Eight Is Enough

Newborn octuplets in Southern California are a feisty bunch and appear healthy even at nine weeks premature, a doctor said Tuesday.

Three babies are being given oxygen but appeared to be doing well, said Dr. Mandhir Gupta, a neonatologist at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center. At least four could be ready for their first oral feeding later Tuesday.

"All the babies were delivered vigorously, crying and kicking," he said.

The mother, who has not been identified, gave birth Monday to the six boys and two girls weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces, and 3 pounds, 4 ounces (0.67 kilograms and 1.47 kilograms). She was resting comfortably Tuesday and was elated at welcoming eight children to her family, Gupta said.

The eighth baby surprised the parents and doctors, who had prepared to deliver seven children.

The babies — dubbed with the letters A-through-H — will probably remain in the hospital for at least two months and the mother could be released in a week.

The world's first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City, but all died within 14 hours, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

The United States' first live octuplets were born in Houston in 1998, three months premature. The tiniest died a week after the birth. The surviving siblings turned 10 in December.