Counting On "A Beautiful Miracle"
- Eleven days before their due date, Lauren and Josiah are making sure they have their hospital bags packed, as Lauren’s contractions are picking up. They head over to the Swanson home to walk on the treadmill and the stairs. The parents-to-be invite Jill to be part of the labor. They head to the hospital at 5:45pm to find that Lauren is 3cm dilated and 80% effaced.
- Lauren’s birth team consists of Josiah, Michelle, Lauren’s mom, and Jill. When she hits 6cm, Lauren’s back labor is very intense, so she gets an epidural, which wasn’t part of her plan. The epidural doesn’t work well, so the doctor gives her a second one about two hours later.
- “I definitely can sympathize with Lauren with the back labor that she is experiencing,” says Michelle. “I’ve gone through that a few times, and I know, that is really uncomfortable.”
- Her back pain is still not completely gone, so Lauren receives a drug to help her sleep. Meanwhile, the Seewalds put together a care package for the new parents.
- Back at the hospital, Lauren’s contractions slow down. The doctor gives her Pitocin but says that she will need a C-section if things don’t progress. Before long, she is able to push, and Bella arrives! “It was such a joy for my heart to see Josiah and Lauren holding little Bella in their arms,” says Michelle.
- “Going through a loss and then holding a child that you’ve been waiting for is probably the greatest thing you could ever feel,” says Lauren. On the day that Lauren is discharged from the hospital, Jim Bob and Michelle come to help her and Josiah pack up.
- At Joe and Kendra’s home, one-week-old Addison is doing very well. Garrett has been a bit jealous, but he enjoys giving the baby kisses.
- In Los Angeles, Jinger, who is 10 weeks pregnant, is baking a pregnant gingerbread cookie. The rest of the Duggar clan is making gingerbread houses at the big house for family night, so the Vuolos join via video chat and share their news. “You know the problem with this?” Jeremy says to Jinger. “We’re not going to be able to make one as pretty as you.
- During family night, the teams have one hour to build their gingerbread houses. “Building and decorating our house was a challenge,” says Jana. She turns the project over to Jim Bob. As Jana carries the finished product over to the computer to show the Vuolos, it falls over.
- Jason and James make a ship, and they use a hot glue gun and a drill.
- When the family sees Jinger and Jeremy’s pregnant Jinger bread, it takes them a minute to figure it out. Michelle is just really impressed by the detail. When she realizes what it means, she and Jim Bob are all smiles.
22 and 2 kids wow
ReplyDeleteJinger is 26. She’ll be 27 in December.
DeleteI think that 9:19 was talking about Kendra.
DeleteAnother good show. Kendra always looks like she really enjoys family night. She's always happy and bubbly and really participates wholeheartedly!
ReplyDelete@11:17-Kendra does always have a great attitude about family night! She seems like a real leader and loves to be a part of the family activities!
DeleteMy parents & I enjoyed seeing the birth of baby Bella. We also felt sorry for Lauren's labor & delivery. Josiah was great. We enjoyed family fun night and loved seeing and hearing the sweet announcement of Jinger and Jeremy's baby when the family was making Gingerbread houses. We love watching counting on we can't wait for season 12 possibly coming this year. Natasha b
ReplyDeletePoor Lauren was in labor waaaaay to long ...tht was just so hard to see esp when she said she was tired ...after 12 hours they should've gave her a csection come on 40 hours(according to tv) ..that was so unnecessary..glad momma and baby are fine ...and Kendra who was instructed not to deliver cuz the doctor wasn't there (ob just wanted the money of delivering the baby ) when the nurses said they would do it..that should've happen from the jump start..them girls didn't have to go thru labor that long
DeleteA csection is a major surgery, which you shouldn’t rush into just because you don’t think the baby has come quickly enough. If you have the energy to continue on, you want to, and the baby is not in distress, then there is no reason for one.
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more, 6:26. A 40-hour labor! I'd never heard of such a thing, personally. And not only exhausting to the mother, but what about fetal stress on the baby?
DeleteWith the possible exception of Jinger; all the Duggar females labor extremely long! I wonder why?
DeleteYou don't automatically have a c-section after 12 hours. You realize it's surgery, right?
