Alyssa and John 8: Four Daughters, a New House, and a Pool

[Coconut Flan]

Continued from here:

Remodeling their first house without help from Gil and Kelly.

[Perrierwithlemon]

Honestly, I’m a little sad that “school of the dinning room table” didn’t somehow work its way into this thread title...

[BeccaGrim]

They are really doing a nice job on the house.  I'm wondering how many bedrooms it is. Just the 3 or is their a 4th for guests since her family rolls in and out? 

[OHFL2009]

3 hours ago, BeccaGrim said:

They are really doing a nice job on the house.  I'm wondering how many bedrooms it is. Just the 3 or is their a 4th for guests since her family rolls in and out? 

Based on the YouTube videos and Instagram stories, it looks like there are 3 bedrooms upstairs, and a 4th bedroom downstairs. I could see them wanting a guest room since her family seems to visit a lot, but if they have more kids I could see Allie and maybe Lexi moving downstairs when they're older and it wouldn't be as big of a deal to be further from John and Alyssa. 

[Melissa1977]

Warning: BEC comment. Why have Alyssa hang the curtains while they are still remodeling the house????? Those curtains will be dirty in five seconds! 

[Melissa1977]

1 hour ago, OHFL2009 said:

if they have more kids I could see Allie and maybe Lexi moving downstairs when they're older and it wouldn't be as big of a deal to be further from John and Alyssa. 

I could see Allie AND the new baby downstairs, far from Alyssa and John. They could sleep while Allie deals with nightfeedings... Oh wait, they are Ezzo followers, so no need to feed babies at nigh, but those morning diapers will be for the big sister. Cinderallie is already a reality and will be worse if #5 comes.

[Jackie3]

5 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

 Cinderallie is already a reality and will be worse if #5 comes.

They've said #5 is very unlikely.

[The butcher's wife]

1 hour ago, Jackie3 said:

They've said #5 is very unlikely.

Well, they say lots of things. I'll believe this one when there will be no #5 and her womb will be closed for good in about... 20 years or so?

[JermajestyDuggar]

I really hope that if there is a #5, there is a large gap. 

[Bazinga]

I could eventually see there being a #5 and it will be touted as a "surprise". Seriously though, everytime one of these girls has a kid it's always the same song and dance. They play coy. They say they are grateful for what they have and can't imagine another any time soon. We speculate what that means, is this the last one? Are they waiting for more? Will there be a large gap? I mean Maci was just born. I highly doubt they are going to say they want a 5th in the near future. After seeing Erin said she had wanted 10, I think we just don't know what will happen. Will I be surprised if in a few years Alyssa gets pregnant again? Absolutely not. Will I be surprised if she truly stops at 4? Nope. As another poster said, I'll believe it in 20 years or so when she is biologically unable to have more kids. 

 

[SassyPants]

Alyssa is very impatient. I can not see her happily or healthily parenting a large family...4 is enough. Moving, buying and remodeling a home is a HUGE job, even if you aren’t PP. When we remodeled our current home it took an entire year, and we weren’t doing it ourselves. Their remodel seems to moving right along. Once all the exciting stuff is in the past, Alyssa is going to be a grump. Especially if she is going to do all the cleaning. God help those kids. Does Tikka ever give her mommy breaks?

[JermajestyDuggar]

7 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Alyssa is very impatient. I can not see her happily or healthily parenting a large family...4 is enough. Moving, buying and remodeling a home is a HUGE job, even if you aren’t PP. When we remodeled our current home it took an entire year, and we weren’t doing it ourselves. Their remodel seems to moving right along. Once all the exciting stuff is in the past, Alyssa is going to be a grump. Especially if she is going to do all the cleaning. God help those kids. Does Tikka ever give her mommy breaks?

This is why I wish she would just put those kids in school. I could see Alyssa being a realtor and doing pretty well. I think she would be happier if she worked a job that kept her busy and fulfilled with money coming in. 

[Nothing if not critical]

Alyssa posted that she’s struggling with mastitis and asking for tips. I’ve been there, and at least in my case, stress was a huge factor. Just saying...

[MaryOrMartha]

10 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

This is why I wish she would just put those kids in school. I could see Alyssa being a realtor and doing pretty well. I think she would be happier if she worked a job that kept her busy and fulfilled with money coming in. 

I agree. It would be a win/win situation. Alyssa not having the children all up in her grill 24/7, they'd get a proper education, they'd make friends and have the life Alyssa deserved to have, they'd be making more money so could do more, have more money for clothes and make some friends outside of the house. She could still shill stuff on social media, too, so that's more money and if she did venture into real estate she would have a built in local clientele with the fundies they know, and the fans. I don't see any downsides to this scenario.

