Upcoming Babies 20: So Many Babies, So Many Spirits to Crush

[postscript]

14 hours ago, ToriAmos said:

And with the Duggars, I think maybe Kendra and Joe, as her parents seem very serious about not preventing pregnancy. Lauren's a possibility in that regard too, though her pace may be much slower.

I would have said definitely Anna, but who knows now.

And Joy and Jessa? Not sure how full-on they both are with never preventing a pregnancy. And maybe Katey, as their wedding seemed to be super-fundie so maybe them too. But none of the others.

I’ve probably wasted more brain cells thinking about Duggar family size than the Duggar’s themselves do. I think most of the married kids went into marriage thinking they wanted large families but are slowly changing their minds now that they’ve seen how much work babies are. 

Joe and Kendra are the only married couple (not counting the two sets of newlyweds, who are too early to tell) whom I can see making it into double digits. I do think they’ll slow as their quiver grows. 

A couple of years ago, I might have tagged Joy and Austin and/or Josiah and Lauren to also hit double digits. However, Joy’s health issues seem to be making them think twice. They’ll still have a larger than normal family, but if it comes to a decision between Joy’s health and babies for Jesus, Austin will pick Joy. Similarly, Josiah and Lauren were starry-eyed about having a big family until reality hit. They’ll have several, but the babies will be spread at a reasonable pace.

I’ll be surprised if John and Abbie have more than 3. They’ll never admit to preventing, but they’ll quietly do their own thing and just say it isn’t God’s will when they have a relatively small family.

Jinger and Jeremy will go for a boy and then stop. No more than 4. I don’t see them wanting to give up their lifestyle in favor of more children. 

Jessa and Ben took better to parenthood than I expected, so they might have one of the larger families. I’m guessing 8-9, and that they’ll never adopt. 

My thinking has also changed on Jill and Derrick. Early on, my money would have been on them to have a big family. Derrick is still studying for the bar (which I’m assuming takes place in July, as it does in my state). Once that’s over, he’ll have a bit of down time. If they’re going to try for a girl, it will be soon. Like Jinger and Jeremy, they’ll go for a girl and then stop. 3-4 max. 

 

[ToriAmos]

postscript, nikedagain, smee... I agree with everything you've said. Jessa will have a big family. And I'll bet there will be pregnancy prevention of some kind for most of the others. And yes Tori is possible for a really big family - she seems to be capable and have babies easily like Kelly. 

I mean, obviously Kelly and Michelle were outliers even within their bonkers culture. Kelly was amazingly fertile and delivered easily, and Michelle was (despite the sister-momming and slapdash schooling) I think a particularly strong-minded, energetic and resourceful woman who could make a big family "work", and she was 1000% into ATI and Gothardism. Serving JB in wifely submission is her life's work and ticket to heaven.

8–12 children seems about usual for Quiverful families not preventing at all (Caldwells, Swansons, Mortons, Kellers, Wallers, Muellers, Bontragers, Helferichs, Paines, Bowers, Maxwells, Burnetts, Staddons, Holts). But yes, I think many of the second gen Bates and Duggars wont even get that far, as the whole "buy used, save the difference", grifting and church-dependancy lifestyle is not at all appealing. I mean, how would the Bates girls Instagram that?

[NachosFlandersStyle]

19 minutes ago, ToriAmos said:

I mean, obviously Kelly and Michelle were outliers even within their bonkers culture.

There's a reason they had TV shows when hundreds of other Quiverfull families didn't. I would guess that for most people "not preventing" looks like 7 or 8 kids with 2-3 years between each. And for a not-insignificant chunk of people it might be one or none. Of course we don't know yet how many of the Duggar/Bates girls inherited outrageous fertility or a propensity for twins. But I would be surprised if more than one or two of the kids reach double digits.

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, NachosFlandersStyle said:

There's a reason they had TV shows when hundreds of other Quiverfull families didn't. I would guess that for most people "not preventing" looks like 7 or 8 kids with 2-3 years between each. And for a not-insignificant chunk of people it might be one or none. Of course we don't know yet how many of the Duggar/Bates girls inherited outrageous fertility or a propensity for twins. But I would be surprised if more than one or two of the kids reach double digits.

