The Duggar's expecting 17th child

[bicentennial_baby]

The Duggar's expecting 17th child
By Shannon CBB Senior Contributor

Jim Bob Duggar and wife, Michelle Duggar, 40, are expecting their 17th child together. The couple are known for their large family and the fact Jim Bob is a former state representative and U.S. senate candidate. The baby girl, due to arrive, July 27th, will be named Jennifer Danielle, keeping with tradition of naming all their children beginning with the letter J.

Michelle is now 40 and feeling a little different than how she did with her first pregnancy, at 21 however she says;

I still has plenty of energy and only minor aches and pains. With each baby, God's given me the grace and the energy to keep going, and they really keep you going. I don't get up and play the games as hard as I used to, and I try to be a little more careful.

The couple says they view every stage of their children's lives as an adventure;

I've never been a mom of a 19-year-old young man and a 17-year-old young man and woman, so every phase of parenting is an exciting adventure.

The couple says that they will continue to have children as long as Michelle can and see each child as a blessing from God;

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

The Duggars' other children are Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 15; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 8; Jedidiah, 8; Jason, 7, James, 5; Justin, 4; Jackson Levi, 2; Johanna Faith, 19 months.

Source: FOX News

Thanks to CBB reader Erin.

http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/05/the_duggars_exp.html

:popcorn:

[zanne]

1. I know this sounds mean, but...

What happened to self control? Even the rhythm method works half the time.

[Left Is Write]

84. They don't need self control or the rhythm method, because....

they are open to receiving all the babies God sees fit to give them.

They aren't trying to prevent them from coming.

[TOhioLiberal]

2. I'm sure this sounds meaner...

but, my god! It's a uterus, not a clown car.

[bicentennial_baby]

3. My being pro-choice goes in both directions, but...

I cannot imagine what shape her body must be in after 16 kids, and now 17. Just... :wow:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. you can be pro choice and still think some things are just stupid.

if someone was using abortion as birth control i would have thought that was stupid too

[Pacifist Patriot]

11. You and I are so on the same wavelength today.

I admire the tolerance of progressives, but there is also nothing wrong with having standards by which to make judgments. It is her body and her choice, but I think having 17 (and potentially more) children is unhealthy and irresponsible. Both on a personal and a global level.

[Iris]

18. What about the children?

I mean, seriously. I'm about as pro-choice as you can get, but these kids - are they getting the best prenatally? What about in life? A few years ago there was a book written by a man who grew up in a home of 19 children and that life is far from ideal for a child. He basically describe it as "being one of the crowd" and talked about how the siblings basically grouped themselves into satellite families. So, I guess if you think parents are not all that important, having this many kids is a great option.

[CBGLuthier]

20. My mother was one of 16

They turned out quite fine for the most part.

Sure it was different times, well not really, the youngest one is about 35 now I guess.

I would prefer the adults that come from too many children to the generation of single spoiled brats we are getting from people who wait until they are 40 to have children and then stop at one. Those kids may be loved more but they will also grow up thinking the sun shines out of their asses.

[Iris]

29. well, thanks for painting such a charming picture of my future child.

Of course, if you want to exchange anecdotes, my husband was an only child born late in his mother's life and he's a prize among men, so I guess a lot of factors play into these situations.

[xmas74]

35. That's ok.

I have one child and I have no plans to have another.

Charming what they think of my child, isn't it.

[xmas74]

34. Not very nice.

I don't make nasty comments about this family because my parents both came from large families but I know that there were quite a few complaints about it. It was their parents choice to have that many children.

And it's my choice to have only one child. I'm a single parent and I had my child in my late 20's. (Sounds young but was later than most of the girls I went to school with). I have a friend who didn't have a child until she was 41. She is also a single parent.

If we want to spend as much time as we can and give our children the things we never had so what? Why do you care?

One thing I can say is that, unlike the children from the family above, my only child will not throw religion in your face, though she might ask you quite a few questions about anything and everything around her.

