Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

[GeeGolly]

I saw the headline of Jessa's pregnancy and kept recounting the kids she had, thinking it was clickbait. 

I still think they'll stop after their 8th - one more than Anna.

Speaking of Anna, does anyone know how many kids Pecan and Priss have?

[crazy8s]

1 minute ago, GeeGolly said:

Speaking of Anna, does anyone know how many kids Pecan and Priss have?

I believe they now have 7

[Absolom]

Anna at least has practice with her sister Esther always having had more children.  I wonder if it will really bother her if/when Jessa and Priscilla pass her in offspring. 

[GeeGolly]

26 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Anna at least has practice with her sister Esther always having had more children.  I wonder if it will really bother her if/when Jessa and Priscilla pass her in offspring. 

I think Prissy, not so much. I do think Jessa having more kids will bother Anna. I also think Jessa will passive-aggressively rub it in.

[graybrown bird]

What an achievement!  It's Iike measuring your worth by the length of your hair.

[Gemma Violet]

TMZ picked up the story:

https://www.tmz.com/2025/03/08/jessa-duggar-seewald-pregnant-6th-baby/#continued

[Salacious Kitty]

15 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I think Prissy, not so much. I do think Jessa having more kids will bother Anna. I also think Jessa will passive-aggressively rub it in.

Agree. Jessa is underfoot at the TTH, so Anna would see them nearly every day. These days, I doubt Anna is happy with anyone with many children approaching her seven. And yes, that includes Prissy. I think she's jealous.

2 minutes ago, graybrown bird said:

What an achievement!  It's Iike measuring your worth by the length of your hair.

Jessa seems to do that as well. 

[EmeraldGirl]

Every time something would pop up on here I was thinking it was a pregnancy announcement, so no surprise.
 

The TMZ picture has her looking very fundie. A long skirt, and that hideous long hair with absolutely no shape to it. I hope that was just an outfit choice of the day and that she hasn’t given up wearing her pants, etc. I’m surprised she didn’t want to stay “ the pretty one” because she sure has dropped the ball on that. I can see why maybe she and Jinger have drifted apart. Their life goals don’t seem to be the same. Jinger gives every indication that she is done at three, and wants to enjoy her LA life more. Jessa seems to want to be Michelle. Children are like flowers, etc., blah.

[precious pupp]

I'm of the opinion that Jessa wants to be JB's favorite, and she has to be constantly pregnant like Michelle, for that to happen.  It's surprising to me that Ben hasn't sneaked off and gotten himself fixed by now.  

[Gemma Violet]

Since Ben is a preacher and Jessa doesn't do much social media these days, I'm amazed they can manage financially with a family of seven, soon to be eight.  Ben has to be doing something as a sideline.

Edited Sunday at 02:03 AM by Gemma Violet

[EmeraldGirl]

Ben has always seemed like such a hen-pecked wimp. I think he does whatever Jessa/JB tell him to do. He came into this as a dim obedient teenager. I don’t think he’s changed very much. I still can’t get over the idea that they completely redid a house they don’t even own! He just puts on a dopey hat and follows the flock – even though he’s supposed to be leading a congregation. 

Edited Sunday at 09:13 PM by EmeraldGirl
Hen-picked doesn’t make any sense

[Adeejay]

During the days of “19 Kids and Counting”, it was a common assumption that of all the Duggar siblings, Jill was the “biggest kool-aid drinker”.  However, based on her interactions with “outsiders” and how she staunchly and unapologetically defended her parents, I’ve always felt that title belonged to Jessa.  Seems I would be right.  

[Salacious Kitty]

8 minutes ago, Adeejay said:

During the days of “19 Kids and Counting”, it was a common assumption that of all the Duggar siblings, Jill was the “biggest kool-aid drinker”.  However, based on her interactions with “outsiders” and how she staunchly and unapologetically defended her parents, I’ve always felt that title belonged to Jessa.  Seems I would be right.  

I'm reminded of the scavenger hunt Ben arranged for Jessa to get her to Thorncrown Chapel for their engagement. One segment found Jessa and chaperone Jinger in a little town square. "Random" people sat on benches holding roses with clues. Jessa refused to approach these people, even though they were handpicked by production. Jinger had to fetch the roses. 

Jessa has always been sour. 

[lianau]

5 hours ago, Adeejay said:

During the days of “19 Kids and Counting”, it was a common assumption that of all the Duggar siblings, Jill was the “biggest kool-aid drinker”.  However, based on her interactions with “outsiders” and how she staunchly and unapologetically defended her parents, I’ve always felt that title belonged to Jessa.  Seems I would be right.  

true believers fall the fastest and hardest once they poke one hole into their belief fabric.  Jessa had the misfortune of being presented as the pretty one without having the personality to inhabit that role. 

