Joe & Kendra 15: Mother/Daughter Pregnancies are So Not Icky

[Nothing if not critical]

2 minutes ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

A friend of mine is a pretty devout catholic, and had trouble conceiving and she could only go as far as IUI (inter uterine insemination), she was able to conceive 3 times via this method.  

I think they've loosened up on the subject in recent years, but it absolutely has to be your husband's sperm you use. They used to have a few more convoluted rules back in the day, though. I remember reading once that the sperm had to be obtained via intercourse with a condom, because obviously you can't have the man spilling his seed just anywhere. And the cherry on top was that the condom had to be pierced so that natural conception would still be a theoretical possibility...

I do think it's quite amusing to see a bunch of celibate men get up to such mental contortions when trying to regulate other people's sex lives....

[OHFL2009]

39 minutes ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

A friend of mine is a pretty devout catholic, and had trouble conceiving and she could only go as far as IUI (inter uterine insemination), she was able to conceive 3 times via this method.  

I do wonder if Michael & Brandon have used some more basic fertility treatments, like IUI or medications to help increase chances of fertility? I wonder what their level of comfort with doctors messing around "down there"  would Brandon be able to ejaculate into a jar for medical testing, is it just assumed it is Michael who has the fertility problem or have they mentioned it? I can see fundies just blaming the women when it is possible the man has low (or no) sperm counts. 

I'm fairly certain I remember them saying Brandon had been tested and there were no issues on his side. Even if they are ok with medical intervention, they could be saving up to afford it, especially with paying for nursing school. Even with what I feel is fairly good insurance, my insurance doesn't cover anything related to infertility. For me, it would cost about $4,000 just for the testing and initial consultations before any treatment started, then over $1,000 per round of IUI, and nearly $10,000 per round of IVF. All before the normal costs of pregnancy/delivery/raising a child.

If Dr. Vick can do the testing and/or any of the procedures, they might work out a deal since it seems the sisters all use him and give him a fair bit of promotion on the show. But if they have to pay full price out of pocket, I could see them saving up for a while to do so. 

[Johannah]

I think she’s done some basic testing with Dr. Vick, but he’s not a reproductive endocrinologist, so there’s a limit on what he can do. I would guess they’re opposed to any intervention. I doubt she’s done clomid or IUI, and certainly not IVF. At this point, it’s extremely unlikely for them to conceive on their own. I’m just so curious if they will choose to remain childless or if and when they will pursue adoption. And I’m especially curious about how they view embryo adoption. 

[theotherelise]

We have detailed what we know about Michael and Brandon's infertility and treatment history on their thread. I've written a summary about it here:

It's highly unlikely that Michael and Brandon would pursue these types of Assisted Reproductive Technology. I explain why here:
 

Additional information about snowflake "adoption"* can be found here:
 

*embryos are legally property and not people, so they are not legally adopted, they are purchased YMMV

[xenobia]

17 hours ago, CaricatureQualities said:

Has anyone come across this treasure yet? 

 

 

I watched the last couple of minutes and the credits after the final scene. More or less interesting things: 

Jeremiah is conducting the choir, and he actually looks like he's quite good at what he's doing. (I sing in a choir myself). Jed is in the audience/choir. I have no idea if the twins usually go to pastor Caldwells church, but there they are. James and Jackson are also listed as members of the choir, but they are not among the crowd in the church for the filming. James is listed as a member of the film crew. 

In the credits, you can see that Lauren Caldwell and Titus Hall are among those credited with solo parts (around 27:25 into the clip). But they are not in the audience/choir for the film. My guess is that they first recorded the song, and Titus and Lauren were engaged at that time. Something happens, and they break up before the filming of the last scene in the church. But it would look bad to exclude him in the credits, so there he is. 

 

 

 

[LorEl]

18 hours ago, CaricatureQualities said:

Has anyone come across this treasure yet? 

 

Totally off topic, but why are the men walking in such funny way? It‘s like as if all of them have a hollow back. 

[AussieKrissy]

6 hours ago, OHFL2009 said:

I'm fairly certain I remember them saying Brandon had been tested and there were no issues on his side. Even if they are ok with medical intervention, they could be saving up to afford it, especially with paying for nursing school. Even with what I feel is fairly good insurance, my insurance doesn't cover anything related to infertility. For me, it would cost about $4,000 just for the testing and initial consultations before any treatment started, then over $1,000 per round of IUI, and nearly $10,000 per round of IVF. All before the normal costs of pregnancy/delivery/raising a child.

If Dr. Vick can do the testing and/or any of the procedures, they might work out a deal since it seems the sisters all use him and give him a fair bit of promotion on the show. But if they have to pay full price out of pocket, I could see them saving up for a while to do so. 

