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

[autumnh]

I think for those of us who have had babies....we can tell lol. The boobs are always the first tell tale sign. :)

[Vaysh]

And she's wearing maxi skirts now and she didn't used to. Ground-long skirts appears to be pregnancy wear for Duggar girls. Or is it a married thing because those precious legs and feet are only for the husband's pleasure now?

[SmallTownMom]

I think Jessa looks pregnant, and that's just crazy to get pregnant an hour and a half after you are married.

They should have enjoyed some time alone.

 

OTOH, I cannot believe "fans" would come right out and ask her.  i think I would have to say "none of your F***ING business!!  But then again, the Duggars keep nothing private anyway.

 

I guess I am just over-sensitive.  My huband and I tried for YEARS to get pregnant.  In the meantime, we had stupid people asking things like when are you going to have kids?  Don't you want/like kids?  Is he shooting blanks? (for real, somebody actually asked me that).  Do you know whose fault it is?  Over and over.  Not meaning to be cruel, just too stupid and insensitive to think before they opened their mouth.  All this while I was undergoing painful, embarrassing, and terribly violating treatments.  Was it worth it?  Hell yes, we have a beautiful daughter.  But my heart breaks for somebody struggling with infertility.  You don't understand it unless you've been there.

 

So if this is what they wanted, good for them.  After all, this is what they are meant to do.  Just don't have dozens.

[autumnh]

I think Jessa looks pregnant, and that's just crazy to get pregnant an hour and a half after you are married.

They should have enjoyed some time alone.

 

OTOH, I cannot believe "fans" would come right out and ask her.  i think I would have to say "none of your F***ING business!!  But then again, the Duggars keep nothing private anyway.

 

I guess I am just over-sensitive.  My huband and I tried for YEARS to get pregnant.  In the meantime, we had stupid people asking things like when are you going to have kids?  Don't you want/like kids?  Is he shooting blanks? (for real, somebody actually asked me that).  Do you know whose fault it is?  Over and over.  Not meaning to be cruel, just too stupid and insensitive to think before they opened their mouth.  All this while I was undergoing painful, embarrassing, and terribly violating treatments.  Was it worth it?  Hell yes, we have a beautiful daughter.  But my heart breaks for somebody struggling with infertility.  You don't understand it unless you've been there.

 

So if this is what they wanted, good for them.  After all, this is what they are meant to do.  Just don't have dozens.

 

Aww, I am so sorry you had to deal with that..and I mean that so sincerely.....My niece went through IVF after IVF and finally had twin girls. I am so happy you have a daughter!

 

I have often thought....what would happen if one of the girls or daughters in law suffered from infertility.....I mean how would the Dugs handle that? I cannot ever imagine being in that position or being under that kind of pressure.

[DangerousMinds]

She's married silly! Married women don't have to worry about sinning, because they have husbands.

Yes, but isn't the issue "stirring up desires" in that single guy fan next to her in the pic?

[Ilovemylabs]

I think Jessa looks pregnant, and that's just crazy to get pregnant an hour and a half after you are married.

They should have enjoyed some time alone.

 

OTOH, I cannot believe "fans" would come right out and ask her.  i think I would have to say "none of your F***ING business!!  But then again, the Duggars keep nothing private anyway.

 

I guess I am just over-sensitive.  My huband and I tried for YEARS to get pregnant.  In the meantime, we had stupid people asking things like when are you going to have kids?  Don't you want/like kids?  Is he shooting blanks? (for real, somebody actually asked me that).  Do you know whose fault it is?  Over and over.  Not meaning to be cruel, just too stupid and insensitive to think before they opened their mouth.  All this while I was undergoing painful, embarrassing, and terribly violating treatments.  Was it worth it?  Hell yes, we have a beautiful daughter.  But my heart breaks for somebody struggling with infertility.  You don't understand it unless you've been there.

 

So if this is what they wanted, good for them.  After all, this is what they are meant to do.  Just don't have dozens.

We went through the same things.  Never could determine what the issue was.  We adopted 2 great kids and I quoted this poem on their 'birth' announcements

 

Not flesh of my flesh

Nor bone of my bone

But still miraculously my own

Never forget for a single minute

You didn't grow under my heart but in it.

 

Infertility makes you sensitive.  I remember being annoyed at friends who would tell me they were going to have a summer or fall or winter baby.  Nice to be able to plan it.  And don't get me started on stories about abandoned babies!  But back to Ben and Jessa.  If she is pregnant and that's what she wants then good for her. I can't speculate, but it will be interesting to see what kind of  mom she will be.  Will she succeed at a home birth and outshine her sister?  Interesting!

[abseedee]

She's been looking pregnant from the front but not so much from the side..  Pic from FJ.

 

Edited April 20, 2015 by abseedee

[Mrsjumbo]

I went through the same thing- years & years of unexplained infertility & failed treatments till we finally had twins (& then a suprise 6 yrs later).