Michelle is quite an anomaly since she not only had two sets of twins, but she also only had 2 miscarriages. Miscarriages are extremely common (1/4 to 1/3 of all pregnancies end in miscarriage) and 2 out of 19 pregnancies is very low. Many other fundie families have dealt with more than 2 miscarriages.

[SassyPants]

What health issues does Joy have?

[ToriAmos]

Other than the birth difficulties (at least one emergency CT as I recall), I remember something about her blood sugar when she was pregnant - gestational diabetes perhaps. And she's talked about the struggle to eat healthy since, so maybe it continued beyond pregnancy?

[browngrl]

8 hours ago, ToriAmos said:

gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a common issue - so common that there are protocols for management so I doubt this will end up being a factor in limiting the size of Joy's family. I'm not sure she'll make it to double digits in terms of number of children but I'll bet she'll still have a fairly large number of children (my prediction: 6).

[petrushka]

On 6/26/2021 at 3:36 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

Gray/Grey is a trendy middle name these days. I can’t understand why since it’s my least favorite color. I prefer other color names.

 

 

On 6/26/2021 at 3:12 PM, GoddessOfVictory said:

Wait, so the two middle names Tori and Bobby have chosen so far are Gray and Raine?

(I don't count Kade since his actual full name is just a hand-me-down.)

Is this an emerging theme or a subtle commentary on their dreary life?

We have a Grayson (boy) and a Graelynn (girl) among the newest members of our extended family.  It's OK I guess.

[anjulibai]

My aunt named her daughter Grayson. I dislike for many reasons. 

[fundiefan]

I love shades of grey. (As in literal shades of grey, not the book/movie - I haven't seen or read those). Grey/gray is actually my favorite color. But, I dislike the name Grayson. I can't say why - I just really do not like it. It grates in back teeth rubbing kinds of ways. I've only ever heard of boys with the name though, no girls. 

Over the weekend, my cousin & his wife went to a baptism where she was the god-mother. Just in conversation they were talking about it and said the baby's name. Oakley. I now have a new most hated name ever. The sound of that - it's just grates on me like nothing has before for such an irrelevant thing in my life. My face scrunches up just thinking about it. 

I can't come up with a reason that explains my dislike for either name, but there it is.  

[JermajestyDuggar]

3 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

I love shades of grey. (As in literal shades of grey, not the book/movie - I haven't seen or read those). Grey/gray is actually my favorite color. But, I dislike the name Grayson. I can't say why - I just really do not like it. It grates in back teeth rubbing kinds of ways. I've only ever heard of boys with the name though, no girls. 

Over the weekend, my cousin & his wife went to a baptism where she was the god-mother. Just in conversation they were talking about it and said the baby's name. Oakley. I now have a new most hated name ever. The sound of that - it's just grates on me like nothing has before for such an irrelevant thing in my life. My face scrunches up just thinking about it. 

I can't come up with a reason that explains my dislike for either name, but there it is.  

Oh man Oakley is nothing compared to some of the names I’ve heard. At least it’s spelled ok. I’ve legit seen Oakleigh. 

[EmiSue]

1 hour ago, anjulibai said:

My aunt named her daughter Grayson. I dislike for many reasons. 

I like Grayson for a boy, but NOT for a girl. Then again, I like floofy names for girls. Let them get dirty, play sports, be rocket scientists, but if I'm in charge they'll have long, lovely names?

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’ve seen Gracyn for girls. I’m surprised at the spelling of Grayson for a girl. 

[fundiefan]

14 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Oh man Oakley is nothing compared to some of the names I’ve heard. At least it’s spelled ok. I’ve legit seen Oakleigh. 

That makes my brain itch. 

[Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing]

2 hours ago, EmiSue said:

Then again, I like floofy names for girls. Let them get dirty, play sports, be rocket scientists, but if I'm in charge they'll have long, lovely names?

