Michelle 2: Mom of 13 & YouTuber Accused of Neglect on Dr. Phil

[Petronella]

14 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She always knew she was adopted and was told very little. She was told her bio mother was in jail. And not much else. She found out on her own at age 11 and it had a huge impact on her. I don’t think she told her parents she found out (through the Ann Rule book at the library) so she just kept it inside for awhile. I think that’s what caused her so much trauma. Plus she said she saw the movie about it at 16.  Becky didn’t write her birth mother until She gave her own son up for adoption in 2006 (I think). She said she wanted to talk to her bio mom about giving her up for adoption. She said she wanted to talk to someone who went through the same thing. She quickly regretted it. Since Diane is so horrible. 

Do you remember where you got that info? Perhaps it was added to a later edition of the book? Or was it from a news program/interview?

[JermajestyDuggar]

8 minutes ago, Petronella said:

Do you remember where you got that info? Perhaps it was added to a later edition of the book? Or was it from a news program/interview?

It was from the most recent 20/20 interview Becky did. 

[Glasgowghirl]

17 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She always knew she was adopted and was told very little. She was told her bio mother was in jail. And not much else. She found out on her own at age 11 and it had a huge impact on her. I don’t think she told her parents she found out (through the Ann Rule book at the library) so she just kept it inside for awhile. I think that’s what caused her so much trauma. Plus she said she saw the movie about it at 16.  Becky didn’t write her birth mother until She gave her own son up for adoption in 2006 (I think). She said she wanted to talk to her bio mom about giving her up for adoption. She said she wanted to talk to someone who went through the same thing. She quickly regretted it. Since Diane is so horrible. 

I feel for her, finding out that your mother is in jail because she shot your siblings, killing one of them and then internationally getting pregnant with you, in the hope that people would have sympathy for her because she was pregnant would be enough to traumatise anyone and can see why she went of the rails.

I think her adoptive parents were probably not given enough support when they adopted her and maybe their should have been counseling offered to them all and guidance on how to address the situation with her. The children that survived the shooting were offered it and I think people at the time expected because Rebecca was adopted so soon after birth that it wouldn't impact her. 

 

[Tigerchild74]

Her response seems to make perfect sense to me then.  And yes, up until fairly recently adoptive parents were encouraged to think that people adopted at birth would have no impact to them regarding their adoption, and it would not surprise me if her adoptive parents took it upon themselves or were actively encouraged to keep any information they personally knew secret.  However, a lot of adoptive families, especially of infants, received NO identifying information about the birtparenths especially in closed adoptions.  They may have figured it out, or been told if they were foster to adopt.  But even that short of a time ago, things and viewpoints on adoption and adoptees were very different than they are now even.

[Hashtag Blessed]

Spoiler

 

Michelle is live right now. Talking about nursing baby Millie and pumping so she can increase her supply enough to stop supplementing with formula. The schedule she's talking about sounds intense. She says she spends several hours each day just pumping. "20 on 10 off," she says. 20 minutes of pumping and 10 minutes of rest then? 

She's now detailing her entire schedule of what she fed Millie when. I'm shocked that she has any genuine fans with this kind of boring content. 

It sounds like her day is completely taken over by feeding Millie. I wonder how her other children are coping.

She brags a little about her weight loss.

She drinks multiple large bottles of Smart Water a day. I hope she's refilling the same bottle and not actually throwing away several plastic water bottles each day. Super wasteful. 

She's having someone bring Millie to show her off.

A commenter convinces her to start drinking Gatorade to increase her milk supply. 

She casually mentioned that her children made mac & cheese for dinner and she reluctantly ate it. Because it's unhealthy? Idk why she's reluctant.

She says the malt in beer helps with milk supply, but you can just have malt instead. I don't think she has that right. I've heard it's the yeast. That's why Brewer's Yeast is in every lactation cookie recipe. 

She jokes that she wishes she could say to her husband "I need a beer for medicinal reasons!" And laughs and says "Who cares what our religion does." And then says something about "Says an alcoholic." She worded it in such a way that makes it sound like she's an alcoholic. I thought it was just Rod with the drinking problem, but maybe she does have a history of substance abuse too? Hmm...

