Arkansas Mom Prepares for Birth of 17th Child

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I have seen their story on TLC but back then they only had 14 or 15 childern. Seems they are now about to have #17.

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270554,00.html

Arkansas Mom Prepares for Birth of 17th Child

LITTLE ROCK — The Duggars are once again pulling out the pink ruffles and lace as they prepare for the birth of baby number 17.

Michelle Duggar said Monday in a telephone interview from her northwest Arkansas home that the whole family is excited about the arrival of the baby girl they will name Jennifer Danielle, keeping with the family tradition of giving the child a name that begins with J.

Here are my favorite parts
insteresting to see that even after 17 kids they still don’t have it figured out.

“Here I am a mama with her 17th child on the way, and so many people think 'Oh you’ve got it all figured out,”’ Duggar said. “I am still learning. Just when I think I’ve got something figured out I try it on the next one and it doesn’t work.”

Life Views

Because the couple sees each child as a blessing from God, Michelle Duggar said they will, as long as she is able, accept each child they are given.

“Really, our heart is we would love to receive whatever gifts or blessings the Lord wants to give us,” she said. “But I love the baby stage and I can’t imagine life without having a toddler in the house.”

check out the names
The Duggars’ other children are John David, 17; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 8; Jedidiah, 8; Jason, 7, James, 5; Justin, 4; and Jackson Levi, 2.
 
I’m not knocking her but I just wonder how she finds the time to make all her kids feel special. She surely doesn’t have any time to herself.
 
Wonderful! Did think it was interesting that the article made sure to let us know how big their house is. Wonder that they didn’t manage to sneak in how many bathrooms they have also! LOL
 
redtech said:
I’m not knocking her but I just wonder how she finds the time to make all her kids feel special. She surely doesn’t have any time to herself.
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I liked the Duggars before I learned too much about them. I thought they were a good and holy example.

Mrs. Duggar keeps the newest baby as her “buddy” until he or she is 6 months old. Then the baby is weaned and handed off to an older child, and the child becomes the baby’s “buddy”, ie parent. They are responsible for feeding, clothing, cleaning, entertaining, comforting, and teaching the younger one.

The breakdown of chores also makes me uncomfortable - the lists have things like an older boy’s chore being to walk the dog, which his younger sister gets to cook dinner for the entire family, and another daughter does all the laundry.

And I have nothing against homeschool, it’s wonderful, I was homeschooled for awhile and my mother is currently homeschooling one of my brothers, but the Duggars make up all their own curriculum + made up their own church. Plus their diet that’s almost completely lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables and heavy on canned soups and ground beef…I don’t know. I’ve always wanted a large family. I don’t think they’re bad people or anything. But there’s something about them that makes me very sad for the children once they’re past that 6 month mark.
 
I think one of the most harmful bits of advice I have ever seen in a parenting magazine is that you need to spend at least 1/2 hour every day with each child alone. Well, that works fine if you have one or two, but by the time I had six kids I had to forget that bit of “wisdom”. That’s not how you make children feel special. It isn’t necessary to spend time alone with each child. Cooking with your kids, taking walks together, going to the playground, praying together, this is the stuff they’ll remember when they get older. My daughter who is now 21 says some of her favorite times growing up were playing cards and games together with her siblings and mom and dad. She said she doesn’t feel too badly damaged because she and I didn’t spend much time alone together. : )
 
That is awesome!!! I think this is the same family that I saw on TV a couple of years ago. They even built their own house… all of them, kids included! Theresa is right, it isn’t the alone time I remember with my parents, it is the family picnics, the games we played together, the “family” time that was way more important. My own kids seem to feel the same way… they always talk about the picnics, the rollerblading together, etc… (of course it might just be because dh falls on his rump every time we rollerblade)
 
Thanks! I had 4 older brothers. Some of my fondest memories is also doing things as a family. We didn’t play alot of board games but when we did… woo-hooo! 😃 I’m planning to institute a family night when the kids are bigger that the TV will stay off all evening and we’ll play together or go to the park or something.

My dad has 10 siblings. He was one of the oldest. His parents made them play cards and stuff and he hated it. He said he couldn’t stand having to endure the games. We’ve figured out though that my dad is a sore loser. He probably didn’t even complain at the time but quietly steamed about it. Thats my dad! 😛 If I notice one of my kids getting really mad when they lose, we’ll try to play something else.

I’ve noticed something really strange. When I play candyland with my DD, I NEVER win. I’m glad though, I’d rather she won, but we play by the rules every time and I can be just about to win and then draw the gingerbread man or something and have to go almost all the way to the beginning. How come she has such better luck than me? :mad: 😃

Sorry, I just realized I went on a tangent. Well, sort of. It was about spending time with family. I did like playing games with my family, but that would be hard for a family of 17 kids to all play the same game. There wouldn’t be much unity if they split into groups to play different games. I bet they could have lots of fun with bingo!!!
 
Sr_Sally said:
Wonderful! Did think it was interesting that the article made sure to let us know how big their house is. Wonder that they didn’t manage to sneak in how many bathrooms they have also! LOL
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Yep they built the house by their own hands. If i remeber correctly from the tv show that I think the only thing that was done by outside people was the conceret and a few other things. They even installed piping in the floor to make it warm when you walk on it. I don’t complete agree with the duggars homesechooling, how the divide up chores and such and what they wear but i do like the fact that they are open to life. Which is completely different then alot of society.
 
redtech said:
I did like playing games with my family, but that would be hard for a family of 17 kids to all play the same game. There wouldn’t be much unity if they split into groups to play different games. I bet they could have lots of fun with bingo!!!
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There are games that do not require a board and are fun wth many many people! Charades or 20 questions… There are also card games that can be played with large groups, Hearts, Bridge, Bunko…

Many people forget that just spending time together is entertainment, having conversations or playing music, just sitting down and reading together.