So glad ours is covered by Medicare. I remember my biggest out of pocket payment was about 8k and medicare rebated me back 5k there was other bits and bobs but my guess for all testing one IUI, egg retrieval, one fresh round and one frosty round and meds was about 4-5k. I read online forums about how much IVF meds cost in the states and nearly fell over. I dont remember any meds really over about 20 bucks. Funnily enough it was better "value" for me to do a full IVF round than an IUI round as i got a better rebate. I did need to have to private health insurance to cover the hospital for the egg retrieval and it was about 400 bucks for the anesthesiologist. So My guess is that is Australia is similar pricing we just have some of ours covered by the government. I like that ours is also not means tested, every person gets the same rebate. 

[kmachete14]

Wait I’m behind! Titus & Lauren no longer a thing? Why would fundies break an engagement? By that point things had to be pretty set in stone, no? 

[indianabones]

5 minutes ago, kmachete14 said:

Wait I’m behind! Titus & Lauren no longer a thing? Why would fundies break an engagement? By that point things had to be pretty set in stone, no? 

Tell that to Elizabeth Munck...

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 minutes ago, indianabones said:

Tell that to Elizabeth Munck...

And the Reiths. Broken engagements do happen in fundieland.

[xenobia]

50 minutes ago, kmachete14 said:

Wait I’m behind! Titus & Lauren no longer a thing? Why would fundies break an engagement? By that point things had to be pretty set in stone, no? 

There has not been any official confirmation, but both sets of parents and siblings have removed all traces of the engagement from their social media accounts. Titus FB-page is gone. Lauren is not wearing her ring (we saw that in a film clip from the TTH). So I'd say that they are definitely no longer a thing. 

[OrchidBlossom]

On 12/15/2020 at 9:08 PM, CaricatureQualities said:

Has anyone come across this treasure yet? 

 

Why would you make me watch this with my good face eyes?

[imokit]

Is there some sort of special Jesus era film set they decamped to?  Because that's a proper set with real goats and donkeys, and I'm confused why people would go to that level of trouble and cost, but then use their own Church people instead of actors.

[Bad Wolf]

well, there's 28 minutes I wasted. I've watched a few strange things in this pandemic. Noticed that the wife made the coffee, but I didn't hear any thanks from the men. That was strange.

[Dandruff]

6 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

well, there's 28 minutes I wasted. I've watched a few strange things in this pandemic. Noticed that the wife made the coffee, but I didn't hear any thanks from the men. That was strange.

Why was more time spent watching the guy drive home in the beginning than explaining his salvation (presumably, since we couldn't hear him say anything) to his wife and kid near the end?

Why was the kid on the couch playing a video game when the guy and his wife went to talk to him?  Wasn't he supposed to be in his room, in trouble?  Was he punished?  Did the dad ever give him his money back after the "neighbor" wouldn't take it?

If the point of the thing was to explain salvation in terms of Jesus' death then why did they only explain his birth?

Was this filmed within the last 9 months or so?  If so, it was charming of them to portray the salvation of the unmasked parishioners while they potentially spread COVID/death to each other and the community.

 

[indianabones]

4 hours ago, Dandruff said:

Was this filmed within the last 9 months or so?  If so, it was charming of them to portray the salvation of the unmasked parishioners while they potentially spread COVID/death to each other and the community.

Looks like it was filmed this past summer/fall, based on Addie's age in it.

Sigh, if only the Duggars gave a fuck about COVID...

[Iamtheway]

On 12/16/2020 at 11:08 PM, AussieKrissy said:

So glad ours is covered by Medicare. I remember my biggest out of pocket payment was about 8k and medicare rebated me back 5k there was other bits and bobs but my guess for all testing one IUI, egg retrieval, one fresh round and one frosty round and meds was about 4-5k. I read online forums about how much IVF meds cost in the states and nearly fell over. I dont remember any meds really over about 20 bucks. Funnily enough it was better "value" for me to do a full IVF round than an IUI round as i got a better rebate. I did need to have to private health insurance to cover the hospital for the egg retrieval and it was about 400 bucks for the anesthesiologist. So My guess is that is Australia is similar pricing we just have some of ours covered by the government. I like that ours is also not means tested, every person gets the same rebate. 

In Sweden you get three tries for free if you’re childless. A try includes all the eggs you get out. So we retrieved eggs three times and did three fresh and two frozen insertions. We had four frozen embryoes left when we randomly concieved on our own. Our biggest cost during the five years we were trying was gas for the car since we did IVF at a hospital that was 1,5 hours away. 

Once your three tries are over, or if you already have a kid, you have to pay. I think it’s about 2.200 US dollars for a full cycle of IVF. But it’s been a while since I knew everything about this. Miniway turns 7 in February. 

[AussieKrissy]

2 hours ago, Iamtheway said:

In Sweden you get three tries for free if you’re childless. A try includes all the eggs you get out. So we retrieved eggs three times and did three fresh and two frozen insertions. We had four frozen embryoes left when we randomly concieved on our own. Our biggest cost during the five years we were trying was gas for the car since we did IVF at a hospital that was 1,5 hours away. 