Anyway, that's all I have time for at the moment. I, too, am on a pumping schedule!

[JermajestyDuggar]

41 minutes ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Michelle is live right now. Talking about nursing baby Millie and pumping so she can increase her supply enough to stop supplementing with formula. The schedule she's talking about sounds intense. She says she spends several hours each day just pumping. "20 on 10 off," she says. 20 minutes of pumping and 10 minutes of rest then? 

She's now detailing her entire schedule of what she fed Millie when. I'm shocked that she has any genuine fans with this kind of boring content. 

It sounds like her day is completely taken over by feeding Millie. I wonder how her other children are coping.

She brags a little about her weight loss.

She drinks multiple large bottles of Smart Water a day. I hope she's refilling the same bottle and not actually throwing away several plastic water bottles each day. Super wasteful. 

She's having someone bring Millie to show her off.

A commenter convinces her to start drinking Gatorade to increase her milk supply. 

She casually mentioned that her children made mac & cheese for dinner and she reluctantly ate it. Because it's unhealthy? Idk why she's reluctant.

She says the malt in beer helps with milk supply, but you can just have malt instead. I don't think she has that right. I've heard it's the yeast. That's why Brewer's Yeast is in every lactation cookie recipe. 

She jokes that she wishes she could say to her husband "I need a beer for medicinal reasons!" And laughs and says "Who cares what our religion does." And then says something about "Says an alcoholic." She worded it in such a way that makes it sound like she's an alcoholic. I thought it was just Rod with the drinking problem, but maybe she does have a history of substance abuse too? Hmm...

Anyway, that's all I have time for at the moment. I, too, am on a pumping schedule!

It seems like she did nothing for the other children while pregnant so the fact that she’s doing nothing for them now that she has a crazy pumping schedule just means they are used to the neglect. Not much has changed for them.

[Ozlsn]

23 hours ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

A commenter convinces her to start drinking Gatorade to increase her milk supply. 

Ok I spent a fair whack of time expressing, quite a bit of it in the company of other NICU mums who were as obsessed about their supply as I was. I thought I had heard literally every "this will increase your supply!" thing going but Gatorade is a new one on me. 

23 hours ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

Talking about nursing baby Millie and pumping so she can increase her supply enough to stop supplementing with formula. The schedule she's talking about sounds intense. She says she spends several hours each day just pumping. "20 on 10 off," she says. 20 minutes of pumping and 10 minutes of rest then? 

She's now detailing her entire schedule of what she fed Millie when. I'm shocked that she has any genuine fans with this kind of boring content.

I am kind of curious as to both her schedule and Millie's feeding schedule. Yes I have no life, why do you ask? Hopefully the formula is all that she's supplementing with. 

Have to say in my experience there's a limit to how much supply will increase even with stupidly intense pumping schedules. Drinking more water certainly helps though.

23 hours ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

She casually mentioned that her children made mac & cheese for dinner and she reluctantly ate it. Because it's unhealthy? Idk why she's reluctant.

Me neither. Has fat (good for breastmilk). Is comfort food (good for stress). Didn't have to make it herself (always good). I'd have been all over that.

[Hashtag Blessed]

@Ozlsn Yeah, I've never heard of Gatorade either. She was happy to try out any suggestions at all, which is fine I guess. Idk why Gatorade would be more effective than regular water, but what do I know?

The reluctance about the mac and cheese really grossed me out. I'm so thankful for food made by someone else right now. She's so ungrateful for the efforts of her children to feed themselves and her neglectful ass! 

[ViolaSebastian]

I think her reluctance is because she's trying to stay on a ketogenic diet, but it came off as super gross and ungrateful. 

Michelle posted some pics of Millie at a cardiologist appointment and said she passed her tests "with 100%." I guess I'm confused, because if she passed her tests with 100%, wouldn't she not be in need of surgery? And how is that even possible with the "large VSD and large ASD" issues she has? I'm just really confused.

