Jill Duggar Pregnant! CONFIRMED! MERGED

[Rescinded and Mended]

I think I can pinpoint why she's irritating. I wanted to give Jill the benefit of the doubt about the pregnancy announcement. I'd hoped that it was a prior arrangement with TLC and People magazine, that if she found out she was pregnant, both the network and the magazine would be notified immediately so they could decide when and where to publish the news.

Problem is, Jill admitted she announced just because she felt like it. It had nothing to do with the fact that she's still very early in her pregnancy (when it might have been wiser to wait), and she clearly wasn't taking Jessa's feelings into consideration regarding her upcoming wedding.

So yeah, Jill's turning out to be as much of an attention hound as Jim Bob and Michelle.

[coffeebean7]

Yes, that's the test I was talking about. IME it's usually expensive ($1000) unless insurance covers it. In my case, insurance covered the cost of the blood test IF I were to be 35 at the time of delivery.

It's not that expensive anymore. Without insurance, I think it's $235-400. At least it is according to lots of other pregnant women at babycenter. I'm pregnant right now but I'm too early for the test so I'm not sure.

[nst]

I

So yeah, Jill's turning out to be as much of an attention hound as Jim Bob and Michelle.

now who would have thought that :D not me

No I see her always as an attention hound and now even more sow because as she puts it -"she is the first girl" so it always be I was the first sister to get married bs :D

[HarryPotterFan]

now who would have thought that :D not me

No I see her always as an attention hound and now even more sow because as she puts it -"she is the first girl" so it always be I was the first sister to get married bs :D

And now the first girl to be pregnant. She will lord that forever.

[HarryPotterFan]

Also I'm remembering how she once said something along the lines of, "Since there are a lot of us we know we won't necessarily get married in order."

Um, that has nothing to do with having a lot of siblings. Even people with one sibling can get married out of birth order.

[utter solitude]

He brought her breakfast in bed?

Blasphemous!

[JellyHope]

It's not that expensive anymore. Without insurance, I think it's $235-400. At least it is according to lots of other pregnant women at babycenter. I'm pregnant right now but I'm too early for the test so I'm not sure.

Oh, well I guess it just depends on the provider or practice or whatever. It was only 10 weeks ago that it would have cost me $1000.

[Full enough quiver]

I was actually the second to last of my sisters to get married, and the oldest on my wedding day. Out of 5, I was the only one that could legally drink at my own wedding. Although, that was my decision. I chose not to date until my daughter was 5, so I could focus on her completely, and take time to get over my issues with men, so I wouldn't pick an asshole.

I admit, it bothered me a little when my younger sisters got married before me. (I couldn't help it, marriage was the most important thing ever in my family) Apparently, it was a good idea to wait, because all my sisters have gotten divorced. I have one brother that married last year, at 24, so far, so good, and one unmarried brother, who is only 18, so hopefully he waits a bit. I hope that the other girls, especially Jana, don't feel rushed to marry just because Jill and Jessa did. (I actually think Jessa is rushing into what seems like a huge mistake with her manboy)

[Mama Mia]

Oh, well I guess it just depends on the provider or practice or whatever. It was only 10 weeks ago that it would have cost me $1000.

The huge cost differences would be due to this:

washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-blood-test-can-cost-from-10-to-10000-in-calif-hospitals-according-to-a-study/2014/08/16/aba02472-24ae-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html

It basically just says what the title does. Researchers at UCSF found that the costs for basic, standard test varied wildly, for absolutely no reason. Of course if you have insurance the provider will generally have a contract at a huge discount ( but the hospital/physician and the insurance company both get to look like they spend a lot more on patient care than they actually do) . If you're private pay they might charge you the whole amount.

This is one of the reasons I have no problem with people doing on- line fund raisers or negotiating a much lower pay-off rate. If the insurance companies can do it, an individual should be able to. IMHO. I've seen other articles where they say it's the same huge cost differences for all aspects of health care.