It was bad enough that my FIL was an insensitive boob ("don't you want kids? Where's my grandkids?"). I couldn't imagine going through that & having the pressure of not only JBoob & MEchelle, but also the siblings expecting you to produce a child, quickly!

[Abstract]

Then we've got Ben, in a previous episode, explaining that in order to get their groomsmen to wear pink ties, you just call them "coral" because coral reminds them of manly "rocks" in the ocean. He doesn't know "if there are any pink ones," but randomly calling the color coral will get them to wear 'em. Neither of them are joining Mensa anytime soon.

Haha! Ross Geller: "My shirt is not pink, it's salmon!"

[SmallTownMom]

Thank you all for your kind comments.  We not only have a grown daughter, but two beautiful granddaughters.  God is good to us.  I am glad to hear things worked out for so many of you.

 

My sister adopted a little boy at 3 days old.  Somebody gave her a copy of that beautiful poem, and I love it.

 

I too have wondered what if one of these girls is unable to have a baby?  Or at least take years to do so?  I'm sure Boob would be quizzing them about their sex live worse than he does now.  It's really creepy.

[autumnh]

Jbob is creepy anyways. 

 

You know? I often times thought that if one of the Duggars girls could branch out and have a career...it'd be Jessa...she is a tough chick (I am from Brooklyn) and she has that tenaciousness....BUT I truly believe that there is some unwritten rule that once you marry...you better have babies. 

 

I am STILL baffled by the Gothard families...people who listen to a man who is 80 years old and who has never been married etc and yet dictates relationship rules, marriage rules, sex and family size....tell tale signs of a cult...Creepy.

 

The Gothard way has made a LOT of money for the Duggars so they have no need to be any different.

[Apple Clark]

Ok, about the so called "home fooling": It bothers me SO MUCH that they give homeschooling such a bad name. I was homeschooled, I don't (at least, I hope I don't) sound uneducated... :| I do agree that the Duggars truly are, as ya'll have stated, "home fooling", I just think they give it a bad name. I don't know, just my opinion.

P.S. If I sound uneducated...I'm sincerely sorry.

[Wellfleet]

Ok, about the so called "home fooling": It bothers me SO MUCH that they give homeschooling such a bad name. I was homeschooled, I don't (at least, I hope I don't) sound uneducated... :| I do agree that the Duggars truly are, as ya'll have stated, "home fooling", I just think they give it a bad name. I don't know, just my opinion.

P.S. If I sound uneducated...I'm sincerely sorry.

 

You sound just fine to this teacher... :>) Thankfully, most parents take the education of their children - whether they homeschool or not - very seriously. 

[BitterApple]

Apple Clark, when we snark on homeschooling in this forum we're specifically targeting the Duggars brand of homeschooling, not the entire practice in general. Please don't take our comments as pot shots to anyone who was educated at home:)

[cmr2014]

I am against home-schooling, but not because I think that home-schooling parents provide an inadequate education for their children. It is my understanding that many home-schooling families do very well and are able to tailor their teaching methods to their children's particular needs and talents. The Duggars are not one of those families, however. Neither JB nor J'chelle has any education beyond high school, and most recently Jessa, who may -- or may not -- have a GED has been in charge of instruction which speaks volumes about their commitment to education.

 

The reason that I am against home-schooling is exactly the reason that Gothard promotes it. As a nation, we are not bound together by ethnicity or religion, we are bound together by a common understanding of a few founding documents -- our national identity is based on the shared understanding of ideas. Common education provides us with a shared understanding of these core ideas as well as our origin stories, heroes, myths, and symbols.

 

When large numbers of people -- in this case evangelicals -- pull their children from common education and indoctrinate them with an alternate understanding of these concepts we end up with a citizenry who can't communicate on a very fundamental level. In my opinion, there is more than enough room for a plurality of opinion within a framework of reality-based education, and it is certainly possible to receive a good education and still hold ridiculous beliefs -- Gothard himself is well educated.  

 

Gothard-style home-schooling is designed specifically to provide a very limited amount of information structured in a very particular way. Children are not encouraged to question, or seek answers for themselves, or to interact on anything other than a very superficial level with other children -- and even then only with children who are being taught exactly the same thing.

 

To get back to Jessa, though. She is -- I think obviously -- not qualified to teach anything. The fact that she is more than qualified to teach the Duggar children all that their parents think they need to know pretty much sums up what is wrong with the Duggar home-schooling program.

[Maizie131]

I think for those of us who have had babies....we can tell lol. The boobs are always the first tell tale sign. :)

Absolutely!!!!  When I found out I was pregnant I was a 32A.  The day after I delivered my daughter I was a 34 C!!!  OMG it was SO wonderful having boobs!  Of course, they're looong gone!  ha! 

[Maizie131]

Fair point. :-)

I am looking forward to the Yokels in Europe episode. And by "looking forward to," I mean "dreading but unable to stay away."

I actually like the promos of Tuesday's ep.showing Jessa with the birds flying in her hair & swatting them away!  Reminded me of one of my favorite movies!  ("The Birds")!!!  But seriously, I thought it was a cute promo -- she acted so normal to the situation - hard to script that! 