[marzipanni]

39. I wouldn't categorize all only children as spoiled

I teach my son to be unselfish, and part of being unselfish is sharing the food, water, and space of the earth and not exponentially increasing the population. The days of needing a large family in the U.S. because some of the children were bound to die, and children's help was needed on the farm, are over.
The Duggar family will contribute 20,520,000 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere annually.

<snip>Global per capita emission figures, however, obscure huge disparities in per capita emissions by country. The average person in the United States contributed 5.4 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere in 1998, five times as much as the average Mexican, and 19 times as much as the average Indian (Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center 2002). In 1995, the 20 percent of the world’s population living in countries with the highest per capita emissions contributed 63 percent of the world’s fossil-fuel CO2 emissions. The low emitters - the 20 percent of world population at the opposite end of the spectrum - contributed just two percent of global fossil fuel CO2 (Engelman 1998).
http://www.prcdc.org/summaries/climateupdate02/climateupdate02.html

[KitchenWitch]

50. I am an only child.

I guess I am spoiled rotten too.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

64. Me, too!

:hi: :rofl:

[KitchenWitch]

89. LOL

Shall we go out and act like total Divas together?

:rofl:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

90. Okay, but I'm not wearing a tiara, damnit!

:rofl:

[KitchenWitch]

92. Oh, good, I get to wear the tiara!

:woohoo:

[Iris]

95. ya'll don't need tiaras! The sun shining out your asses will be enough!

:evilgrin:

[KitchenWitch]

96. Oh, THAT is why it is never dark at night!

:rofl:

[Ellen Forradalom]

159. You've been captured by the paparazzi

[WritingIsMyReligion]

75. Hey hey, leave us onlys out of it.

:P

If the sun shone out of my ass, I'd be a jazzer and published author by now.

Seriously, stereotyping me or my parents for only having one child is as stupid as talking about these with 17 kids.

[grace0418]

41. That is soooooo true. I am the youngest of eleven and that totally describes my

childhood. There were the three girls, then the three boys, then "the younger four", then me. I was pretty much like an only child, except that I got ignored rather than spoiled. It's always great when your mom has to go through five other names before she calls you by the right one.

[Left Is Write]

105. Oh, hey, I have to do that - and I only have three.

Sometimes I throw in the cat's name too. :)

[Arugula Latte]

114. I do that, too. I switch my human daughter's name with my female kitty...

But that's only fair, because my mom used to do the same to me. I still answer to "Dixie" if necessary ...

[Maraya1969]

148. I use to freak myself out by calling my new dog with my dead dog's name.

I had plenty of dogs in between too but I always messed this one up. I think it's because they were both such little babies.

[smtpgirl]

118. The Duggars are preparing for the Rapture

I agree with you Pacifist Patriot, I have made comments on this subject before.


"I admire the tolerance of progressives, but there is also nothing wrong with having standards by which to make judgments. It is her body and her choice, but I think having 17 (and potentially more) children is unhealthy and irresponsible. Both on a personal and a global level." --- Pacifist Patriot

[amitten]

137. I had a friend who used to do that.

I lost count.

[SKKY]

67. Thanks to you, I just spit coffee all over my monitor!!!!

:spray: :rofl:

[Connonym]

70. no fair, you made me squirt juice out of my nose

:spray: a uterus not a clown car awesome

[YellowRubberDuckie]

108. I think that is the funniest thing I've ever heard on DU!!

[zanne]

138. ROFL! nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. funny if this happened tin the third world, people would have blamed illiteracy

and the oppresssion of women.

while i support her right to choose, i also think this is environmentally disastrous.

[bicentennial_baby]

15. i tend to agree with you on this

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Alright I'll be even meaner and add some judgmental attitude of my own.

6 billion people on our planet aren't enough?!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. yup, this is environmentally disastrous ESPECIALLY because these kids are american

in america we use far more natural resource per person than in the third world.

this is just sad.

[Zuiderelle]

8. I hope they are not home-schooled. Their use of language will be as bad as their mom's.

[Little Wing]

10. Probably prints out and uses icanhascheezburger.com for picture books

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

[Zuiderelle]

14. LOL. I has to bookmark that.

:rofl:

[Beausoir]

153. That site is hilarious. I've never seen it before. LOLerz.

[RebelOne]

27. Yep, they are home-schooled.

http://www.duggarfamily.com/faq.html

At 9:00a.m., the older children help their buddies with their studies in phonics, math, violin & piano (J-O-Y- Jesus first, Others second, & Yourself last!). Then the older children start their music & individual studies- math, English, spelling & typing.