[Coconut Flan]

Just like fetal ultrasounds went commercial, the "gender test" (yes that's how it was advertised) has also.

For $299 you can sashay into the commercial lab for the test all without a doctor or the insurance being involved.

I find that one amazing. It was only a couple of years ago I found myself surprised that people couldn't wait an extra couple of weeks for the anatomy scan and were paying for the commercial ultrasounds. Of course, these were the same people who bought the tests by the gross from Amazon so they could test every day beginning 7 days after ovulation.

[Mama Mia]

Just like fetal ultrasounds went commercial, the "gender test" (yes that's how it was advertised) has also.

For $299 you can sashay into the commercial lab for the test all without a doctor or the insurance being involved.

I find that one amazing. It was only a couple of years ago I found myself surprised that people couldn't wait an extra couple of weeks for the anatomy scan and were paying for the commercial ultrasounds. Of course, these were the same people who bought the tests by the gross from Amazon so they could test every day beginning 7 days after ovulation.

That kind of stuff drives me nuts. I had several co-workers who would get the 3-d ultrasounds every month -- just because they could.

I know the technology has been around a long time and they are presumably safe, and I could see getting one 3 d one just to see---- but so frequently, without a valid medical reason seems crazy to me.

[alba]

Don't shoot me, but I can actually kind of appreciate their decision to announce early. I know, every life is precious, yaddayaddayadda, pro-life garbage, yaddayaddayadda, BUT Jill also says:

So many pregnancies do end in miscarriage, and there are lots of women who grieve the loss of babies in private and don't have support.

This reads to me like she's saying, "Yeah, I know I might miscarry and it'll be out there for the world to see, but I don't mind because I want other women who miscarry to see that they're not alone." FTR, I always assumed that Cherin's decision to announce their miscarriage when they hadn't even revealed their pregnancy was done for similar reasons (that or because they didn't think they could handle lots of well-meaning people asking them about pregnancy or telling them about their own).

Of course, she could also be saying she wants the support if she loses her pregnancy, which would be fine if she'd told family and close friends (how awful would it be if you'd just lost a much-wanted pregnancy and your sisters started clamouring for you to take a pregnancy test?), but is pretty damn attention-whorey if she's announcing it publicly solely for the sake of getting public support if she miscarries.

[Toothfairy]

Are Jill and Derrick getting paid for their announcements??

And there's another royal baby on the way. As much as I hate hearing about the royal family, I would rather hear about Kates pregnancy for the next 9 months than JIll's.

[Toothfairy]

And now the first girl to be pregnant. She will lord that forever.

If jessa gets pregnant, I hope she has twins to steal Jill's thunder.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I think I can pinpoint why she's irritating. I wanted to give Jill the benefit of the doubt about the pregnancy announcement. I'd hoped that it was a prior arrangement with TLC and People magazine, that if she found out she was pregnant, both the network and the magazine would be notified immediately so they could decide when and where to publish the news.

Problem is, Jill admitted she announced just because she felt like it. It had nothing to do with the fact that she's still very early in her pregnancy (when it might have been wiser to wait), and she clearly wasn't taking Jessa's feelings into consideration regarding her upcoming wedding.

So yeah, Jill's turning out to be as much of an attention hound as Jim Bob and Michelle.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if their "praying about it" was really TLC saying "you're going to do this, or you will lose the ability to be on the show regularly." I wouldn't be surprised if such a thing happened with Josh and Anna and that's why Josh sought employment in DC.

[nst]

If jessa gets pregnant, I hope she has twins to steal Jill's thunder.

which would mean Ben has super sperm :D

[Emme]

Lucky girl. My nausea & kneeling at the toilet lasts till about 20 weeks with all 3 of my pregnancies. (I'm 20 weeks today. The jury is still out.)

Ugh, I agree with Lascuba. She's just obnoxious. I can't even pinpoint exactly why, but she bugs.

On another note, excited about the new royal baby on the way! I'm weirdly into all that.

Maybe because she's sanctimonious?

