The Truth About Ava Busby From OutDaughtered
Even the biggest fans of OutDaughtered's quints Ava, Olivia, Riley, Hazel, and Parker Busby can have trouble telling them apart. They are quintuplets, after all. Thankfully, keeping track of each one of the Busby girls has gotten easier with age as their personalities have blossomed and their unique selves have begun to shine through. If you've been watching the show since the beginning, then you've no doubt enjoyed watching Ava Busby grow older. She has truly carved out a name for herself in the busy Busby family (headed by parents Adam and Danielle Busby) and has turned into quite the force to be reckoned with.
Ava has changed a lot since OutDaughtered first premiered; she has grown from an infant into an inquisitive and charming young girl in front of our very eyes. But how well do you really know Ava? Whether you're an avid watcher or just a casual viewer, you'll definitely enjoy getting to know the truth about OutDaughtered star Ava Busby.
Danielle Busby's pregnancy with Ava was particularly high risk
Danielle Busby's pregnancy with the quints was risky because she was carrying so many babies. As the mom of six explained to ABC 13 after the quints were born, her doctor didn't even want her to go through with carrying all five of the quints because the risk was so high and thus recommended that she "reduce." Danielle and Adam, however, said their "hearts just couldn't do that" and decided to carry all five quints.
Carrying the quints was risky enough, but Danielle's pregnancy with Ava was even riskier as she is a twin. As Danielle explained in a blog post on It's a Buzz World, Ava and her twin sister, Olivia, required extra attention during the pregnancy as twins "are more prone to issues like twin to twin transfusion." That is, a condition in which "an imbalance in the circulations of the fetuses can develop," UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Fetal Treatment Center explained. Fortunately, Ava nor Olivia experienced any major complications, although the quints were all born premature at 28 weeks and did need special care after their births.
Ava Busby is the oldest of the OutDaughtered quints
Ava Busby is the oldest of the Busby quints, and is the second oldest out of all the OutDaughtered kids, following the quints' older sister, Blayke. While she may more or less be the same age as the other quints, Ava definitely lives up to the stereotype of her birth order. As Kevin Leman, psychologist and author of The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are, told Parents, oldest siblings are often more confident and have take-charge personalities — something that seems to hold true for Ava.
It was clear that Ava was a leader and setting an example for her younger sisters ever since she was an infant. In a blog post on It's a Buzz World, her mom Danielle wrote that Ava was the best eater and best sleeper out of the bunch. Her independent nature was also evident, with Danielle observing that Ava was "so content just chilling by herself."
Ava Busby was the last of the quints to be discharged from the hospital
Ava Busby may have been the first of the quints to be born, but she was the last one to go home from the hospital. As Danielle Busby wrote in a blog post on It's a Buzz World, the quints were born prematurely via C-section. Premature birth is not uncommon, as pregnancies with multiple babies rarely reach the 40-week mark.
When little Ava entered the world, she weighed just two pounds and four ounces and measured in at 14 inches. She also experienced health problems after her birth on April 8, 2015, which included an infection. The first of the quints to be released from the hospital was Parker, who went home just shy of two months after her birth, a statement from The Woman's Hospital of Texas confirmed. Ava, however, remained in the hospital until July 6, 2015.
Having Ava in the hospital for so long was hard on Adam and Danielle Busby, who had to juggle taking care of the quints at home while still going to the hospital to see Ava as much as possible. "It was a big relief," Adam told ABC 11, when Ava was finally allowed to go home.
This is how Ava Busby got her name
Naming five babies in one go is no easy task, but Adam and Danielle Busby rose brilliantly to the occasion when it came to picking out names for the quints. They picked gorgeous baby girl names for each of their daughters: Ava Lane, Olivia Marie, Hazel Grace, Parker Kate, and Riley Paige. As the Busbys revealed in one episode of OutDaughtered, coming up with names for the quints while Danielle was pregnant took a couple weeks of debate. They finally settled on the names for the girls by "basically just [using] every name that we both liked," Danielle explained.
Ava's name stands out a little bit from those of her sisters. Most of the Busby girls — including oldest sister Blayke Louise — have names that start with consonants. Since only two of the names that Adam and Danielle ultimately settled on for the girls started with vowels, they decided they wanted those two names to go to the identical twins, and named the oldest two quints Ava and Olivia.
