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

[kokapetl]

Izzy isn't homely like a Giudice baby. 

[BitterApple]

22 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

Izzy isn't homely like a Giudice baby. 

Oy vey, those poor girls...

I think Izzy is a cutie, but people in general have a soft spot for butterball babies like Spurge.

[Westiepeach]

1 hour ago, Kokapetl said:

Izzy isn't homely like a Giudice baby. 

OMG. Will you be my new best friend?

[awaken]

5 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Once again I think that Jessa is being PR savvy. She posts pics of Spurgie doing cute baby things while wearing cute baby clothes. And who doesn't love a mop of curls on a little one?

Jill on the other hand, posts pics of Izzy wearing a coat indoors eating a sandwich. Or pictures of him wide awake standing corralled in a playpen. 

Ha. Great point. Or looking sadly into the trash can at mommy's apple core, swaddles alone crying, or climbing the  kitchen counters. Big difference between what she and Jessa post and the perceptions they give. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

2 hours ago, awaken said:

Ha. Great point. Or looking sadly into the trash can at mommy's apple core, swaddles alone crying, or climbing the  kitchen counters. Big difference between what she and Jessa post and the perceptions they give. 

Let's not forget The Grimy Giant White Baby in the filthy, unstable Bumbo chair!

[DangerousMinds]

17 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I have to disagree with this. I see a lot more positive posts about Jessa/Ben and Spurge than Derick/Jill Izzy and I think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that people seem to find Spurge cuter than Izzy. Spurge is a clean baby in cute clothes. Izzy is a giant dirty baby in a diaper. Jill isn't clean and well-put-together in her own life, and I'm not terribly surprised that Izzy is dirty, too.

We see lots of pictures of Spurge, but taking pictures of your baby in a cute outfit isn't interacting with him. We also see lots of pictures of Derick reading to Izzy, so it is at least possible that he is interacting with his son in a normal way.

I do think, though, that Jill is going to need to up her game. They want to make money being on television and optics do matter. If you want to be a pretend missionary in Danger America, your fans may acccept that your baby is naked and dirty, but if you're going to loll around the TTH all day, you need to give hima bath and put him in some cute clothes. There will be eight Duggar grandchildren in a few months and having the biggest, dirtiest child isn't going to get you air time for much longer . . .

I'm 100% with you on this. I think Jessa just plays a better game and is more aware of the public. I also don't think Spurge is cuter than Izzy, but I know mileage varies. I don't think Jessa is some "great beauty" either.

15 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Personally I find Spurgeon to be weird looking in most pictures (there's a couple where he's cute), and I usually think Izzy's pretty cute. People have different perceptions. 

Yep, Spurge actually creeps me out!

Edited December 29, 2016 by DangerousMinds

[questionfear]

I think it's also that, staged or not, Spurge just seems like a happier kid. It could be the staging, but you get a happy vibe from him, while Izzy always looks a little lost. 

However, an enormous part of that is personality. My nephew is much more standoffish and not as affectionate as my son, but it doesn't mean my brother in law and sister in law aren't great parents. It just means my kid is more likely to ham it up for a camera and is more genuine in his general happiness at having his picture taken. It also means that we had to teach my son to high five his cousin instead of giving him an enormous hug, because my poor nephew looked like he was facing a firing squad when my kiddo threw himself at his favorite cousin. [to be fair, on my side we're jews-if we know you for 10 seconds you're getting a hug and a kiss every time we come and go, plus you look a little skinny, take a bagel for the road].

But my point is, they're too little and we don't know enough to judge their parents, but it does seem like Spurge has a warmer personality based on the photos.

[Ripley68]

I don't think Spurge is particularly cute - he just always looks happy and engaged!  Izzy looks happy, but he doesn't look like hes' engaged with anyone around him.  The same was true of all the Duggar kids.  I don't remember ever seeing ANY of them looking as happy as Spurge does - and you definitely never saw Jim Bob or Michelle just laughing with genuine glee at their kids antics the way Jessa Ben do.

[yogi2014L]

25 minutes ago, Ripley68 said:

I don't think Spurge is particularly cute - he just always looks happy and engaged!  Izzy looks happy, but he doesn't look like hes' engaged with anyone around him.  The same was true of all the Duggar kids.  I don't remember ever seeing ANY of them looking as happy as Spurge does - and you definitely never saw Jim Bob or Michelle just laughing with genuine glee at their kids antics the way Jessa Ben do.