[SisNancy]

21 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Michelle posted some pics of Millie at a cardiologist appointment and said she passed her tests "with 100%." I guess I'm confused, because if she passed her tests with 100%, wouldn't she not be in need of surgery? And how is that even possible with the "large VSD and large ASD" issues she has? I'm just really confused.

So passing isn’t she doesn’t need surgery.  Passing means her oxygen levels are still good.  Her heart function is still stable.   Her pulmonary pressures are still stable.   Baby is still gaining weight even if it is slow.  The shunting of blood hasn’t reversed its flow,  other signs of heart failure.   You can pass heart function tests and still have the anatomy issue of the holes present.   Does that help? 

What happens eventually is heart function declines and holes must be repaired to prevent permanent damage.  Kids are fascinating and can recover from the changes that occur from all this blood flowing wrong.   But it’s much easier and safer to let the baby grow and get  stronger before performing the surgery so they wait until it’s necessary.   

[ViolaSebastian]

36 minutes ago, SisNancy said:

So passing isn’t she doesn’t need surgery.  Passing means her oxygen levels are still good.  Her heart function is still stable.   Her pulmonary pressures are still stable.   Baby is still gaining weight even if it is slow.  The shunting of blood hasn’t reversed its flow,  other signs of heart failure.   You can pass heart function tests and still have the anatomy issue of the holes present.   Does that help? 

What happens eventually is heart function declines and holes must be repaired to prevent permanent damage.  Kids are fascinating and can recover from the changes that occur from all this blood flowing wrong.   But it’s much easier and safer to let the baby grow and get  stronger before performing the surgery so they wait until it’s necessary.   

I think it was the "100%" that confused me. Thank you for clarifying it for me--that makes perfect sense. 

[NotQuiteMotY]

On 3/29/2019 at 9:22 PM, Hashtag Blessed said:

@Ozlsn Yeah, I've never heard of Gatorade either. She was happy to try out any suggestions at all, which is fine I guess. Idk why Gatorade would be more effective than regular water, but what do I know?

The reluctance about the mac and cheese really grossed me out. I'm so thankful for food made by someone else right now. She's so ungrateful for the efforts of her children to feed themselves and her neglectful ass! 

I've actually heard of Gatorade to help increase supply. I'm not sure why: something about "fluid and electrolytes *mumble mumble*." (I actually did try it and didn't notice any difference for me.)

[Hane]

I tried using brewer’s yeast powder to stimulate my milk supply but it made the baby gassy so I stopped. [/tmi]

[Hashtag Blessed]

Spoiler

 

 

I wanted to see a video of her clutter because it is such a big part of her issues. She's done a couple of videos with titles relating to decluttering and touring her home, but this looked like the earliest one after Dr. Phil. 

She starts outside the front door and she's still got some Christmas decorations up. This video is from January 7th. She says she's left the cutest stuff out because she wants to make sure she has space for them. I think she means space in storage? But that makes no sense. You should store your favorites first. If you don't have space to store what's left over, then you know you need to get rid of it!

The downstairs area has already been decluttered and organized. She says the TV room finally had space for everyone to sit at Christmas time. How bad was it before, I wonder? I only remember brief shots of the home from Dr. Phil. 

She has a globe on top of the piano, as well as more Christmas decor. She says there were multiple globes that she's "dispersed" through the house. Why does anyone need multiple globes? She's talking about these areas of the room and what she wants to "do" with them. I don't really know why but it rubs me the wrong way. Maybe because it seems like she has no consideration for the functionality of her space, and is entirely focused on displaying her tchotchkes. Meanwhile, the children allegedly sleep on bare mattresses. 

There are a couple of taxidermied hunting trophies on the walls. Looks like two deer and some kind of exotic antelope. Rod works three jobs but they can afford an exotic hunting trip? Interesting. 

The kitchen has yet more tchotchkes. There is a large ceramic rooster figurine in one corner and another on the bookcase that she shows off. The bookcase itself is almost a tchotchke because there's only a small handful of cookbooks on it, the rest of the space is used to display some decorative lanterns and vintage casserole dishes. Maybe it's just because I'm an apartment dweller, but this seems like such a massive waste of space to me. 