OutDaughtered's Ava Busby was the OG boss baby
Ava Busby is a total sweetheart these days, but as a baby she was apparently kind of bossy. According to her mom, Danielle Busby, Ava's strong personality was evident practically from the second she was born. On It's a Buzz World, Danielle commemorated the quints turning six months old, writing that Ava was the "baby boss" and known as the "bully" of the quints. Danielle said that Ava was determined to show that "she is the BIG quint sister" and had trouble sharing her toys with her sisters.
As a baby, Ava would even "hit" her sisters, although it seems like her fists didn't do too much damage because Danielle said watching Ava was "quite comical." Ava has mellowed out quite a bit since then and surely doesn't remember bossing around her sisters as a baby, but it's still a pretty funny coincidence that, according to another blog post, her favorite TV show just so happens to be Boss Baby: Back in Business.
Ava Busby was very serious as a baby
If you've never seen early episodes of OutDaughtered, you might be surprised to learn that Ava Busby was actually quite serious as an infant. In fact, she was branded by TLC as the serious quint when the show first debuted. Even when she was just a few weeks old, Ava's parents saw just how serious their oldest quint was. When she was only three weeks old, Danielle noted on the family blog It's a Buzz World that Ava was "a little grunter" who would grunt when she didn't want to be touched.
At nine months old, Danielle wrote on the blog that Ava was becoming even more serious — especially when introduced to new people. Danielle also revealed that Ava was quite sensitive. By ten months old, Ava was still sensitive — and that trait was even starting rub off on her twin Olivia, according to Danielle.
Ava Busby's goofy side has come out as she's gotten older
While Ava Busby was pretty serious when she was a baby, fans have enjoyed seeing her goofy side emerge more and more as she has gotten older. While glimpses of her goofiness were always there, Ava has come a long way from her oh-so-serious baby days. When she was ten months old, Danielle Busby wrote on It's a Buzz World that Ava was slowly exhibiting more and more of her twin sister Olivia's goofiness and that, while she was still serious, she would also giggle all the time.
Even though Ava has learned how to express her silly side, Ava may never completely outgrow her serious nature. Ava's dad, Adam Busby, posted a photo on Instagram in March 2020 of a four-year-old Ava floating in the pool with a serious expression on her face, which showed that — goofy or not — Ava is also a deep thinker. "Wheels turning," Adam captioned the adorable photo.
Ava Busby is a total mama's girl
Even though she may be independent, Ava Busby is also very attached to at least one person: her mom. Danielle Busby wrote on It's a Buzz World that Ava has always been very attached to her and that she "secretly love[s] it." Danielle wrote, "I need at least one of the five to want their Mommy the most, right?"
Ava is so much of a mama's girl that the title is even included in her TLC bio. With so many kids in the Busby house, Ava can't always be at her mom's side — although not for lack of trying. In another blog post, Danielle joked that Ava is the daughter who proved to her that she's "not really a claustrophobic person," at least not if it's her daughter who is "glued" to her side. Danielle added that even when Ava is upset with her, she still wants to be right next to her mom.
Ava Busby is a girly girl
Ava Busby is pretty glam and loves some stereotypically girly things. This girly girl loves the color pink, according to a blog post on It's a Buzz World, and also loves to go shopping for anything and everything from groceries to clothes. "I guess Ava just likes to see us spend money," joked Danielle. When asked to name her favorite toy, Ava replied "purses" — proving that this Busby quint is definitely a fashionista in the making. Another favorite thing of Ava's, according to a blog post, is lip gloss. Hmm, perhaps we'll see Ava experimenting with makeup on OutDaughtered as she gets older.
It seems like Ava takes after her older sister, Blayke, quite a bit. Blayke also "loves anything pink and girly," as noted on her official TLC bio. It makes sense that Ava would look up to her big sis, especially when you remember that Blayke and Ava are the oldest of the Busby girls.
