Michael and Brandon Keilen

[Coconut Flan]

56 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

How much longer can Brandon stay employed at Gothard HQ before he has to move to Big Sandy (or be out of a job)??

I'd love to see the plan for closing down the Illinois operation.  I'm sure at least one Bates family member will let it slip when/if Brandon gets his relocation notice.  It has to be coming up pretty soon, I'd guess.

[usedbicycle]

On 10/20/2016 at 3:05 PM, VineHeart137 said:

Their beliefs say they want as many children as God will give them, so it should also count if that number is 0.

This sounds horrible but I chuckled at that line.

It's just so cruel to imagine God being like "Who am I going to bless with a baby today.... let's see, 19 for Kelly Jo, 2 for Alyssa and Erin, one for the teenager that really doesn't want to get pregnant, one for the woman with Zika, and ZERO for Michael and Brandon!!!"

I really hope that M and B don't feel guilty to get medical assistance if they really want biological kids.

[Carm_88]

51 minutes ago, usedbicycle said:

This sounds horrible but I chuckled at that line.

It's just so cruel to imagine God being like "Who am I going to bless with a baby today.... let's see, 19 for Kelly Jo, 2 for Alyssa and Erin, one for the teenager that really doesn't want to get pregnant, one for the woman with Zika, and ZERO for Michael and Brandon!!!"

I really hope that M and B don't feel guilty to get medical assistance if they really want biological kids.

Now I'm picturing Oprah! "You get a baby! You get a baby! Everyone's getting a baby!" And then of course throw in the Mean Girls reference and say "But none for Michael and Brandon." 

[Shouldabeenacowboy]

1 hour ago, usedbicycle said:

I really hope that M and B don't feel guilty to get medical assistance if they really want biological kids.

I completely agree with you, but doesn't medical assistance to get pregnant defeat the warped fundie "logic" of leaving it up to Jeebus?

[Casserole]

IF they didn't make exceptions to rules and choose AI/IVF, they were truly infertile, and truly wanted kids, I think they'd have to go the adoption route. Naturally they will only adopt internationally... because why adopt domestically from foster care because since when does being pro-life mean being pro-the-children being born into those horrible situations?! am I right?  #sarcasm in case anyone missed it. 

Since the Bates put themselves out there, I am kind of interested to see how it all plays out and what route they'd end up taking within their beliefs (*if* infertility is the issue.) OR would they seek fertility treatments secretly and just announce a blessing as usual? While that's their right, I feel like allowing the doctor to "play God" becomes deceitful. IDK. thinking out loud here. 

[VelociRapture]

2 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

Now I'm picturing Oprah! "You get a baby! You get a baby! Everyone's getting a baby!" And then of course throw in the Mean Girls reference and say "But none for Michael and Brandon." 

I was just about to post this when I saw your comment. Great minds, my friend. Great minds. 

[Carm_88]

On 10/25/2016 at 5:09 PM, VelociRapture said:

I was just about to post this when I saw your comment. Great minds, my friend. Great minds. 

Hahah great minds indeed! So appropriate. 

[jqlgoblue]

On 10/22/2016 at 9:24 AM, zygote373 said:

She always thanks people profusely when they say they'll be praying for her. Maybe she genuinely likes interacting with people in the comments and the extra prayers are a comfort to her. Who knows.

I think her posts have gotten more 'desperate' in a way in the last few months. I think she sees professing her love of Brandon, her life, everything little beautiful thing she sees and interacting with all of these people who are praying for her as an appeal to Jesus like "see Jesus I'm good, I am doing all the *right* things, and I feel all the *right* ways, please please bless us".

I do feel empathy for her pain because she must wonder why god has blessed her sisters and not her when at least it seems she has been just as if not more 'godly' than they. It's a super messed up thought process they have and I don't like to think about what this cult does to children and people but I still understand how horrible she must feel and just ugh.

[titerlitury]

Remember that this girl has to wait for everything: Brandon to notice her between other girls, their long distance relationship, their very long courtship, quite long engagement.. I feel sorry for her, but I believe their time together without children will serve them. 

[seraaa]

5 hours ago, jqlgoblue said:

I think her posts have gotten more 'desperate' in a way in the last few months. I think she sees professing her love of Brandon, her life, everything little beautiful thing she sees and interacting with all of these people who are praying for her as an appeal to Jesus like "see Jesus I'm good, I am doing all the *right* things, and I feel all the *right* ways, please please bless us".

I do feel empathy for her pain because she must wonder why god has blessed her sisters and not her when at least it seems she has been just as if not more 'godly' than they. It's a super messed up thought process they have and I don't like to think about what this cult does to children and people but I still understand how horrible she must feel and just ugh.

