Josiah and Lauren: He Has To Marry Somebody

[GeeGolly]

So Lauren was pregnant on Mother's Day? Doesn't Josiah know lying makes Jesus cry?

[Oldernowiser]

“Asa” is pretty gender neutral. They may have gone with that name because they didn’t know.

 I try hard not to judge how people grieve, because it’s made me BSC more than once. And I really don’t have a frame of reference for being pregnant, miscarriages, or wanting children. I once was in a house of a very nice young couple who had photos of their stillborn five-month-old child everywhere, including closeups of her lifeless little face. I did not know what to say.

So I’m sort of happy for JoLauren because it was clearly a huge deal for her and now Josiah is off the hook for baby making for a while. He will probably be a great father.

But damn I’m tired of Duggar pregnancies. It’s not news, People Magazine. They are really circling the drain if they’re still paying Duggars to be knocked up.

[DangerousMinds]

It really isn't news.

[JoanArc]

18 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

“Asa” is pretty gender neutral. They may have gone with that name because they didn’t know.

Not these gender-obsessed jerks.

[ginger90]

Asa:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asa_(name)

[beckie]

So, another November baby, like the other three? All they said was fall.

[QuinnInND]

Good grief. While everyone grieves in their own way, grieving to such an extent over an early miscarriage is ridiculous. Pisses me off. My husband and I had a stillborn girl 2 years after we married. She was full term and died in utero. We were allowed to dress her and take pictures of her and us holding her. These pictures are private and put away with our other special things for her, and we don't show them off, or have those pictures on display. It was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever experienced. We named her Charlotte Elizabeth. She was given a proper burial (not in an ammo can). I think about her every day. And we light a candle for her on her birthday. After that, I miscarried twice before I was able to get pregnant with my son.  I don't mourn over the miscarriages. They were both in the first trimester. But I know I miscarried. My son is a rainbow baby. For these idiots to call this upcoming baby a rainbow baby pisses me off.  You didn't  lose a baby. You lost an unviable fetus. Just like I did. Ugh. I do hope that this pregnancy will be a good one and result in a healthy baby and mother. 

Edited May 20, 2019 by QuinnInND
Because this and these are two different words. And proper punctuation is a good thing.

[Love2dance]

@QuinnInND, so sorry for your loss. I am glad you were able to have your rainbow baby son. Hugs.

[QuinnInND]

3 minutes ago, Love2dance said:

@QuinnInND, so sorry for your loss. I am glad you were able to have your rainbow baby son. Hugs.

Thank you. I'm so lucky to have 3 healthy children now.  

[farmgal4]

22 minutes ago, QuinnInND said:

Good grief. While everyone grieves in their own way, grieving to such an extent over an early miscarriage is ridiculous. Pisses me off. My husband and I had a stillborn girl 2 years after we married. She was full term and died in utero. We were allowed to dress her and take pictures of her and us holding her. This pictures are private and put away with our other special things for her, and we don't show them off, or have those pictures on display. It was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever experienced. We named her Charlotte Elizabeth. She was given a proper burial (not in an ammo can). I think about her every day. And we light a candle for her on her birthday. After that, I miscarried twice before I was able to get pregnant with my son.  I don't mourn over the miscarriages. They were both in the first trimester. But I know I miscarried. My son is a rainbow baby. For these idiots to call this upcoming baby a rainbow baby pisses me off.  You didnt lose a baby. You lost an unviable fetus. Just like I did. Ugh. I do hope that this pregnancy will be a good one and result in a healthy baby and mother. 

I’m sorry for your loss, Q. ❤️

I agree with your comments.  I think Lauren is a drama queen who is milking the miscarriage for all it’s worth.  There; I said it.  Poor Josiah.  I can’t imagine what it must be like to live with her.

[Lunera]

More pictures 

[QuinnInND]

The picture of them kissing... Awkward! 

[jennblevins]

While I agree that Lauren seems to be a bit of a drama llama, I can also imagine them calming down a bit about it once they actually have a baby (either because time heals, because the actual baby is a distraction from the grief, or because the actual baby is a better way to get attention, if assuming the worst about them).

[galaxygirl76]

He looks so uncomfortable in every picture I see of them together.

[Temperance]

The term "rainbow" baby is pretty much widespread to describe any baby conceived after any kind of loss including an early miscarriage. Some people I know use it and some people just don't, but Lauren and Si are imo entitled to use such a term since so many other people are. 

That being said I do think Lauren has really played up the miscarriage and dramatized it in a way I find distasteful. I have never seen a couple so publically grieve the loss of a miscarriage this early and I have fundies on social media, etc. Privately would be a different story, but the constant need to publicize it is what bothers me the most, especially so long after the event. That Mother's Day post was a smack in the face to anyone suffering the same kind of loss or infertility who doesn't have the hope of another baby on the way. 