[Darknight]

So Ben is unemployed. They do nothing all day. How the hell are they going to afford a baby

[DangerousMinds]

Bin cleans toilets for Boob.

[Happyfatchick]

I'm a little quirky like Jessa.  I often say things that just blop out there and smell bad with no chance of recovery.  My daughter is often mortified at the observations that come from me.  My sons like it and are as snarky as myself.  While I did enjoy a safe, secure home life, my parents had 3 bio children and adopted another, my invalid grandmother lived with us and there was very little money to be had.  We also were foster parents for newbies that (at that time) required leaving the hospital with fosters prior to permanent placement.  Our home was full of us (the regulars) and half full of revolving children - and all of them newborns screaming a plenty.  There weren't 19 of us, but there was a general expectation of noise, territorial right squabbles, my Granny's Jubileeee, Porter Wagner and Lawrence Welk (kinda loud for her hearing loss), crayons on the floor, chore fusses, etc. etc.   Other than church and family, we didn't enjoy much of a social life.  We were relatively sheltered (although I did attend a regular school).  All I knew to be good and true and right was within the walls of home for me.  Strict, sheltered and by-the-book-tight.  Not a whole bunch of affection from the top down, or playing with the kids - rare occasions but not many.  I got married very young because I couldn't see the alternatives, and there was a viable partner (picked by my parents) available.  I was 17.  It didn't work out, I actually grew up and matured and found myself very trapped - by then we lived next door to my parents.  (Sound familiar??)  Living in a fishbowl for sure.  The thing is, I never cared much for other people's children.  I wasn't warm or nurturing to children. I rarely babysat because I didn't tolerate brattiness or whining in other kids at all. 

 

I'm thinking Jessa married the Dashing Seawald because he was a way out.  You tend to lean toward whatever door you can see open, and she chose to love him and get the heck out.  Imagine what their days are like, that they have a place to be quiet.  A place to talk without interruption, without a chaperone, without buzzers going off because "that hug looked a little more frontal than sideways to me".  I do think they love each other.  I think I see a genuine connection there.  But I think a big fat percentage in the choice to get married RIGHT NOW had to do with the alternatives.  No eyes, no judgement, no mousey voice of correction, no tattling, no opinions, no intercoms, no siblings under my feet.  The freedom to get in my own dang car and drive to the store for pads without ANYONE in the car but ME (If I so choose).  In my opinion, Blessa weighed her alternatives and chose to be married.  She picked that path.  I'm quite sure she'd just as soon NOT have TLC following her every move, I think she values her privacy.  I predict we'll see less of her on the show over time.   I LIKE that she's taking pics with strangers that want to meet them, that she always seems smiling and gracious. 

 

Here's where I'm going (there is a point, I promise).  I think she does all these things better than Jill.  I bet Jessa's house is not always tidy and I bet she doesn't care.  I bet she doesn't always make her bed and I bet she thought the ceiling might fall in the first time.  I bet she was never interested in much cooking and home making, but I bet she learns and is eventually good at it.  I also bet she gets this kid out here (I bet it's a girl) and I bet that's where there will be a definite curve in the road.  She's content to be alone with Mr. Dashing because he's her's.  He's HER'S.  She's never, not once in her life, EVER had a person who's sole function in life was to be interested in HER.  And when she has a baby, I bet she is the most loving protective mother on the face of the earth.  I bet she smothers that kid and loves it to pieces and holds it next to her heart always. I bet she plays in the floor and in the snow with it and I bet we see 10 billion pics of it in the first month.  She's going to be an amazing hands on mom. 

 

I know this because of our similarities.  I grew into a good housekeeper and a good cook.  I learned how to multitask and still keep the kids front and center.  It can be done, and I think Jessa has the blend of spunk and humility to do it.  I think as the children get older and we compare the differences in them and how they interact with others (and each other) that we'll finally be able to separate the Duggar older kids' personalities out.  Maybe I'm speaking jibberish, for I don't know them at all.  I just (for me) see Jill as a little immature teenybopper having a baby and not quite knowing where to go from there.  Remember how she had posters all over her room with Derrick Dillard in that silly girly handwriting and swirls and hearts.  She wasnt' a young woman "courting" for marriage.  She was a teenager having her first crush.  Poor baby.  (Jill, I mean, not the literal baby).    I think she'll be a good mommy, don't get me wrong.  But I see Jessa loving her own little bundle and being so thrilled that it's here, that it's hers.  Because that's where the curve in the road took her.  She's going to fold that baby in her arms and kiss all over it's little baby face and hold it every second she can - because it's HERS.  Who have we ever seen her bond with?  Really just Ben, right?  Because he's hers.  Baby will be the same thing.  And since I've bet a million ways from Sunday already, I'm betting that she loves and adores this first one so much that she's going to be very very careful that number 2 isn't right on the heels.   She's smart enough to know she wants to love this baby as a single unit before she adds to the list.  She seems very happy in her little moldy hand-me-down house.  I want her to be happy.  I want her to not have 3 kids in 3 years.  And I want her to never (no NEVER) call up Meeeeeechelle and ask her anything about mothering. 