Ava Busby loves to perform
Ava Busby just may become a pop star one day, at least if she continues to pursue her love of singing. The quint has quite the love for music and seems to share that passion with her sisters — at least if the family video on YouTube of them singing "Happy Birthday" as toddlers is anything to go by. Out of all the quints, though, Ava may be the most musically-inclined. At a Christmas concert put on by the quints' school, the girls and their classmates sang "Jingle Bells" — Ava, along with Riley, certainly looked to be the most into it.
Danielle Busby wrote in a blog post on It's a Buzz World that Ava is also into musicals and her favorite movie is The Greatest Showman. Her favorite song is even one from the film: "Rewrite the Stars." Danielle wrote, "Ava sings this song all day every day!" Hopefully we'll get to see Ava explore her love of singing more on OutDaughtered.
Here's how to tell Ava Busby apart from the other quints
If you have trouble telling Ava Busby apart from the other quints, you're far from alone. While it's gotten easier to tell most of the quints apart as they've gotten older, Ava and her identical twin, Olivia, still look a lot alike. Telling them apart as babies was actually easier, because Olivia has a large birthmark on the back of her head. Now that they've got full heads of hair, though, they can be easy to mix up.
Thankfully, Adam and Danielle Busby made a video to help fans be able to differentiate between the quints. As revealed in the vlog, Hazel is the easiest quint to identify, thanks to her fiery red hair and glasses. Riley stands apart because she has the smallest head and face out of the quints and her eyes are the brightest blue. Parker can be identified as she is quite tall and is the only quint with straight hair.
Although it's still tricky to be able to tell which twin is which, Olivia has a more rounded face while Ava's is a bit more square-shaped. Olivia's hair is also curlier than Ava's and she wears circle-shaped earrings while the rest of the quints — including Ava — wear star-shaped earrings.
Ava Busby and her twin are inseparable
Ava Busby and her fellow quints obviously have a special bond, but Ava has a special connection with her twin, Olivia. The pair have been inseparable since birth and always have each others' back. In a blog post on It's a Buzz World written a couple months after the quints were discharged from the hospital, Danielle wrote that Ava and Olivia loved cuddling with each other.
As they got older, Ava and Olivia's bond remained strong. In another post on It's a Buzz World in honor of the quints turning three years old, Danielle said that Ava and Olivia "are so similar but a bit different," adding that the quints "seem to be dependent on each other at times." She further explained that Ava and Olivia had to go to bed together and even had to go to the bathroom at the same time.
OutDaughtered patriarch Adam Busby posted a photo series of the five-year-old quints at the beach on Instagram in May 2020, proving that this is one powerful connection that can't be broken. "These girls do have a special little bond and it's so cool when I can communicate that through the lens," he wrote in the caption.
This is how Ava Busby helped her family discover a mold infestation in their home
While no one ever wants to see their kid ill, a health problem that Ava Busby had turned out to have a silver lining as it actually helped the Busby family realize their home was unsafe. In a 2019 episode of OutDaughtered, fans saw Ava rushed to the doctor after she started wheezing and had trouble breathing.
Ava's breathing issues turned out to be due to a mold infestation in the Busby home, which was especially bad in Ava and Olivia's bedroom. "The results are terrifying," Danielle Busby said in an episode of OutDaughtered (via People) after learning that thousands of spores were present in the house. The Busby family ended up having to temporarily move out of their home while the mold problem was addressed.
Fortunately, they caught the mold problem in the home before anyone had any worse complications. Although Ava made a full recovery, it was a very scary experience for the entire family.
Ava Busby from OutDaughtered is one smart cookie
On OutDaughtered, fans learned the results of Ava and the other quints' first preschool test. The school's director revealed that the average test score for children of the quints' age was 40 points. Although all of the quints scored above that threshold, Ava scored an impressive 60 points on the exam. Her twin sister, Olivia, had a very close score, achieving a 64 on the test. Both Ava's parents and the director of her preschool were impressed with Ava's strong results. As such, Ava's parents were encouraged to move her up and out of the toddler room.
It seems that Ava enjoys school and is academically-inclined, which is good because she has some pretty big plans for her future. In a blog post for It's a Buzz World, Danielle Busby interviewed all of the quints on their fifth birthday and asked them what they want to be when they grow up. Ava answered that she wants to be a doctor, which means she has a lot of schooling ahead of her if she follows through on that plan.