Josiah & Lauren 18: Still Only A Single Arrow in the Quiver

[nelliebelle1197]

A couple so boring the last 10 pages of their topic was about baby gear....

 

[Angelface]

I rather like the fact that Josiah and Lauren are quite private. I am also pleasantly surprised that, at the moment, they only have one child. Bella is almost 18 months old and they have not, as yet, announced another pregnancy. Whether this is a choice or just a fluke I am pleased that they are getting to have time with Bella and to enjoy her. 

[Snarkasarus Rex]

I think these two are paying attention to what Jill and Derick are doing, sans the self-promotion on social media. There are hints that they’re close to Jill, and Josiah was never one of Boob’s favorites anyway. I bet they’re happier with the quieter life they’ve been living. 
 

Also, the Swansons seem more private in general…I mean, they had a whole-ass baby and no one knew until he(?) showed up in a few Duggar pictures. 

[Angelface]

I wonder whether Josiah aspires to further study, perhaps a finance/ accountancy degree. Speculation: wouldn’t it be great if Derick helped Josiah to complete the necessary application forms so that he could go to college. Josiah has always seemed bright and not a good “fit” in the Duggar family but appears to be very happy with his in-laws. 

[SeekingAdventure]

Honestly, good for them for staying quiet and only having one kid so far.

Lauren had a lot of 'issues' in the beginning of her marriage, with having a miscarriage, the fact that she clearly grieved for the baby (I am not shaming her for her grief, but she got a loooot of backlash for that too) and then a pregnancy and a difficult birth. Not to mention the people who speculated about her and Josiah's relationship, too.

I really hope he can manage to get some real education and that they can manage to get out and carve their own way..

[postscript]

Lauren initially struck me as very immature and neither of them seemed remotely ready for marriage. However, they both seem to have grown up a lot in the past couple of years. In addition, Josiah appears to get more attention from Lauren’s family than he ever did from his own.

Where they go with their beliefs or whether the marriage is viable in the long run are very much open questions. However, they seem to be making the right decisions - keeping their social media relatively private, focusing on each other and Bella rather than getting caught up in the Duggar baby race, taking their time with baby number 2. I do expect a pregnancy announcement from them relatively soon. 

[Chewing Gum]

But we don't know if they have or haven't been trying for a baby for the past year. They could've had another miscarriage and not gone public due to the backlash she got last time. Jessa had a miscarriage and only disclosed it during this pregnancy. I hope they're enjoying their time together as a relatively new couple with their firstborn but I wouldn't be surprised if they are to announce soon. 

[saywhat7]

How do we know that Josiah and Lauren are close to the Dilliards? Jessa seems to be the only one that posts with the Dilliards. 

[justmy2cents]

28 minutes ago, saywhat7 said:

How do we know that Josiah and Lauren are close to the Dilliards? Jessa seems to be the only one that posts with the Dilliards. 

I think it stems from Jill being present for Bella’s birth.

[Snarkasarus Rex]

Jill lent them Sam’s crib for Bella. They’ve also posted about having game night together, just the two families, rather than the whole Monday night gaggle at TTH. 

[saywhat7]

Thanks! It would be great if the Dilliards did help them claim some independence. 

[Harper06]

Accidental post

[Idlewild]

Speculation, but I wonder if the handling of the miscarriage turned them off the Duggar circus. My recollection is that they didn’t go public on the miscarriage until it was time to publicise a new series. Perhaps having to use their grief as a marketing tool and then getting pushback made them have a long hard think.

Maybe Lauren ‘not feeling well’ during many of the planned filmed activities was her way of opting out of something she really didn’t want to do.

They have by far the lowest profile of the married couples, I hope they can get on with their lives peacefully without publicising their every move and emotion.

[SassyPants]

JD and Abbie 

Joe and Kendra

Josiah and Lauren

They all seem to keep fairly low SM profiles.

[AprilQuilt]

9 hours ago, Idlewild said:

Maybe Lauren ‘not feeling well’ during many of the planned filmed activities was her way of opting out of something she really didn’t want to do.