 

I soooo don't want her to announce a pregnancy this week.  I too believe she is PG, but I really really really wish not - but only because I don't want her following Jilly Dilly's path any more.  I want there to be a distinct discernible difference between the two married daughters.  For example, when she does announce and the question comes up if she'll birth at home, I hope she makes a wry face and says, "Well, we think we'd just prefer the safety of a hospital."    Gasps all around, right??  I too wish she'd get her hair cut maybe up to her shoulder blades in back.  Layered a little and not the Shirley temple curls at the ends.  [You know theres a Bible verse for that, don't you - that keeps them from cutting their hair.  The Amish take the same exact reference and use it to mean them women must cover their hair at all times.  All times.  Sleeping?  Glad you asked.  Yep, even sleeping.] 

 

So much hope.  Speaking of juvenile moves - if they start to announce THE BABY Tuesday, I may cover my ears and say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!!

[lottiedottie]

I think Jessa looks pregnant, and that's just crazy to get pregnant an hour and a half after you are married.

They should have enjoyed some time alone.

 

Maybe that's what they were doing when they left the "stage" at their wedding. Skipped the first kiss and went right for the jackpot! Anything to outdo Jilly Muffin! "Oh you got pregnant on your honeymoon? Well, I *I* got pregnant before I even left the church!"

[drafan]

Didn't they register for a ton of restaurant gift cards? The belly paunch could be the result of carbing out at Cracker Barrel alone.

 

Is that the Miracle Child in the previews with JB and Mullet? If so, maybe the "big announcement" is that Josie is getting her own show, now that HoneyBooBoo 's been cancelled.

[Ilovemylabs]

I am against home-schooling, but not because I think that home-schooling parents provide an inadequate education for their children. It is my understanding that many home-schooling families do very well and are able to tailor their teaching methods to their children's particular needs and talents. The Duggars are not one of those families, however. Neither JB nor J'chelle has any education beyond high school, and most recently Jessa, who may -- or may not -- have a GED has been in charge of instruction which speaks volumes about their commitment to education.

 

The reason that I am against home-schooling is exactly the reason that Gothard promotes it. As a nation, we are not bound together by ethnicity or religion, we are bound together by a common understanding of a few founding documents -- our national identity is based on the shared understanding of ideas. Common education provides us with a shared understanding of these core ideas as well as our origin stories, heroes, myths, and symbols.

 

When large numbers of people -- in this case evangelicals -- pull their children from common education and indoctrinate them with an alternate understanding of these concepts we end up with a citizenry who can't communicate on a very fundamental level. In my opinion, there is more than enough room for a plurality of opinion within a framework of reality-based education, and it is certainly possible to receive a good education and still hold ridiculous beliefs -- Gothard himself is well educated.  

 

Gothard-style home-schooling is designed specifically to provide a very limited amount of information structured in a very particular way. Children are not encouraged to question, or seek answers for themselves, or to interact on anything other than a very superficial level with other children -- and even then only with children who are being taught exactly the same thing.

 

To get back to Jessa, though. She is -- I think obviously -- not qualified to teach anything. The fact that she is more than qualified to teach the Duggar children all that their parents think they need to know pretty much sums up what is wrong with the Duggar home-schooling program.

With all due respect, I disagree...not about the Gothard teachings, but about home schooling.  Not only evangelicals pull their kids out of school.  There are many reasons for home schooling, not the least of which is wanting your kids in a safe environment without the influence of questionable or dangerous classmates.  If you are not fortunate enough to live in a better neighborhood, then home schooling may be a solution.  Home schooling is, I believe, a growing trend among many.  The national spelling bee is frequently won by home schoolers and I am always amazed that the announcement is made with some surprise, as if a home schooled child cannot be as well educated (or even better educated) than a child who attends public school.  There is a whole network out there of resources to make the home school experience a good one, including excellent materials on American history.  And what about parents who send their children to parochial school?  They have also pulled their children from the 'mainstream'.  Either way, insuring the education of your children,whether through  home school, parochial school, or public school, is the goal of most parents.  And home schooling and/or parochial schooling involve sacrifice on the part of the parents. That is my opinion as a retired public school teacher.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Ilovemylabs

[galax-arena]

Yeah, I'm not against home-schooling in general, not when we also have religiously based private schools (many of which provide an excellent education, of course, but some that aren't any better than the Duggars' brand). There should be tighter, more stringent regulations, though, that people should not be able to opt out of regardless of their "sincere religious beliefs."

[3girlsforus]

I would love to give Jessa a haircut 

I just had a great idea for an episode. We need to start a write in to TLC to get them to push it. Get all the girls together and they can all go for haircuts and donate to 'Locks of Love'.  It would be a giving, Christian thing to do so it would be interesting to hear how Michele and JimBob would react if they were approached with such an idea. I think they are astute enough to know that people are not going to buy the idea that they aren't allowed for Biblical reasons. People know that isn't the case. 

