Michael (Bates) Keilen Bump Watch

[singsingsing]

How would it be 'whoa' if she wasn't a virgin??? She's a woman in her late 20s and she's not a fundamentalist. I mean trust me, I know from personal experience that it's 100% possible to remain a virgin into your late 20s and beyond, but I'd never be surprised to find that a 28-year-old woman who's had several long term relationships had been sexually active... no matter how conservative her relatives.

[Boogalou]

I don't treat the "bump watch" as obsessively looking at someone and speculating, and you can see that I very often disagree with those tactics in other forums. But, that doesn't mean that a thread like this is unwarranted, especially when dealing with a culture that actively preaches women have no use in this world unless they're currently raising children or they're getting ready to pop one out.

I have never understood the argument that because fundies do something that we consider wrong its ok for us to do it too.

[HereticHick]

I have never understood the argument that because fundies do something that we consider wrong its ok for us to do it too.

You do realize that this is a board for snarking on fundies, right? Especially for snarking on the things that are most important in the fundy universe--such as being brood mares for Jesus?

[Boogalou]

You do realize that this is a board for snarking on fundies, right? Especially for snarking on the things that are most important in the fundy universe--such as being brood mares for Jesus?

People in this thread aren't snarking on it though, they are participating in it by treating Michaela as a broodmare for Jesus.

[nolongerIFBx]

Has she been tested for the same thing that Erin has? I'd assume so, but I haven't been following all that closely. Alyssa's obviously fine, but do any of the other girls have it?

I don't think we know if Alyssa is fine unless they shared her test results (if she has been tested). My acquaintance with this had two healthy pregnancies, lost #3, had another healthy pregnancy, and lost #5 & 6. It was at that point that the doctors finally tested and found out about her clotting issue. From what I've read, miscarriage is so common that doctors don't start looking for zebras until 3 losses. She did use heparin with her seventh and final pregnancy. I never heard the exact timing of the testing but maybe they hadn't yet done it when she got pregnant with the last one.

Erin has a clotting disorder, in order to have Carson she had to have heparin shots twice a day for the whole pregnancy :cry: Kelly has said in episode of BUB that Erin had 3 miscarriages in that first year, pre diagnosis, (making Erin's baseline fertility incredibly impressive - 4 pregnancies/conceptions in a year).

The key thing is that the clotting disorder is genetic. For each Bates daughter there's a one in four chance that she'll have it. The girls are all getting tested (whether its now, or in the run up to marriage is unknown and irrelevant), this means that anyone who has the condition will enter marriage knowing and prepared and can treat/not treat according to their decided fertility. It also means that 1 in 4 of the Bates girls will be categorised as high risk for all their pregnancies.

Erin's pain has saved at least one of her sisters from similar pain. :hug:

Possibly saved them from pain. I mean, they might know they had the clotting issue and do the aspirin to get pregnant and the heparin to keep the pregnancy and still lose every baby. Or like the person I mentioned above, even carry a few healthy pregnancies without treatment if their condition wasn't as severe as Erin's appears to be.

[roddma]

I get that people are curious. I really do. But at the same time, speculating this soon after their wedding is pretty much doing the same thing as the Fundies do constantly - place all the importance and emphasis on her role as a baby-maker rather than on who she is as an individual.

If they wouldnt cue us in on all the personal details, we would be non the wiser. Instead, they tell their fertility issues , how big of a family they want, when they are pregnant, how important being a wedding night virgin is etc so it is fair game. Some go so far as to tell when they are trying (cough cough Boob and Michelle) They are ones making women 'broodmares' for Jesus'.

I feel sorry for thes eyoung peopel. The women arent supposed to have any other goals than babies.They can't fathom another path and choosing otherwise is e 'totally unacceptable.Alyssa is barely 20, only married a year and a parent. They go from the parents' home to be with their spouses with no time to enjoy one another, decide how long before kids or if they even want kids. I am glad Mike is a little older, but hoped she would enjoy some time with Brandon. I hope one day some of the younger kids break the mold.

[HuggleMonster]

I hope Erin & Chad listen to the doctors. They could very easily have lost Carson right up until birth. Add on the fact she had a placental abruption and it's truly amazing both of them made it out alive and healthy. I hope the doctor explained how dangerous it was. Not to scare them but to hopefully educate them.