Yes, Izzy always seems to have this distant look on his face. I think Spurge will be fine with baby #2, I think Izzy is going to be completely lost 

[Broken Ox]

3 minutes ago, yogi2014L said:

Yes, Izzy always seems to have this distant look on his face. I think Spurge will be fine with baby #2, I think Izzy is going to be completely lost 

I think Izzy is going to be left behind with baby #2. Jill is like mama, all about the baby. 

[lascuba]

I think Jessa is a just tougher than Jill and so she has a better handle on the day to day realities of motherhood, which translates to better optics if nothing else. I don't doubt Jill loves Izzy as much as Jessa loves Spurgeon, but I think Jill's overwhelmed with motherhood and life in general, and it shows. Plus, I really think that Jessa is pretty on top of the internet's impression of her and her family and likes to do as much as possible to prevent criticism. Of course, while she's one of the smartest in her family, that still means she's a dumbass by normal standards, so her attempts at appearing normal often fail. (i.e. "We're going to give Jinger and Jeremey plenty of time to get pregnant!" So normal, Jessa). But, "People love clean, laughing babies without visible bruises in cute clothes" is a concept even she can understand, hence the better instagram pics. 

Another thing...Jessa and Ben majorly toned down their fire-and-brimstone internet presence while Derrick and Jill ramped theirs up. (I never for a second believed that Derick was any kind of good person (fuck fundie missionaries), but most people did until fairly recently.) That probably has a lot to do with the overall perception of their parenting. 

[BitterApple]

5 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

I don't think Jessa is some "great beauty" either.

 

I don't either, I find her features cartoonish. She only stands out because there's no competition around her.

[Arwen Evenstar]

1 hour ago, Ripley68 said:

I don't think Spurge is particularly cute - he just always looks happy and engaged!  Izzy looks happy, but he doesn't look like hes' engaged with anyone around him.  The same was true of all the Duggar kids.  I don't remember ever seeing ANY of them looking as happy as Spurge does - and you definitely never saw Jim Bob or Michelle just laughing with genuine glee at their kids antics the way Jessa and  Ben do.

Because... Gothard...spirits had to be squashed, lest any show of individuality, rebellion in Gothard speak, should rear its ugly head.

[JoanArc]

3 hours ago, Broken Ox said:

I think Izzy is going to be left behind with baby #2. Jill is like mama, all about the baby. 

 Jill will be putting up anti-molestation safeguards that she bragged about on TV.

[Guest]

Izzy looks like a mini Jim Bob and that creeps me out to no end. At least Spurge doesn't look so much like his grandfather that you'd think it was his kid she had.

[GeeGolly]

If Jessa & Ben pay as much attention to Spurgie as they would like us to believe then Spurgie will need time to adjust to a new baby, like the average kid does. Izzy on the other hand, spends time alone wrapped/trapped in a blanket or placed/trapped in a playpen, so he may not even noticed some competition arrived on the scene. Or the new Dillard will be Izzy's 1st buddy and Izzy will be trapped in a playpen with the baby.

Either way, I have yet to meet a mom, myself included, that wasn't surprised at how much more difficult adding the second baby to the family is.

[Lady Edith]

My two are 6 years apart.  When #2 arrived on scene, my normally independent kindergartener suddenly became needy.  It was like having a toddler and a newborn with all the responsibilities that go along with having a school-age child.  

Its not that easy to add another child, especially when it's an only child and there is suddenly competition for mommy's attention.  I hope both Jessa and Jill can handle the upcoming behavior issues in a way that doesn't make those poor kids feel put away or second to their sibling in any form. 

[scriggle]

29 minutes ago, Lady Edith said:

Its not that easy to add another child, especially when it's an only child and there is suddenly competition for mommy's attention.  I hope both Jessa and Jill can handle the upcoming behavior issues in a way that doesn't make those poor kids feel put away or second to their sibling in any form. 

I would guess the odds of that happening are zero to none. Look at who their role model is for a mother, Mechelle. Though I think Mechelle was focused on her prince Josh (probably the only kid she really wanted to have) and for the rest it was benign neglect.