Way more excited for the royal baby! Poor Kate has HG though, which sucks.

[Mama Mia]

which would mean Ben has super sperm :D

You're probably joking....But, that's not how twins work :?

[OneFifthQuiverFull]

You're probably joking....But, that's not how twins work :?

I am sure it was a joke but, I got pregnant with twins on my honeymoon and his friends called my husband "the pollinator" for a long time, LOL. Mine are identical, though, so there has to be something. He cracked an egg in half. :pink-shock: :shock:

[jebandpunky]

so if Jessa get pregnant right away dose that mean JB will support the baby?Will it be a Duggar living in the guest house?Just saying since it seems Ben's only job is working for JB.

[slickcat79]

I finally watched the beginning of the first episode, and I don't think Jill was being snotty when she said she was the first daughter to get married. She was just trying to explain to the wedding planner why they didn't have a lot done, or why they didn't understand everything that needed to be done ASAP. They also mentioned that Derick was the first of his siblings to get married, and Michelle was making a big deal of how it was DIFFERENT when a daughter gets married than a son. Which may be true, but really the biggest difference is the fact that J&A got married in FL and the Kellers (plus the J'slaves) did all the work.

I can also see a possible different interpretation of Jill shutting Jinger down when she talked about living in a city. I kind of see it like a workplace (since we know the Duggars don't operate like a family) and I find Jill somewhat relatable on that level. At my job, nearly everything we do is checked by another associate before it's completed. I would rather my mistakes be found and caught by one of my coworkers than to have them found by a supervisor or higher-level person because the consequences are greater if it goes that far.

By the same token, it may be better for Jinger to have a sister shift her words a bit than to be smacked down by her parents. We saw from Michelle's response to Jinger's comments that expressing a personal desire to live in a real city is unacceptable in Duggarland, and certainly Jana and Josiah (at least) have not benefitted from refusing to toe the line. If Jill thinks like I do at work, I certainly don't want anyone else to get in trouble or get talked down to, especially as a result of something I did. Jill is different though, in the fact that she is more bubbly and outgoing than I'll ever be, and she may not understand that somtimes it's better to just shut up.

I may be wrong in how I see her, and she may be really annoying either way. But I feel like all of the Duggar kids, especially the girls, have spent a lifetime stifling themselves and learning the "right response" to every situation. Yes, Jill might want to be more respectful of her sisters' feelings, but I don't know that she should be expected to tamp down all of her excitement about everything that's happening in her life. It's the first time she's really been able to express herself separately from the family, and I don't think she should have to change herself even more just because her sisters are not the same as she is.

[OneFifthQuiverFull]

Jill sort of reminds me of my senior rescued Maltese pup. My poor girl Bella was rescued from deplorable conditions in a puppy mill. She is the sweetest, most compliant, lovable little thing but her 7 pound self will take you DOWN if you get between her and a morsel of food, or between the two of us (I hung her moon and stars) or between her and a lowered car window so she can stick her snout into the wind. We laugh at her and recognize she is a beast about these things because she was denied these for +/- 8 years. Now that she has access to it, she'll fight to her death for food, love and freedom.

We understand a dog's animal instinct response to denial that gives way to provision. I am not trying to be disrespectful to or of Jill, but isn't this similar? Even on a visceral level, she finally has access to things she never did before - freedom, privacy and sole ownership not only of things, but decisions and concepts. In this light, I can hardly blame her for acting like a (newly) spoiled brat, any more than I can blame my dog for being overly enthusiastic for her new found freedoms and provisions.

They weren't taught boundaries. They shared everything. There was no real concept of "this is where Jill ends and Jessa starts". So it is entirely possible that she honestly doesn't even see her pregnancy announcement as usurping Jessa's moment because they have been raised for 2 decades to believe they are one and the same.