[GEML]

I'm a little quirky like Jessa. I often say things that just blop out there and smell bad with no chance of recovery. My daughter is often mortified at the observations that come from me. My sons like it and are as snarky as myself. While I did enjoy a safe, secure home life, my parents had 3 bio children and adopted another, my invalid grandmother lived with us and there was very little money to be had. We also were foster parents for newbies that (at that time) required leaving the hospital with fosters prior to permanent placement. Our home was full of us (the regulars) and half full of revolving children - and all of them newborns screaming a plenty. There weren't 19 of us, but there was a general expectation of noise, territorial right squabbles, my Granny's Jubileeee, Porter Wagner and Lawrence Welk (kinda loud for her hearing loss), crayons on the floor, chore fusses, etc. etc. Other than church and family, we didn't enjoy much of a social life. We were relatively sheltered (although I did attend a regular school). All I knew to be good and true and right was within the walls of home for me. Strict, sheltered and by-the-book-tight. Not a whole bunch of affection from the top down, or playing with the kids - rare occasions but not many. I got married very young because I couldn't see the alternatives, and there was a viable partner (picked by my parents) available. I was 17. It didn't work out, I actually grew up and matured and found myself very trapped - by then we lived next door to my parents. (Sound familiar??) Living in a fishbowl for sure. The thing is, I never cared much for other people's children. I wasn't warm or nurturing to children. I rarely babysat because I didn't tolerate brattiness or whining in other kids at all.

I'm thinking Jessa married the Dashing Seawald because he was a way out. You tend to lean toward whatever door you can see open, and she chose to love him and get the heck out. Imagine what their days are like, that they have a place to be quiet. A place to talk without interruption, without a chaperone, without buzzers going off because "that hug looked a little more frontal than sideways to me". I do think they love each other. I think I see a genuine connection there. But I think a big fat percentage in the choice to get married RIGHT NOW had to do with the alternatives. No eyes, no judgement, no mousey voice of correction, no tattling, no opinions, no intercoms, no siblings under my feet. The freedom to get in my own dang car and drive to the store for pads without ANYONE in the car but ME (If I so choose). In my opinion, Blessa weighed her alternatives and chose to be married. She picked that path. I'm quite sure she'd just as soon NOT have TLC following her every move, I think she values her privacy. I predict we'll see less of her on the show over time. I LIKE that she's taking pics with strangers that want to meet them, that she always seems smiling and gracious.

Here's where I'm going (there is a point, I promise). I think she does all these things better than Jill. I bet Jessa's house is not always tidy and I bet she doesn't care. I bet she doesn't always make her bed and I bet she thought the ceiling might fall in the first time. I bet she was never interested in much cooking and home making, but I bet she learns and is eventually good at it. I also bet she gets this kid out here (I bet it's a girl) and I bet that's where there will be a definite curve in the road. She's content to be alone with Mr. Dashing because he's her's. He's HER'S. She's never, not once in her life, EVER had a person who's sole function in life was to be interested in HER. And when she has a baby, I bet she is the most loving protective mother on the face of the earth. I bet she smothers that kid and loves it to pieces and holds it next to her heart always. I bet she plays in the floor and in the snow with it and I bet we see 10 billion pics of it in the first month. She's going to be an amazing hands on mom.

I know this because of our similarities. I grew into a good housekeeper and a good cook. I learned how to multitask and still keep the kids front and center. It can be done, and I think Jessa has the blend of spunk and humility to do it. I think as the children get older and we compare the differences in them and how they interact with others (and each other) that we'll finally be able to separate the Duggar older kids' personalities out. Maybe I'm speaking jibberish, for I don't know them at all. I just (for me) see Jill as a little immature teenybopper having a baby and not quite knowing where to go from there. Remember how she had posters all over her room with Derrick Dillard in that silly girly handwriting and swirls and hearts. She wasnt' a young woman "courting" for marriage. She was a teenager having her first crush. Poor baby. (Jill, I mean, not the literal baby). I think she'll be a good mommy, don't get me wrong. But I see Jessa loving her own little bundle and being so thrilled that it's here, that it's hers. Because that's where the curve in the road took her. She's going to fold that baby in her arms and kiss all over it's little baby face and hold it every second she can - because it's HERS. Who have we ever seen her bond with? Really just Ben, right? Because he's hers. Baby will be the same thing. And since I've bet a million ways from Sunday already, I'm betting that she loves and adores this first one so much that she's going to be very very careful that number 2 isn't right on the heels. She's smart enough to know she wants to love this baby as a single unit before she adds to the list. She seems very happy in her little moldy hand-me-down house. I want her to be happy. I want her to not have 3 kids in 3 years. And I want her to never (no NEVER) call up Meeeeeechelle and ask her anything about mothering.