DeleteIn this country, there has to be a medical reason for a C-section. A long labor is not a good enough reason. As long as the labor is progressing and the child is not in any danger, a C-Section is not done. It is,as others said, major surgery. And with any surgery, there is the possibility of major complications.
DeleteNot only is a C-section surgery having one can mean you will need one with future pregnancies and could limit the number of pregnancies recommended. A long productive labor, with a non stressed baby is not a reason for a section.
DeleteWell aware of csections ...I've had three of them and know why they are done the risk and scar tissue and the number of deliveries /babies being born thru csections ...I was just saying 40 hours was wayyy too long to labor ... ..maybe 12 hours ,or even 24 hours but 40? Something should've been done way before then.
DeleteI think the 40 hours cited is including early labor (before 4 cm). It's very common to have several days of early labor before active labor really starts. Early labor is useful for getting the baby to move downward and engage in an optimal position. It's not typically very painful, and when it lasts a long time you can often sleep through it.
DeleteActive labor (4+ cm) is when things really hit the fan and it takes all your concentration to focus and ride the waves. Active labor usually only lasts 8-20 hours for first-time moms, and half that for experienced moms.
Having a posterior-facing baby, like Lauren did, can also make both early and active labor longer, and usually causes extra painful back labor. It's a difficult task and I'm really proud of her.
Epidurals also slow down labor because they block feedback to the brain that would tell it to keep making labor hormones. Essentially your brain no longer thinks it's in labor. Lauren had two epidurals even though it's known they aren't usually effective for back labor. Thus the Pitocin to speed it up, and the threatened C-section since Pitocin stresses the baby.
A long labor in itself is not a good reason for a C-section if mom and baby both have good vitals. Usually the cascade is long labor -> epidural -> Pitocin -> bad vitals -> C-section.
Sometimes doctors get impatient and put a time limit on labor regardless of vitals, or put a time limit on laboring without Pitocin. That impatience is one of the main reasons our C-section rate and maternal mortality rate are so high in the US. I'm glad Lauren wasn't coerced into a C-section.
I was impressed, with how creative, James, and Jason, were, when they built a gingerbread boat, instead of a gingerbread house.
ReplyDelete6:15-Great thinking outside the box!!! They surprised me for sure!!!
DeleteNow we know that Jana wants no part of painting in the greenhouse OR building gingerbread houses. She threw in the towel with both things. Does she always give up like that when things don't go her way or don't go right?
ReplyDeleteI keep getting the feeling that Jana doesn't WANT any part of the show, but since she lives with her parents has no option but to appear on the show anyway.
Delete8:25-yup, it’s clear she has the mindset she’s done; but apparently, does not know how to get out of that house without the benefit of marriage!
DeleteWow, really? Clearly you haven’t seen very much of Jana. Have you ever heard the expression about saying something nice or nothing at all. You could learn from this.
DeleteI don't think she gave up easy....sometimes it's ok to say "I'm done".
DeleteWe've seen an impatient side to Jana this season for sure.
DeletePerhaps as an adult she would prefer activities for her age.
DeleteYep.. now we know why Jana isn’t married ... she certainly isn’t a team player when things don’t go her way!!!! We have seen this multiple times!!
DeleteI cringe when I see those birth scenes every birth of the Duggar’s seem to have complications.... I just don’t watch.. fast forward ... Jinger’s birth was nothing like the other girls... she just has class and didn’t need to show all that on tv.
She just needs her own house, greenhouse, breadhouse and all other houses imaginable. A person at 30 wants all things his/her own way. It's natural.
Deletemaybe because shes 30 so doesnt want to do those things.
DeleteI think Jana gets impatient because she is always paired with the younger girls because she isn’t married
Delete5:13 Just curious, what is a breadhouse?
DeleteWhere was Lauren??
DeleteLately, in the shows that feature Jana, she is definitely exasperated - shopping on Rodeo Dr. doing the Duggar Dash, building a gingerbread house. She is clearly over it. It should be her right to say, “ I’m done.” It isn’t, but it should be.
DeleteI was very disappointed to hear two things come out of Jeremy's mouth last night as the one gingerbread house fell apart, two things that were not very good for a pastor to say, especially after last week's episode where he said he had vowed to actively serve Christ with his life!
ReplyDeleteI can’t watch the show because of the country I live in. What did he say?