We break for lunch at 12:00pm. Jill (age 15) prepares lunch & we all help cleanup. After lunch we work to finish individual studies.

At 1:30p.m. the little ones go down for naps (4 & under). Momma & older children are around the table at 2:00p.m. for Wisdom Booklet group studies - science, history, law, medicine - part of our ATIA curriculm. We work on one subject until we complete the study. We also review & memorize scripture, hymns & operational definitions of character qualities. The children especially enjoy this because they make up motions to help with memorization.

[philosophie_en_rose]

31. They only learn math, English, spelling, typing, and bible booklets.

Hmm. How much 'science' and 'medicine' are these children learning?

I'm pro choice, but this choice is a little skeezy. It's not the number of children, as much as it's that the older children parent and educate the younger ones.

[Iris]

32. yep. From my post above:

A few years ago there was a book written by a man who grew up in a home of 19 children and that life is far from ideal for a child. He basically describe it as "being one of the crowd" and talked about how the siblings basically grouped themselves into satellite families.

[Zuiderelle]

66. That's so isolated. Having only their siblings as companions?

It would be like being stranded on a desert island for all those formative years. The brainwashing would be virtually permanent.

[HuffleClaw]

128. and will grow up to be brainwashed fundy drones

think 'jesus camp' but 24/7.

[jmowreader]

74. I'm gonna fuck up your whole day

The Duggars homeschool.

[mduffy31]

111. They are home schooled

[smtpgirl]

119. Pelosi Fan, the Duggars are definitely home-schooled

they couldn't afford to pay the public school system if all of those children had extra-curricular activities.

[MonkeyFunk]

147. Alas

they ARE home-schooled.

[Little Wing]

9. I can't imagine life without having a toddler in the house

There's always adoption.

[Pacifist Patriot]

12. Adoption, babysitting, and grandchildren.

:)

[Left Is Write]

106. Yes, but remember -

God is giving the Duggars their children, and it would go against God for Michelle to close up shop in her uterus. Why should SHE adopt any children? :sarcasm:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

162. God gave Andrea Yates her five, too.

And we all know how utterly tragically that has turned out.

Her husband was warned by a shrink that if they had another child after #4, she would go into her psychosis permanently. He didn't listen.

They followed some fundy preacher.

[Left Is Write]

167. You did see the sarcasm tag in my post, right?

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. Well, I guess if they're happy, and can afford them, yay for them.

but I, personally, would have gone insane by number 4.

[MissMillie]

16. for myself

I can't understood why anyone ever had a second child. lol

(of course, when it comes to my kid, I'm not in a very good place right now.)

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. This too...shall pass.

You're a wonderful Mama, MM. I see it in your posts about your son. He knows it too. Even if he doesn't appreciate it all the time.


BIG :hug:

[Iris]

33. That's because you don't know "JOY"! See post #28! n/t

[bleedingheart]

42. my two make me nuts...17...I would be dead or in an asylum

sorry...that isn't mothering...that is herding.

I have a neighbor with 5 kids....and she is overwhelmed and two of her kids suffer from neglect as a result...it is awful to watch how those kids have been affected.

[grace0418]

62. It's not the money, it's the time and attention.

Children should not have to be raised by their older siblings. Nor should children be forced to raise their younger ones. That's what inevitably happens in families like this. Unless they have enough money for nannies for all the kids. But I don't think kids should be raised by nannies either.

[ScreamingMeemie]

80. Totally agree. My comment wasn't addressing that.

:hi:

[MissMillie]

17. Yeah, I've heard about this woman.....

she gives birth the babies and the older children are actually responsible for caring for them.

With any luck, these "older kids" that have been forced into early parenting will realize that this is a shitty thing to do to your kids--both the older ones and the younger ones.

[KitchenWitch]

51. The older kids, by all appearances are also charged with all the housekeeping

She just sits on her ass pumping out babies.