I'm surprised we haven't had an announcement from Whitney and Zach yet. She was pregnant pretty soon after the wedding and on the last BUB, I'm sure Bradley was drinking from a bottle.

[picklepizzas]

Lolz @ this thread. finally watched the wedding episode today and started googling these two (bc i clearly value my time and use it wisely ) and this came up in the search results.  we were pretty premature with this one! can't believe two of the bates are pregnant and michael isn't one of them. i really hope that it happens soon for her. :/

[Snarkylark]

On August 24, 2015 at 8:27 PM, HuggleMonster said:

 

 

I'm surprised we haven't had an announcement from Whitney and Zach yet. She was pregnant pretty soon after the wedding and on the last BUB, I'm sure Bradley was drinking from a bottle.

Zach and Whit are expecting again. They announced it maybe a month ago?

[Bethella]

17 minutes ago, Snarkylark said:

Zach and Whit are expecting again. They announced it maybe a month ago?

@Snarkylark the post you quoted from @HuggleMonster was from last August.

[TuringMachine]

3 hours ago, picklepizzas said:

Lolz @ this thread. finally watched the wedding episode today and started googling these two (bc i clearly value my time and use it wisely ) and this came up in the search results.  we were pretty premature with this one! can't believe two of the bates are pregnant and michael isn't one of them. i really hope that it happens soon for her. :/

Oh man your avatar! Bringing back Sims 2 memories.

[amendgitan]

I cringe every time I hear that one of these women have become pregnant. It surprises me that so many on this snark site seem excited and vested in their pregnancies and fertility. Frankly, I view each of their pregnancies, as young women who are barely married, as nothing but tragedies. 

Getting pregnant before they've gotten to know their husbands, or their sexuality, their own bodies even,  is horrible. Becoming pregnant before they've had a minute of independence, privacy, autonomy and freedom from endless child rearing an housekeeping is profoundly sad. 

These poor girls don't even get to enjoy having a nice, young body for long before they become bloated with the first of endless pregnancies that cement their place as second class citizens whose worth is determined by their fertility. 

Early, young pregnancies ensure that these women cannot escape the patriarchal nightmare that is life in the IFB sect without exteme difficulty. The term barefoot and pregnant is understood and reviled by feminists because early and repeated pregnancies of uneducated or undereducated young women takes away their choice. Which is why the patriarchy works so hard to make it a cultural norm. 

Uncontrolled pregnancy/the lack of birth control or the right to decide for oneself (outside of familial, religious or other cultural constraints) what happens to ones body, simply entraps women. Which is why so many women have  worked so hard to ensure that we have choice when it comes to our fertility and our bodies. And without a meaningful period of autonomy and independence, women who have been raised since infancy in such closed, male dominated cultural groups, utterly lack true choice. 

No matter how cute their babies are, how much they think they want it, how hard they try to have one or how supportive and sweet their husbands may seem, I'm sorry for each one of these women, every time I hear that one of them "got knocked up" so young. And so soon. 

To me, it is a tragedy. Not a blessing. Not a joy. 

[amendgitan]

On August 23, 2015 at 8:19 AM, HereticHick said:

 

You do realize that this is a board for snarking on fundies, right? Especially for snarking on the things that are most important in the fundy universe--such as being brood mares for Jesus?

Except that's not what's happening here. Instead, people are saying things like: "can't believe two of the bates are pregnant and michael isn't one of them. i really hope that it happens soon for her. :/".   Unless that was meant to be a joke. But there are more than one posts like that. 

[season of life]

The idea of the bump watch is a little weird for me. It's different than a thread waiting for Josh to get out of rehab or a thread waiting for Anna's decision regarding her marriage. I think the reason people may not be bothered by a bump watch is because these people actively make a living out of having so many children and in turn, teaching their children to forgo contraceptives.

When I saw this title, I misread it and thought Michael was already pregnant and this was a discussion about it. That's why I clicked on the thread. I think bump watches are okay, despite making me feel a tad gross, because usually fundie pregnancies can tell us a lot about a family's mentality. For example, a fundie getting pregnant a few months after her marriage rather than getting pregnant a year or two later. It tells us whether they are waiting or if they want to jump on the "be fruitful and multiply" bandwagon and risk their health/lives for Jesus warriors.