[mythoughtis]

Jessa is a person that doesn’t ever want to admit she’s wrong. She would feel she looked foolish.   To turn away from her parents’ beliefs would be admitting she was wrong to believe them.     If she didn’t turn away after Josh, she’s probably not going to.  
 

Jill wasn’t the true believer as much as she was able to ‘ get along to go along’.   She was able to outwardly behave as the joyful daughter, enforcer, talking head, whatever her parents wanted.  I think she’d  probably repressed the memories of Josh’s abuse until she saw the police report and had to publicly say it was ‘no big deal’  per her parents’  demand.  That’s when the tide turned ever so slowly and Derick gradually got her to see that she could step away from them. 

Edited Sunday at 03:55 PM by mythoughtis

[Zella]

11 hours ago, Adeejay said:

However, based on her interactions with “outsiders” and how she staunchly and unapologetically defended her parents, I’ve always felt that title belonged to Jessa.  Seems I would be right.  

I could be wrong, but for several years now, I have wondered if Jessa has developed a lot of resentment over the fact that she's the one who's, in many ways, most closely mimicked her parents, but nobody gives a shit because the lion's share of the media attention is on Jinger and Jill.

I also wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't get her as much praise and attention from her parents as she would have hoped for because, at the end of the day, whatever boy is the golden child of the moment--which seems to be Jed! now, to assume Josh's mantle--is still going to be the one getting the most attention. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

24 minutes ago, Zella said:

I could be wrong, but for several years now, I have wondered if Jessa has developed a lot of resentment over the fact that she's the one who's, in many ways, most closely mimicked her parents, but nobody gives a shit because the lion's share of the media attention is on Jinger and Jill.

I think no one gives a shit because Jessa is so spectacularly bad at mom-fluencing. In order for people to give a shit, you have to offer something to the table. I was looking at Katey Duggar's IG and her kids are adorable, she has these funny little reels, and she's not even that active on SM.

With Jessa's IG you see messy kids, a miserable husband and a completely dour, charmless mom. Not very aspirational.

[Future Cat Lady]

I'm always baffled when people say Jessa would be as bossy career woman if she wasn't fundie. She may have been bossy with her siblings, but she seems incredibly uncomfortable outside of the Duggar bubble. She's lazy, has zero curiosity and is not interested in learning anything new.

I know this is because of her upbringing, but some of her sisters have evolved. Of course, their husbands have a lot to do with it.

[crazy8s]

Even back to the episode of Ben trying to rap with Flame Jesse seemed uncomfortable or terrified of being there.

It seems she was the one to pretend work at a coffee shop for an episode but I don't recall how she responded to being there.

 

[GeeGolly]

I think very few of the Duggar 19 dug very deep into real Christianity. Most of them, including Jessa IMO, didn't go beyond Jesus loves me, this I know. Everything else is Gothard bullshit, which I think they all believed hook, line and sinker.

 

[Zella]

33 minutes ago, Future Cat Lady said:

I'm always baffled when people say Jessa would be as bossy career woman if she wasn't fundie. She may have been bossy with her siblings, but she seems incredibly uncomfortable outside of the Duggar bubble. She's lazy, has zero curiosity and is not interested in learning anything new.

I know this is because of her upbringing, but some of her sisters have evolved. Of course, their husbands have a lot to do with it.

Oh yes she is very bad at it, but I don't think that it computes for her at all. Like when she got pushback on those ridiculous sayings of Spurgeon, and she just . . . . doubled down. 

[Salacious Kitty]

21 minutes ago, Zella said:

Oh yes she is very bad at it, but I don't think that it computes for her at all. Like when she got pushback on those ridiculous sayings of Spurgeon, and she just . . . . doubled down. 

She's proved to be extremely stubborn. She blushes ckrd me a decade ago on that ridiculous "straight kiss" she posted on her honeymoon. A lot of people got blocked then. She'd rather be doing that then enjoying herself in Italy. Whatever, Jess.

Edited Sunday at 06:04 PM by Salacious Kitty

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Jessa is a person that doesn’t ever want to admit she’s wrong. She would feel she looked foolish.   To turn away from her parents’ beliefs would be admitting she was wrong to believe them.     If she didn’t turn away after Josh, she’s probably not going to.  
 