DeleteI couldn’t quite make up what he said but I think it’s either “Oh Jeez” or “Oh Jana”, neither which are bad in any way. Please stop.
DeleteWatched it on TLC Go and upped the volume. It was not Jeez or Jana... Neither word was one you'd expect a minister to say.
DeleteJeremy gasped and said, "Oh Jana." He said nothing wrong. What did you think he said, 8:39?
DeleteBetween these Duggars and Bates; I’ve never know such long, complicated labors!!! I know women here and there have tough labors/deliveries; but these families seem to have nothing but long, hard births!!! It makes me wonder why???
Delete1:39, oh Jeez is actually bad! If you haven’t figured it out, It’s taking the name of Jesus in vain. Jeez is a shorter version of Jesus obviously.
DeleteI've listened to that spot on the tape over and over, with the volume up. He clearly says what are the first two letters of one irreverent word, and all but the vowel of another bad word.
DeleteOh jeez is showing empathy for the house falling apart....even oh Jana was not a bad comment. Good heavens you are not picking.
DeleteBoth Jeremy and Jinger said “Oh Jana” and none of that was improper they felt bad for her. And Jeremy as a pastor never did or said anything wrong. Please stop trying to make something out of nothing. Grow up .. obviously you’re not around family and don’t know how to react when unexpected things happen!
DeleteI watched that episode and have no idea what you're talking about.
DeleteI could be wrong, but I thought "geez" was a shortened version of "gee whiz". No?
DeleteNo Lori, it's a shortened form of Jesus. There are lots of words and phrases like that, made up so it doesn't sound like you're saying something bad or taking a name in vain. But to some of us, there's no difference. It was surprising to hear Jeremy say what he said.
DeleteLori at 5:03, anything with gee is derived from the God word originally. People twist it around so much that the original contact is very hard to tell. But that’s what I’ve been told all my life that it comes from Gods name.
DeleteBeing a Christian seems exhausting! Constantly on alert for any possible sin. It makes me think God is walking around with a clipboard, keeping track of which behaviors go into the sin column and which go into the righteous column. Whichever column has more entries means either receiving blessing or punishment--whew!
Delete9:39 -- God doesn't need a clipboard to keep track of right and wrong because he's omniscient. As Christians, we want to do what's right, and the Holy Spirit helps us, but we're saved from all the sin we do commit because we're humans and the only perfect man was Jesus.
DeleteAnon 9:39. God isn't the problem, it's the Christians who think they need to monitor and complain about any and everything that they think is "wrong" or is a "sin". Who knows why they think God put them in charge of doing that?
Delete"Jana" doesn't begin with "ch" or "sh." Listen again.
DeleteSome people don't want to admit that this family isn't perfect. Point out their mistakes, and you see the reaction.
DeleteI agree with Lori VW ... I have always thought that "geez" was a shortened version of "gee whiz".
DeleteGee is the shortened form of God no matter what word follows it.
DeleteAnonymous 7:06 and 9:47 - thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment/question. I appreciate the information! I do not want to dishonor God with my words.
DeleteWhat did he say??
ReplyDeleteHe said two "not good" words right in a row. Kind of choked them back but you can make them out and the letters they begin with.
DeleteJeremy said Oh Jana. Nothing wrong or improper. I don't know why people are making stuff up.
DeleteYep - he did say 2 things he shouldn't have. And TLC left them in, which was just as surprising.
DeleteOk but what were they?
DeleteI liked this episode, it was fun, poor Jana's Gingerbread house lol. I like when there is all the family members :)
ReplyDeleteI would’ve LOVED to be in a big family doing Christmas things like making gingerbread houses! Seemed like soooo much fun!
ReplyDeleteIt's one thing to be a part of a big family, but these weekly staged "competitions" in front of TV cameras would become very tedious. I think that's why Jana seems so unhappy and just bails out ASAP.
DeleteYawn!! We've already seen this stuff.
ReplyDeleteThere was a mistake in the number of hours labor on Lauren's birth episode. In one scene in the hospital, @11:15pm, it said 30 hrs labor, and then the next scene @ 1:18am, it said 23 hours labor. Somebody made a boo boo
ReplyDeleteI spotted that discrepancy, too!
DeleteDoes Lauren participate in any family event or activity? Always the prima donna! Too sick, too tired, a headache, the baby can’t leave her arms. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah! Michelle seems to baby and stroke her which she doesn’t do with her own daughters. What’s the deal?