Floofy? Like princessy? 

I have no idea what constitutes a floofy name. Please educate me!

P.S. I love the word “floofy”

And on names that grate - Esme. I hate, HATE, HATE that name! Yuck!

Edited June 29, 2021 by Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing

[JermajestyDuggar]

34 minutes ago, Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing said:

Floofy? Like princessy? 

I have no idea what constitutes a floofy name. Please educate me!

P.S. I love the word “floofy”

And on names that grate - Esme. I hate, HATE, HATE that name! Yuck!

To me, Floofy names are usually pretty feminine and long. 
 

Cecilia, Arabella, Isabella, Penelope, Georgiana, Cordelia, Alexandra. 

[anjulibai]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I’ve seen Gracyn for girls. I’m surprised at the spelling of Grayson for a girl. 

When I first heard the name, that's what I thought it was. Didn't find out until after the baby was born how it was going to be spelled. 

[EmiSue]

12 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

To me, Floofy names are usually pretty feminine and long. 
 

Cecilia, Arabella, Isabella, Penelope, Georgiana, Cordelia, Alexandra. 

Yeah, basically?

[Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing]

22 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

To me, Floofy names are usually pretty feminine and long. 
 

Cecilia, Arabella, Isabella, Penelope, Georgiana, Cordelia, Alexandra. 

Thank you!

[Lady Dondarrion]

3 hours ago, EmiSue said:

I like Grayson for a boy, but NOT for a girl. Then again, I like floofy names for girls. Let them get dirty, play sports, be rocket scientists, but if I'm in charge they'll have long, lovely names?

For me, I've had an affinity for unisex names for girls-Charlie, Teddy, Davie, Georgie. I'd love to give these names to my daughters just to see/hear about the reactions of people when they realize the person is a female.

[Kailash]

I don’t mind Grayson for either gender, although I’d spell it differently for a girl. I don’t really like the name Oakley but I don’t hate it. The name that sets my teeth on edge is Spurgeon. I despise it. 
If I were to name a girl these days I would probably pick Eloise. It’s gorgeous and I find it rather magical that it has 3 syllables in 6 letters. I also love the name Cameron for a girl. I don’t really know why, I find it quite pretty. 

[thoughtful]

The name Grayson makes me think of this:

 

[ToriAmos]

Elisha (Wahlquist) Ehlinger just had her baby boy Scott this morning - 29 June? Per Katelynn's Instagram.

[SolomonFundy]

7 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I’ve seen Gracyn for girls. I’m surprised at the spelling of Grayson for a girl. 

My brain reads "Gracyn" and immediately processes it as "Gracken". 

[Smee]

13 hours ago, fundiefan said:

I love shades of grey. (As in literal shades of grey, not the book/movie - I haven't seen or read those). Grey/gray is actually my favorite color. But, I dislike the name Grayson. I can't say why - I just really do not like it. It grates in back teeth rubbing kinds of ways. I've only ever heard of boys with the name though, no girls. 

Over the weekend, my cousin & his wife went to a baptism where she was the god-mother. Just in conversation they were talking about it and said the baby's name. Oakley. I now have a new most hated name ever. The sound of that - it's just grates on me like nothing has before for such an irrelevant thing in my life. My face scrunches up just thinking about it. 

I can't come up with a reason that explains my dislike for either name, but there it is.  

I know someone who named her son Oak. At the time I remember thinking “it’s actually better than I expected, assuming he got his dad’s surname” (mom’s last name is Brown). Then they had a daughter and named her Sway.

I am not a fan of Grayson, although generally I don’t like first names ending in -son anyway. But I agree that Gray and all its suffixes do not make for pleasant sounding names. 

As a general rule, I don’t like names that have no history of use or defined meaning, but my daughter has a friend at school called Sofala, and that hits my ears just right. A touch of floofy feminine without being overly long, fresher than Sophie or Sofia. I presume she was named after one of the geographical locations.