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

[Literata]

 

In the midst of her ups and downs, one person is making sure she stays as comfortable as possible: Ben, 19, her husband of five months.

I cannot get past the fact that this kid is a teenager. His biggest responsibilities should be studying for his next exam and wondering whether his fake ID is good enough not to be confiscated.

[msblossom]

Here we go again...

Let's just hope babies don't run large in Ben's family.

[HumblePi]

The one thing I can say that I liked about Jessa announcing her pregnancy is that she did it with Ben as a side note to their show, not in front of the entire family in the living room. She also waited until she was 12 weeks along, vs. Jill who must have announced the second she was a day late with her cycle. Also, she didn't make a big deal about morning sickness. Michelle used to go on and on about how sick she was during all of her pregnancies, to the point that I think the entire world was ready to tell her to shut her pie hole about it. 

I'm hoping Jessa and Ben will opt for a private birth, or if not, a very easy delivery and no complications. I'm willing to bet that Ben won't have to be chomping down a sandwich when she goes to the hospital..she didn't mention using a lay midwife, did she? Is she counting on Jill to help do the delivery?

It might even happen one day, with so many women continually having babies, that there will be two in labor at the same time. Maybe they can arrange a special TLC birthing episode where they midwife each others births. Sort of like a tag-team birthing situation.

[SpaghettiTuesdays]

Jessa looks really different. In her 2008 flashbacks, she looks a lot like Jinger. Funny how she changed.

 

I love that she waited to announce until 12 weeks.

 

Watched the honeymoon episode, I'll give props to Ben for trying escargot. And he tried with the French thing! I know many who would not have done either.

 

Love Jessa with her hair up. She looks much more her age.

[Happyfatchick]

Jessa (Duggar) Seewald Seeks Pregnancy Advice from Sister Jill
When it comes to getting pregnancy advice, Jessa Duggar Seewald doesn't have to look far.
The 19 Kids and Counting star's sister Jill, 23, a student midwife, "has all the knowledge and training," Jessa tells PEOPLE.

 

I'm not even sure why this bothers me - that People made a HUGE title bar out of this.  I think my heart had this little place for Jessa... like there was some hope.  I don't know why; she really hasn't done anything to give us hope, but she seemed to have some spunk and I was so hoping there was a little something in that brain.  Now it seems like even though she's a little guarded and a little more private, they still rely on publicists (?) or fire stompers to tell them what to say about EVERYTHING.  The big Duggar smiles, the pic together, blah blah blah.   Everything they ever do is planned and scripted.  Even the subliminal message, with Jill standing a little to the front of Jessa.  It's a corporate picture - they needed red power ties, and Jill needs to cross her arms over her chest.  If I had a crystal ball, I'd be looking to see if Jill is being postured for the spinoff.  Or maybe Mama Duggar needs more time away from the cameras - maybe she could wash that crunchy junk out of her hair sometime if she had a minute.  (Pretty sure the base gunk started layering on in 1980, it could use a wash and a squeeze).  But BIG happy smiles from the girls.  It's a happy day.  Why does this make me sad? 

 

Wouldn't it be amazing for one of them (GO JANA, GO!) to just do something totally unexpected?   (Little head shake, little finger snap)  "Watch this, I'ma do this MY WAY!!!"  I feel so deflated.  Like someone in the camp intentionally lined her up behind Jill again, where she "belongs".  I don't WANT Jill to be involved with Jessa's pregnancy.  I want JESSA to be in charge of Jessa's pregnancy.  I want her not to be in Jill's shadow.  I want her to be her own person.

 

The "fixer" in me wants to shake somebody and say, "LISTEN!!!"   But.  I guess that's really what we're all doing here, right?  Don't look now, but nobody's listening.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Happyfatchick

[starlightlost]

As hung up on pregnancy as they are and if they go online and see some baby boards and how many people there are obsessing over testing, I can easily see the Duggars doing the same.

Back in 2002 i was on a board on tcoyf.com which was basically nfp and Michelle was on there. People thought she was nuts even back then. We all tracked our cycles and took basal body temps to time ovulation (i have pcos and trouble conceiving).