I soooo don't want her to announce a pregnancy this week. I too believe she is PG, but I really really really wish not - but only because I don't want her following Jilly Dilly's path any more. I want there to be a distinct discernible difference between the two married daughters. For example, when she does announce and the question comes up if she'll birth at home, I hope she makes a wry face and says, "Well, we think we'd just prefer the safety of a hospital." Gasps all around, right?? I too wish she'd get her hair cut maybe up to her shoulder blades in back. Layered a little and not the Shirley temple curls at the ends. [You know theres a Bible verse for that, don't you - that keeps them from cutting their hair. The Amish take the same exact reference and use it to mean them women must cover their hair at all times. All times. Sleeping? Glad you asked. Yep, even sleeping.]

So much hope. Speaking of juvenile moves - if they start to announce THE BABY Tuesday, I may cover my ears and say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!!

This is a thoughtful and lovely post. Thank you. And I think there is a lot of truth in it. And if PEOPLE magazine and TLC weren't paying for their lives - if Jessa and Ben were allowed to grow (together or not) and mature as a regular sheltered people who married young, I'd think you were very much dead on. But the economics throw things into chaos. May still turn out like this, or some variation. But it may also be her job to keep having babies.

(And I'm not so sure they ever made their beds.)

[Seashell Lover]

I know one thing if Jessa has a home birth she will lord over the fact that I am perfect and Jill you are not perfect.

[dillpickles]

I'm a little quirky like Jessa. I often say things that just blop out there and smell bad with no chance of recovery. My daughter is often mortified at the observations that come from me. My sons like it and are as snarky as myself. While I did enjoy a safe, secure home life, my parents had 3 bio children and adopted another, my invalid grandmother lived with us and there was very little money to be had. We also were foster parents for newbies that (at that time) required leaving the hospital with fosters prior to permanent placement. Our home was full of us (the regulars) and half full of revolving children - and all of them newborns screaming a plenty. There weren't 19 of us, but there was a general expectation of noise, territorial right squabbles, my Granny's Jubileeee, Porter Wagner and Lawrence Welk (kinda loud for her hearing loss), crayons on the floor, chore fusses, etc. etc. Other than church and family, we didn't enjoy much of a social life. We were relatively sheltered (although I did attend a regular school). All I knew to be good and true and right was within the walls of home for me. Strict, sheltered and by-the-book-tight. Not a whole bunch of affection from the top down, or playing with the kids - rare occasions but not many. I got married very young because I couldn't see the alternatives, and there was a viable partner (picked by my parents) available. I was 17. It didn't work out, I actually grew up and matured and found myself very trapped - by then we lived next door to my parents. (Sound familiar??) Living in a fishbowl for sure. The thing is, I never cared much for other people's children. I wasn't warm or nurturing to children. I rarely babysat because I didn't tolerate brattiness or whining in other kids at all.

I'm thinking Jessa married the Dashing Seawald because he was a way out. You tend to lean toward whatever door you can see open, and she chose to love him and get the heck out. Imagine what their days are like, that they have a place to be quiet. A place to talk without interruption, without a chaperone, without buzzers going off because "that hug looked a little more frontal than sideways to me". I do think they love each other. I think I see a genuine connection there. But I think a big fat percentage in the choice to get married RIGHT NOW had to do with the alternatives. No eyes, no judgement, no mousey voice of correction, no tattling, no opinions, no intercoms, no siblings under my feet. The freedom to get in my own dang car and drive to the store for pads without ANYONE in the car but ME (If I so choose). In my opinion, Blessa weighed her alternatives and chose to be married. She picked that path. I'm quite sure she'd just as soon NOT have TLC following her every move, I think she values her privacy. I predict we'll see less of her on the show over time. I LIKE that she's taking pics with strangers that want to meet them, that she always seems smiling and gracious.

Here's where I'm going (there is a point, I promise). I think she does all these things better than Jill. I bet Jessa's house is not always tidy and I bet she doesn't care. I bet she doesn't always make her bed and I bet she thought the ceiling might fall in the first time. I bet she was never interested in much cooking and home making, but I bet she learns and is eventually good at it. I also bet she gets this kid out here (I bet it's a girl) and I bet that's where there will be a definite curve in the road. She's content to be alone with Mr. Dashing because he's her's. He's HER'S. She's never, not once in her life, EVER had a person who's sole function in life was to be interested in HER. And when she has a baby, I bet she is the most loving protective mother on the face of the earth. I bet she smothers that kid and loves it to pieces and holds it next to her heart always. I bet she plays in the floor and in the snow with it and I bet we see 10 billion pics of it in the first month. She's going to be an amazing hands on mom.