I wish them a healthy pregnancy and baby and hope that they are able to appreciate the baby without mentioning their previous loss too much. 

[GeeGolly]

@QuinnInND, so sorry for your loss.

[3 is enough]

6 minutes ago, Temperance said:

The term "rainbow" baby is pretty much widespread to describe any baby conceived after any kind of loss including an early miscarriage. Some people I know use it and some people just don't, but Lauren and Si are imo entitled to use such a term since so many other people are. 

That being said I do think Lauren has really played up the miscarriage and dramatized it in a way I find distasteful. I have never seen a couple so publically grieve the loss of a miscarriage this early and I have fundies on social media, etc. Privately would be a different story, but the constant need to publicize it is what bothers me the most, especially so long after the event. That Mother's Day post was a smack in the face to anyone suffering the same kind of loss or infertility who doesn't have the hope of another baby on the way. 

I wish them a healthy pregnancy and baby and hope that they are able to appreciate the baby without mentioning their previous loss too much. 

Exactly!  Plus, they KNEW she was pregnant again on Mother's Day, which makes the post a hundred times worse than it already was.  

@QUINNINND, I am so sorry for your loss.

Edited May 21, 2019 by 3 is enough

[Mojitogirl]

I don’t think Lauren is the impetus for the dramatic, public proclamations of grief - this is a Duggar TV family, publicity stunt move. All attention is good attention for them and this fits perfectly into the narrative.

[BigBingerBro]

It's starting to dawn on me that Counting On is simply a twisted fundie version of 16 and Pregnant.   When will the "fans" stop giving these toxic people attention?  Maybe then TLC and People would dump them like they should have long, long ago...

I feel so sorry for Lauren.  Imagine the intense pressure she's under to have a baby?  Every move she makes is going to be under a microscope from now on.  I wonder if she secretly is regretting it all now.

[Churchhoney]

21 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

  I wonder if she secretly is regretting it all now.

I doubt she's regretting the marriage because I think she's got a lot of ambition and craving for...something more....whatever it is. But in the world she's in, the only something more available is being a Duggar-fundie TeeVee star. .... And she's only going to get that by being a Duggar wife-and-mother. 

If you're really docile and low-energy-and-ambition, living out your life in a Gothard-y role is probably all right with you. But when I think of the ones with more energy -- and I think Lauren is one of those....and Josiah seemed to be one once upon a time....I feel as if their lots in life as they stay in this world leave them with pretty poor choices. 

If these two weren't spawned by these families, they could probably get their energy-and-ambition itches scratched in some more productive and even happier way. Maybe Josiah would have gotten a profession or trade of some kind -- held off on linking himself with a lifelong partner until he felt comfortable with himself and comfortable with some other person instead of in this relationship. 

Maybe Lauren could have had more lively things that are actually positive and productive to devote herself to than just pumping out baby after baby to get TeeVEe attention? And she could have waited for a partner she fit with, too? 

It seems they're not people who'll leave the Gothard jail (or at least who won't leave it when they're in a position to earn a living from it). But at the same time they may both want a lot more of life than the Gothard jail will ever give them. So, at their young age, they're already warping themselves pretty badly to get some of their own needs and wants met while still fitting into the Gothard-Duggar-Swanson-shaped cell. 

That's how it looks to me, anyway. She annoys the hell out of me, and Josiah just seems like such a mess. But I still feel bad for them as they agree to be trapped in roles that aren't right for them. ..... feel worse for Josiah. Since I expect he's at least deeply confused about everything and possibly, in this environment, fearing his own choices too much to risk seeing what they'd be. They depress the hell out of me. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Churchhoney

[Nysha]

3 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I hope once he or she is born, the baby can be celebrated as a special and unique being...

Lauren's the oldest of a pack of kids, Josiah has a pack of younger siblings and 12 nieces and nephews, and Boob & Mechelle are going to have at least 5 grandchildren this year. Lauren's parents might celebrate this baby as a special and unique being, but for everyone else, it's just another tick on the wall towards #200!DuggarGrandchildren

[Ohiopirate02]

Little Miracle my ass.  Lauren and Josiah have not even celebrated their first anniversary.   This is a slap in the face to all the couples who have spent years  trying to get pregnant or finally having a healthy baby after multiple miscarriages.  Also, who decorates a nursery in May when the baby isn't due until November.   Talk about tempting fate.

[madpsych78]

How many are due in November? Is it like all of them except Jessa?

[Sew Sumi]

I think so. It must have been a very busy Valentine's Day.

[ChocolateAddict]

This is going to sound bitchy as hell but I think that screaming that this is a little miracle across social media is a bit much. At this age, biologically they are both uber fertile and as long as they did the deed on the regular, a pregnancy was highly likely. Plus she got knocked up on pretty much the first go last time. We know they aren't taking precautions and on the contrary, Lauren has probably been making every effort to get pregnant. 