[BitterApple]

The Duggars are too ignorant to realize no, Jill is not an expert in obstetrics or midwifery. Any advice she's giving Jessa as far as diet, morning sickness etc. is stuff any of us could have Googled off the Internet.

Spaghetti, I also noticed the resemblance between Jessa and Jinger in earlier episodes. Jessa was a lot chubbier back then, I didn't realize how much weight she's dropped these last fews years. It's made her face look more angular as opposed to Jinger's which is fuller and wider.

[Absolom]

 

The Duggars are too ignorant to realize no, Jill is not an expert in obstetrics or midwifery. Any advice she's giving Jessa as far as diet, morning sickness etc. is stuff any of us could have Googled off the Internet.

From what we've gleaned about the protein, castor oil, running around after water breaks, etc, it doesn't sound like it's going to be mainstream or AMA approved advice either.  

[Literata]

 

I love that she waited to announce until 12 weeks.

Call me a cynic, but I don't think she was ALLOWED to announce before 12 weeks.

 

Now that the Duggars are working so closely with People, I imagine the editors are mapping out their coverage to achieve maximum bang for the buck -- Duggars appear to be a hot seller for the magazine, and maximum exposure means spreading out Duggar "exclusives" as long as they can.

 

Both weddings, Jill's pregnancy, a Jill and Derick "check-in," a tour of Jessa and Binjermin's home, Jill's delivery, Josiah's courting announcement, Jessa's pregnancy ... at least eight covers or feature stories over several weeks. I don't think anything about timing is left to anyone but Boob and the PR machine. 

Edited April 24, 2015 by Literata

[Cherrio]

No, but they can give themselves a side-hug.

Love it! LOL

Does their religion "allow" them to masturbate?

Masturbate can mean two things to the Duggars.

 1.  When the master of the house carves the Thanksgiving turkey  (masturbaste)     

  2.  Showing respect to Gil Bates

[JoanArc]

ANOTHER people article of the day:

 

http://www.people.com/article/jessa-duggar-pregnant-workout-staying-healthy-pregnancy-ben-seewald

 

 

You are eating for two but the other is, like, a speck.

Benessa is so dependent on their looks. I wonde if/when the looks go what will be left. Those can be taken away at any time.

 

Mechelle looks awesome in the video clip. Too bad that look won't last. She's still milking anorexia for all it's worth. And yes, J'Chelle, we know you're 'the biggest cheerleader' and always will be.

 

EDIT: Also, if Michelle doesn't want the girls to have body image issues, then don't send them to weight watchers when they're already thin.

Edited April 24, 2015 by JoanArc

[Literata]

 

You are eating for two but the other is, like, a speck.

 

I do like Jessa's realistic attitude about her pregnancy, but something tells me Boob and MEchelle are not going to like that she calls her precious blessing a "speck."

 

Speck Seewald. I like it.

[Apple Clark]

I'm going to call the baby Speck until it's born. I like Speck more than Baby Dilly, even if it was meant as a joke and not a nickname for the baby.

[JenCarroll]

Oy vey, that video. Why has the "keep sweet" voice become a whisper? Wasn't it irritating enough? If you can decipher what she's saying, past the whispering and around the buzz words, it comes out to, "I make them tell me everything they eat."

[JoanArc]

 

"I make them tell me everything they eat."

To be fair, she makes them tell her everything they think. Food's just a subset.

[GEML]

My daughter is the same age as Michael, so as someone who was recently one baby boards, I also don't think the Duggars are that unusual. I had my son 19 years ago when things were different and testing pretty expensive. So unless you've done it recently and are pretty young, you may not realize how much this part of the culture has changed.

[Sew Sumi]

Sweet. She'll "pray [the girls] through" an eating disorder. Niiice, Mechelle. 

 

So Jessa  says she's not going to stress out about working out and eating, but both are at the forefront of her agenda. She even admits that she doesn't want to gain much weight. I think she's hoping to look like Alyssa and Erin Bates and not like her sister. 

 

Is it wrong to hope that Jessa has a linebacker like Jill did? I want to see her deal with God's challenge of having a less than perfect body, since so much of her identity is bundled up in her appearance. 