There's a chalkboard sign on the wall that reads "Be Kind." That sentiment feels so hollow in this home it's almost laughable. 

She says the "clutter helpers" were there for two hours that day. They did an hour in the garage and an hour in the master bedroom. She says she really appreciated that. That's good! At least it sounds like she wasn't as combative with them as I thought she might be. 

She shows the garage, which is still FULL of stuff. But she says that before they came you couldn't even walk into the garage because there were "buckets, mattresses, whatever." Who the hell keeps unused mattresses around?

There are two fridges in their garage and what looks like an old stove. Chairs, stools, highchairs, and piles of boxes and bins. It's so much. 

She shows off another chalkboard sign that reads "Laundry" in the laundry room. 

Upstairs there is immediately a laundry pile on the floor as well as two suitcases and a large plastic bag of what she calls leaves. I assume these are plastic decorative leaves? But what on earth are they for?? Why do you need to keep those, Michelle?

There are still piles of stuff upstairs but it looks like it has already been tidied up a lot. 

The playroom has bins upon bins of legos, clothes, shoes, and junk. A couple of kids wave to the camera. Daily's room has the baby's stuff in it for some reason. As well as a small pink tinsel Christmas tree that Michelle says she'll probably leave up all year. 

She moves on to the master bedroom. It still has so much junk in it. This was the room that the clutter experts spent an hour in. They sorted some piles of stuff on the floor. She says they made it more manageable for her. To me, it still looks like a massive pile of crap but my tolerance for clutter is pretty low. I don't understand how it even gets to this level. I know she has 13 children, but it seems like she just has a hard time throwing things out or getting rid of them in a timely manner. 

She shows her "craft section" to a commenter who mentions it. It's literally a corner with a pile of fabric on the floor, and a "sewing table" with an old computer tower on top. She says finding solutions for these "problem areas" is so hard. 

Three small kids come into the room to say hi to the camera. She says hi to them and then continues talking about doing the "home blessing hour." Is this a Mormon thing? What she's describing just sounds like normal daily cleaning. Things like taking the trash out and moping. And she talks about the housekeepers that come once a week to do home blessing hour. It sounds like they are definitely just people from the church helping them out. 

Osias came to ask her something and she told him to wait because she's "doing a live." Priorities! Thankfully, with that, she signs off. 

At least it seems like she's willing to let these clutter experts help. 

[Seahorse Wrangler]

18 hours ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

  Hide contents

 

 

 

Three small kids come into the room to say hi to the camera. She says hi to them and then continues talking about doing the "home blessing hour." Is this a Mormon thing? What she's describing just sounds like normal daily cleaning. Things like taking the trash out and moping. And she talks about the housekeepers that come once a week to do home blessing hour. It sounds like they are definitely just people from the church helping them out. 

Home blessing hour is a Flylady thing.

[snickerz]

Just a note regarding Becky not knowing who her bio father is; take an AncestryDNA test!!! My husband and a friend of his both found biological parents this way.

[JermajestyDuggar]

10 hours ago, snickerz said:

Just a note regarding Becky not knowing who her bio father is; take an AncestryDNA test!!! My husband and a friend of his both found biological parents this way.

She probably could do it that way. She knows where he lived when she was conceived and she must have a general idea of his age. 

[ViolaSebastian]

I'm doing my nails, so we're all about to hear how Michelle and Rod picked their children's names! Buckle up and hold onto your butts!

She did unique names because Michelle went to school there were many girls with the name Michelle as well. There's also a lot of Michelle Taylors. So she wouldn't want to her kids to go through the horror of having a common name.

Iron Rod was Rod's nickname in high school because he was so buff. Also it has a religious connotation--hold onto the Iron Rod (ewww...), which is the word of God. He didn't get a middle name, which was a mistake, because they put his first name as Iron and his middle name as Rod, instead of it being his first name together. If she had it to do over again, he'd be Iron Rod Quincy--which is certainly a preferable fate to having a common name.

