The Duggars premiere their premature 19th baby, Josie

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Proud parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar premiered their 19th baby, little premature Josie, in a series of photos given to news outlets. They also appeared on the Today Show yesterday to talk about Josie’s struggle. The Duggars are the stars of the recently retitled reality show 19 Kids and Counting, which airs weekly on the TLC network. The episode on Josie’s dramatic delivery will be shown on January 31, with the new season premiering on February 2.

Josie was born four and a half months early, on December 10 of last year after Michelle suffered from a gallstone attack and preeclampsia. She weighed just 1 lb. 6 oz. at birth, is now up to 2 lb. 4 oz and recently went off a ventilator. According to Jim Bob and Michelle, their youngest daughter is doing well at seven weeks, but they say they’re taking it “one day at a time” and call her survival was a “miracle.” The family has moved temporarily from Tonitown, Arkansas to Little Rock, where Josie is staying in a neonatal care unit.

Seven weeks after baby Josie’s surprise early arrival, her relieved parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are talking to PEOPLE about the tiny micropreemie, who is taking breast milk through a tube and weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz.

Born at 25 weeks to Jim Bob and Michelle, of the hit TLC reality series changing its name this week to 19 Kids and Counting, little Josie Brooklyn was a mere 1 lb. 6 oz. when she arrived Dec. 10, after Michelle was diagnosed with preeclampsia.

“Years ago, a baby this small wouldn’t have lived an hour,” says Jim Bob, 44. “We are so grateful for the ability to help her.”

He and Michelle, 43, have moved 17 of their other kids (their oldest Josh, 21, and his wife, Anna, 21, have a baby girl and live on their own) to Little Rock, Ark. from their home in Tontitown, Ark., to be closer to Josie, who remains in intensive care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

“It’s a miracle she’s doing so well,” says Jim Bob. Agrees Michelle: “It is incredible what the doctors and nurses can do to save the life of this little person.”

It has been an up and down saga of survival for tiny Josie. “Doctors tell us, ‘never trust a preemie,’ because you can’t know what is going to happen,” says Jim Bob. “It is a very day-to-day thing. It is the hardest thing we’ve ever been through.”

Josie’s difficult birth has brought the family closer together, say Jim Bob and Michelle, and they continue to be grateful for every moment they have with their new daughter.

“We don’t know if there is going to be another big hill to go up,” she says. “We are grateful for the wonderful days when she has been good. We know at any moment, things could change.”

[From People]

A lot of people bash this family for having so many children. If you watch their show it’s clear that they love them all and that they have a very well run household. Thank goodness that Josie is doing well and you can tell that her family loves her and is pulling for her. This begs the question, though, will the Duggars rethink their lack of family planning after this last very difficult birth?

Some details via E! Online and Yahoo!. Photos thanks to TLC

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58 Responses to “The Duggars premiere their premature 19th baby, Josie”

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  1. Risa says:

    The mother looks extremely tired! I imagine she hasn’t had a day to herself since before her first child!

  2. NICU RN says:

    clearly she is too old to be having children and her selfishness is the cause of what will prob be a disabled child. I find this quite troubling.

    I used to be a nurse in the NICU, so yes, I can comment about these things with some level of expertise. While pre-eclampsia can happen to younger women, it is more common in older woman. Why put a baby at the risk of such life long issues b/c you are obsessed with being pregnant. I have no reason to believe that they aren’t deeply in love with their kids, but this has to be a real wake up call. I would feel so guilty if I did this.

  3. JulieNewmar says:

    Please spay or neuter yourselves now. Enough is enough.

  4. noreligiousnuts says:

    So which one of their older kids gets to get to take care of this one? If you can’t raise your own kids, then don’t have so many. They disgust me.

  5. ronnie says:

    I’m so happy for them.

    It seems like there are a lot of nasty commentors on this website regarding the Duggars. So they’ve chosen a set of beliefs and a way of life that most of us wouldn’t. So what? Most of us wouldn’t stand up to the scutiny of the press ourselves. I love diversity – if we were all the same, how boring the world would be.

  6. Jazz says:

    She’ll probably be pregnant with the 20th kid before this kid even gets out of the hospital.

  7. Bodhi says:

    They do raise their own children.

    Question: What chance does this baby have at a normal life? I’m not trying to provoke anyone, I’m just curious…

  8. Phowie says:

    I think they should rename Tonitown to Duggartown. And with all due respect Michelle I really think its time to turn the old uterus out to the pasture. It’s had a good run.