[galax-arena]

She'll "pray [the girls] through" an eating disorder.

Taking this to the Religion thread!

[JoanArc]

 

Is it wrong to hope that Jessa has a linebacker like Jill did? I want to see her deal with God's challenge of having a less than perfect body, since so much of her identity is bundled up in her appearance.

No, it's not wrong. I'd like to see how gaining, say 40 pounds (non-pregnancy related) would affect Jessa's personality. Doesn't need to be permanent to teach her some humility.

Edited April 24, 2015 by JoanArc

[Cherrio]

I do like Jessa's realistic attitude about her pregnancy, but something tells me Boob and MEchelle are not going to like that she calls her precious blessing a "speck."

 

Speck Seewald. I like it.

I like Speck too.     Sidehug for a middle name?

[roamyn]

Unfortunately for me the name Speck reminds me of the grotesque monster, Richard Speck, who murdered 6 nurses in training, back in the 1960sm and then started taking hormone drugs illegally in prison to become a she-male.

I can't do that to an unborn innocent, even if it is a Seewald-Duggar.

[lianau]

Can't believe Jessa didn't get the cover of people. Sandra Bullock did

Now it better be twins to beat Jill's cover 

[Wellfleet]

Unfortunately for me the name Speck reminds me of the grotesque monster, Richard Speck, who murdered 6 nurses in training, back in the 1960sm and then started taking hormone drugs illegally in prison to become a she-male.

I can't do that to an unborn innocent, even if it is a Seewald-Duggar.

 

Eight nurses - and one escaped by hiding under a bed. But I agree. For me every time I saw "Speck" I'd be thinking of that incident. I was almost 10 at the time. The TV news stories and Life magazine feature - in color - gave me nightmares for days.

[BitterApple]

When you make it a point to mention how you're not stressing out over a certain thing, it usually means you are. Jessa is like a Fundie Kim K where her entire identity revolves around being the "hot" daughter. She's not going to handle the side effects of pregnancy very well.

[Cherrio]

Unfortunately for me the name Speck reminds me of the grotesque monster, Richard Speck, who murdered 6 nurses in training, back in the 1960sm and then started taking hormone drugs illegally in prison to become a she-male.

I can't do that to an unborn innocent, even if it is a Seewald-Duggar.

It could be a serial killer theme?   

[JenCarroll]

Let's start picking twin names. For my first-round choice, I nominate Christian and Faith.

[Sew Sumi]

I see them going the Doug Phillips route and naming for virtues. Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, etc. 

[JoanArc]

Menorah and Judea. Take that Jilly!

[zenme]

Cain and Abel.

[hlemommy]

She is more modern I think something like haddon and adalyn

[EarlGreyTea]

Now it better be twins to beat Jill's cover 

 

I'm almost annoyed on Jessa's behalf that Jill keeps beating her to the cover (did Jessa get this week's People cover? I've been busy so I haven't checked). When your life is a constant competition to do only one thing, I can see how it breeds major resentment. Personally I'd probably be sick to death of Jill getting the publicity if I were Jessa.

 

The competition wouldn't be as strong if they were allowed to pursue different interests and didn't have to constantly one-up each other in only one field, baby making.

 

Anna who?

 

She is more modern I think something like haddon and adalyn

 

Agreed. A trendy spelling, perhaps. Madisyn or Jayden or something. Although with how preachy and pontificating Jessa and Ben have become maybe it'll be Jim or Tammy Faye.

 

[JenCarroll]

I see them going the Doug Phillips route and naming for virtues. Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, etc.

Patience, Constance, Prudence, Joy, Grace, Chastity (ha ha)... Wow, that could cover a whole brood, provided they're all girls. And they could add some Duggar-specific virtues, too -- Sweetness, Docility, Fecundity... And the boys can be Headship, Virility, Dominance, Rectitude, Rigidity (okay, my mind is starting to go to some questionable places)... But yeah, I think we have a theme that'll work.

[DangerousMinds]

ANOTHER people article of the day:

 

http://www.people.com/article/jessa-duggar-pregnant-workout-staying-healthy-pregnancy-ben-seewald

 

Benessa is so dependent on their looks. I wonde if/when the looks go what will be left. Those can be taken away at any time.

