Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Recap: Duggars in Beijing, China

On tonight's episode of 19 Kids and Counting "Duggars Do Asia"...

  • Jim Bob organizes his family's suitcases to prepare for the three-and-a-half hour flight from Kyoto, Japan, to Beijing, China.
  • While riding the subway to Tiananmen Square, the Duggars rely on "buddy teams on steroids," as Jim Bob calls it. Frank Sun, a member of the film crew, helps the Duggars navigate China.
  • The Duggar dad tells his little ones how to act when the family is approached by fans.  "We're going to be kind of like a tourist attraction," he says.
  • "Always smile," says Michelle. "Be very gracious."
  • The subways in China are much more crowded than the subways in the United States, but they are a whole lot cheaper. Twenty-four tickets cost the Duggars less than $8.
  • "You just squish in, and they make space," says Michelle.
  • "The person that was going to squash me, I was going to squash them back," says Jackson.
  • On day two, the Duggars take a bus to the Great Wall of China. They spend the night in Gubeikou Village, a rural Chinese village. During dinner on the night of their 4th anniversary, Josh and Anna sneak away to take the pregnancy test that Anna purchased in Japan. It comes back negative, and Anna admits that she is a little bummed, but the couple does not regret their decision to trust God with the size of their family.
  • When they return to Beijing, the Duggars find out that Courtney Enlow, coordinating producer of 19 Kids and Counting, is in labor. Jana, studying to be a doula, and Jill, studying to be a midwife, are eager to help.
  • "Jill literally pushed Courtney through the halls of the hospital," says Scott, Courtney's husband and the crew's director of photography.
  • It's a girl! Scott and Courtney get a quick glimpse of Leah Adee Enlow, 5 pounds 10 ounces, but are not reunited with her until three-and-a-half days later.
  • After the baby is born, the Duggars venture out into Beijing once again. The entire family cringes when soundman Jim Goodwin eats a scorpion.
  • Towards the end of the show, the Duggars bring backpacks, shoes, and love to a Chinese orphanage. "I think love is universal, and happiness is universal," says Anna. "It's really special to be here."
  • "Our hearts just really went out to those kids," says Jinger.
  • Would the Duggars consider adopting? "We have been praying about that, and so our hearts are open," says Michelle. Stay tuned!
  • Before they leave China, the adorable Leah Adee Enlow is released from the hospital and introduced to the family.
  • "After three weeks away, we will all be very happy to be home," says Michelle. Two days after returning to Arkansas, Anna's pregnancy test comes back positive! Grand-Duggar #3 is due on June 7th.

12 comments:

  1. Very gd epsoide I was abt in tears w Anna at the orphanage very glad baby Leah was healthy despite being early and I agree w kynzie mr Jim that was gross lol

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  2. Hi Lilly and Ellie, this is off topic but i am wondering if anybody else knows why the Bates family website has disappeared? I was only looking at it the other week and now it's nowhere to be found. Thanks also for the recap. I am looking forward to watching it on you tube! :-D

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  3. This episode was great! They fit a lot into an hour. I do feel they rushed part 3 a bit. There was a lot going on. They squeezed annas preg reveal in at the last second. I am excited for next week! This season looks eventful!

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  4. It would be so amazing if the Duggars adopted. I know several big families who are adopting or have adopted from Bulgaria, so there are countries out there that allow big families to adopt.

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  5. Thanks for the recap :)

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  6. Sad to see the show is using staging.
    It doesn't matter what training Jana and Jill have here. My sister was born in China. There are insanely strict MOH regulations in place when it comes to births and even more so if foreigners give birth whilst in the PRC (People's Republic of China).
    They wouldn't be allowed to touch the infant or even be allowed in the same room.

    And how nice all for the sake of tv, the infant with a developing immune system will have to go through the stressful rigors of germ filled international travel!

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    Replies
    1. What is MOH in this instance? I know it as maid of honor - but pretty clear that isn't what you are trying to say here :)

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  7. @Anonymous

    Hi Mmolesy,

    Here's the link to the Bates' website. They changed the url a while ago, so perhaps you were trying to access the old site. http://thebatesfamily.com/

    ~Lily and Ellie

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  8. To Anon. @ 9:14am
    I'm sorry, how do you figure they staged any part of that birth!? First, the girls were not in the room for the birth and never saw the baby let alone touched her. Did you miss the part where even the parents didn't see or touch her for 3 days? as far as the baby being exposed to international travel; she came over a month early while her parents happened to be travelling internationally. Certainly not the first time that has happened to someone. What would you suggest they do? move to China until she's a toddler perhaps? It amazes me that you could watch that episode and that is all you got out of it?

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  9. It is nice to see the Duggars are open to adoption now. I do think maybe it would be better for Michelle to encourage some of her kids to adopt instead of Michelle and Jim Bob adopting. My husband and I both were born to parents in their 40's and my husband's father died when he was a teen and my dad died when I was 21. We both still feel sad that our kids do not have grandparents. I think that some of the older kids have really seen to enjoy the children they have meet that are waiting to be adopted. I just think it would be wonderful if Michelle encouraged the older children to pray about adoption. I could totally see Jill adopting. With the Duggar parents approaching 50, they should enjoy those beautiful healthy young daughters they have and have wonderful time raising them. They have 2.5 grandkids and I'm sure many more (hopefully some through adoption) to look forward to.

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  10. Does anyone know if this episode is available on youtube? thx

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  11. I'm not the orginal poster of the MOH comment, but I believe MOH is ministry of health. It is the government agency that oversees saftey and rules in the hospitals. The are usually most concerned disease control, quality of care and mortality rates. As much as it seemed odd and scary that the baby could not be seen for 3 days, it was for monitoring and prevent infection. I had a 34 week baby in a very strict US hospital and didn't see my baby for 24 hours and no family except my husband were allowed to see the baby for the whole 17 day stay(including my 5 year old and grandparents). It was flu/rsv season and the hospital did not want to take any chances. TLC showing all the Duggar kids visit 2-3 day old Josie is not typical of NICU rules.

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