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing to learn to let yourself enjoy life even if you're not feeling great, especially if you have chronic issues. On the other hand, none of us are in her body and don't know what she is feeling. It can't be fun to be expected to be on camera when you don't feel well. I give her a pass. We'll see if this continues to be a pattern or not.
DeletePerhaps Lauren finds these endless "competitions" unappealing and doesn't want to participate in them. Hence the excuses.
DeleteMaybe she’s tired of doing these super fake and scripted activities for the show? I honestly get it, I would want to partake either. I would’ve quit the show at this point if I was her.
DeleteMaybe she doesn't like playing games.
DeleteYou are judging her when she was pregnant and a lot of the games they played weren’t easy for someone pregnant. Also, judging someone just because they didn’t participate isn’t right.
DeleteKendra was also very pregnant & she took part in the Duggar Dash.
DeleteAnon 9:11 You sound EXACTLY like my mother who used to try to bully us into doing things we disliked by saying "you'll enjoy it, if you let yourself". If you're feeling bad, it's hard to enjoy doing something PERIOD.
DeleteWell if you watched episodes before she was pregnant she participated in the activities.
DeleteThat gingerbread episode was filmed before the big Christmas get-together they had, where Lauren was caught on someone's phone camera with her black hat on and a very pouty look on her face the whole time. She sure doesn't giggle her way through the family things the way Kendra does.
DeleteLauren and Kendra have different personalities. I do agree Lauren can be a bit whiney and tends to watch rather than participate, while Kendra just rolls with the situation and seems to enjoy life more. No two people are exactly the same....I'd rather be like Kendra than Lauren.
DeleteLauren is a nice articulate person, whom I like better and better as I listen to her. But goodness, she is quite a downer. She whines so much about things that the rest of us try to work through without complaining to others. The worst was making Josiah carry her after the miscarriage. She wasn’t that far along to be physically unable to move. Josiah was sad too. People might tire of her helplessness. The Duggar’s are so active and involved. In some ways I feel sorry for Josiah because he seems so fun-loving and enthusiastic for life. But he has chosen Lauren.
DeleteProbably what’s happening is Lauren standing up and doesn’t want to do the fake anymore. People should be proud of her.
Delete9:59 If her next birth is like the first one, I can't see her getting very far in her alphabet-naming theme for her children. She won't have many more--which is fine, but she will probably complain about that too.
DeleteLauren does like to turn on that "woe is me" attitude. She knows Siah will do whatever she complains about. I hope it's just a young wife wilting act with her right now, because life can get hard and you have to be able to stand on your own two feet, literally and figuratively.
Delete9:59, how do we know she wasn't weak from blood loss, fatigue, emotional distress, etc.?
DeleteI'd like to see Lauren try to be a military wife with a husband deployed when she gave birth or came home from the hospital. It happens, and wives can be far away from home with no family to help. Lauren doesn't know how good she has it with all the coddling she gets.
DeleteI commend Lauren to respecting herself and her body and not willing to jump into all those collective, team activities just because everyone is doing that! This is like bullying when parents or other people just push others to join in with a group and do like others do.
DeleteTo Anon 6:43PM -- you understand that Lauren did not marry a military man, and probably it was for a reason!! She has it "good" because she chose it for herself. She chose someone whom her family knew, someone who lives in close proximity to her own family, someone who does not have inspiration to live far away from where they grew up. People join the army for many reasons, but I'm sure they know what they are up too, as well as women who choose to marry men in the military.
Oh my....so true!!!
ReplyDeleteJeremy talks like a normal man and Duggar fans go nuts. lol
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, that's exactly what makes him likeable: He just speaks like a normal person. But I'm European, we don't have that panic of bad words anyway ;-)
DeleteAll of you that thought you heard Jeremy say a bad word “Get the wax out of your ears” what he said was OH Jana and put his hand up and Jinger was laughing and said she was waiting for something like this to happen.. meaning someone’s gingerbread house falling. Now go back and listen and “TURN YOUR VOLUME UP” so you can hear. I just don’t understand how people can turn OH JANA into anything else. If you don’t like the show then stop watching and criticizing.