  9. Minx2 says:

    What chance? It varies from case to case.. my daughter was born in the 25th week of pregnancy (placenta detached itself from the uterine wall).. her weight was 1 pound, 10 ounces. She’s currently 20 and studying in Europe, nothing wrong with her whatsoever. But every child is different so you cannot predict the outcome for Josie. It all depends on how things go now.. she’s not out of the woods yet. Some kids get bleeding in the brain and, if severe, can have all kinds of handicaps from it, from mild to severe. Some kids surive with no damage at all. This is surely the hardest thing for a parent to go through.

  10. Dolkite says:

    Haven’t these people given all their kids names that begin with the letter “J”?

    Because if they have, they both deserve a good punch in the mouth.

  11. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    ‘Premiere’ is the word.

  12. borderlined says:

    What I just don’t get about them is if they love children so much, have the resources to care for them, and even regularly go on mission trips (as several of their oldest were out of the country on a mission when their mother become ill during this last pregnancy)… why haven’t they chosen to share that love with less fortunate children? What about adoption, both within our country and internationally? It is time for her to put the uterus out to pasture, and if they want more, adopt!

  13. Been There says:

    Bodhi – my son was born slightly earlier than the Duggar’s baby and we were told that he had a 1 in 3 chance of being severely disabled, 1 in 3 of being mild to moderately disabled and a 1 in 3 chance of being without disabilities. It will really depend on the complications that the child has in the NICU. Most likely, she will probably require quite a bit of early intervention services (PT, OT, SLP, etc.) as well. It really is a long difficult road. These micropreemies are not simply small babies.

  14. TG says:

    They disgust me. And yes all of her kids start with a “J”. How stupid. I think women like her have huge egos and feel so darn special being pregnant like their genes are so wonderful or something. And she looks tired in that picture, but for the last 20 years she has done absolutely nothing so mostly she looks refreshed, after all her older kids raise the younger ones. She does nothing.

  15. Lady Nightshade says:

    I am sure they ‘love’ their children, but how much one-on-one time do they spend with each one?

    As noreligious.. said, they have all the older children raising the little ones. Raising children is not a child’s job! Sure kids need to chip in, but they do not have friends outside the church, do not go to public school, they do not even get their own birthday party (they have one birthday party for all the kids once a year). To me this is child abuse. Are these kids allowed to join sport teams or go to college or have carefree days..doubt it.

    And that is why they are gross

  16. princess pea says:

    I’m glad things are going well for little Josie. I’m impressed, too, by the way that the Duggars are addressing this. They seem really prepared for the fact that things can still go very badly, and they are being surprisingly open about the journey. I know their faith is really (!) important to them, and I am really pleased to see them crediting the medical professionals who are helping Josie out, instead of chalking it all up to the big guy upstairs. I’m sure they are praying and thanking God at home, but I really appreciate that they don’t try to force their choices/beliefs on anyone else. Over the years, I’ve come to really respect the Duggars, despite my COMPLETELY different set of beliefs. (Yay diversity!)

  17. manda says:

    Thank you, borderlined! I completely agree!

  18. MsTriste says:

    Jim Bob says her survival is a miracle. I really hope he doesn’t believe God has anything to do with her survival. They leave conception up to God, if they truly believed that then perhaps they should have left her survival purely up to God, rather than modern medicine. Stick to your beliefs, is all I’m saying.

  19. Novaraen says:

    OMG…stop having babies already!

    Yes we know you love them…but honestly…you’re making all your other children do the raising. It’s just not right. Those other kids should be out playing with their friends, not raising babies for their mommy who can’t seem to close down her babymaker.

  20. Zoe says:

    Why is it that because someone has religion in their life, everyone exonerates them of blame or mistakes? This family is chock full of hypocrisy. They won’t allow their children to watch television, yet they put them on television and make a lot of income from the show. This is only going to isolate those kids even more and give them less of a normal life, like every other reality TV family. It doesn’t matter if they are god-fearing or not, it’s exploitative just as it would be with anyone else. I remember when everyone thought Jon & Kate were this wholesome religious family, look what happened there. What you see isn’t exactly what you get, and there’s nothing normal about the circus these kids are being raised in. And the minute this show gets cut and their other business isn’t pulling in much money, I’d like to see how the Duggars are going to handle this.