Okay, back to the original topic - the Duggar family does what works for them, they live debt FREE, the kids appear to be healthy and bright. Sure, they follow very traditional gender roles in dress and work, but, that does not make them mean. Frankly, Mrs. Duggar looks so young and happy - she has to be doing SOMETHING right!
 
Wonder what people would think of St. Catherine of Siena’s parents in this day and age…25 would blow their minds :rotfl: :dancing: :bounce: 😉 teheeee
 
well, whatever floats your boat. If they can take care of all those children, more power to them.

But it makes me think. If they have so many resources, and apparently love them some kids, why throw in a little adoption. There are so many kids already here that need homes.

But man. It’s like she’s been pregnant for 17 years. At the end of 9 months (really 10. they LIE) I’d just about had it.😃 Plus my personal rule has always been “no more than one person wearing diapers in the house”
 
A DJ I heard today was having fun at the Duggar’s expense and it really steamed me:mad: (especially since it wasn’t a local station and I don’t know where to call to complain!):

“Hey, I have some advice for these people: cable TV!” (why? so they can watch people having sex without responsibility or love? Apparently there’s plenty of the “good stuff” going on in their lives!👍 )

But what really chapped me was his parting comment: “Hey, lady, what do you think, you’re a clown car?”

How crass can you get?
 
bluerose said:
A DJ I heard today was having fun at the Duggar’s expense and it really steamed me:mad: (especially since it wasn’t a local station and I don’t know where to call to complain!):

“Hey, I have some advice for these people: cable TV!” (why? so they can watch people having sex without responsibility or love? Apparently there’s plenty of the “good stuff” going on in their lives!👍 )

But what really chapped me was his parting comment: “Hey, lady, what do you think, you’re a clown car?”

How crass can you get?
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Some people will never get it… love is sharing yourself, love is caring for others… the more love you give, the more you get… this DJ sounds like he lives a very lonely life.
 
I’m sure they get a few kick backs from TLC every time their show airs, and if you watch it, you’ll notice all the nice neat zoom ins on the products in their house (ravioli, campbells, etc). Alot of the meals are prepackaged and it does make me angry that only one girl has to cook all the meals and one girl has to do all the laundry. All these girls also helped to build the house and if it only takes one boy and a riding mower to mow the lawn, what else is there for them to do? I also saw that the “buddy system” one of the younger girls (about 12?) was feeding her “buddy” sibling (about 3) peas from a can. No biggie, but the can was open, with the lid still partially on, and she was scooping it right out of the can.

Don’t get me wrong, I think their open to life mentality is great. More power to them!
 
The house the Dugger’s are currently living in was built by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” or a similar program. It was their previous house that they had built as a family.

I do not believe that they would have the lifestyle they currently have while still being debt free if they had not let the media into their lives. Their home has features that most of us only dream of (i.e. gourmet kitchen, customized designer bedrooms, grand piano, etc). They took a cross country trip for which just the day at Disneyland would have cost them at least $2,500. Not to speak of the day at the dude ranch, lodging, rental of the motor home, etc.

I have an article from when my Grandfather’s (who turns 91 in August) ninth brother was born. It speaks about how my great-grandmother realized, as the family grew, that she could not do it all. She started teaching the older boys how to cook, do laundry, change diapers, help the younger boys, etc. In many ways it was not unlike the Dugger’s with the exception that there were no girls to do the traditionally female tasks, so the boys had to do them.

In all my great-grandmother had 12 boys (all single births). With the last few my grandmother was praying that the baby would NOT be a girl. Could you imagine growing up with 10 or 11 older brothers? All but one (drowned in a river at 12 yrs old) survived to adulthood. The two oldest (my grandfather is the 2nd oldest) and two youngest are still living.
 
Amaris said:
Mrs. Duggar keeps the newest baby as her “buddy” until he or she is 6 months old. Then the baby is weaned and handed off to an older child, .
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I know some folks get fertility back early, but if she weans them all at 6 mos, no wonder she has so many. I wonder why she stops at 6 mos. —KCT
 
KCT said:
I know some folks get fertility back early, but if she weans them all at 6 mos, no wonder she has so many. I wonder why she stops at 6 mos. —KCT
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maybe b/c she has 16 other kids to look after:shrug:
 
Cool! She’s finally caught up with my sister’s mother-in-law! She had 17 children (actually, 18, but one died while still an infant). I credit her as one of the people who prayed for me to come back to the Church by saying a daily Rosary!
 
The house the Dugger’s are currently living in was built by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” or a similar program. It was their previous house that they had built as a family.
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I’m not sure about that. I’ve found nothing about the Duggers and Extreme Makeover Home Edition…Okay, I just found the wikipedia entry for Jim Bob
In 2006, the Duggars finished a 7000-square-foot steel-framed home
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I remember on the show TLC the struggles they were having the steel frame part - all the individual screws and bolts. They did get some decorating help (according to TLC) and a piano donated but the majority of the work was done by the family. I think it took them two years to finish.

ETA: I realise they already have #17 named but I would be willing to help, even with more “J” names. Because, I’m sorry, but am I the only one who reads “Jinger” wrong every time?
 
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