I know this because of our similarities. I grew into a good housekeeper and a good cook. I learned how to multitask and still keep the kids front and center. It can be done, and I think Jessa has the blend of spunk and humility to do it. I think as the children get older and we compare the differences in them and how they interact with others (and each other) that we'll finally be able to separate the Duggar older kids' personalities out. Maybe I'm speaking jibberish, for I don't know them at all. I just (for me) see Jill as a little immature teenybopper having a baby and not quite knowing where to go from there. Remember how she had posters all over her room with Derrick Dillard in that silly girly handwriting and swirls and hearts. She wasnt' a young woman "courting" for marriage. She was a teenager having her first crush. Poor baby. (Jill, I mean, not the literal baby). I think she'll be a good mommy, don't get me wrong. But I see Jessa loving her own little bundle and being so thrilled that it's here, that it's hers. Because that's where the curve in the road took her. She's going to fold that baby in her arms and kiss all over it's little baby face and hold it every second she can - because it's HERS. Who have we ever seen her bond with? Really just Ben, right? Because he's hers. Baby will be the same thing. And since I've bet a million ways from Sunday already, I'm betting that she loves and adores this first one so much that she's going to be very very careful that number 2 isn't right on the heels. She's smart enough to know she wants to love this baby as a single unit before she adds to the list. She seems very happy in her little moldy hand-me-down house. I want her to be happy. I want her to not have 3 kids in 3 years. And I want her to never (no NEVER) call up Meeeeeechelle and ask her anything about mothering.

I soooo don't want her to announce a pregnancy this week. I too believe she is PG, but I really really really wish not - but only because I don't want her following Jilly Dilly's path any more. I want there to be a distinct discernible difference between the two married daughters. For example, when she does announce and the question comes up if she'll birth at home, I hope she makes a wry face and says, "Well, we think we'd just prefer the safety of a hospital." Gasps all around, right?? I too wish she'd get her hair cut maybe up to her shoulder blades in back. Layered a little and not the Shirley temple curls at the ends. [You know theres a Bible verse for that, don't you - that keeps them from cutting their hair. The Amish take the same exact reference and use it to mean them women must cover their hair at all times. All times. Sleeping? Glad you asked. Yep, even sleeping.]

So much hope. Speaking of juvenile moves - if they start to announce THE BABY Tuesday, I may cover my ears and say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!!

*slow clap*

I just had a great idea for an episode. We need to start a write in to TLC to get them to push it. Get all the girls together and they can all go for haircuts and donate to 'Locks of Love'. It would be a giving, Christian thing to do so it would be interesting to hear how Michele and JimBob would react if they were approached with such an idea. I think they are astute enough to know that people are not going to buy the idea that they aren't allowed for Biblical reasons. People know that isn't the case.

I don't think their hair is healthy enough though. Joy and Jana probably could, and maaaaybe Jinger, but not Jessa, and definitely not Jillywilly.

[3girlsforus]

I don't think their hair is healthy enough though. Joy and Jana probably could, and maaaaybe Jinger, but not Jessa, and definitely not Jillywilly.

 

True but they wouldn't be turned away from doing the donation. Locks of Love would just throw it out when they got it.  I'd love to just hear an answer if it was suggested to them. What are they going to say? We won't donate our hair to people with cancer because Gothard has a fetish for long hair?

Edited April 20, 2015 by 3girlsforus

[graefin]

One thing I don't understand is that they say the Bible says a woman's hair is her glory. So I guess they extrapolate that to mean that the more hair she has, the more glorious she is? Even if the hair itself looks like crap? I mean, if it's her glory, you'd think that would mean it needs to actually look good too. And why is Joy the only one out of the older ones who is allowed to have straight hair?

[3 is enough]

Honestly, I think Joy has straight hair because she can't be bothered to fuss with it.  She also has a much lighter hand with the makeup than her sisters, (and her skin looks healthier- coincidence?  I think not.)  She really isn't into all the girly stuff, much as she has been steered in that direction.  Good for her.

 

Back on topic, I am still not convinced that Jessa is pregnant. Those side views aren't convincing me, and if she has put on some weight it could very well have gone to her boobs as well as her waist. I certainly hope she isn't, but if there is an announcement tomorrow I won't be surprised either.

[HumblePi]

This is a couple that has never kissed or hugged and of course have never been intimate before their wedding. I'm sure they humped like bunny rabbits and probably didn't even leave their hotel room for a couple of days in Paris. They're both healthy adults and I'm betting that she's pregnant and will remain that way for most of the next 30 years.

[Hpmec]

Suggesting that Jessa would deliberately space births so as to get to know and spend more time with each child is wishful thinking. She has no other role in life but to pop out offspring -the more, the better. I have no doubt she'll be a more engaged mother (at first anyway) than J'Chelle, but eventually she'll just tune out and go into auto baby mode. I can see her and her dashing husband dragging their large brood onto fundie church stages across the Bible belt where he will give guest sermons on the wages of sin and she will take selfies with the crowd in exchange for donations. I think he wants to free himself from the tyranny of Boob, and shilling themselves out with public appearances seems to be the logical choice. They have to hope, though, that once the tv gravy train ends, their adoring public will still be welcoming. That remains to be seen.

[Literata]

Should we start the spreadsheet in preparation for tomorrow night??

 

Wonder how the Seewalds feel about being grandparents so quickly. I'm sure they were prepared on some level, but, man. Binjermin is just so young.

[Emme]

Hmmm... I'm sure the big announce is a Jessa/Ben pregnancy. 