I think because I have raised identical twins I can see how possible it is for siblings to not really be able see themselves individually. All siblings are competitors and teammates. Boundary lines are easily blurred. When you have multiple children (and/or multiples) you have to be very clear on who is who, so they aren't all the "Jones boys" and the "Jones girl" or the "Jones twins". Honestly, that takes work. It takes work in the home, reminding them that they are individual people with individual needs and it takes work outside of the house reminding teachers and administrators (for example) that just because Jones kid #1 is a little shit at school doesn't automatically mean Jones kid #2 will be. I would be infuriated when a teacher who had a twin each in two of her classes would call me up to bitch about "the boys". I would have to keep saying, "REALLY. They are both doing the exact same thing each day as the other is doing." And she would say, "Well no, Boy 1 is turning in his work but Boy 2 is not!"

So to sum up two trains of thought: 1) Jill is just one excited little freed up pup who has a big bowl of food and a nice warm bed and a doggie door so she can come and go as she pleases and 2) she forgets that she is an individual all her own and her news isn't also equally Jana's and Jessa's and Jinger's (etc.) nor is their news/happiness her own. But they weren't taught this, and it wasn't nurtured in them, and you really can't blame them for it!

[lascuba]

I don't see what the big deal is about Jill announcing her pregnancy when Jessa got engaged. Maybe because I see Jessa as a much more pragmatic person but I can't imagine that she gives the tiniest shit, and I don't think anyone's required to stifle their own good news for the nonsense emotions of others. Honestly, do people really care about that stuff? I can't imagine anyone in my family or circle of friends being upset about a pregnancy announcement because it took attention away from an engagement. I've only seen that attitude in tv shows and movies about spoiled, ridiculous people.

I'm not getting how Jill has changed since getting married? She acts exactly as she always has, and everything she's said and done to this point has been completely consistent with her character.

[jebandpunky]

I am sure Jill's body was ready to take a child she waited until in her 20's for the right guy.I am sure the Duggar's timed everything just so after the honeymoon was over the Muiltying would begin.I don't think anyone is trying to steal spitlight from anyone in this case just kind of happened that way.

[Coco]

I don't see what the big deal is about Jill announcing her pregnancy when Jessa got engaged. Maybe because I see Jessa as a much more pragmatic person but I can't imagine that she gives the tiniest shit, and I don't think anyone's required to stifle their own good news for the nonsense emotions of others. Honestly, do people really care about that stuff? I can't imagine anyone in my family or circle of friends being upset about a pregnancy announcement because it took attention away from an engagement. I've only seen that attitude in tv shows and movies about spoiled, ridiculous people.

I'm not getting how Jill has changed since getting married? She acts exactly as she always has, and everything she's said and done to this point has been completely consistent with her character.

because in a big family the attention is almost always on the group, not the individuals. A girl's engagement and wedding are her turn to be treated with extra attention and love. This is when the mom passes on wisdom, the dad gives hugs and blessings, days spent planning the details and being excited about the new life she'll lead. But if a baby announcement comes along from another sibling, especially the first girl's pregnancy, then the focus is off the bride-to-be. And it would be especially difficult if that pregnant sister had just received all the special bride-to-be attention a couple months before. I know everyone says Jessa is more pragmatic, but every girl, especially a fundie girl who has been taught marriage is the ultimate goal, deserves to have those special times where she is the focus of her parents and friends. They have no other major life achievements, no team sports where people cheer them on, no degrees earned with graduation ceremonies. Marriage is their time to be celebrated. Of course no one should stifle good news like a pregnancy just for the sake of a sibling, but hopefully Jessa is getting just as much attention from her family as she would have if she were the only big news.

ETA: another thing is that the family is almost their entire social group. Their parents are their main mentors. They can't turn to a favorite teacher or coach for validation when a big life change comes along. If the parents decide not to celebrate one of the children as much as another, it can be devastating. This is, imo, another reason why quiverfull and stay-at-home-daughterhood is dangerous to girls' self esteem. There's no way a parent can be everything to every child. Children need to have other role models besides just parents or a church person who is almost exactly like the parents... so that their self-esteem is not dependent on just one support system.