[kay1864]

56. From what I heard, it's the GIRLS that do the housekeeping

The boys are basically waited on.

Or so my liberal friend tells me.

[KitchenWitch]

57. Great!

I hope the Duggan's have picked out submissive wives for their boys, or they are going to be in for a really fucking rude awakening.

[Iris]

97. I saw another family like this on tv not long ago - all boys and none of them

could wipe his own ass without his mom telling him to do it. Ok, maybe that's extreme, but she basically ran the show and ordered them around because none of them could take a look around and see what needed doing.

[Nikia]

116. This also happens in smaller families

My sister and I were forced to care for our half sister and do the housekeeping when we were 13 and 11. My mother remarried again and last time I visited, it seemed that my half sister that we had to take care of was being forced to take care of her baby sister.

[Burma Jones]

19. Do they have to wear name tags, like at Best Buy or Circuit City?

I have three only kids and sometimes call one of them by one of their siblings' names......

Oh well, I assume they're taking up a lot more health care costs than they should be. My health plan doesn't add cost for additional children.

Also, with 17 kids, how many of them are going to get to college. Or will they eventually all join the Armed Forces?

[Left Is Write]

121. The girls won't need college. They'll just get married and have babies.

[MiniMandaRuth]

21. Ow.

My babymaker hurts just reading that.

[bicentennial_baby]

23. Hehe, you almost made me lose my coffee!

:rofl:

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. ...

:spray:


Stop it! :rofl:

[Pacifist Patriot]

28. Funny, the first thing I grabbed....

were my boobs. The thought of milk coming in and the accompanying initial engorgement 17 times is enough to make me burst into tears.

[Midlodemocrat]

30. No kidding. That pain was a hundred times worse than childbirth.

[xmas74]

36. I put my hand over my incision.

I had a c-section. That's enough for me to say never again, especially knowing that the second incision will hurt more than the first and will need more time to recuperate.

And the boobs weren't fun either. I already have a DDD cup (they're real-nothing added)so imagine how bad that was!

[KitchenWitch]

58. *snerk*

:spray:

[chemenger]

25. Reminds me of social insects or

the Alien Queen.

Mom lies in bed, perpetually pregnant, belly swollen, popping out the eggs (or babies in her case) while the workers take care of the newborn. Daddy just keeps on fertilizing.

Just seems to me that that there's got to be a breaking point in here somewhere.

[no name no slogan]

26. *sigh*

[philosophie_en_rose]

38. *rofl*

:rofl:

Seriously, she needs to keep having children, lest her televised gang of kids dwindle.

[volstork]

163. 4 words: hotdog in a hallway n/t

[RetroLounge]

37. Seventeen Kids?

Like throwing a hot dog down a hallway...

:rofl:

RL

[guitar man]

93. ROFL!!

how the hell does he keep getting her pregnant, there can't be any traction left in that thing :shrug:

:rofl:

[RetroLounge]

94. Exactly!

:rofl:

RL

[guitar man]

99. since they like names

..that begin with "J" maybe they ought to name the next one "Jackoff" after the method required to conceive... :rofl:

[mduffy31]

113. I like to use the analogy

of dropping a golf ball thru a basketball hoop.

[guitar man]

156. OMFG!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[grace0418]

40. I said this when they had their 16th and got flamed for it but, as the youngest of 11

children, I feel that having a family that large is just awful for the kids. I don't care how much money you have, there is no way that each child can have the individual parental attention they need. My siblings and I turned out fine, but the older kids spent so much of their childhood taking care of us younger kids, and the younger kids (me especially) felt like my parents were too tired to give a shit anymore.

That's not even getting into my feelings about having so many children when the planet is already so overpopulated and there are so many orphans all over that need homes. If you've got so much money Dugans, and such a capacity for being parents, how about adopting some kids that need homes rather than straining our planet's resources that much further?

[bleedingheart]

44. I can't imagine why peole would flame you for your opinion

I have an aunt who had 7 kids...her eldest was so overwhelmed raising the smaller kids that when she got married she had only 1....So if I rank them by age...here is how many kids they had...