Edited December 29, 2016 by scriggle

[Sew Sumi]

Thinking about it from that perspective, I can see why they labeled Jana "difficult" or whatever the perjorative was. Isn't she the one Mechelle claims kept kicking her in the womb (as if she could really know)? I recall them saying JD was very laid back, so he was probably pretty much Jordyned out in terms of attention what with Prince Josh-U-a and difficult Jana to contend with. Then she's knocked up with Jilly Muffin when the twins are about 8 months old, and constantly pregnant for the next, what, 16 years or so? Yikes. 

Mechelle never would have survived without TLC. Their house (which never would have been the TTH, unless they finished it up just recently at the rate they were going before TLC saved their asses) would have been Lord of the Flies. 

[MichaelaRae]

Though I think Mechelle was focused on her prince Josh (probably the only kid she really wanted to have) and for the rest it was benign neglect.

And looking at how they "handled" the Josh situation later, I'd argue her neglect was far less than benign.

[Sew Sumi]

Okay, who can crash this? It has some heavy hitters of the now-defunct Vision Forum, in addition to Ben. How the HELL did he get this gig? 

 

[drafan]

4 hours ago, heatherrrrz said:

Izzy looks like a mini Jim Bob and that creeps me out to no end. At least Spurge doesn't look so much like his grandfather that you'd think it was his kid she had.

This is so funny...I think Izzy looks the LEAST (of ALL the GRANDSONS...... the M-girls look like Anna ) like a Duggar. Spurge is a complete mini-JB.

Izzy seems more serious....some kids are just that way. Nothing wrong with that, from my experience.

Edited December 30, 2016 by drafan

[GeeGolly]

1 hour ago, Sew Sumi said:

Okay, who can crash this? It has some heavy hitters of the now-defunct Vision Forum, in addition to Ben. How the HELL did he get this gig? 

 

Where'd you find that? Google isn't giving me anything.

And won't they have a 4 month old by then? Traveling with a toddler and newborn and Jessa will hang in the hotel room?

Edited December 29, 2016 by GeeGolly
Jessa/newborn

[Sew Sumi]

They traveled with Spurge to Danger America when he was about that age. I think we all know by now that regard for saftey is not a Duggar strong suit. 

Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Hurst, Texas links the JeremiahCry organization on its website. I think it's legit. 

Oops, forgot the link! :D

http://gracereformedbc.org/

Edited December 29, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[Marigold]

wonder what Ben's topic will be?

[EAG46]

Oh to have cheap copies of Darwin's Origin of the Species, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, and heck, even just the 2017 World Atlas to anonymously distribute to that conference.   

[JoanArc]

Ben looks so out of place on that list.

[BitterApple]

Is Bin actually speaking or is he just window dressing?

[Sew Sumi]

59 minutes ago, Marigold said:

wonder what Ben's topic will be?

Colin Kapernick? Black Lives Matter? He's seriously talked about both issues and got reamed by leghumpers who called him racist. 

I think that would go over really well. :D

[RedheadZombie]

10 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I don't either, I find her features cartoonish. She only stands out because there's no competition around her.

I think Jana is very pretty by most standards. So is Joy.    

[BitterApple]

20 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

I think Jana is very pretty by most standards. So is Joy.    

They are but they're bland. I was talking more along the lines of throwing Jessa in with girls who are attractive, dress well and are every bit as pushy as she is when it comes to getting attention. She'd fade to black pretty quickly.

[louannems]

http://www.inquisitr.com/3832786/jessa-duggar-drops-possible-baby-name-hint-on-instagram-ben-seewald-lands-job-speaking-alongside-controversial-preacher/

That Voddi preacher man sounds horrible!

[awaken]

Ugh, what on earth will BEN SEEWALD have to contribute?  He's  relatively newly married, new to fatherhood, and hasn't accomplished anything career wise or educationally that most of us haven't done better. And all of his biblical and Spurgeon quotes are unoriginal. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

3 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

They are but they're bland. I was talking more along the lines of throwing Jessa in with girls who are attractive, dress well and are every bit as pushy as she is when it comes to getting attention. She'd fade to black pretty quickly.

Jessa Blessa is all Duck Lips and Selfies for Jesus.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Arwen Evenstar

[Sew Sumi]

Baucham is AWFUL! So is Scott Brown. You can look up thier histories on FJ. Pure evil, both of them. Had they managed to pull Comfort, it would have been a trifecta quite unlike any we've seen at one conference in a long time. 