I know that the Duggars call every baby a miracle but this just seems a bit much. 1 in 4 women have a miscarriage and plenty go on to have healthy, full term pregnancies later down the line. It's not like they have been trying for years or went through a difficult and painful IVF process. Like, this isn't so much a miracle as basic biology. One time? Yeah sure. Over and over and over? Nope. 

If anyone wants a laugh, listen Miracle from Matilda the Musical. Sums up my thoughts about the numerical imbalance of miracles today ahaha. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by ChocolateAddict

[Sculltaclove]

So, 5 daughters/daughters-in-law pregnant at once?    That’s just creepy.   It’s like a puppy mill.  

[irisheyes]

Well, at least Josiah has figured out how to insert Tab A into Slot B more than once. Now, he has a built in excuse to avoid it. By the time these guys have been married for five years, they’ll be having sex once a month (on Lauren’s most fertile day). If that. 

[Churchhoney]

40 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

I think so. It must have been a very busy Valentine's Day.

...so by Thanksgiving they'll greatly increase the size of this flock of turkeys. 

Weren't JB and M already crowing today about the damn grandbaby numbers they'll add by the end of the year? More grandbabies than Duggar babies! JB's going to start calling himself Abraham any time now. "I'll make your descendants as numberless as the stars in the heavens, Boob," sayeth the Lord. 

[Temperance]

46 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

How many are due in November? Is it like all of them except Jessa?

Kendra and Joe didn't give any hint as to when they are due. They did announce a full month before everyone else, and that means they are likely due at least a month before the others. It wouldn't surprise me if they had waited to announce longer due to TLC's focus on Lauren's miscarriage last season.  

Jessa is due in less than 3 weeks. 

[Patricia07]

38 minutes ago, Sculltaclove said:

So, 5 daughters/daughters-in-law pregnant at once?    That’s just creepy.   It’s like a puppy mill.  

Plus Cousin Amy.

[Sew Sumi]

28 minutes ago, Temperance said:

Kendra and Joe didn't give any hint as to when they are due. They did announce a full month before everyone else, and that means they are likely due at least a month before the others. It wouldn't surprise me if they had waited to announce longer due to TLC's focus on Lauren's miscarriage last season.  

Jessa is due in less than 3 weeks. 

I'd forgotten that J&K just announced "fall." She could go in October.

But add Famy to the November list. 

[Temperance]

1 hour ago, Sew Sumi said:

I'd forgotten that J&K just announced "fall." She could go in October.

But add Famy to the November list. 

Amy is due October 10th. She implied so in an Instagram post where she said she is already 19 weeks on May 16.  Amy also announced closer to when Kendra announced. I don't think Kendra said anything about the timing. She could be due in August, but most people (like Duggar Data) think she is probably due early October. 

In November, we have Joy, Anna, Whitney Bates, and Lauren so far.  

Edited May 21, 2019 by Temperance

[Sew Sumi]

I didn't know Any was so far along! I was sure she'd said November, but I'll be damned if I can keep up with these super breeders. 😁

[Oldernowiser]

3 hours ago, Lunera said:

More pictures 

His eyes look so...bleak.

[MsJamieDornan]

QuinnInND, so very sorry for your loss.  If I had gone thru what you did, I don't think I could come back from it. You're a strong lady.

Poor Josiah.

[floridamom]

I see Erin Bates Paine has been to Lauren's house with her 'on the wall stickies'. If these are stick ons, absolutely a BAD idea for them to be within a child's reach. They will be peeled off as soon as the baby can stand in the crib.

[kokapetl]

18 hours ago, Lunera said:

Lauren is pregnant 

https://people.com/tv/josiah-duggar-lauren-swanson-expecting-after-miscarriage/

All those ... certain movies have gotten to her. 

[QuinnInND]

5 hours ago, MsJamieDornan said:

QuinnInND, so very sorry for your loss.  If I had gone thru what you did, I don't think I could come back from it. You're a strong lady.

Poor Josiah.

Thank you. I owe my strength to my husband. He's an amazing man. I would have fallen apart if not for him. 

[laurakaye]

9 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

His eyes look so...bleak.

So much this.  I have never seen him smile with his entire face in every picture I have seen so far of him and Lauren, including his wedding day.  Compared/contrasted with, say, JD and Abbie, the differences are night and day.  Josiah is a young man who does not appear to be in love with his wife, and Lauren is a far-too-young woman who was indoctrinated with the mission of making her husband happy for the rest of their lives, and in her spare time, pop out as many babies as possible.  It's an impossible situation for both of them.

It sucks, because I always liked Josiah.  He was the only one of the Wonder-Bread boys that actually seemed to have a real spark of personality.  I hope JB and Michelle are both super happy that they've managed to squash that from him, as well as preserve whatever "secrets" Josiah has about himself.