[amendgitan]

14 hours ago, season of life said:

The idea of the bump watch is a little weird for me. It's different than a thread waiting for Josh to get out of rehab or a thread waiting for Anna's decision regarding her marriage. I think the reason people may not be bothered by a bump watch is because these people actively make a living out of having so many children and in turn, teaching their children to forgo contraceptives.

When I saw this title, I misread it and thought Michael was already pregnant and this was a discussion about it. That's why I clicked on the thread. I think bump watches are okay, despite making me feel a tad gross, because usually fundie pregnancies can tell us a lot about a family's mentality. For example, a fundie getting pregnant a few months after her marriage rather than getting pregnant a year or two later. It tells us whether they are waiting or if they want to jump on the "be fruitful and multiply" bandwagon and risk their health/lives for Jesus warriors.

Unless we are her doctors or otherwise know the private details of their sex lives I don't know how the timing of their pregnancies can tell us much. Some people may have fertility issues and not get pregnant right away despite having unprotected sex. 

[bal maiden]

On March 10, 2016 at 11:21 PM, amendgitan said:

 

These poor girls don't even get to enjoy having a nice, young body for long before they become bloated with the first of endless pregnancies that cement their place as second class citizens whose worth is determined by their fertility.

For such a strongly feminist approach, you sure have a negative view of postpartum and older women's bodies! Good to know that my nice, young body has gone and now I'm just old and bloated, lol. 

I do actually agree with everything you wrote, save for the bit I quoted, which just seems to reflect our culture's general preoccupation with an 18 year old's body as the peak of attractive femininity... Ouch... 

[Mela99]

I can't hate on Michaela if she's struggling or sad that she's not pregnant yet. It hurts. A lot. 

[crazysnark]

Michael just said today on her last instagram photo that she is not pregnant yet. I am very shocked. I know that blood clotting disorder can cause infertility. I am hoping this is not the case. (I know 7 months is too soon to call for infertility, I am just going off of family history)

[Diana]

 "brandon_michael_jn15 :Thanks for all the kind comments and well wishes. We will welcome a baby with delight whenever the Lord blesses, but I'm not pregnant at this time."

Its a bit sad that she had to clarify for the second time that she is not yet pregnant because they keep asking her in instagram, it must be terrible if you are strugling with infertility (althought i agree its a bit soon to be thinking that, only 7 months its not that much time trying yet).

[RosyDaisy]

I can't hate on Michaela if she's struggling or sad that she's not pregnant yet. It hurts. A lot. 

I don't feel sorry for her in the least. The thought of children raised in Gothardism is a frightening and sickening thought.

Having said that, I DO hope each and every FJite TTC or adopt is successful and have healthy babies/children. Y'all will be wonderful parents. These fundies? HAIL NAW!

[Shouldabeenacowboy]

2 hours ago, Diana said:

Its a bit sad that she had to clarify for the second time that she is not yet pregnant because they keep asking her in instagram, it must be terrible if you are strugling with infertility (althought i agree its a bit soon to be thinking that, only 7 months its not that much time trying yet).

I find it incredibly rude and ignorant when people keep asking (her or anyone else): are you pregnant yet? Are you pregnant yet?

[infooverload]

I wish people would ask how is her studying going and how much more time does she have until she finish. It is something which is important to here and doesn't pry into her sex life.

[Casserole]

Medically, you can't call infertility until one year of actively trying. So, if she's actively trying, she still has time and most OB's wouldn't even investigate the cause yet.

 

And while I do think she is the fundiest of them all, I wouldn't be shocked if Brandon was avoiding her/trying to abstain during ovulation until she is done with school or they move to a stable home in Big Sandy (if they're moving? I assume they'll have to eventually.) They had an extremely long courtship while Brandon finished with school, so waiting for babies until she is finished with school doesn't seem that far off... aside from the fact that I bet she's longing for a baby of her own. 

[rosalitta]

I know that it's nothing new, but the idea that it would be sinful for a woman who plans to homeschool to put off having children until she finishes school is absolutely mind boggling to me.  

Maybe Brandon and Michael have realized this. I highly doubt it, but one can only hope.

[Finduilas]

I don't like this thread ... Especially as we know that some of the Bates girls might have the same issues as Erin ...