 

However, a tiny, tiny part of me is wondering if maybe MEchelle is going to announce another go at #20. I mean, part of me realizes that ship has got to have long sailed with her. Another part of me, however, is thinking that maybe they pulled out all the artificial reproduction tricks they could. I remember Elizabeth Edwards having her later two children (after the death of her oldest son). I believe she was 49 and 50 when they were born? Maybe even older. I know she went to extensive efforts to conceive and carry those kids.

 

I'm sure I'm just thinking crazy...

[3girlsforus]

Hmmm... I'm sure the big announce is a Jessa/Ben pregnancy. 

 

However, a tiny, tiny part of me is wondering if maybe MEchelle is going to announce another go at #20. I mean, part of me realizes that ship has got to have long sailed with her. Another part of me, however, is thinking that maybe they pulled out all the artificial reproduction tricks they could. I remember Elizabeth Edwards having her later two children (after the death of her oldest son). I believe she was 49 and 50 when they were born? Maybe even older. I know she went to extensive efforts to conceive and carry those kids.

 

I'm sure I'm just thinking crazy...

Oh please no no no!!! as much as I want Jessa not to be pregnant, that would be far better news than Michele either trying to get or being pregnant.

[ChicksDigScars]

I keep thinking that MEE-chelle is reading the stories about that woman in Germany who is pregnant with quads (at 63 years old, I think). Mullett probably ran to the nearest gyno and demanded that if a woman 16 years older than her can carry quads, she can have #20.

 

Please, God NO. 

 

I know one thing if Jessa has a home birth she will lord over the fact that I am perfect and Jill you are not perfect.

 

And Jill can take three month old Izzy, who by then will be wearing a 3T, and plop that kid on top of Binjermin Jun-yur and squish his wittle head and say, "I win, bitch."  Duggar Takedown.

Edited April 20, 2015 by ChicksDigScars

[autumnh]

Absolutely!!!!  When I found out I was pregnant I was a 32A.  The day after I delivered my daughter I was a 34 C!!!  OMG it was SO wonderful having boobs!  Of course, they're looong gone!  ha! 

 

Pregnancy boobs are delicious! especially for us moms who didn't have them prior! lol

I keep thinking that MEE-chelle is reading the stories about that woman in Germany who is pregnant with quads (at 63 years old, I think). Mullett probably ran to the nearest gyno and demanded that if a woman 16 years older than her can carry quads, she can have #20.

 

Please, God NO. 

 

 

 

 

And Jill can take three month old Izzy, who by then will be wearing a 3T, and plop that kid on top of Binjermin Jun-yur and squish his wittle head and say, "I win, bitch."  Duggar Takedown.

 

This! I said to my husband, I bet we see a "The Duggars Go To Germany" episode! lol

Even if they don't announce it tomorrow....I am still betting she is pregnant.

[andromeda331]

I'm going to cling to the hope she isn't pregnant right up until she announces she is just like I've done with Jill, Alyssa, Erin, Whitney..

[Micks Picks]

Just realized they could pull a switcher and have Jana cary the fetus.  

[Apple Clark]

I think she's pregnant. However, I'm a wishful thinker and I'm still hoping I'm wrong.

[Sew Sumi]

Seeing the pics from this weekend has done nothing to change my mind about the unfortunate success of #Binsemination. The fact that Jessa's hair, much like Jill's throughout her pregnancy, also looks like shit also points to this sad fate; she can't hold up the curling iron long enough to fix it properly in between those bouts of morning sickness.  Poor, poor Blessa. 

[Wellfleet]

Seeing the pics from this weekend has done nothing to change my mind about the unfortunate success of #Binsemination. The fact that Jessa's hair, much like Jill's throughout her pregnancy, also looks like shit also points to this sad fate; she can't hold up the curling iron long enough to fix it properly in between those bouts of morning sickness.  Poor, poor Blessa. 

 

Bin-semination - perfect - LOL!

[Sew Sumi]

Ha ha! I wish I could claim responsibility, but that belongs to a hilarious friend of mine. :)

[Spencer Hastings]

I'm holding out hope that she isn't pregnant because People always scoops them on the Monday before the announcement airs. Unless she gets hosed on the cover again.

[CofCinci]

With the way Michelle stares at Ben, you know she wants some Binsemination too.

[dillpickles]

With the way Michelle stares at Ben, you know she wants some Binsemination too.

Hey, maybe the problem is Jim-Bob!

[BitterApple]

If Jessa and Jill don't hack a foot off those dried-out, scraggly manes soon I'm going to lose it. If they want long hair cut it to bra strap level and put some layers in it so the hair doesn't overwhelm them. What they've got going on now just looks awful.

[Fuzzysox]

With the way Michelle stares at Ben, you know she wants some Binsemination too.

Yesssssssss wins the internet today. Go Mrs. RobinsonDuggar

[truelovekiss]

I'm looking forward to Blessa's Blessing, mostly to watch Mechelle hang all over the dashing Binjermin Seewald. It's going to kill poor Jilly Muffin if she finds out that her mother is spending so much time at the mold house and not with her, even if it is only because she's lusting after her son in law.