and we were well-prepared for the journey we were going to take until God was like here you go! I laughed about it. It took a couple of weeks to hit me and I was like, “How am I going to do this?” and “Can I do this?” and that was day one of the biggest challenge, of carrying the babies and having a healthy, successful pregnancy and birth.
On average, Danielle says the quints go through 30 diapers per day, and as a family, the Busbys average 10 gallons of milk each week. Image: Facebook
Describe your lives pre-show versus now.
Since we’ve had the babies, we’ve been surrounded by people, people, people in our house. So it’s not much of a shock — it’s just camera people versus friends, family and volunteers from church or something. It’s kind of weird when the crew isn’t around.
What has been the biggest challenge of being on the show?
The biggest challenge is on two sides — on the personal side, the logistics of doing anything. The other is this life of people watching you. It is the security and the safety of our lives and the girls. We choose to share God’s story, but it’s still a scary world, and we can only protect so much of our home. But we do go outside the house … it’s just being in the public eye is a little bit scary. We’ve felt okay and safe so far, but I’m okay because I feel led to share our extraordinary life.
That’s a whole lot of Busby right there! Image: Facebook
What has been most rewarding?
Capturing our memories. We film, but when I see the end result of stuff they’ve captured, even going back to Season 1, I don’t remember so much because I was so sleep-deprived and living off two hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. I probably get emotional and cry every time I watch an episode because it shows me how much they have changed so quickly, and we’re getting the best footage of our life captured. It’s better than just me doing the iPhone.
Describe a typical day in your life.
From the second you wake up and get the girls up, it’s non-stop. Even when they’re napping you’re continuously doing something for the house or the family, and that’s just how it is. I’ll get Blayke up for school about 7:15 a.m. and get on the bus, and then we get the girls up about 8 a.m. And it’s just the same Groundhog Day routine every day. You do bottles, milk, breakfast, get them dressed, play, they nap and that’s when I shower or do some laundry, constantly the dishwasher, constantly cooking or making food, constantly cleaning up, and they usually go to bed about 7 p.m., and then you start the dishwasher for the night and start over again in the morning.
If you could have 24 hours without any responsibilities as a wife or mother, and money were no object, what would you do and where would you go?
I’d be in Mexico at a nice beach resort, getting a massage with a margarita in my hand, and just reading a book.
What’s the best piece of advice you could offer a new mom of multiples?
There is always tomorrow. A lot of people ask, “How do you do it?” and the No. 1 thing is I start my day off with trying to keep God as the focus, so with a devotional and keeping my head clean and telling myself I was given this life to take care of and to be the mother of these extraordinary babies and Blayke, and that’s what I’m going to do every day. And it’s gonna be challenging, but there’s always the start of tomorrow, and you will get through it.
Danielle and her daughters
Who has been the biggest role model in your life?
My grandma and grandpa were always a big part of my life. My grandma had seven kids, and she was a very good role model for being so graceful, putting others before herself, making sure all the kids and grandkids were prepared and were spoken the truth about life and God and the journey. Seeing my life today with all these kids, I just think about her a lot. She was amazing … she was a rockstar. She was always there for anyone in need in any way. I hope I take after her a little bit and be as graceful as she was.
Excluding faith, family and friends, what are three things you can’t live without?
Exercise, Oreos and ketchup.
Catch the Season 2 finale of “Outdaughtered” on TLC on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 9 p.m./8 p.m. CST.
Thanks to Audrey Brown of Bennett Brown Photography for the photos of Danielle and her beautiful family.
*********
Pam Davis, RN, MBA, is a Certified Bariatric Nurse and this month’s FACE of TriStar. She shares her powerful story of how a health scare prompted her to make a life-changing decision and how that ultimately led to her current position and the impactful work she does as TriStar’s Center for Weight Management program director. Click here to read her story.
