ChocolateAddict

I'm probably biased because where I am there is an inquiry into homebirth and the risks. People I know have given birth in birthing centres and said that it was calm and supportive. Others wanted hospitals because it was more medical. Like you said, everyone is different with their plans :) I'm sure that she has prepared for this but I would hope that if (God forbid) Jill's birth isn't smooth and she needs medical help, that she has easy and quick access to a hospital. I'm curious, if the birth is filmed, would the Duggars insist on an all-female film crew? From what I have seen, it seems to be mostly males on set but I can't see Jill or Derrick being comfortable with that.

No matter Jill's experience as a midwife, she hasn't given birth before and I don't think any full time mother is prepared for the pain (or so I have been told, I haven't had one of my own). I don't understand why she would want a homebirth for her first baby. While it isn't a high-risk pregnancy, it is going to be stressful enough and I would have thought that being surrounded by experts would be more reassuring than having your sister (apparently Jana is assisting, ewwwww) and a couple of midwives around. Maybe Jill is a more relaxed person than I am, but if/when I give birth, I would want to know that it anything goes wrong, a C-section is just down the hall.

If I was Derrick, I would be petrified. No amount of preparation could prepare you for the fact that within 3 months he got married, moved out of home with a girl he had never spent any alone time with and is expecting a baby. It probably sounded good on paper but he is now expected to be responsible for providing for a family and for a guy who 8 months ago had never kissed a girl, it would be a a big deal. Add onto the fact that his in-laws are probably involved with every aspect of the pregnancy and I can see why their marriage might be a bit awkward at the moment.

True. I meant that for the first time the pair of them will be responsible for food, cleaning, etc. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't see Jessa enjoying playing happy, little housewife. Jill, yes, Jessa, no.

Long term lurker, first time poster :) Personally, I wouldn't trust Jessa and Ben with a puppy or even a house plant, let alone an actual human child. But I'm pretty sure the article was just for show and to get their names back in the spotlight with the new season and all. But honestly, that photo makes me want to gag, Jessa just looks so smug. "If we have a hard time and we talk about it, you just love each other so much more afterwards," Jessa says. "After a disagreement, I often feel, 'I have never loved you more than I love you now.' " Maybe it is just me but after a fight I don't throw myself into the other person's arms to pronounce my love. That and the fact that they "Try not to argue"? Please, this is the first time either of them have moved away from home and have had to be self-sufficient. I would bet that there is less"I love you babe!" and more "Are you incapable of putting your shoes away?" especially given that Jessa doesn't seem to enjoy housework at all.

When he bought up tobacco, I knew he had to mention the Australian policy. Even though the pictures (like the eye) are gross, the 'plain packaging' and the graphic images have been proven to discourage people from taking up smoking as well as encourage smokers to cut down/give up. Plus those pictures aren't just on packets,they are on buses, billboards and TVs. Disgusting, yes, but it has totally put me off smoking for life!

I think it can be a bit dangerous to speculate about Jana being sexually abused. Even though her time in Journey of the Heart overlaps with the abuse claims, like GEML said, there are plenty of reasons why she could have changed. Maybe she became she realized that she has a life of child raising in front of her, between raising her siblings and then her own children. Maybe it was the hormones and the typical adolescent mood changes. Maybe she was abused but the speculating doesn't sit well with me when it comes to the sexual abuse of minors. Although I do agree that JB and M would be completely useless in situations where abuse allegations were made. Those people can't even recognize the damage they are doing to their own children, they couldn't comprehend the trauma of abuse or even the difficulties of mental illness.

That makes way more sense now that you explain that. I live in Australia and while I'm surrounded by people who are Chinese, Korean, Italian, Vietnamese and British, I have next to no experience with Latino/Hispanic communities. I just always thought that Javi was calling himself a weird version of 'Papa' all of his own creation which sort of fitted into my assumption that he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed (he married Kailyn for a start). Still bugs me that he keeps trying to take the father role from Jo. If it was a situation where Jo wasn't in the picture, I wouldn't care as much but Jo is in the picture and he should be respected as Isaac's father.

Not related to the College thing but I watched a rerun of one of the episodes and I was reminded of the lack of stimulation in the kids lives. For crying out loud, all they appear to do is wonder around the house, climb on benches and do interviews. I can only really remember one time when I saw them playing with a toy and that was a bouncy ball that they each got 5 mins with. Would it kill Michelle to set up some structured activities??? I'm not a mum but off the top of my head I could suggest drawing, hide-and-seek, throw and catch and being read to. And 3 out of those 4 would only require Michelle to sit there and supervise! I have seen nothing to suggest that the kids are doing activities that help with their gross or fine motor skills or even basic counting games. And more than that, I would happily bet money that those kids aren't getting their hour of physical activity each day (running/screaming around the house doesn't count!). No wonder they act feral, they are left to their own devices since their mum doesn't care, Jana is probably worn out and Jessa and Jill are busy being courted/engaged/married.

Gotcha. I honestly never understood why he called himself that but it makes more sense now. Still find it weird that he calls Isaac Papi Jnr when Isaac isn't his kid but I guess Jo is cool with it (or we will see on the next season that he isn't!)

As if it isn't gross enough that Javi calls himself Papi, he called Isaac "Papi JR"??? Hate to break it to you dude but he isn't your kid.

Pretty sure there have been more episodes, sadly, And you can see Janelle think "Oh whoops, I'm on Teen Mom, better look like I want my kid back". It creeps me out how much Nathan wants Jace actually, especially since he doesn't seem to care about his own daughter nearly as much! And I agree, Barb isn't mother of the year material but someone had to step up for the poor kid. I remember being horrified when Janelle came home, high as a kite, she and Barb were screaming at each other as Barb threw her out (for somethingth time) and it cut to six month old Jace sitting at the back door, entertaining himself with a spoon or something and looking heartbreakingly lonely. Whenever Janelle has gone on about how much she loves him, I always think of that episode. I'm a bit younger than the girls and when I told my parents about how the grandparents were raising the kids, they were horrified at raising a toddler at their age. It isn't fair that the grandparents are having the pick up the slack and I can definitely see Kaiser going to Barb's or Nathan's parents. It will be a case of, "should he be raised with his half-brother and his grandmother or his half-sister and her grandparents?". Either way, none of those kids have been set up for good mental health in the future. Out of all of the Teen Moms, Janelle just makes me so mad!

I'm new here but I just saw a replay of the episode where Janelle gives 101 reasons why she can't take Jace back before completely changing her tune and saying that she desperately wants to have full custody. And the thing that pissed me off was that it was all about her, 'I want Jace back' 'I'm his mother' 'I've been clean and sober', absolutely nothing about Jace's wants or needs. Barbs isn't going to win any 'Parent of the Year' awards but she has been raising her grandson at 60something with absolutely no support from his mother for five years, so points to her. Janelle just seems to think that Jace is a plant or something that she handed over to her mother to take care of and now wants back. You don't get to hand over full custody of your child, bugger off for 4, 5 years, stay clean for a few months, pop out another kid and decide that actually you would quite like him back. Sorry about the rant, I just got so annoyed seeing Janelle make it all about her rather than Jace.