Can you imagine?

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2005
Can you imagine?
20
Fri, 08-03-2007 - 11:25am

Arkansas Couple Welcomes 17th Child (and they want more!):


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070803/ap_on_fe_st/17_kids


By JILL ZEMAN, Associated Press Writer


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - It's a girl — again — for the Duggars. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar welcomed their 17th child, and seventh daughter, into the world Thursday.


Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at Saint Mary's Hospital in Rogers, Ark., the Duggars said in an interview. Jennifer weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and arrived five days after Michelle's due date.


Less than 30 minutes after giving birth, the Duggars already were talking of having more.


"We'd love to have more," Michelle said, adding that the girls are outnumbered seven to 10 in the family. "We love the ruffles and lace."


Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in Tontitown in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are home-schooled.


The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.


"We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him," said Jim Bob Duggar, 42, a former state representative. "We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well."


Jennifer joins siblings Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.


The family includes two sets of twins.


Michelle Duggar said that Joshua, Janna, Jill and Jessa were at the hospital, but that the rest of the family planned to visit their new sister later Thursday.


Michelle Duggar said she started feeling contractions Wednesday night and went to the hospital at about 5 a.m. Thursday.


"It actually went fast," she said. "I guess once I started progressing, it went within 30 minutes."


Jennifer was born via a VBAC — or vaginal birth after Caesarean, Jim Bob Duggar said.


The Duggars have been featured on several programs on cable's Discovery Health Network. The next special, the Duggar Family Album, is scheduled to air next month, Jim Bob Duggar said.


Among the "fun facts" listed on Discovery Health's Web page devoted to the Duggars: A baby has been born in every month except June; the Duggars have gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers, and Michelle, 40, has been pregnant for 126 months — or 10.5 years — of her life.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2007
Sat, 08-04-2007 - 10:42pm

I'm still just astonished by this! I cannot even *fathom* that many kids. I love children and dearly want to be a Mom, but that many kids would drive to the brink of insanity! That is 17 kids to pound on the bathroom door while you try to pee in peace! I'm getting a later start on the whole baby thing but even if we had started 10 years ago my max would be 3 kids.

God bless them..........they must be happy or they would have stopped by now! :lol:

Shannon

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-05-2007
Sat, 08-04-2007 - 10:52pm

Wow 69 babies....wow!!! A small town!

hugs

roxy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2007
Sat, 08-04-2007 - 11:11pm

LOL A small town, 11 basketball teams with subs,a construction crew on a major skyscraper, 6 football teams, 7 softball teams, well, I know you get the picture.

The most born to one woman at a time was 15. I don't know if that has changed. It was to an Italian woman who took fertility drugs. None of the children survived. :(

I am a wealth of useless health information.

Hugs

Blue

BLUE DIA
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2006
Sun, 08-05-2007 - 7:13am

I'm sorry but I feel the need to chime in.


I find nothing to celebrate in this woman's ignorance that if we all had dozens of kids each, we would soon decimate the planet of most livable land and resources.


Back in the day when 1/2 the children born didnt make it to adulthood because of disease etc, it was common for large families to exist to help work the land etc.


Today?

 PPCLSIG.jpg picture by CalyD44

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2007
Sun, 08-05-2007 - 11:31am

You know, Caly, I am a believer in everything in moderaton. This does feel excessive and unnecessary. I wonder why they have so many kids. I think it is a "God called us to do this." While I agree with you, I am not going to judge. I'll leave that up to a higher power and I am sure SHE will have something to say about it.

Hugs

Blue

BLUE DIA
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-05-2007
Sun, 08-05-2007 - 12:54pm

I understand how you feel Tang. I have been trying to keep my opinion zipped up though..I can get on my soap box if i let me ego rule the moment.

I think have kids if you are truly passionate about them and really DESIRE them and are committed to them for LIFE. But 17 of them? Do you even have time to really parent them or are they raising each other (trying to imagine how much parenting each child needs)? And yes...thinking about it globally how this impacts our planet. If all her kids had 17 kids each and so on, we'd be in a pile of trouble. Thankfully not everyone is doing this....

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2005
Mon, 08-06-2007 - 8:50am

Here's a link to the Duggar Family's web site:


http://www.duggarfamily.com/


In the FAQ section they explain how the household runs. Two of the teenagers are responsible for meals. One prepares lunch and the other dinner. The older kids are "buddies" to the younger kids. They are responsible for getting the younger children dressed and fed and they are even responsible for a portion of their studies.


This family believes in using no birth control - accepting as many children as God will give them. I believe they are part of the fundamentalist

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-05-2007
Mon, 08-06-2007 - 8:57pm

Ting...i echo your sentiment exactly!

Hugs
Roxy

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2007
Mon, 08-06-2007 - 9:54pm

The big problem I have with this, beyond the impact on the enviroment is I don't like the idea of children raising other children. No child should be born into this world with a job! In this family's case the job is to help raise the other kids. I don't think that's right. I'm all for kids having responsibilities but their whole childhood should not revolve around doing the job of a parent. That robs a child of the joy in childhood.

Shannon

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2006
Tue, 08-07-2007 - 7:15am
Exactly Shannon! I agree with that as well.

 PPCLSIG.jpg picture by CalyD44

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