Michelle is bummed that Millie Rose turned out to be a common name. Also, she talks a lot about "debunking" the idea that you can't have a baby with Down Syndrome unless you're of advanced maternal age. Exactly no one is making that claim. It's just highly correlated. Yes, you can have a baby with Down Syndrome at 18--but your chances are much higher at 47. This has been researched out the wazoo and it pisses me off that she's denying that connection.

Oh geez. She just said she's going to make a birthday video for each of the kids where she explains how they got their names. This is straight up false advertising!! I feel duped!!

They're adding MCT oil to Millie's milk/formula. This sounds really sketchy and I'm sort of horrified. She also talks about not realizing the twins were doing "really bad" until she looked at photos of them "and they looked like drowned rats." So she gave them other women's breast milk, coconut milk, goat milk, and "all kinds of things."

Well. I'm sorry. I got duped. But here it is. 

[Gobsmacked]

What is MCT oil?

[Dreadcrumbs]

33 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

What is MCT oil?

MCT = Medium chain triglyceride

it's used for keto and malabsorption

https://www.drugs.com/cdi/mct-oil.html

there are other reasons people take it but those are questionable

[JermajestyDuggar]

Does she not realize that formula has been researched and perfected for decades?! Use your BM and formula! You don’t need to add things! You can switch formulas if you want but it has everything a baby needs! I hate how she thinks she knows better than decades of research. 

Also about age and DS... Statistically, there are more children born to mothers who are not advanced maternal age because that’s when most women have children. So Michelle, no one is saying that. Because many of us probably know someone who had a baby with DS who was not advanced maternal age. I know I do. 

[Gobsmacked]

#1 had digestion problems from day one. He was prescribed premature baby formula and survived on that for 3 years. He has Situs Inversus. His internal organs are reversed. Due to pathetic paediatrician at his birth this was missed. 

I've  mentioned this ages back somewhere. A baby with digestion problems should never be fed something a 'normal' baby would never be fed. What the fuck Michelle. Ask for help. There are solutions . 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’m always amused by people who want extremely rare names for their children. I have an uncommon last name and I would actually prefer a more common one for the sake of anonymity. We live in a world where you can easily google anymore. And if you have an extremely uncommon name like Iron Rod, googling you will likely be pretty easy. I have a friend named John Baker. Do you know how extremely common that name is in the US? If you googled him, you may have to really search to find the correct John Baker. Even if you know the city he lives in. If your name is Shamalama DingDong McGee, people will be able to find you pretty easily. Of course unless you rent a shack in the woods, stay off social media, only use cash, and basically live like the unibomber. 

[MayMay1123]

49 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I’m always amused by people who want extremely rare names for their children. I have an uncommon last name and I would actually prefer a more common one for the sake of anonymity. We live in a world where you can easily google anymore. And if you have an extremely uncommon name like Iron Rod, googling you will likely be pretty easy. I have a friend named John Baker. Do you know how extremely common that name is in the US? If you googled him, you may have to really search to find the correct John Baker. Even if you know the city he lives in. If your name is Shamalama DingDong McGee, people will be able to find you pretty easily. Of course unless you rent a shack in the woods, stay off social media, only use cash, and basically live like the unibomber. 

Im the only one of my name, as far as I know, unless there's another one completely offline. My daughter was the only one of her name before she got married, but not any more. My sons and husband have others with their names, and all people with my married name are related. My maiden last name was fairly common, and my grandparents names were very common. Makes genealogy research difficult when you're looking for just the right John Taylor 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 minutes ago, MayMay1123 said:

Im the only one of my name, as far as I know, unless there's another one completely offline. My daughter was the only one of her name before she got married, but not any more. My sons and husband have others with their names, and all people with my married name are related. My maiden last name was fairly common, and my grandparents names were very common. Makes genealogy research difficult when you're looking for just the right John Taylor 

My son and my husband are likely the only two people in the world with their name (my son is named after my husband). They will be forever mixed up!