Kid 1 - 1 (daughter)
Kid 2 - 2 (son)
Kid 3 - 0 (daughter)
Kid 4 - 0 (daughter)
Kid 5 - 1 (daughter)
Kid 6 - 0 (daughter)
Kid 7 - 0 (son)


most didn't want kids after being in that large a family....and it wasn't as large as your family...

[grace0418]

60. Oh, yeah. Plenty of people told me "well my grandma (or friend from high school or

husband's cousin) was from a big family and it was great! It must just be your family that was fucked up."

I'm not saying it's impossible for the kids to turn out fine, or that family gatherings aren't a lot of fun (sometimes), my siblings and I did quite well considering. And I'm not saying that every mom would be nearly as insane and abusive as my mom. But come on, how can anyone think that one mom and one dad can possibly raise 10 or more children and not cheat them in some way? It's just not physically possible for two people to give enough attention to all those kids, even if they never slept or went to work. It's not the money, it's the time.

[Nikia]

117. My dad came from a family of 6

He and his siblings all thought that his parents did a wonderful job of raising all six of them who were born over a 15 year period of time. My dad thinks, however, that his parents were special people in that his mother was one of the most selfless people that he knows while at the same time being a person of principle while his father was a strong believer in individualism and pursuing one's own dreams, regardless of whether he agreed with them or not. My grandfather did not hesitate to do cooking and cleaning for himself and their children when my grandmother was unable to do so. They both genuinely liked each other and never fought in front of the children. Despite the fact that I agree that my grandparents were good parents for six children, I don't know if they could have handled 16 or even 10.

[grace0418]

43. And another thing... JINGER?!! They saddled one of the middle children with the name

JINGER?

Jinger? I don't even know her!

[EstimatedProphet]

53. They ran out of J names

[philosophie_en_rose]

120. They ran out of freeper J names.

They didn't even try Julia, Jessica, or June.

Jinger isn't as bad as having a Joy Anna and a Johanna.

[Left Is Write]

122. I don't think they have a Jane or a Julian either....

which happen to be the names of two of my children. :)

[philosophie_en_rose]

127. Those are beautful names.

Your kids are lucky. The Duggar versions would be Jayine and Joohlien. :)

[Left Is Write]

150. Thank you!

:)

[Mojambo]

157. There's no Jacob. n/t

[Kat45]

133. Is Jinger a boy or a girl?

I've never heard that word/name before. :shrug:

[woo me with science]

144. I think it's a creative spelling of "Ginger."

But when I first read it it rhymed with "ringer."

[Left Is Write]

149. The woman who started the BeautiControl company is named Jinger, I believe.

[bumblebee1]

45. How will Michelle handle the onset of menopause?

n/t

[grace0418]

55. She'll probably be a lot like my mom: Completely stunted emotionally and unable

to do anything for herself. It's not even like my mom was good at being a mom either. But being pregnant or nursing constantly for over 20 years left her with absolutely no idea how to function when she wasn't in pregnant/nursing/diapers/laundry/cooking/spanking/crisis-mode. When my dad died she got even worse. She acts like a three-yr-old most of the time. We call her Baby Woman.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

77. I think she'll just up and die.

She'd certainly have no purpose to her life anymore. What has she done besides produce kids?

[Left Is Write]

124. Badly.

She has no identity outside of babymaker; I think menopause will be emotionally devastating to her.

[unpossibles]

46. I am not normally religious, but please God

strike this man infertile.

[dropkickpa]

47. Sweet Mary mother of god

I come from a family of 6 kids. Big by todays standards, but not the mountain of insanity that this family is.

If Michelle actually was the one responsible for raising all of those babies, I guarantee she would have said to Jim-bob back around kid 6 or 7 "Here's a tub of lotion, a wad of kleenex, go out to the shed and leave me the fuck alone, Jesus was an only child!!"

[skygazer]

48. My god, they must just fall out by now

"Oh, Jinger, would you get that? Must be another baby...."

[grace0418]

135. Jinger?! I don't even know her!

:)

[texas1928]

49. Want to say to Jim Bob, "Dude she is a woman, not a Pez dispenser."

Lord, keep in your pants.