This hits at the heart of one of the problems of leglistic belief systems, imo. An expectation is created that if you follow the "rules", th rewards will follow consequently. And life is just not like that. I imagine it can be crushing to come to terms with that.

[nolongerIFBx]

4 hours ago, seraaa said:

This hits at the heart of one of the problems of leglistic belief systems, imo. An expectation is created that if you follow the "rules", th rewards will follow consequently. And life is just not like that. I imagine it can be crushing to come to terms with that.

I need to be able to like this a thousand times. 

[usedbicycle]

19 hours ago, Shouldabeenacowboy said:

I completely agree with you, but doesn't medical assistance to get pregnant defeat the warped fundie "logic" of leaving it up to Jeebus?

Absolutely. In my experience, very conservative Christians draw the line at the fact that fertilization should only happen during sex. So hormone shots or other fertility-promoting drugs are OK, but IUI isn't (sperm injected into uterus by doctor). IVF is seen as the worst of the worst (kills babies/embryos). There's a trend of christian couples "adopting" unused IVF embryos to give them life. Surrogate? Sperm donation? Egg donation? NO WAY! 

 

[meee]

If they truly have a fertility problem, then having ANY children may be a huge financial hardship.  Adoption is crazy expensive, and fertility treatments depend on insurance.  Are the Bateses like other fundies who don't believe in insurance?

[Carm_88]

I feel bad for Michael because I'm sure that she is thinking that he has done something wrong and that is why she cannot get pregnant. But it's just not meant to be for some people or it takes more time then they have had. And like someone else said she has waited for everything. 

[LawsonBatesEgo]

4 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

I feel bad for Michael because I'm sure that she is thinking that he has done something wrong and that is why she cannot get pregnant. But it's just not meant to be for some people or it takes more time then they have had. And like someone else said she has waited for everything. 

Yeah. 

Ugh, I know I shouldn't be rooting for any of these people, but I kind can't help but go a little soft and root for Michael. 

Michael is the oldest girl in fundie family and definitely got some 'Cinderella' treatment. She was always sewing prarie dresses for the family while the younger kids ran around playing. Something tells me Carlin/Katie/Josie are having much more enjoyable teenage years than Michael did. Michael grew up with so much responsibility at such a young age because her parents were all too happy to make the quiver and then make her help them raise it. Even though I truly believe she loves kids and her little siblings, it should have never been her responsibility to raise and potty train them. 

In the beginning it sounds like she was into Brandon a lot more than he was into her (at least, that was the impression I got from their stories on their wedding website). But then he was called to court her or whatever. She was raised in a culture which is all about marriage and babies.....but then she had to wait a very long time (by fundie standards......but it's also all she's ever known so is normal to her) to get married while her younger sisters got to get married before her. She staying up late sewing dresses for Erin while Erin was showing her dress to everyone and decorating her pink room in readiness. 

And then it was finally her turn to get married and she had a dream day at least.....and then finally her turn to have a baby.

And now she is waiting again because she seems to be having trouble conceiving a desperately wanted baby while the sisters who "beat" her down the aisle are onto their second babies. I know she loves her nieces/nephews, but that has to hurt a little. And to make it worse, she was indoctrinated in a culture that doesn't let her acknowledge that sometimes, life is really fucking unfair to people who don't deserve it. She is very likely blaming herself and wondering what one earth she has done wrong for God not to be "blessing" her with a child when she did everything "right" as well as guilt over not being in a good place with her "contentment". And she seems to be one of the ones who really does like kids and would love a few because she WANTS them, not because she feels she has to have them. I think she is the type that if she had non fundie parents would still love kids and would have become a teacher or something. 

Yes, Brandon and Michael's kid/s will be raised super fundie, but I can't snark on a young couple for being heartbroken because they are experiencing difficulties conceiving a much wanted first child after being married for over a year. I just can't do it. To snark on them or take joy in the fact the can't get pregnant because of their religious beliefs would make me no better than the 'holier than thou' breed of fundie/religious people I can't stand. 

I know it's dangerous to go soft for any of them, but there is a part of me that just wants to give Michael a hug and hopes she does fall pregnant soon. 

[season of life]

IVF is not a picnic. Neither is adoption. It is financially taxing and emotionally nerve-wracking. Maybe they will go for either in the future. Maybe they will accept a childless life. If Michael and Brandon are discouraged from pursuing other options, they may (hopefully) find some happiness by being able to spend more time with another and having money for small pleasures, like vacations. When her siblings have kids in double digits, they may feel envious of her.

[titerlitury]

I watched video on Lily and Ellie, part of new episode. Again, Michael's siblings say she always hold some babies, love babies, love sewing and that they encourage her to start seamstress business. Probably it's 3rd episode in a row when they make comments about Michael will be a perfect mom someday.