ReplyDeleteCome on people. Be gracious. He is a normal person. Who cares what he says!!! Pastors are not infallible. They should NOT be held to a higher standard. They are regular people who slip up now and then. Be reasonable.
DeleteThere is no wax in my ears or in my speakers, which are at 100%. I clearly heard two things that no Duggar or Duggar in-law has ever said on the show before, nor should say.
DeleteI'm baffled over all the fuss about what "Jeremy said". Who cares? It was no big deal. If he talks like the REST of us, so what?
Delete@3:57 Because you don't go around telling us how you're honoring Christ in one breath and in the next breath say something you shouldn't.
DeleteAnon 4:24. When Christians spend their time picking at each other, not much "honoring" of God happens. Lighten up.
DeleteThere people go again, assuming everyone is a Christian.
DeleteI found it odd that know one mentioned Jessa letting the boys pick the produce.... they are much too young for the produce section and see 2 melons were dropped. Jessa is sure in control of Ben.. he wanted to buy the melons and discard them ... she does this all the time to Ben when he didn’t want to buy those toy horses that were filthy!! Jessa wears the pants in that family!!! Her money she rules the house.... she is way to bossy
ReplyDeleteThat bothered me about Spurgeon handling the melons. When I was little (preschool age), I was not allowed to touch ANYTHING in a store. "Those things are not ours. Look with your eyes, not your hands." That's what my mother always said, and I respected that. I was taught to hold my thumb with the opposite hand, and to keep holding it while Mom was shopping. If you are busy holding your thumb, you can't touch anything in the store. (Try it - it's strangely calming!) I was also taught to sit down on the kitchen floor in front of the refrigerator while drinking anything from a cup (the days before sippy cups), not walk around with it. Both of those things were easy for any child to do and saved all sorts of problems. Mom did not blanket train like Michelle did, but she had a few child safety and common sense rules like that. I was happy to go along with them, because they were simple and not uncomfortable.
DeleteI think turning small children loose in a store is a BAD idea. If your child damages something in a store it's only right that you BUY it.
DeleteIt was bad enough that 2 watermelons fell, but I didn't see them call for anyone to come wipe the floor. I once fell on a wet floor at a store and tore foot ligaments, so that really concerned me. It's very hard to see spills on a shiny store floor, but if you know you might have spilled something, you let a manager know for clean-up and stay there so nobody steps in it or falls. Ben should have been standing there worried about that as much as he was worried about germs.
DeleteIt was interesting that Ben wanted to PAY for the spoiled fruit but was overruled. Of course at the end of the day we all end up paying more at the grocery as they charge more to cover the costs of these sorts of "accidents". Sigh.
Delete@7:34-Jiessa put them in the cart-she intended to buy them!
Delete@7:34am, Jessa, and Ben, were both in agreement, that they would buy, the two damaged water melons. The disagreement, was over whether, or not, the two damaged water melons, would be eaten, or thrown away, once they were purchased. Jessa, wanted her, and the boys, to eat the two water melons. Due to his germ issues, Ben did not want himself,Jessa, or any of the kids, to eat the water melons, because they may have picked up germs, from the floor.
DeleteIf Lauren doesn’t want to participate that’s up to her. We’re all different and she needs to be accepted for who she is
ReplyDeleteI agree. Much better to establish that she doesn't HAVE to participate if she's not feeling well or dislikes the proposed activity. We have enough of Jana's halfhearted behavior without seeing it from Lauren too.
DeleteI just think the Duggar’s just need to STOP all the labor scenes.. it’s just not necessary.... they need to follow in Jinger and Jeremy’s birth. No moaning and groaning in the birth of Little Felicity .... it was just classy.. nothing upsetting....
ReplyDeleteIf you find moaning and groaning upsetting, you should just skip all the labor episodes.
DeleteBen needs to actually watch his children! Isn’t this the second episode where one of the boys has gotten in trouble when he’s been near them? One ran off and this episode Spurge was playing around with the watermelons!
ReplyDeleteMichelle really was amazing with Lauren through her labor. God bless her.
ReplyDeleteSince when has Jim Bob ever been concerned with bringing germs into the home of a new born grandchild??? I’ve lost track, was Bella born at the start of Covid?
ReplyDeleteNo, Bella was born in November.
DeleteBella, was born on Nov. 8th, 2019, which was before Covid-19, arrived, in the USA.
Delete