[EstimatedProphet]

52. Never vote for a man named Jim Bob

[ElizabethDC]

59. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[WritingIsMyReligion]

78. I didn't know there actually were people named Jim Bob.

:rofl:

[JANdad]

112. Well theres half

of GWB's 28%...a whole friggin brood of RW neo-cons!

[donheld]

165. welcome to DU edwardsguy

:hi::toast:

[pokerfan]

54. every sperm is sacred

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47P59ha9k9s

Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.

[AlCzervik]

61. i don't care if this sounds mean, Why the F*ck do they think their gene pool

is so damn special? Wy the need for so many versons of themselves? Why does the discovery channel feel the need to showcase these assholes? Attention whores.

[WindRavenX]

65. Same thoughts as me.

Way to waste resources and breed. If you wanted that many kids, ADOPT.

Fucking people. We're not made to breed like this.

[Left Is Write]

126. "Fucking people"

Yes, that pretty much describes this couple!

:rofl:

[jmowreader]

76. They claim they've given their fertility to God

According to the Duggars' website (which also contains some of the delightful recipes they feed their kids--shit, man, someone should send them the link to the Navy Cookbook; at least the navy doesn't expect its people to eat Tater Tot Casserole), Michelle was on the pill for a while; they tried to conceive afterward, were having trouble doing it, and decided God Was Really Pissed Off at them for interfering with His Plan for their lives.

So they started screwing with no protection whatsoever...and in five more kids and about eight more years, they'll be able to run full eleven-man formations at family football games.

[smtpgirl]

158. I read that too

The Duggars rely so much on processed foods. I guess that is all they can afford with 16 children, expecting 17. Looks like the Duggars eat alot of casseroles with processed foods.

I grew up on steak & seafood when I was growing up. Not privledged, but my parents enjoyed the evening meal.

To this day, personally crabmeat quiche, steamed crabs and a good porterhouse steak are excellent eats.

[SPKrazy]

63. This is just another reason that I would like to leave

the state of Arkansas

Hell Clinton left, why shouldn't I?

:shrug:

[bicentennial_baby]

71. Come to MA!

:bounce:

We have a spare room! ;)

[RetroLounge]

79. Come to Milwaukee!

We'll go visit Bill together...

:hi:

RL

[SPKrazy]

104. Damn! Two Invites!

:woohoo:

I could be the Mass-Milwaukee DU d00d :silly:

:hi:

:rofl:

[deadparrot]

68. If they can afford it, more power to them.

It's not my business.

However, from the television specials I've seen on them, the poor girls look like they're not much more than glorified slaves. :(

[Iris]

98. yeah. More power to 'em. Who cares how it affects the kids? n/t

[deadparrot]

100. I never said that.

If people can afford it and can provide the emotional support necessary to raise that many children, then I don't have a problem with it.

However, this family, from what I've seen, does not.

[Iris]

101. yes, I know what you mean.

And I try, really really try, to be open-minded about this sort of thing, but it always ends up making my stomach hurt.

In fact, this whole thread reminds me of a girl I went to school with. Her family had 9 children - only 3 girls. When I knew her, her mom had just had the 9th - a girl and the other girl (the oldest) was off at college. So, my friend was basically her mother's slave. And sometimes the outlet for her mother's frustration in the form of slaps, pinches, and verbal abuse. I have serious doubts about the father, who was a counselor at a local college and some kind of elder or whatever in the Mormon church. About 10 years after we graduated, the mother left the father - basically because he had been abusing her all those years. He ended up marrying some 20-something yr. old woman and I guess has started on the next 9.

[grace0418]

134. I just don't see how it's physically possible for two human beings to provide

the emotional support necessary to raise 17 children. No matter how well intentioned they are, or how much they love their children, or how much money they have, I just don't see it being possible. Even if they never slept (which maybe they don't seeing as they seem to have an awful lot of sex), or went to work or did anything but attend to the children, there are only two of them and 24 hours in a day.