 

Mechelle looks awesome in the video clip. Too bad that look won't last. She's still milking anorexia for all it's worth. And yes, J'Chelle, we know you're 'the biggest cheerleader' and always will be.

 

EDIT: Also, if Michelle doesn't want the girls to have body image iss

ues, then don't send them to weight watchers when they're already thin.

When Bin found out Jessa was pregnant, one of the "first things" on his mind was what this would mean for their workouts???

[GEML]

Ms Blossom and I had some good names: Calvin, Knox and, for a girl, Tulip.

For those who not only know their ministers but also their ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, I give Moody Macpherson Seewald.

[RazzleberryPie]

Betcha it won't start with the letter J. She'll pick a more hipster-Bible name - Noah, Caleb, Silas, maybe Jonah or Jesse if she does choose a J. Girl will be something like Eden, some variation of Mary (Mira, Miriam, Myra, etc), Olivia, Grace, Christina, something that's been around for a minute but 'new' to her. Jessa will say she isn't traditional and will guard the name like a bulldog with a bone, but in the end it will be something Bible-ish and mainstream.  

[Wellfleet]

Frick and Frack?  Tweedledee and Tweedledum?

[JenCarroll]

Pretty sure it won't be Caleb; the last thing anyone wants to do is get MEchelle riled up again. I think, for real, they'd probably go with something like Gabriel/le, but I'm having much more fun making shit up.

Maybe she'll have boy twins: Jim and Bob. Or Jim Bob and Bob Jim.

Edited April 24, 2015 by JenCarroll

[Mrsjumbo]

Romulus & Remus?

[Barbie]

With these two it might be something like Bill & Will.... 

[bigskygirl]

Larry, Curly or Moe?  Barbie and Ken? Laurel and Hardy? Amos and Andy?

[RazzleberryPie]

Pretty sure it won't be Caleb; the last thing anyone wants to do is get MEchelle riled up again. I think, for real, they'd probably go with something like Gabriel/le, but I'm having much more fun making shit up.

Maybe she'll have boy twins: Jim and Bob. Or Jim Bob and Bob Jim.

Oh I totally wasn't thinking about that. You're right. Gabe/Gabriella are perfect though.

[Wellfleet]

Pretty sure it won't be Caleb; the last thing anyone wants to do is get MEchelle riled up again. I think, for real, they'd probably go with something like Gabriel/le, but I'm having much more fun making shit up.

Maybe she'll have boy twins: Jim and Bob. Or Jim Bob and Bob Jim.

 

I do like Jim-Bob and Bob-Jim. Carries on a family name, and carries on their own stunning lack of creativity with it comes to language and words as well. 

[Mrsjumbo]

Since they have no originality, how about "Precious" & "Blessing"?

[JoanArc]

Identical twins will get rhyming names. (Jim-Bob and Jim-Bob, they'd do it!).

 

Sodom and Gomorrah? Adam and Steve? Buy Used and Save Difference?

[Sew Sumi]

Romulus & Remus?

That assumes they have a clue who they were. Thanks for the laugh! :D

They might take a page out of the fundie playbook of Tim and Francia White and steal their oldest daughter's name: Heistheway. 

 

They're crazy enough to do it! 

Edited April 25, 2015 by Sew Sumi

[abseedee]

Ok, I can't help myself......how about Beavis and Butthead?

[birkenstock]

Heaven and Nevaeh - can see if they're sneaking in some 16 and Pregnant in their new house.

[roamyn]

Just please no Jesus or Jehovah (surprised JB & Meechelle haven't used those).

They'll try to do "international" with something like Soon Lee or Thiago or Etienne. I can also see them being pretentious and going the cities/states route: Dallas or Alaska Montana.

[irisheyes]

They could always go with Jacob and Esau.  Or Jacob's 12 sons.  That would keep them in names for awhile.

 

I think they'll go for the hippest, dippiest names around.  Remember, these are kids naming kids.  

[JenCarroll]

I was thinking about Seashell Seewald (say that ten times fast).

WAIT! I'VE GOT IT! Me-chelle and Seashell.