I get impression by this whole "she loves babies" producers prepare audience for another plot - Michael's pregnancy. Well, I hope so, because if it turns they're not expecting I name it cruelty. Leghumpers will spam her insta with questions after this episode, I'm sure. 

[twinmama]

On 10/20/2016 at 3:39 PM, faraway said:

What I would like to know though is, if a fundie man would provide a sperm sample. I just can't picture it. 

Oh gosh, the literature our fertility clinic gave us had a little bit about if you are unable to give your sample at the clinic via masturbation they can give you a special condom or something and your partner can help you obtain your sample and store it to bring in. We had no such issue, but man was that a weird experience. For my IUIs, my husband had to donate his sample at home, then I had to take the specimen cup and drive to the doctor's office for the procedure. Just driving along, with a specimen cup of semen stuffed in my winter coat trying to keep it warm. For my IVF cycle, they had him give his sample at the doctor's office. 

On 10/21/2016 at 11:00 PM, jqlgoblue said:

I know multiple people who struggled, did IVF or even adopted the first kid, and BAM they got pregnant on their own with the second so fast that the kids ended up being super close together.

This is terrifying to me! lol But I also know someone who had her first after at least 5 rounds of IVF, then got surprise pregnant like a year later.

On 10/25/2016 at 5:18 PM, Shouldabeenacowboy said:

I completely agree with you, but doesn't medical assistance to get pregnant defeat the warped fundie "logic" of leaving it up to Jeebus?

Lots of religious folks will explain away anything they want to do with some god reason. Oh you need fertility assistance but spent the last 20 years talking about leaving it up to god? Well god gave us doctors and drugs to help us when we need it! Done. God loves fertility treatments, give him more warriors.

[faraway]

I'm pretty sure that before any of the young Bates' started having kids, Gil and Kelly were convinced they would all be blessed with bucketloads of babies.

They were super-fertile themselves and their kids were brought up in a more godly way than themselves so what could possibly go wrong??? Must be tough to face some reality. Oh wait, it's hardships from god.

[QuiverDance]

3 hours ago, twinmama said:

 

This is terrifying to me! lol But I also know someone who had her first after at least 5 rounds of IVF, then got surprise pregnant like a year later.

 

 

 

This kind of happened to me.  After a few years of trying and a failed IUI, I gave up, sold my volvo sedan, and bought a two seater convertible.  Six weeks later, I found out I was pregnant.  

After that baby was born, I figured I would never get pregnant again without effort, so I didn't really pay a lot of attention to birth control, and we were not good about using ahem barrier methods, and I found out I was pregnant againt when baby 1 was only 10 months old.  Oops.  But was a good oops.  

[NeverAFundie]

I love those stories.  I have good friends who tried for YEARS to get pregnant.  Multiple fertility doctors told them it would be a huge struggle for them, so they started the long, arduous adoption process.  They were about a year into the adoption process, with no prospective adoptive child on the horizon, when she found out she was pregnant.  After their son was born, they were AGAIN told that conception would be very difficult.  Before their son turned 2, she was pregnant again.  With twins.

Another friend was in the fertility specialist's office for her appointment to discuss surgery to remove scar tissue from an earlier ectopic pregnancy that MIGHT make it easier for her to conceive after years of trying.  They did the routine pregnancy test.  Positive.

[twinmama]

4 hours ago, QuiverDance said:

This kind of happened to me.  After a few years of trying and a failed IUI, I gave up, sold my volvo sedan, and bought a two seater convertible.  Six weeks later, I found out I was pregnant.  

After that baby was born, I figured I would never get pregnant again without effort, so I didn't really pay a lot of attention to birth control, and we were not good about using ahem barrier methods, and I found out I was pregnant againt when baby 1 was only 10 months old.  Oops.  But was a good oops.  

LOL This is why despite me having PCOS and my husband also having a fertility issue, I have a Mirena! 

[season of life]

I was on Monica Nicole DeMass's Instagram (soon-to-be wife of Brent Keilen) and I saw a post of her posing with Trump. I checked the likes and saw that Michael had liked it. So she is probably voting Trump, along with other Bates members. Figures.

[Carm_88]

9 hours ago, season of life said:

I was on Monica Nicole DeMass's Instagram (soon-to-be wife of Brent Keilen) and I saw a post of her posing with Trump. I checked the likes and saw that Michael had liked it. So she is probably voting Trump, along with other Bates members. Figures.

Not shocking of course but still...it's Trump. Makes me ill. 

[season of life]

I suppose I expected them to be too disgusted by his behavior to vote for him.