Jill wasn’t the true believer as much as she was able to ‘ get along to go along’.   She was able to outwardly behave as the joyful daughter, enforcer, talking head, whatever her parents wanted.  I think she’d  probably repressed the memories of Josh’s abuse until she saw the police report and had to publicly say it was ‘no big deal’  per her parents’  demand.  That’s when the tide turned ever so slowly and Derick gradually got her to see that she could step away from them. 

I think Jill was a true believer. But she's the only Duggar who got screwed over by her parents' rules and education. Wanted to be nurse? Nope not allowed how about a midwife. Okay, Jill trains under the incompetent Vanessa. That blew up in her face when Vanessa got stripped of her license and Jill lost all her credits. Jill's own incomptents (from her bad training) was Israel's birth. Decided to be a missionary. Well, Jill's lack of education disqualified her from the missionary they wanted. But they found one and went off to danger Central America for months at time and not the nice handing out lollipops and crayons to kids like her parents had done on their "missionaries". She never learned the language or did much there and mostly seemed scared. She though taking care of a baby would be just like her mother. Interviews and someone else taking care of the baby. Nope, she had to do it herself and often looked like she didn't know what she was doing. It's amazing she didn't break sooner. 

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I think Jill was a true believer.

I agree. In general, true believers when they get disabused of their beliefs tend to react much differently and often more severely than someone who never bought into it to begin with. 

I don't really peg Jessa as a true believer. But I do think she has gone along with everything she was taught as a child and generally accepts it because she doesn't have any innate curiosity or interest in changing or doing anything different. 

[Minivanessa]

I don't think Jessa thinks very deeply about the religious teachings spouted by her umbrellas of authority. She just wants the security of belonging to a group/family which provides her with status and financial support. If Jessa even ever noticed contradictions between what Gothard/JB/Ben are laying down as religious rules and what really happens, she'd ignore/deny them. It's consistent with her obvious discomfort when interacting with strangers outside her little bubble of Fundy-land, as shown on the show. I think she disdains and fears the outside world in probably equal proportions. 

She's just gonna do Jessa. Lots of babies, sh*t housekeeping standards, incompetent home-schooling, and all. 

Edited to add: @Zella was writing the same time as I was, and did an excellent job re true believers vs those who didn't buy in deeply. I see Jill as a true believer, certainly more so than Jessa has ever been.

Edited Sunday at 07:19 PM by Minivanessa
typo

[Salacious Kitty]

Jessa is about due for a barrage of Sayings of...

According to those, Spurge is Shakespeare, a testament to her stellar homeschooling. 🙄

[Zella]

Those sayings give me such secondhand embarrassment for that poor kid, who, I am now realizing is, what, 9 now?  

[Is Everyone Gone]

I feel like Jessa is an example of how the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Jessa just never took that step. The other sisters have taken that step. Maybe they haven't traveled that far (I don't think any of them will travel far in terms of politics, for example), but they have moved beyond their upbringing, even if it's something as little as being a better cook.

[ginger90]

43 minutes ago, Zella said:

Those sayings give me such secondhand embarrassment for that poor kid, who, I am now realizing is, what, 9 now?  

Yes, he’ll be 10 in November.

[Zella]

22 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Yes, he’ll be 10 in November.

How time flies! I still think of him as being about 5, but then I stopped and did the math. 

[Salacious Kitty]

16 minutes ago, Zella said:

How time flies! I still think of him as being about 5, but then I stopped and did the math. 

They were married November 2014. Spurge was born a year later, almost to the day. 

I can't believe Henry is 8! Have they resolved his speech issues? The last time I heard him speak was maybe two years ago, and he still had delays. ☹️

[EmeraldGirl]

Jill is still very faithful. In fact, she and Derick were arguing about creation and had to decide to agree to disagree. Derick was talking about how the time frames in the Bible meant something different than how we measure time now. And that dinosaurs could have indeed been millions of years ago. Jill just said she wouldn’t discuss it anymore.

I thought Jessa was going to take a different route because she couldn’t wait to marry early and get out of there. I remember her being so gung ho about picking dresses and the kind of wedding she wanted to have. Moving into her own little home (well, grandma‘s and then Josh’s). Her fear keeps her in the bubble … constantly spending all of her time in the big house where she has comfort and familiarity. 

[crazy8s]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Yes, he’ll be 10 in November.

Seems like Michael, the oldest m boy, was shown off working with Uncle James at excavation sites around age 10 or so. Spurgeon might move into a job in duggar enterprises soon.