[deadparrot]

154. Honestly? I don't either.

And it seems like, in the Duggar family, most of the younger children get foisted upon the older girls, which only confirms my thoughts on the subject. But then again, I don't totally want to rule out the possibility that parents COULD give the requisite love and attention to each of a large number of children. I just think the odds are against it. :shrug:

[supernova]

69. She's addicted to being pregnant and giving birth

childcare? Not so much.

edit: I seriously think she'd lose her identity if she stopped having children. Because then she woud just be a normal mom with a large family. She'd dissapear. This gives her a reason to feel "special." (In her mind, anyway.)

[bleedingheart]

139. you know...I truly believe there are women who are addicted to childbearing

and those who love babies...but aren't so interested once the children get older...

[Left Is Write]

152. I think it's linked to self-esteem. Being pregnant and having a newborn...

garner lots of women lots of attention. Once the baby is older, he or she needs to be replaced with a new pregnancy to feed the mother's self-esteem and identity as a mother.

I'm not saying this is the case with Michelle Duggar, but I doubt it's far wrong.

[BlueIris]

160. Yep. I used to know the name for that. Tocophilia?

Tocophrenia?

I've met two women who I think had that condition. One actually said she "liked" giving birth.

[Initech]

72. To quote Stewie from Family Guy:

"So is there any tread left on the tires or is it more like throwing a hot dog down a hall way?"

[uppityperson]

73. Breaking News! Duggar's NOT pregnant.

[SarahB]

81. As the mother of five, I'll say a few things.

Anthropologically speaking, women were biologically designed to have babies from menarche to menopause, BUT breastfeeding under natural conditions (along with a low body fat- remember I'm speaking anthropologically- as my size 12 ass has it's own issues too) will suppress ovulation for 3-4 years. What this women is doing in terms of everything isn't even "natural" from that standpoint. She's likely bottlefeeding and getting pregnant as soon as she possibly can. Our bodies weren't designed to have a baby every year.

Secondly, in terms of me. I have five in total, but we have a blended family (second marriage for my husband and I) and four responsible parents involved who love these kids. In other words, we a get a break. Since I had mine fairly young, I'd even consider one more in my late 30's if we can afford it (as college looms for the oldest). I love being a mom. I understand this, but it's not all I am. I have opinions, a career, achievable goals, and a manageable life with time spent with each. Not everyone could manage my life (it's a busy one) and as long as people don't push themselves into things they can't handle, my life and my choices are mine. As are all families. Unfortunately, with 17, time dictates that's about all you can be or do. Women have choices these days, but she's given her daughters a role model of women and mothers as not competent, loving people who can have a life and aspirations, but one of a breeder with little else going one where giving birth simply is the only identity to aspire to. That's sad.

[bicentennial_baby]

83. Best. Post. Ever.

:applause:

:loveya:

[SarahB]

86. Why thank you.

:D

Beautiful dress BTW, I got busy and didn't respond yet. Congrats.

:hi:

[bicentennial_baby]

87. You are most welcome, and thank you!

It's really good to have you back here, seriously. :hug:

:hi:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

140. good post

[La Lioness Priyanka]

141. good post

[Left Is Write]

82. Color me shocked.

[Efilroft Sul]

85. Jesus Christ, Jim Bob, get off of her already!

With 16 kids, how do these people make time for all this humpin' around? Furthermore, when all 16 kids are carted off to grandma's one evening, do the older ones know what mom and dad are up to back home that night?

Lastly, what the hell kind of name is Jinger?

[sasquatch]

88. That bastard will probably just slide out of there

There possibly can't be anything resisting it.
:scared::hide:

[GoneOffShore]

91. To quote Groucho Marx

"I love my cigar, but I take it out of my mouth occasionally."

[Dukkha]

102. i said it before and I'll say it again

So, is there any tread left on the tires? Or at this point would it be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?

[texanwitch]

103. We should start a pool on how many kids Michelle finally has.

She is 40 now so she could have 5 more kids easy.

She could have 22 kids before it is over, not counting twins.

I bet the older girls are thrilled with having a another child to raise.

[Mutley]

107. Well, uh, good for them. I guess.

I can't imagine that many kids, though. Yikes! :scared:

[JVS]

109. 1989, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2006

Therse are the years sincer her first child was born in 1988 that she has not given birth.