...and Ben. LMAO The little boy is still going to be eaten alive by these heavy hitters in the fundie world. And if anyone thinks Ben is going soft by defending BLM, Kaepernick, and even speaking against Trump, getting this gig demonstrates that he's as fundie as ever. 

Edited December 30, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[awaken]

I was in (fundie) summer camp with AW Tozer's granddaughter. Everyone was in awe. Tozer and spurgeon. Awesome!  

I need a statement from benny boy on how he can possibly justify speaking next to someone  Who has made those statements about teenage daughters, and all day spanking sessions for toddlers. 

[lascuba]

3 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

They are but they're bland. I was talking more along the lines of throwing Jessa in with girls who are attractive, dress well and are every bit as pushy as she is when it comes to getting attention. She'd fade to black pretty quickly.

That's what it is about them. I do think they're  pretty but...there was always a silent but for me and I couldn't put my finger on it. Bland is exactly it. I guess they're what people mean when they say girl next door? Because every time I've heard someone described that way, I found them unremarkable looking. 

Man, perception really is everything. I find Jessa very attractive--whether that will last...probably not, age is an asshole to everyone's looks--Jill is straight up ugly, and Jinger's ok and so much improved from those excruciating ugly duckling years that she's pretty in comparison. 

[Sew Sumi]

If Jessa knew how to thrift shop like Jinger, she might be something. When she's knocked up, her shirts are too tight. When she's not pregnant, her clothes are too loose for someone whose body had bounced back before she got knocked up again. Now she even has some knockers. 

These girls have just been taught to be afraid of their bodies because of what they could do to men. So sad. Joy has to cover up; Jinger goes baggy to make it look like she has some curves through the lines of her actual clothing. I have to wonder what Jeremy thought when he first saw Jinger. She's been wearing long sleeves and layers for at least two years. Hopefully, marriage "fattens" her up a bit. Unless Jeremy really wants Kate Moss, etc. I guess if she doesn't work out, that's more time to devote to the bible and babies? 

I really hope that her exposure to real arts opens her eyes. They can't put a keyboard in that tiny apartment, but maybe she really like the violin? Who knows, since they were all forced into it?

[Temperance]

I tend to think Ben's youth is rather the point.  I could see them wanting (apparently all) men of different ages to appeal to different groups of people and can speak to people who are closer in age and represent generational viewpoints. 

[Sew Sumi]

There are far more well-known (in fundie circles) and educated young men in Ben's age group who could speak here such as the Harris twins (or even just one). This doesn't look to be an event that draws in "outsiders." All Ben will do is make Daddy pay a fee to drool for a few hours, and half the audience could be that. Do Voddie or his buddies want that? Voddie's preaching would go way over a Seewald groupie's head. 

[MunichNark]

I don't think Spurgeon is "cute" at all - the overall look he presents is cute because he is a happy chubby toddler, but he's borderline ugly. That hair needs a cut badly. And his face...well. Just as well that babies change all the time.

They got lucky that he seems a happy chappy. What will both Jessa and Jill do when they have a non compliant baby with issues? Having kids isn't all gazing adorably into the crib where the baby lies, sleeping peacefully.

[GeeGolly]

I hope for Ben'd sake it's a Q & A, although I'm not sure what answers he has to any questions. I've yet to see an example of him speaking with any confidence. Maybe all the questions will be Duggar related? Otherwise what will he address, the latest internet meme, or a Spurgeon quote?

I'm guessing he will rely on standard Duggar spiel; birth control bad, pants bad, dating bad, headship good, cuz Jesus, cuz Jesus, cuz God. 

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

Okay, who can crash this? It has some heavy hitters of the now-defunct Vision Forum, in addition to Ben. How the HELL did he get this gig? 

Bin looks pensive and handsome there.  He needs contacts. Who is that Dr. Jason Lisle and how did a 14 year old get a PhD??

[questionfear]

6 hours ago, Temperance said:

I tend to think Ben's youth is rather the point.  I could see them wanting (apparently all) men of different ages to appeal to different groups of people and can speak to people who are closer in age and represent generational viewpoints. 

