Josie Duggar's Golden Birthday

 Jinger Vuolo, Michelle Duggar, Josie Duggar

October 2019

Has it really been ten years since Josie' Brooklyn Duggar's premature birth? And since today is December 10th, it's her golden birthday. One of our first posts to this blog was about Josie's arrival. She weighed 1 pound 6 ounces and spent months in the hospital in Little Rock. Praise God that she is thriving at age 10!

Josie Duggar

March 2016

Josie Duggar 

June 2012 (cooking with Jill and using a recipe from our blog because they couldn't find their family's copy)

Josie Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar

Mid 2010

Josie Duggar and Michelle Duggar

Early 2010

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

Watch Bella's Delivery

Lauren Duggar and Bella Duggar

 

Bella Milagro Duggar is already one month old! TLC just posted two short segments featuring her birth (links and recap below). Be sure to tune in tonight at 9pm ET/8pm CT for a brand new, hour-long episode of Counting On.

Josiah and Lauren's Baby Part 1
Josiah and Lauren's Baby Part 2


Recap
At 11:25am on November 7, Lauren, whose due date is still 10 days away, is having significant contractions, so she and Josiah head to the Swanson home to exercise (lunges and walking on the treadmill and stairs). They return home and then leave for the hospital later that night. Lauren is 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. Lana (Lauren’s mom) and Michelle arrive before midnight. Jill joins them as another support person. Unfortunately, Lauren is having back labor.

Around midnight, Lauren receives an epidural. She starts to feel faint and dizzy, so she lays down. After a while, she is still feeling back pain, so the doctor gives her another epidural.

By 8am on November 8, Lauren is still experiencing painful contractions, so the doctor gives her medication to help her relax and breaks her water. That helps her dilate more, but she is exhausted.

At 4:15pm, Lauren starts to push. Between pushes, she is able to relax well. Bella arrives at 4:24pm, weighing 6 lbs 5 oz and measuring 18.5 inches, after about two days of labor. Before long, Bella’s eyes are wide open, and she happily laying on Lauren’s chest.


Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Felicity Vuolo, Almost 17 Months

At nearly 17 months old, "little" Felicity isn't so little anymore. The Vuolos have been residents of Los Angeles for about six months now, and they say that they have enjoyed exploring all that their new city has to offer. By population, LA is the second largest metropolis in the United States, with New York coming in first.

Jinger Vuolo and Felicity Vuolo

Photo courtesy jingerandjeremy.com

'Five Pregnancies and Counting'

Counting On "Five Pregnancies and Counting" 

• Jana sets up for a garden party that she has planned for the ladies. The weather is questionable, so the brothers put together a wooden arbor indoors and wrap lights around it. After the women arrive, they enjoy snacks in the living room before heading outside to make flower arrangements. Grandma Mary Duggar is present, as this gathering takes place just weeks before she passes away.
• “A lot of times when we do parties, it’s the whole family, which is fun, but it’s also really special to do something like this where it’s just the girls,” says Jessa.
• Jessa predicts that she is about two weeks away from delivering. She says that she has felt better this pregnancy than during her past two. She credits her healthy food choices and the fact that she is making sure to take her vitamins.
• In addition to Jessa, four other Duggars are expecting. Kendra is due November 6, Joy is due November 9, Lauren is due November 17, and Anna is due November 25. “It is kind of hard for us now to keep track of who’s pregnant and who’s not, who’s due date’s first, and what the lineup is,” says Michelle. She suggests getting a picture of all five expectant moms.
• Jessa and Ben take the boys to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to see the sites of the engagement scavenger hunt that Ben put together for Jessa almost five years ago. They stop at a bakery to grab a quick snack before hopping on the train. Later, they stop by the glass chapel where Ben proposed. “Being back here five years later, in the same location, it’s just crazy how fast time flies,” says Jessa.
• The boys are both asleep in the double stroller, so the Seewalds enjoy a romantic moment, as they relive the moment when Ben got down on one knee. “You’re a wonderful wife and mother,” Ben tells Jessa. “You’re the best,” Jessa replies. “I’m blessed to be married to you.”
• Josiah and Lauren visit the doctor for an ultrasound. They are relieved to hear the baby’s heartbeat.
• Lauren was about six weeks along when she miscarried Asa. “It’s very emotional…because every time I go to the doctor, I just get that scared feeling like something’s not right,” says Lauren. Her first month was difficult, as she experienced low progesterone levels. The expectant mom says that Josiah has helped her to be at peace by reminding her that this baby is God’s, not theirs, and that she needs to trust God. Lauren has bloodwork done to determine the baby’s gender.
• Jessa picks up Kendra and 11-month-old Garrett for a play date at the park. Later, the pregnant girls get together at the big house to swap maternity clothes. “It’s pretty expensive to buy maternity clothes,” says Lauren. “It almost feels like they purposely mark it up higher because they know we have to buy different sizes so often.”
• Some of the clothing items are not maternity, so Jana adds ruching (a piece of elastic on the sides) to accentuate the girls’ bumps. “[Jana] is the Jana of all trades, instead of the Jack of all trade” says Anna.
• “I like being pregnant, but I enjoy not having to suck in all the time,” says Joy. “I can actually be proud of my belly.”
• Lauren’s mom and sister Lily host a gender reveal party for Lauren and Josiah. All the Duggars come over and munch on food in the Swansons’ beautiful yard. There are a bunch of black balloons filled with white confetti and one filled with either pink or blue confetti.
• As the couple starts popping balloons to find the one with the gender announcement, one of the balloons gets loose and floats into the sky. When all the balloons have been popped, they assume that the one that got away was the one with the colored confetti, and they start to worry that they won’t ever find out the gender. But Lily comes out of the house with one more balloon. Everyone thinks it’s ironic that she was able to prank Josiah, who is usually the one playing the pranks.
• The confetti is pink--it’s a girl! “I’m going to wake up early tomorrow and go shopping and buy the cutest little outfit!” exclaims Lana Swanson, Lauren’s mom.
• If you guessed that Lauren and Josiah are going with an alphabet theme, you were right. Their miscarried baby was Asa, and this one’s name will be Bella Milagro, meaning “beautiful miracle.” The Swansons also have a name theme. Lauren and her mom and sisters have names that start with “l,” while Lauren’s dad and brothers have names that start with “d.”
• On May 26, Jessa’s water breaks two weeks before her due date. Most of the Duggars are in Tennessee for Carlin Bates’ wedding, and Jessa’s nurse midwife is gone. Labor starts off slow, so Jill comes over and suggests taking a couple tablespoons of castor oil to get things going. Jessa’s contractions start to pick up. Michelle and Jana are one their way home. 

John Duggar the Nail Artist

John Duggar paints Abbie Duggar's nails

"I learned by going with her one time to a nail salon. I just watched the person do her nails, and I thought, 'You know what, that ain't that hard, and they're making a lot of money doing it.' I'd rather be the one spending time with my wife, versus paying somebody else to spend time with her."

-John-David Duggar

It's Duggar night! Be sure to tune in to TLC at 9pm ET/8pm CT for an episode featuring a garden party, a visit to the site of the Seewalds' engagement, a gender reveal gone wrong, and the early start of Jessa's labor. This evening's show, Counting On "Five Pregnancies and Counting," is already available on the TLC website for those who have login credentials from their TV provider.

In honor of tonight's new episode of Counting On, we're sharing this web exclusive video from TLC featuring John and Abbie Duggar. Who knew that John was such a good nail artist? We sure didn't.

Photo/video courtesy TLC