Abigail Pregnant with #6

[GeoBQn]

From FB:

Abigail Benjamin

The Benjamins are pleased to announce that Baby Number Six is due in March! (Any bets if it's a second boy or a fifth girl?)

Farther down:

Abigail Benjamin

Jon wants twins so badly--but they run in his family, not mine. Don't get any ideas there God--I only have one open seat in my minivan! :-)

I know she is joking, but as an educated woman, she should know that G-d has already acted out "ideas" on whether or not she will have twins. Sorry, it's just a pet peeve I have when people pray for a boy or girl, or for twins. That was determined at conception, and all the prayer in the world won't change the outcome.

[NurseNell]

Guess this bout of secondary infertility is over with. :mouse-shock:

[MarthaMarcyMayMarlen]

Guess this bout of secondary infertility is over with. :mouse-shock:

That's what I was thinking.

[SpeshulTaterTot]

Guess this bout of secondary infertility is over with. :mouse-shock:

My thoughts exactly.

That poor child.

[Jinger Jar]

I hope she has an uneventful pregnancy and is delivered of a healthy child.

[Koala]

Guess this bout of secondary infertility is over with. :mouse-shock:

Well, you know how depressing it can be when you're not pregnant again before your baby's first birthday :roll:

Good lord. Here's another one that can barely feed the ones she has, yet she insists on having more.

[snarkykitty]

From FB:

Farther down:

I know she is joking, but as an educated woman, she should know that G-d has already acted out "ideas" on whether or not she will have twins. Sorry, it's just a pet peeve I have when people pray for a boy or girl, or for twins. That was determined at conception, and all the prayer in the world won't change the outcome.

I have an issue with praying for/in this manner in general. It reminds me of what would often happen in class the day after a test, when the teachers were handing back our graded exams. People who knew they were on the border of flunking the exam would cross their hands and pray out loud "please let me have passed, please let me have passed". I always found it odd because what's done is done, you've either failed or passed - the only control you (would) have (had) over your grade is by paying attention in class, taking good notes, studying before the test, and providing correct answers when asked.

Regardless of whether you did all of that, or none of it, what do you really expect will happen as a result of your "prayer"? At this point, the only things you can do is figure out A. how you'll bring up a poor grade up, and B. how to tell your parents.

[lilwriter85]

Poor baby. Who wants to bet that Abigail will give away some needed baby gift to fit in with her poverty Carmelite attitude?

[paganhomeschooler]

From FB:

[sorry, it's just a pet peeve I have when people pray for a boy or girl, or for twins. That was determined at conception, and all the prayer in the world won't change the outcome.

An aunt of mine was a surrogate for a cousin who had had multiple miscarriages. First several ultrasounds only showed 1 baby. The 20 week anatomy scan, the US tech was like, oh, and I'm sure you know you're having twins, right? I think they had had 3 or more early ultrasounds before that. Of course, my cousin had been praying for twins, and she was convinced the FSM answered her prayers, not that early ultrasounds can miss stuff sometimes. I fear she is heading fundie-lite, at least. She's been posting crap from Proverbs 31 ministries on FB and bonding with the friend from high school I've posted about before that recommended Babywise to her. I'm also fairly certain high school friend is using TTUAC. :angry-cussing: She posted a pic of "blanket time" with her 1 and 3 yo to FB last week. PG with #3, too.

[bananacat]

Isn't the entire point of their lifestyle to let God decide how many kids you have, or to welcome as many "blessings" as possible? It seems like even joking about asking God for fewer children would be blasphemous in that context.

[galaxygirl]

Baby is due in March? Is the pee dry yet?

[GeoBQn]

I wonder what her Carmelite supervisors (?) will think. She posted an odd entry this week describing how during her last pregnancy, they scolded her for squeezing prayers in between bouts of morning sickness.

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-roughest-part-about-community-life.html

[Coconut Flan]

I wonder what her Carmelite supervisors (?) will think. She posted an odd entry this week describing how during her last pregnancy, they scolded her for squeezing prayers in between bouts of morning sickness.