When I see these fundies a lot of them seem to fit the fundie lifestyle but Alyssa has not given me that opinion. If she were allowed to have a normal life I'm sure she would've been a popular cheerleader, maybe gone to a real college (for the social aspect, not the study), and probably just getting married now. I'm sure she wouldn't trade in her kids or her husband but I wonder if she thinks about how different her life could've been if she was afforded a normal upbringing.

[JermajestyDuggar]

3 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

Alyssa posted that she’s struggling with mastitis and asking for tips. I’ve been there, and at least in my case, stress was a huge factor. Just saying...

Mastitis sucked so bad. What helped me was a hot shower while massaging the problem duct. 

[Melissa1977]

4 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

Alyssa posted that she’s struggling with mastitis and asking for tips. I’ve been there, and at least in my case, stress was a huge factor. Just saying...

Maci is very little, so apart from stress or other factors, it may be simply that nursing is not well stablished yet. As Alyssa is spending many hours working in the house (without the baby), she should be pumping often. If she doesn't, it's normal that she gets mastitis or that her milk supply decreases. 

 

[Nothing if not critical]

7 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Mastitis sucked so bad. What helped me was a hot shower while massaging the problem duct. 

All that really helped me was snuggling up with my baby for two whole days, nursing practically all the time. When it was over, she'd got the hang of it and so had I, but up until then it was kind of a nightmare. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

40 minutes ago, Nothing if not critical said:

All that really helped me was snuggling up with my baby for two whole days, nursing practically all the time. When it was over, she'd got the hang of it and so had I, but up until then it was kind of a nightmare. 

Mine nursed constantly anyway. Through the night too. So I’m not really sure why I had mastitis. It was a real pain. 

[Jackie3]

20 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Alyssa is very impatient. I can not see her happily or healthily parenting a large family...4 is enough.

She also seems to like things neat and tidy. When you have four kids under six, nothing is neat and tidy (unless you put them in front of the TV all day.) It must be so frustrating to her! And bored kids (who have been home all day while mom reapplies her makeup, posts on social media and unpacks) make even more of a mess.

[G33kywife]

I got mastitis once and it was awful. I called my doctor as soon as I had the first sign of it. She called in antibiotics for me, and told me I had 12 hours to try to clear it on my own before I had to start the medicine. My body does not do well with antibiotics, so it was definitely preferable to try to avoid them! I did all sorts of crazy stuff (nursing on all fours so gravity could help clear the clog was definitely the funniest!), and thankfully was able to clear it. I think I caught it basically right at the onset though, so that probably worked in my favor. 
 

I agree that Alyssa is likely not nursing on demand, and potentially going too long between pumping sessions too. Mastitis is kind of inevitable in those conditions!

[SassyPants]

I think she has likely quit nursing-

[CanadianMamam]

On 3/18/2021 at 9:31 AM, Melissa1977 said:

Maci is very little, so apart from stress or other factors, it may be simply that nursing is not well stablished yet. As Alyssa is spending many hours working in the house (without the baby), she should be pumping often. If she doesn't, it's normal that she gets mastitis or that her milk supply decreases. 

 

I had a really horrible case of mastitis when my daughter was little. She was a preemie and I was pumping and taking it to the hospital and her latch wasn’t great. I was also stressed and exhausted.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I have zero issues with choosing to BF or formula feed from birth. I did both. And both of my children are healthy. However I hope Alyssa doesn’t feel extreme pressure one way or the other and chooses to feed her baby the way she feels is best for them both. 

[Italiangirl]

I just hope she choose to feed that poor baby and ditch the Ezzo training, but unfortunately, I'm not positive about it. She already has three older children raised that way, so she probably feels it is a good way to train her children. I hope that they don't develop later one for the lack of proper nutrition in these early years. 

[FluffySnowball]

19 minutes ago, Italiangirl said:

I just hope she choose to feed that poor baby and ditch the Ezzo training, but unfortunately, I'm not positive about it. She already has three older children raised that way, so she probably feels it is a good way to train her children. I hope that they don't develop later one for the lack of proper nutrition in these early years. 

I just don’t understand how parents can pull something like the Ezzo method off. Once such a cute week baby has arrived, they should just care about loving and nourishing it. I can’t imagine looking at a little baby and withholding food or care when it cries or feels unwell.