That was when she was pregnant. She said in the THs on the episode that she'd been suffering from morning sickness but didn't want to say at the time. I think that scenario was slightly cooked up for the cameras but I know everyone always holds that retreat up as evidence of her stuck-upness and unwillingness to get involved, whereas she and Josiah both explicitly said in the episode that it was first trimester stuff that was making her feel unwell.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

On 5/2/2021 at 2:46 AM, Chewing Gum said:

But we don't know if they have or haven't been trying for a baby for the past year. They could've had another miscarriage and not gone public due to the backlash she got last time. Jessa had a miscarriage and only disclosed it during this pregnancy. I hope they're enjoying their time together as a relatively new couple with their firstborn but I wouldn't be surprised if they are to announce soon. 

I'd like to believe it shows common sense that they are at least embracing "child spacing" so the mother's health can be protected a bit more. I've never warmed up to Lauren and her stupid hat, but I wouldn't want any woman in this group to have fertility problems. Think of the pressure she'd be under. One baby is fine.

[SeekingAdventure]

I honestly do not believe it should make a difference for us if they are spacing the kids or they had issues getting pregnant again. I certainly do hope that she is healthy, both physically and mentally, and that they can stay out of the spotlight and get a real education and a chance to get away from the madness that is her in-laws.

I am by no way a fan or anything, but I think she got dealt a shitty card with all the speculation and health issues she had with the miscarriage and a difficult pregnancy, and she shouldn't have to deal with more of that. If she is trying to stay off the cameras, good for her, good for them, good for the kid(s) that they have / will have.

If they are one of the familys that are trying to distance them (and I think they would be the family I'd most likely believe that could manage to do that, since they have her family and Josiah doesn't seem to be too much into the bull****), more power to them..

 

I dunno why, but with all the news coming out now, I'd like to believe in a silver lining, and I would love for them to be the little sliver of hope. I'm not saying that they will come out and say: F*** Josh, F*** the Duggars etc.., but if they manage to stay low maintanence, and build up outside contacts etc, get some education, keep their family small, that would be great

[artdecades]

22 hours ago, SassyPants said:

JD and Abbie 

Joe and Kendra

Josiah and Lauren

They all seem to keep fairly low SM profiles.

Public SM profiles. We don’t know about private accounts or close friends lists. They may be super active but private, which is perfectly fine. 

[Free Felicity]

Has Lauren said if she has celiac disease by any chance? I understand she eats gluten free. Celiac disease puts mothers at higher risk for miscarriage. I have celiac disease so I have had to think about all the implications celiac has for a pregnancy and a child's health. 

[neurogirl]

@Free Felicity I think in the episode she cooked for Josiah, she said she was not allergic but was sensitive to it and possibly even has a doctor's recommendation not to eat gluten. No snark from me there - I know celiac is like 1000000% worse, but I also try to avoid gluten because of - ahem - digestive issues. Might not impact her fertility though.

[eljayem]

Yeah there's more than celiac, there's also IBD/IBS etc and I doubt many people want to talk about it on a tv show - especially that tv show.

This is pure speculation from me but I think Lauren is the female version of Ben. She married into the Duggars a little naive but is quite also diligent and conscientious and over time realised what a circus that family is - she was probably expecting the show to be a type of ministry showcasing Christian values and instead saw how fake it is and despite there being 19 kids also lonely. Unlike Ben she can't concentrate on studies/career and I doubt she has the support or backing to do anything outside of wife/motherhood beyond some family IG photo's or youtube vids. FWIW I think Lauren was expected to be like Kendra, a baby every year, and happy to. I think they have been surprised because she's quite genuine in her beliefs but has a brain and is outspoken. I also get the feeling that Josiah with his position in the family has always strived to be considered one of the older responsible ones because they get attention and get to do stuff and Lauren has discovered she hates the attention of that show and values her privacy.

 

[libgirl2]

16 hours ago, eljayem said:

Yeah there's more than celiac, there's also IBD/IBS etc and I doubt many people want to talk about it on a tv show - especially that tv show.