And dang Michael is turning 14 this June so JB will have him driving soon

[andromeda331]

16 hours ago, crazy8s said:

Seems like Michael, the oldest m boy, was shown off working with Uncle James at excavation sites around age 10 or so. Spurgeon might move into a job in duggar enterprises soon.

And dang Michael is turning 14 this June so JB will have him driving soon

It's hard to imagine him 14 or Spurgeon 10.

[AgathaC]

Wasn’t Jess’s the one Michelle talked about being stubborn and “willful” so it took more effort to “train” her? I could be remembering wrong, but I always thought that explained a lot about her (people who are really broken in, as it were, are often the most stubborn disciples).

Edited Monday at 05:58 PM by AgathaC

[Heathen]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

It's hard to imagine him 14 or Spurgeon 10.

I'm still struggling with the idea that the first two original recipe kids whose births were filmed -- Jackson and Johannah -- will be 21 and 20 this year. Hell, even precious miracle Josie is 15, 16 this year. She's two months younger than niece Mackynzie. 

I hope Jesse's uterus falls out when this kid is born. They don't need any more kids. Or maybe Ben's swimmers will stop swimming. 

 

[LilJen]

On 3/8/2025 at 9:03 PM, Gemma Violet said:

Since Ben is a preacher and Jessa doesn't do much social media these days, I'm amazed they can manage financially with a family of seven, soon to be eight.  Ben has to be doing something as a sideline.

Getting all their meals at the TTH and free childcare has to help.

[Tigregirl]

Sturgeon and Israel are about the same age, right?  What different lives they have.  Iz goes to school, plays basketball, ran kids’ cross country with a team or club, takes swim lessons, goes to the library and museums.  Spurge does school at home with his siblings hovering around, doesn’t seem to be involved in any kinds of sports, clubs or anything with kids outside of his family.  I don’t know if they go to any libraries or secular museums but those kids’ lives seem so boring!  He would probably love getting into Scouts or a Lego club or some sporting activity but I haven’t seen any evidence of that happening.  I feel bad for kids who don’t get the opportunity to make friends and spend time playing with them except for the “sweet fellowship” with friends of the family, chosen by the parents.  Homeschooling, when done well, can of course be really good, but when do the Sewald children get any interaction with peers that aren’t siblings or cousins?

Edited Monday at 07:53 PM by Tigregirl
Submitted too soon.

[lookeyloo]

3 hours ago, Tigregirl said:

Sturgeon and Israel are about the same age, right?  What different lives they have.  Iz goes to school, plays basketball, ran kids’ cross country with a team or club, takes swim lessons, goes to the library and museums.  Spurge does school at home with his siblings hovering around, doesn’t seem to be involved in any kinds of sports, clubs or anything with kids outside of his family.  I don’t know if they go to any libraries or secular museums but those kids’ lives seem so boring!  He would probably love getting into Scouts or a Lego club or some sporting activity but I haven’t seen any evidence of that happening.  I feel bad for kids who don’t get the opportunity to make friends and spend time playing with them except for the “sweet fellowship” with friends of the family, chosen by the parents.  Homeschooling, when done well, can of course be really good, but when do the Sewald children get any interaction with peers that aren’t siblings or cousins?

If Ben is truly a preacher at the church, could there be youth activities that the kids could do?  Seems like a lot of the churches around here offer something.  Bible school, day camp, etc.  We really don't know what goes on in their daily lives.

[CalicoKitty]

I really don't think Jessa would let her kids go anywhere.  She is very uncomfortable around anyone who is not a family member.  She has never shown any interest in making an effort to meet new people, either.  I'm afraid she is instilling that thinking and insecurity in her own children.  

 

[Salacious Kitty]

Jessa has talked on YT about having "fellowship" at their home every week. So, she at least socializes with people from the church. But no, she isn't open to making friends outside of her little bubble. 

I feel so sorry for her kids. They're only a step above the Rod kids because they're getting a marginally better education, and they have enough food for everyone. 

[oliviabenson]

the libraries have so many free programs it's a shame that the kids do not attend. 

or read anything that's not a bible.

[lianau]

23 hours ago, AgathaC said:

Wasn’t Jess’s the one Michelle talked about being stubborn and “willful” so it took more effort to “train” her? I could be remembering wrong, but I always thought that explained a lot about her (people who are really broken in, as it were, are often the most stubborn disciples).

I think so. Jill was Jilly Muffin and JB favourite. Jinger was Michelle's favourite. Jana the oldest and enforcer. Jessa was really nobody's special child. She only ever heard how difficult she was and how she couldn't keep sweet in a cult that expects that from a woman.  It's no wonder she jumped on the first person who wanted her.