LITTLE ROCK - An Arkansas couple had a baby daughter Thursday — their 17th child and seventh girl — and the pair say they’re still not ready to give it a rest.
Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at a hospital in Rogers, Arkansas, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said in an interview.
“We’d love to have more,” Michelle said, referring to baby girls. “We love the ruffles and lace.”
Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in a 7,000-square-foot (650-square-meter) home in Tontitown. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are taught at home.
The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.
“We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him,” said Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative. “We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well.”
Jennifer joins siblings: Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.
Michelle Duggar said she started feeling contractions Wednesday night and went to the hospital at about 5 a.m. Thursday.
“It actually went fast,” she said. “I guess once I started progressing, it went within 30 minutes.”
The Duggars have been featured on several programs on cable television’s Discovery Health Network. The next special, the Duggar Family Album, is scheduled to air next month, Jim Bob Duggar said.
Among the “fun facts” listed on Discovery Health’s Web page devoted to the Duggars: A baby has been born in every month except June; the Duggars have gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers, and Michelle has been pregnant for 126 months — or 10.5 years — of her life.
Oh, heck, if they enjoy them and can support them, what’s the problem? My grandfather was one of 12 brothers and sisters (not counting the ones who died young), and while they were a bit nutty (in a very sweet and funny way), they weren’t nutcases. There is way too much freelance critiquing of other people’s reproductive habits (I for example do not enjoy being asked why we don’t have kids) these days, or so it seems to me.
Having all the names beginning with “J” seems a bit silly to me, but hey, I’m not the one flipping through the baby-names book.
My labor with my daughter was four hours (almost to the minute!) from start to finish, which is pretty fast - especially for a first baby. I’ve been told that the next baby I have will come way quicker, and if I’m not planning on a home birth, to run to the hospital at the first twinge or I very well might not make it there in time
EDIT: the actual delivery, like when I was pushing, etc, took 19 minutes.
Oh, heck, if they enjoy them and can support them, what’s the problem? My grandfather was one of 12 brothers and sisters (not counting the ones who died young), and while they were a bit nutty (in a very sweet and funny way), they weren’t nutcases. There is way too much freelance critiquing of other people’s reproductive habits (I for example do not enjoy being asked why we don’t have kids) these days, or so it seems to me.
Having all the names beginning with “J” seems a bit silly to me, but hey, I’m not the one flipping through the baby-names book.
I was catually referring to their naming policy when I called them nutcases.
Frigging loonies, them. 17 kids all starting with ‘J’. There’s something just not right about all that
My labor with my daughter was four hours (almost to the minute!) from start to finish, which is pretty fast - especially for a first baby. I’ve been told that the next baby I have will come way quicker, and if I’m not planning on a home birth, to run to the hospital at the first twinge or I very well might not make it there in time
EDIT: the actual delivery, like when I was pushing, etc, took 19 minutes.
That IS fast. I hear about 40 hour labour and all that and you literally fire a baby out in the same time as watching a Lord of the Rings film.
I was catually referring to their naming policy when I called them nutcases.
Frigging loonies, them. 17 kids all starting with ‘J’. There’s something just not right about all that
Oh, agree. You’d think the propensity of parents to call one kid by one of the other kids’ names would be drastically multiplied, for one thing. I, for example, am still sometimes called by my mother a combination of my name and my sisters’ names, and sometimes even my brother’s name, and we haven’t lived in the same house in quite a few years now.
Digression alert, digression alert: My father-in-law is now on his third wife (he’s been a busy guy), and the wives, in chronological order, are: Joanne, Joanna, and Jane. You’d think the chances of calling, say, wife #3 by one of the other wives’ names would be huge—I mean, that happens even when the names aren’t alike. If I were him, I’d call them all “honey.” [end digression]
I knew one woman whose labor with her 2nd child was a total of 30 minutes (I think her first was about 2 hours). Birthin’ babies just came naturally to her.
Well duh...I mean there’s been so many kids forced out down there that it must have been a piece of cake. Surprised the baby didn’t drop out.
All the names beginning with ‘J’. Jim Bob, John David, Jeremiah.
Nutcases, every one of them.
My last was a natural birth (no c-section, no drugs etc.) and from start of labor to delivery was 40 minutes. No, he didn’t drop out either...I was very torn up (he was almost 9 pounds)
I was catually referring to their naming policy when I called them nutcases.
Frigging loonies, them. 17 kids all starting with ‘J’. There’s something just not right about all that
Oh, agree. You’d think the propensity of parents to call one kid by one of the other kids’ names would be drastically multiplied, for one thing. I, for example, am still sometimes called by my mother a combination of my name and my sisters’ names, and sometimes even my brother’s name, and we haven’t lived in the same house in quite a few years now.
Digression alert, digression alert: My father-in-law is now on his third wife (he’s been a busy guy), and the wives, in chronological order, are: Joanne, Joanna, and Jane. You’d think the chances of calling, say, wife #3 by one of the other wives’ names would be huge—I mean, that happens even when the names aren’t alike. If I were him, I’d call them all “honey.” [end digression]
I knew one woman whose labor with her 2nd child was a total of 30 minutes (I think her first was about 2 hours). Birthin’ babies just came naturally to her.
I’m legendary for being unable to remember peoples’ names. Which at parties is socially awkward (introduced to a number of pretty girls and 5 minutes later I’ve forgotten) so I’ve developped an amazing skill to talk to people for hours, go on dates with them, and spend time in their company not mentionning their name or calling them by some term of endearment. It’s actually not that difficult.
I can only assume your father-in-law uses a similar mathod
Well duh...I mean there’s been so many kids forced out down there that it must have been a piece of cake. Surprised the baby didn’t drop out.
All the names beginning with ‘J’. Jim Bob, John David, Jeremiah.
Nutcases, every one of them.
My last was a natural birth (no c-section, no drugs etc.) and from start of labor to delivery was 40 minutes. No, he didn’t drop out either...I was very torn up (he was almost 9 pounds)
Wow Huli! Mine was a natural birth as well. Even if I wanted otherwise, I was between 8-9cms by the time we got to the hospital so it would have been too late for meds anyhow. Luckily she wasn’t 9 lbs (!). She was 7lbs 14oz, which was quite big enough, thank you very much!
On the one hand, having quick labours sounds great, you get it over with fast. However, I do think they are more painful than longer labours, simply because you don’t get the opportunity to rest in between contractions. Then there is the tearing issue you mentioned. I give full credit to my midwives and their amazing meditteranean cooking oils and masage techniques for keeping the carnage down there to a minimum.
