Michael (Bates) Keilen Bump Watch

[donnal]

On April 9, 2016 at 6:09 PM, Dandruff said:

Imagine Michelle's face if she found out a Bates kid was having twins...

I almost want it to happen for this reason alone. The false happiness while inwardly she's screaming. 

[Snarkle]

On 4/9/2016 at 9:50 AM, HereticHick said:

"While her husband works, Keilen stays busy by spending a lot of time studying and taking online classes from Roane State to finish up her degree in liberal arts with a minor in health science. She isn't sure what she wants to do with her degree yet."

http://www.knoxnews.com/entertainment/pop-culture/bringing-up-bates-star-talks-about-show-married-life-in-chicago-2c750f56-0aab-4a35-e053-0100007fe336-370116301.html

 

Wow, a lot of mentions of God in that story, and Christian code-words "blessed" and "encouraged."  Would never see that in a paper here in the Northeast.    As for what she will do with her degree...isn't it expected that she will be a wife and mother, period? What could she do within the constraints of her lifestyle that she could use the training for?  She could of course help out as a volunteer EMT, but she could be doing that now, right?  Jill Duggar Dillard became a midwife, but that was in the context of missionary work, and she doesn't seem to be doing much of it with her current gig.  I know a missionary family who is in Africa and the wife actually trained to be a certified nurse midwife (and BSN) and the husband received a degree in animal husbandry/care with the plan that they would work as missionaries (her in a hospital delivering babies, him out with the tribe's animals).  They do the jobs they trained for (along with having three kids) and spread the Gospel on the side - not the other way around.

[Granwych]

On ‎4‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 0:10 PM, Snarkle said:

Wow, a lot of mentions of God in that story, and Christian code-words "blessed" and "encouraged."  Would never see that in a paper here in the Northeast.    As for what she will do with her degree...isn't it expected that she will be a wife and mother, period? What could she do within the constraints of her lifestyle that she could use the training for?  She could of course help out as a volunteer EMT, but she could be doing that now, right?  Jill Duggar Dillard became a midwife, but that was in the context of missionary work, and she doesn't seem to be doing much of it with her current gig.  I know a missionary family who is in Africa and the wife actually trained to be a certified nurse midwife (and BSN) and the husband received a degree in animal husbandry/care with the plan that they would work as missionaries (her in a hospital delivering babies, him out with the tribe's animals).  They do the jobs they trained for (along with having three kids) and spread the Gospel on the side - not the other way around.

Well, wouldn't any sort of education help Michael to educate her own children?

[Snarkle]

4 hours ago, Granwych said:

Well, wouldn't any sort of education help Michael to educate her own children?

Naturally.  Any education, even reading books and learning outside of a classroom in order to be a better teacher to one's own children (if homeschooling) is useful.  However, she mentioned that she didn't know what she was going to do with her degree, suggesting something beyond being a wife, mother, and homeschooler.

[vienna]

Given the circumstances (Fundiland), one has to be thankful for the fact that ther is education for Michael.

[JMO]

Maybe it's my own struggles conceiving but I feel for Michael.  She's been married 8 months and isn't pregnant.  She's not only been raised to want 19 kids but actively loves and wants children.  Not to mention her sister and her SIL have both announced 2nd pregnancies during that time.  We never know what their plans are for kids but it's probably safe to say she and Brandon are actively trying and praying for a child. 

[LawsonBatesEgo]

I just had a look at Michael's Instagram and I do have to say that she looks very pretty lately. Even if she is not pregnant despite wanting to be, she does seem to have a distinct 'newlywed glow'. 

It's a nice transition from the bangs and teddy bear sweater she was wearing a few years back. 

[elliha]

In part it would be fun if Michaela is the one who breaks from the quiverfull idea. She is constantly called super-fundie and she might very well be that but perhaps a different type of fundie than her parents. I would love for her to have one or at least a couple of years without babies voluntarily and I hope this is not because of infertility. We don't know at this point of course, 8 months is still considered normal when it comes to fertility.

[Justme]

Michael's always been more private than the rest of her clan. Perhaps she is in the early stages of pregnancy and doesn't wish to announce it yet. If I were in her circumstances, I'd probably wait to announce it to the "world" when I started to show.

[GreenTea]

It's still early in their marriage. Plus it would be good for her to think about other things, other roads life can take. Other then women are baby machines that must take care for children, cook, and clean the house to be worth something.

If in a few years if she can't have kiddos naturally and wants to be a mother then they can always adopt children. They could also care for foster kids. Or go the foster child to adoption route. They could adopt a sibling group and have tons of kids!    

[nelliebelle1197]

On 4/9/2016 at 4:11 PM, Casserole said:

 

I thought identical twins had a stronger hereditary component and fraternal goes along with hyper-fertility. The fraternals happen when you ovulate with two eggs at once... though if the girls "inherit" Michelle's crazy fertility and ovulate with multiple eggs I guess that makes fraternal twins hereditary, too. 

My grandmother had a set of twin - one of which is my mom. My mom's fraternal twin has identical twins that are 8 months older than I. My maternal grandfather's dad was a twin. I am pretty damn sure my oldest was a twin and we lost the other baby. That suugests fraternal again!

[nastyhobbitses]

On 4/19/2016 at 9:35 AM, LawsonBatesEgo said:

I just had a look at Michael's Instagram and I do have to say that she looks very pretty lately. Even if she is not pregnant despite wanting to be, she does seem to have a distinct 'newlywed glow'. 