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-roughest-part-about-community-life.html

We can file that in the things I'll never do box. It seems so crazy to me to join a group where a bunch of fuddy duddies sit around and critique your prayer life. I'm definitely not heading that way and don't understand the appeal. It isn't as if she cares what they think either.

[anjulibai]

That's what I was thinking.

Me, too.

Yeesh.

[singsingsing]

It's not often that I'm dismayed at the news of a pregnancy, even amongst fundamentalists, but this is awful news. Another baby with a 1/4 chance of having cystic fibrosis. Another baby born to narcissistic, irresponsible, and extremely emotionally unstable parents. Another child to be subjected to Abigail's woefully inadequate version of homeschooling. Not good.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Is this woman basically playing Russian Roulette with genetics? Seriously, theres a chance her kid could have cystic fibrosis, shes already managed to have five kids without...surely shes pushing her luck now. Is she actually trying for a sick kid? Will that give her the woe is me points that she so desperately wants to have to the point where she compared herself to an orphan because her parents worked and put her in daycare?

[anjulibai]

We can file that in the things I'll never do box. It seems so crazy to me to join a group where a bunch of fuddy duddies sit around and critique your prayer life. I'm definitely not heading that way and don't understand the appeal. It isn't as if she cares what they think either.

Well, I think their point was she's trying to be a part of their order, but she's not in a position to complete the requirements of the order. If she can't spend time in contemplative prayer (which trying to pray while vomiting would not be) then she's not doing what their order requires of her. Being a Catholic doesn't mean one has to be a part of an order like the Carmelites - that's a choice, and not one that, in Catholic view, is to be taken lightly.

Basically, the other Lay Carmelites are pointing out she's full of shit.

[weirdghostboo]

Isn't she the one who wants to have a baby with cystic fibrosis? I'm not happy for her (more like mightily pissed off) but I feel so scared for that child.

[Jana814]

Isn't she the one who wants to have a baby with cystic fibrosis? I'm not happy for her (more like mightily pissed off) but I feel so scared for that child.

Agree on both accounts!

[singsingsing]

She has also had C-sections with, I think, every one of her children. She insists that the doctors tell her each time that there is no problem, but come on... 5 or 6 C-sections cannot be good for your uterus.

[Mela99]

Gasp, did she actually tell God not to bless her with double babies?

OT, but does she live in a community, like a convent? Confused.

[GeoBQn]

Fuck, I forgot about the cystic fibrosis. I simply can't fathom anybody rolling the dice like that. Last month, my husband and I took two days off of work to drive 3 hours to Chicago to get Jewish genetic testing done. When they offered an expanded test for 80+ diseases at no additional cost, we took it because I would never be able to forgive myself if we had a child with a genetic illness when there was a way to prevent it. The importance of genetic testing and counseling has been drummed so thoroughly into our community that the rate of Jewish children born with Tay Sachs has been reduced to almost 0. How is trying for a kid with a genetic illness "pro-life?"

[And we got the results. Long story short, we are not carriers for the same diseases and that is such a relief to me.]

[anjulibai]

I think the community is the other Lay Carmelites. They don't live together, but it's like any organization, you have to do stuff to be a member, and other members will help you make progress towards your goals.

[anjulibai]

Fuck, I forgot about the cystic fibrosis. I simply can't fathom anybody rolling the dice like that. Last month, my husband and I took two days off of work to drive 3 hours to Chicago to get Jewish genetic testing done. When they offered an expanded test for 80+ diseases at no additional cost, we took it because I would never be able to forgive myself if we had a child with a genetic illness when there was a way to prevent it. The importance of genetic testing and counseling has been drummed so thoroughly into our community that the rate of Jewish children born with Tay Sachs has been reduced to almost 0. How is trying for a kid with a genetic illness "pro-life?"

[And we got the results. Long story short, we are not carriers for the same diseases and that is such a relief to me.]

Hijack, but yay on not being carriers for the same diseases!

[Coconut Flan]

I think the community is the other Lay Carmelites. They don't live together, but it's like any organization, you have to do stuff to be a member, and other members will help you make progress towards your goals.

Yeah. It's a whole bunch of more rules and she wants to be part of the group but yet not follow what they teach.

It's a methodology I don't agree with and I find it funny that she wants to be part of it but not really follow what they are telling her.