This is pure speculation from me but I think Lauren is the female version of Ben. She married into the Duggars a little naive but is quite also diligent and conscientious and over time realised what a circus that family is - she was probably expecting the show to be a type of ministry showcasing Christian values and instead saw how fake it is and despite there being 19 kids also lonely. Unlike Ben she can't concentrate on studies/career and I doubt she has the support or backing to do anything outside of wife/motherhood beyond some family IG photo's or youtube vids. FWIW I think Lauren was expected to be like Kendra, a baby every year, and happy to. I think they have been surprised because she's quite genuine in her beliefs but has a brain and is outspoken. I also get the feeling that Josiah with his position in the family has always strived to be considered one of the older responsible ones because they get attention and get to do stuff and Lauren has discovered she hates the attention of that show and values her privacy.

 

If it is working for them and they are happy, than good. I can see he adores his daughter. 

[CaptainFunderpants]

On 5/6/2021 at 10:45 PM, eljayem said:

Yeah there's more than celiac, there's also IBD/IBS etc and I doubt many people want to talk about it on a tv show - especially that tv show.

Yeah, I feel like 'gluten-free' in many ways has become kind of a catch-all term because people understand it. I've intermittently done the FODMAP diet, but most people don't know what that is and so 'gluten-free' covers most of what's off limits while being easy to explain.

Tangent for my IBS peeps:

For the last eight months instead of FODMAP'ing, I've simply gone yeast-free, and I don't think I'll ever go back. While at first it was hard (yeast is in 12 million foods you wouldn't expect it to be, looking at you beef bouillon) at this point I have 99% of off-limits foods memorized and my quality of life has skyrocketed. My body feels so much better, my mood is so much better, and my colon is healthier than it's ever been. Literally within two weeks I was wholly convinced and within a month I was like "How did I not do this sooner?" I feel like a new person.

[eljayem]

16 hours ago, CaptainFunderpants said:

Tangent for my IBS peeps:

For the last eight months instead of FODMAP'ing, I've simply gone yeast-free, and I don't think I'll ever go back. While at first it was hard (yeast is in 12 million foods you wouldn't expect it to be, looking at you beef bouillon) at this point I have 99% of off-limits foods memorized and my quality of life has skyrocketed. My body feels so much better, my mood is so much better, and my colon is healthier than it's ever been. Literally within two weeks I was wholly convinced and within a month I was like "How did I not do this sooner?" I feel like a new person.

That is interesting we are currently in low-Fodmap land for my partner. He started having digestive issues last year mid-lockdown. So far we have done the celiac test, had a colonoscopy, done low-fodmap with reintroduction guided by a dietician, had symptoms come back, and are now waiting to be seen by a specialist again. This time they want to stick a camera down his throat to check the upper digestive system. Our diets for the past year have been variations of potatoes and meat and really boring. The worst thing has been realising how many foods have some form of onion in them low fodmap has actually been really difficult to do long term.

[CaptainFunderpants]

4 hours ago, eljayem said:

That is interesting we are currently in low-Fodmap land for my partner. He started having digestive issues last year mid-lockdown. So far we have done the celiac test, had a colonoscopy, done low-fodmap with reintroduction guided by a dietician, had symptoms come back, and are now waiting to be seen by a specialist again. This time they want to stick a camera down his throat to check the upper digestive system. Our diets for the past year have been variations of potatoes and meat and really boring. The worst thing has been realising how many foods have some form of onion in them low fodmap has actually been really difficult to do long term.

Try skipping all of that but going completely yeast-free, I swear within a week their gut issues will be noticeably reduced.

If you can get them to do it, also swallow a table spoon or two of ACV every night for three nights; it tastes horrible but it'll help jumpstart the process of getting their gut biome back in check.

This is the one diet where I felt so good so quickly that staying on it hasn't even been a challenge; it's just a matter of reading every label/ingredients list with a fine tooth comb, which you've already been doing anyway because of avoiding onion.