It's a nice transition from the bangs and teddy bear sweater she was wearing a few years back. 

Like a lot of fundie women, the frumpy look just did not do her any favors. The pictures of her on I Love You Day in that simple red dress with her hair in pretty Kate Middleton waves really showcased how lovely she really is. Honestly, I think the only fundie women who can halfway pull off the classic frumper look are Erin Paine and Anna Marie Maxwell.

[princessmahina]

On 4/21/2016 at 10:34 PM, GreenTea said:

It's still early in their marriage. Plus it would be good for her to think about other things, other roads life can take. Other then women are baby machines that must take care for children, cook, and clean the house to be worth something.

If in a few years if she can't have kiddos naturally and wants to be a mother then they can always adopt children. They could also care for foster kids. Or go the foster child to adoption route. They could adopt a sibling group and have tons of kids!    

I really hope they don't go the foster route, or adopt kids (especially older ones). There's no way they could handle the special needs a child shuttled around from home to home would inevitably have. Coupled with Gothard's beliefs on adoption and their love of corporal punishment, I think it would be very rough for a non-biological child. As fundie as the two of them seem, I have a hard time getting at all excited for them having children.

[BeccaGrim]

Erin was open about her struggles. I wonder if Michaella will be if that is what's happening.  During the whole show where the Bates family came to Chicago and rearranged her furniture I kept wondering where they were going to put ten kids in the tiny apartment...

[twinmama]

On 4/9/2016 at 11:57 AM, eclairaupistache said:

Who do you think will have the first twins of the 2nd generation? Michael, Alyssa, a Duggar girl?

That would be so exiting to see them having twins...

Whoever it is I hope they are on a tv show because I would love to watch one of them attempt to deal with the first year of having twins. Hahahaha! Then again, these girls spent their childhoods raising children so maybe they wouldn't be as overwhelmed as I was.

It weirds me out how they act like having twins is some sign of superiority though. It's higher risk, it's an insane amount of work, but I guess if they see children as rewards for being super pious then two at once must be like the Academy Award to them.

The idea of any of these fundies experiencing infertility is particularly sad since their entire self-worth is wrapped up in reproducing as much as possible. In addition to the fact that they probably aren't allowed to go for any of the big fertility treatments (IUI and IVF). It would be crazy awful to know there is something that might help you have a baby but you aren't "allowed" to do it. Of course, good luck to them paying for IUI or IVF if they could do it anyway.

[vienna]

Why are twins such a topic with the Bates? Kelly never had twins so chances of one of the Kids having twins are not that high....

 

When it Comes to Michael, I relly wish her a pregnancy soon. She is probably very unhappy about not beeing pregnant yet and I wish her a kid altough Brandon gives me the creeps. Something about him seems just strange.

[formergothardite]

I don't know her thoughts on wanting kids, it could be she is secretly relieved to not have gotten pregnant. She did spend most of her life raising her siblings and teaching them.  But as long as they are very fundie, it doesn't bother me one bit that they don't bring any children into that lifestyle. I don't wish any child to be raised in a family like that. 

[MorningMist]

5 hours ago, formergothardite said:

I don't know her thoughts on wanting kids, it could be she is secretly relieved to not have gotten pregnant. She did spend most of her life raising her siblings and teaching them.  But as long as they are very fundie, it doesn't bother me one bit that they don't bring any children into that lifestyle. I don't wish any child to be raised in a family like that. 

While I agree with the second part, I think out of all Bates' she seemed to be the one that wants children the most. She even babysat for other people's children (which admittedly Gil and Kelly may have pressured her to do) most of the time.

[eandre31]

I was under the impression that Michael was one of the kids that REALLY wants a quiver FULL. She seems to be the most steeped in Kool-Aid. Also, on one of those "Name That Bates" videos Tori (?) asks Kelly and Gil who they think would be the most likely of the children to have 19 kids. Kelly said Michael. Tori then says she's too old to have 19. Regardless of her age, I get the feeling that Kelly knows that, out of the adult Bates, Michael is the most likely to not prevent/try to have as many kids as possible. 

The fact that she hasn't announced a pregnancy yet is strange to me for that reason, but it can take months to a year to conceive for some. I think she would be the last Bates to prevent though. Just my guess, of course.

[infooverload]

I am just glad she is enjoying her time in Chicago and being able to hang out alone with her husband. I hope they do something special for her when she graduates. Isn't she set to graduate soon.

[QuiverDance]

Maybe her headship is not on the 19 kids train.  

[HereticHick]

I think the bigger question is if/when Brandon & Michaela are moving to Big Sandy. A local newspaper article that we discussed several months ago seemed to state that the entire ATI/IBLP operation in Oak Brook  was shutting down and moving to Big Sandy, and the moves would be finished in June.

 

It is very possible that Michaela has had 1 or more miscarriages and has chosen not to share them with the world.

[faraway]

While normally this isn't a long time to try for a baby, it does seem unusual for these hyper-fertile fundies. It is early to draw conclusions, but not all men are super-fertile. Would fundies go to a fertility specialist if they didn't conceive after a year or more? 

[downtherabbithole]

I don't know if they would go to a fertility specialist, but I could totally see them going to their family doctor/OB to discuss it first. 

[faraway]

Yeah, I mean we saw Erin & Chad go to the doctor who clearly was able to help them. I bet it's less accepted in the fundie world to have the man be the cause for fertility issues though.