[JANdad]

110. I have seen them on Discovery

or whichever channel it was...and i have just one question: With Jim Bob working as a real estate agnet...HTF do they afford these kids? I have trouble with three and I make decent money. They have their own bus for chrisakes! These wacko-fundies scare the shit outa me:scared:

edited for typo

[WildEyedLiberal]

123. They leech off the government like parasites

All the while being avowed Conservative Christian Republicans who no doubt fully endorse the "pull yerself up by yer bootstrap" repuke hostility to the very same government aid that they require to feed their grotesquely huge family.

I wonder if they teach their Christian kids what Jesus said about hypocrites?

Welcome to DU, edwardsguy!

[Nikia]

130. I don't think that they get aid from the government

That is my understanding anyway.

[WildEyedLiberal]

131. I have heard both

After I posted that comment I read the comments on the original linked blog entry in the OP... most people said they didn't get gov't aid (so I assume that is what the Duggars said on their TV special) but someone else claimed to be from Arkansas and said that it was common local knowledge that they were on the dole. So, who knows... my earlier comments were probably rash since I don't know for sure that they are.

[JANdad]

146. Thanks

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

115. Hey, Duggars -- Name the next one "Jesus"

That's the only "J" name you haven't used yet.

[hyphenate]

125. Just what we need

another little fundie in a batshit crazy household.

In my family, I was one of 4--two boys, two girls--I was the oldest. In my mom's family, there were 5 kids, and there were 6 in all in my dad's. Back then, those would have been considered medium family sizes, I guess. But then, things were cheaper, and wages went a lot further.

I know lots of people with good sized families, but this family is just fucking whacko. Babies for Jesus, anyone? Regardless of their home schooling, regardless of their eternal "love and devotion," and regardless of their income and ability to pay, this just isn't having kids anymore, it's outright breeding like rabbits.

In the past, having a large family was like an insurance policy to have surviving children. With illnesses and diseases, many children died long before their time, often as infants, and mothers, too, often died in childbirth for one reason or another. Once modern science was able to lower the mortality rate, limiting the amount of children in a family was a godsend to the mother, especially. This woman must have such low self-esteem that she only feels useful when she is pregnant, and having them becomes a psychological need rather than a blessed event. Sure, she says one thing, but I can tell you--the euphoria she gets out of being pregnant is not for pleasing god, but an addiction that she needs to address.

[murielm99]

142. My father came from a family of nine.

Another reason for having so many was the rural economy. All the kids became farm hands. They were needed to work the land and ensure family survival.

In third world countries, it is being shown that when infant mortality drops, so does the birth rate.

I am pro-choice, too. I guess this is her choice. But she and her husband have no consideration for her children, or for the rest of the world.

Neither my dad or his siblings have had large families. Only one of them had more than three. One of his brothers was so disgusted about growing up poor that he insisted on only one child.

[Wetzelbill]

129. Good lord, pull out once in a while, buddy

That poor woman... wow...

Talk about potent stuff. He's so virile and she's so fertile that the last time she got pregnant was from a quick lustful glance.

Somebody needs to get a headache from time to time.

[ContraBass Black]

132. Her body, her choice.

They have the financial resources to care for all of their children and several more.

[Iris]

143. yeah because the only thing that matters is money.

What about the emotional needs of all those kids?

[Left Is Write]

151. It is their choice, of course, and as a pro-choicer, I have to support her right to have more babies

However, being pro-choice does not mean I can't think that their choices are irresponsible and stupid.

[fortyfeetunder]

136. Who cares?

As long as they don't complain about the situation publicly....

[grace0418]

145. I think a lot of people care about the strain our our planet's resources and the

addition of that many more fucked-up right-wing fundies into the gene pool. I also feel bad for the kids because it sucks being raised in a herd. I know.

[Mojambo]

155. 17 and they've only used the J's!

If I were them I'd name the next one Tito.

[sakabatou]

161. A quiver full

XP

[AngryOldDem]

164. There is nothing admirable about this

And I wish the media would stop giving them attention.

[donheld]

166. The Duggars are fools

Because I said so!