[Barb23]

15 hours ago, beckie said:

So, another November baby, like the other three? All they said was fall.

Jill will be busy.....

I can't believe they already have the crib/room ready to go.  (Well I can with these people but you know what I mean.)  I think that would  make things much worse if something happened.

[BitterApple]

Those baby room pictures are so sad.

Lauren is over the moon because she killed two birds with one stone (i.e., joining the Duggar breeders' club and proving to the world her husband isn't gay). Meanwhile Josiah is completely dead in the eyes. 

If they're fine with a business arrangement marriage, more power to them, but the contrast between Si/Lauren and John/Abbie is startling. 

[Scarlett45]

On 4/27/2019 at 4:20 PM, Pingaponga said:

My guess is that she is pregnant, but not ready to publicly announce it.  If the dress is currently available for sale, then odds are slim-to-none that she would have been able to purchase it when she was pregnant in the Fall - it's not a "Fall dress" in colour or style. I don't know anything about Arkansas, but where I live the Fall clothes are replaced by Winter clothes, which are now replaced by Spring/Summer clothes. There's no way you could find something in a store now that was also for sale in October/November.

When I was four weeks pregnant I no longer fit properly into my regular clothes. I bloated right away, and at six weeks I went shopping for pants two sizes larger than my regular size. At three months, when I went public with my pregnancy, those two-sizes-too-big pants could only be done up with an elastic band. I wore maternity clothes when I went in to work and announced my pregnancy at 3 months along. Two weeks earlier my company had had their annual Christmas party, and I bailed from it as I couldn't fit into any non-maternity clothes without looking really oddly shaped, and I wasn't ready to wear a maternity dress and start rumours swirling.

Lauren may just be someone who shows early, and she wanted something nice to wear for Easter Sunday - so she bought a dress that she could wear through the summer. Unfortunately for her, she had no idea that people would track down the store where she bought the dress and discover that it is a maternity dress. And she's probably terrified of announcing too soon and miscarrying. Announcing early and miscarrying are in no way related, but people are awfully nervous about jinxing themselves.

And you were right. 

[RedheadZombie]

12 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

I'd forgotten that J&K just announced "fall." She could go in October.

But add Famy to the November list. 

A feral pack of Scorpios. God help them.

I say this as a Scorpio. 😜

[Oldernowiser]

Anyone else picking up a strange vibe in that first photo? She looks triumphant, but in a kind of “SO DEAL WITH IT” way as she’s looking at him.

 The poor guy is so screwed.

[Thorkim]

20 hours ago, ginger90 said:

We are so thrilled for Lauren & Josiah expecting! It was very difficult losing their first child in a miscarriage, but now God has blessed them with another child on the way. This year we are going from 12 to 17 grandkids, soon they are going to outnumber our own kids, we are so grateful for each one of them.

No shit, Boob & Michelle, of course your 19 kids' kids will outnumber them, you does the math.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, BitterApple said:

Those baby room pictures are so sad.

Lauren is over the moon because she killed two birds with one stone (i.e., joining the Duggar breeders' club and proving to the world her husband isn't gay). Meanwhile Josiah is completely dead in the eyes. 

If they're fine with a business arrangement marriage, more power to them, but the contrast between Si/Lauren and John/Abbie is startling. 

His smile doesn't reach his eyes and definitely not his soul. 

[SunnyBeBe]

 I don't really get any weird vibes from either one of these, but, what do I know?  lol  What I do wonder about is if any of them consider how that all of these growing families are going to really cause the core family to diverge.  It's just not possible to gather that many people that often and to continue with strong connections over time due to the volume of people.  Even if being a Duggar is your fulltime job (TLC) , it's going to become harder and harder.  So, their goal in the beginning was to be a close family.....but, with multitude of people, I don't know if that's what you really end up with.  

[beckie]

They might have had the nursery set up since the first pregnancy and never got around to taking it down. Either way, weird.

[FizzyPuff]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Those baby room pictures are so sad.

Lauren is over the moon because she killed two birds with one stone (i.e., joining the Duggar breeders' club and proving to the world her husband isn't gay). Meanwhile Josiah is completely dead in the eyes. 

If they're fine with a business arrangement marriage, more power to them, but the contrast between Si/Lauren and John/Abbie is startling. 

I know for some people Josiah getting Lauren pregnant proves he’s not gay but I’ve read too many stories about married men struggling with their sexuality 10-20 years down the line realise they’re gay and leave their wife and kids because they can’t live that lie anymore. If Josiah is gay then I feel for him and I HATE his parents. 

[zoomama]

you know, i see all these comments about josiah not appearing totally happy. i really dont see that. it is mentioned that his eyes have no life etc...i dont see that either.  i DO see that he has calmed down significantly -- not so much silly jokester stuff.  i pray that he is a happy guy and that all the assumptions are wrong.