Once your three tries are over, or if you already have a kid, you have to pay. I think it’s about 2.200 US dollars for a full cycle of IVF. But it’s been a while since I knew everything about this. Miniway turns 7 in February. 

Well that’s pretty dam amazing ? and here I was thinking I was lucky. Well I am, but I never begrudge others when they get it a bit easier. In the end I all hope we get the ending we want you have your Miniway and I have my MinnieAussie. Pretty dam lucky. At the risked of sounding fundie #blessed lol 

[CaricatureQualities]

On 12/18/2020 at 5:36 PM, imokit said:

Is there some sort of special Jesus era film set they decamped to?  Because that's a proper set with real goats and donkeys, and I'm confused why people would go to that level of trouble and cost, but then use their own Church people instead of actors.

They went to the set of  a Great Passion play in Eureka Springs to film the biblical parts. The Duggars were a part of the play  once on an episode of 19KAC. So they got those sets for free.

What really cost money is when the son backs the truck into "Pastor Cladwell's" car and smashes the side mirror. I mean I know what with all the used car businesses and mechanics they got a car and one of the boys can fix it but they still smashed the thing for real. The new mirror is what probably cost the most money of the whole thing. 

[Iamtheway]

11 hours ago, AussieKrissy said:

Well that’s pretty dam amazing ? and here I was thinking I was lucky. Well I am, but I never begrudge others when they get it a bit easier. In the end I all hope we get the ending we want you have your Miniway and I have my MinnieAussie. Pretty dam lucky. At the risked of sounding fundie #blessed lol 

#blessed indeed! 

Actually the biggest cost was when I had to take a mental break from everything after a year with four failed implantations and we took six months leave from work and went to Australia, hung out with MrWays family, bought a car and drove from Perth to Sydney, flew to New Zealand to renew my visa and visit my friends and then drove back again. 

Excellent trip! Highly recommend!

[Johannah]

In the mother daughter pregnancy shoot on the Caldwells’ instagram, I think Christina looks a little like Christie Brinkley. Still can’t believe they’re simultaneously pregnant. Again. 

[Daisy0322]

Alright so admittedly Kendra is my pet fundie- she’s just so damn sunshine-y and it seems to be natural. But she’s having another girl and honestly I just think K & J are going to be the next Jim bob and Michelle. They are having older sibling girls already that’ll be able to sister mom and she’s having babies at an insane rate.  This all seems like they are the poster children of the fundie world. Their personalities seem to naturally fit, the got married ASAP, had a boy first to be a “leader” now they are having their sister moms. All while living on the compound probably biding time until they can trade houses with Michelle and JB

[SassyPants]

1 hour ago, Daisy0322 said:

Alright so admittedly Kendra is my pet fundie- she’s just so damn sunshine-y and it seems to be natural. But she’s having another girl and honestly I just think K & J are going to be the next Jim bob and Michelle. They are having older sibling girls already that’ll be able to sister mom and she’s having babies at an insane rate.  This all seems like they are the poster children of the fundie world. Their personalities seem to naturally fit, the got married ASAP, had a boy first to be a “leader” now they are having their sister moms. All while living on the compound probably biding time until they can trade houses with Michelle and JB

Agreed. Now compare their attitudes to Alyssa Webster’s ...she posted how she took all her Christmas stuff down on Christmas. She has 3 little kids,  is PG, and putting all the Christmas decorations away was her priority ON Christmas. I’m thinking she is a real peach to those kids most of the time (heavy on the sarcasm.) Some people are better suited for parenting large numbers of kids vs other people.

Edited December 26, 2020 by SassyPants

[Daisy0322]

6 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Agreed. Now compare their attitudes to Alyssa Webster’s ...she posted how she took all her Christmas stuff down on Christmas. She has 3 little kids,  is PG, and putting all the Christmas decorations away was her priority ON Christmas. I’m thinking she is a real peach to those kids most of the time (heavy on the sarcasm.) Some people are better suited for parenting large numbers of kids vs other people.

Damn lol can’t even enjoy what should be the most important day of their year. I think K & J enjoy their kids and are “well intended” doing what they were raised to do. But I think it’ll go down hill real fast for them 

[BadMurphy]

On 12/26/2020 at 2:15 PM, Daisy0322 said:

Alright so admittedly Kendra is my pet fundie- she’s just so damn sunshine-y and it seems to be natural. But she’s having another girl and honestly I just think K & J are going to be the next Jim bob and Michelle. They are having older sibling girls already that’ll be able to sister mom and she’s having babies at an insane rate.  This all seems like they are the poster children of the fundie world. Their personalities seem to naturally fit, the got married ASAP, had a boy first to be a “leader” now they are having their sister moms. All while living on the compound probably biding time until they can trade houses with Michelle and JB

She’s definitely the poster child and was super bubbly and happy when she got married but since she got pregnant the second time she just seems permanently exhausted already and it dims her shine unfortunately.