I think the appeal of Ben is that he's relatively famous in their circles and he is a draw for the Instagram generation. 

[Churchhoney]

17 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Okay, who can crash this? It has some heavy hitters of the now-defunct Vision Forum, in addition to Ben. How the HELL did he get this gig? 

 

That's jaw dropping. Insane as all of these guys are, many of them are pretty darned glib. I can't even picture Bin giving a speech. I assume they were trying to goose registrations by adding a TeeVee Stah to the mix? Good lord, what this will do to Bin's ego, too.

At least I know where to go in June should I be feeling quite glum but in need of an immediate impetus to slit my own throat. Because sitting through an hour or so of this would do it.

12 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Is Bin actually speaking or is he just window dressing?

And where's his backwards hat?

[Churchhoney]

2 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

Bin looks pensive and handsome there.  He needs contacts. Who is that Dr. Jason Lisle and how did a 14 year old get a PhD??

Lisle is a big-time young-earth creationist. My theory is that colleges gave him degrees because they wanted him to shut up and leave. They probably figured that, given his views, he'd only ever be known by a tiny group of anti-intellectual dunderheads anyway, so few people would notice what his alma maters were. He may be the one that Bin "interviewed"? In which case, Bin lurrrrves him. So maybe he had something to do with Bin's invite as well? Hey! Bring in this great guy who's on the web a lot and has a young following!

ETA: I've spoken with a fair number of highly science-educated creationists, and it's been my perception that a lot of them have the kind of science brains that are really good at focusing on some of the itty bitty mathematics-type topics in astrophysics (the field Lisle studied) or the like. And that makes them very good at making extremely picky little arguments and focusing on one tiny slice of something taken out of context. In most of science (and the rest of academics, too, of course), that's the kind of thing you have to do to pick a fresh dissertation topic and work it. And then these creationist-but-trained-in-science people take that part of their talent and turn it to making similar arguments in the creationist field. They manage to dissociate their creationist arguments from the surrounding context of research and information that other scientists look at. There are a fair number of these people. And like a lot of people with that kind of math/science gift, the gift tended to reveal itself at quite a young age.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Churchhoney

[Rabbittron]

11 hours ago, louannems said:

http://www.inquisitr.com/3832786/jessa-duggar-drops-possible-baby-name-hint-on-instagram-ben-seewald-lands-job-speaking-alongside-controversial-preacher/

That Voddi preacher man sounds horrible!

When I  first read this i thought it said voodoo preacher.

[Churchhoney]

3 minutes ago, Rabbittron said:

When I  first read this i thought it said voodoo preacher.

That would be much much better.

[bigskygirl]

When I first look at it I thought is said ben-seewald-lands-job-spanking  It has been a long week. Ha!

[RazzleberryPie]

21 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Thinking about it from that perspective, I can see why they labeled Jana "difficult" or whatever the perjorative was. Isn't she the one Mechelle claims kept kicking her in the womb (as if she could really know)? I recall them saying JD was very laid back, so he was probably pretty much Jordyned out in terms of attention what with Prince Josh-U-a and difficult Jana to contend with. Then she's knocked up with Jilly Muffin when the twins are about 8 months old, and constantly pregnant for the next, what, 16 years or so? Yikes. 

Mechelle never would have survived without TLC. Their house (which never would have been the TTH, unless they finished it up just recently at the rate they were going before TLC saved their asses) would have been Lord of the Flies. 

I know I wasn't there when Jana was a baby, but I will always 100% believe that Jana was not difficult. I believe Josh was easy to manage as the first child, and Michelle was overwhelmed with a toddler and twin infants. That's normal. I also suspect JD was as dull as a baby as he is now, while Jana wasn't difficult, just more lively. Girls often are. I also firmly believe narcissist Michelle was JEALOUS of her infant daughter. Nobody steals Michelle's thunder. 

A baby saying 'no' isn't sinful and purposefully defiant. It's a normal stage of development and not willful or bad. 

When michelle blamed Jana for kicking her in the womb, that solidified me thinking Michelle hated her from the instant she learned Jana was a girl. 

I can't wait for the moment Jana discovers she can indeed leave, she will never have her mother's approval, her father is not looking for a spouse for her, and Jana flees. Even if it is to the tree house or Jenny's house in 20 years, I want Jana to flee.