  21. snapdragon says:

    wait – they won’t allow their kids to watch TV but they let them be on TV? but maybe their religion lets them exploit their kids for money, so its ok? there is a passage in the bible about a reality show, isn’t there? hypocrites.

  22. Codzilla says:

    MsTriste: So if a religious couple has a sick child, they’re hypocrites for turning to modern medicine? I’m not a fan of the Duggars, nor am I particularly religious, but the notion that people who believe in God should “stick to their beliefs” and rely solely on their faith to heal children is absolute nonsense. (Not to mention a potential crime if said child dies.) Hopefully, I just misinterpreted your comment.

  23. Chicken Tetrazzini says:

    Who cares how these people raise their children, as long as I am not footing the bill for them?

    I cannot bash the Duggars for trying to keep their kids from turning into spoiled, worthless, vapid skanks or douchebag drug addicts like so many people nowadays, and I am not going to sh*t all over them for being religious. If it works for them, then who cares? They aren’t preaching, they aren’t trying to force anyone to believe what they believe, so why all the hostility? There is just so much anti-Christian sentiment on the internet nowadays, and while some of it is probably justified, so much of it just seems to be hating on people for their religion.

    So no, I don’t think the Duggars are hypocrites, the TRUE hypocrites are the people who preach tolerance and acceptance, yet absolutely refuse to tolerate anyone who is a Christian. What these people do is not affecting you one bit, so leave them alone and go after someone like Octomom, who WE THE TAXPAYERS are supporting. She and people like that are the problem, not the Duggars. Leave them the hell alone.

  24. kelbear says:

    I really hope she takes this as a sign that it is time for them to STOP having children. That little tiny thing they call a baby is going to have so many health problems and they will have their hands full with just that little one. So who will take care of the other 50 kids they have?

  25. tommysgirl54 says:

    Chicken Tetrazzini: Thank You!! It disturbs me the amount of hate that this family receives on this board. They are a loving family with their own values and thoughts on religion that, while I may not agree with, seem to work well for them. I understand that it is odd to have sooo many kids but I get it.

    One last thing……the older kids do not take full care of the younger ones. Do they help out? yes. Should they help out? Yes!! My 16 year old cousin is such a bitch that she refuses to watch her sister unless she gets paid $10 an hour. That is disgusting! charging to care for your own sister! That is a problem. Not a close-knit family helping each other out. My mother had a baby 2 years ago (I’m 23 now) and I watch my sister almost everyday after work for a few hours and a lot of the weekend. Have I ever asked for payment or bitched? No, She’s my sister and I want to take care of her and be there for as much as I possibly can. My mother is not abusing me or taking advantage she just asked me to do the right thing.

    edit: Sorry if this seems rant-ish…..just writing off the top of my head

  26. Ana says:

    I don’t think thye have ever said that they don’t believe in medical intervention. If they had, I doubt Michele would be going to an ob/gyn. Or giving birth in a hospital.

    One of my family members didn’t believe in medical intervention and died from a fever.

  27. princess pea says:

    Debunking Duggar Myths:
    a) kids do not raise other kids, though they do use the buddy system when out and about. Wouldn’t you?
    b) they do watch tv, actually. Maybe not the same shows that you watch, but hey, not everyone can have your mother.
    c) Christian faith does not mean you cannot access medical care. Who told you that?!

    Furthermore, let’s address this exploitation/reality show vibe. TLC was looking into interesting families, and as a result did a one-time special on the Duggars and their enormous brood. The feedback the network received was insane; people were really intrigued and wanted to know more. So some time later, the Duggars did another special. Again, the response was overwhelming, and TLC approached them to ask if they would consider a show. If you need to blame someone for these kids being on a reality show, you should be blaming TLC execs and viewers.

  28. EMV says:

    I agree with Tetrazzini, for being so “tolerant” most are very intolerant.

  29. Lady Nightshade says:

    @TommyGirl5 You are an adult who chooses to help out at home (which is very commendable by the way). You were not doing 5 loads of laundry everyday since you were old enough to walk and never allowed to go to school or consider other life options other than having babies and keeping house.

  30. TG says:

    Codzilla, I think what Ms. Triste was trying to say is that if they say it is God’s will to have so many children than why when something goes wrong in the pregnancy is it suddenly time to consult the doctor’s rather than God? Because they believe in modern medicine when it is convenient for them. I have no problem with Christian’s and these people are an extreme form of Christianity, many Christian’s understand that God also gave you a mind to use so you could decide how many kids you wanted and not leave it up to stupidity disguised as “God’s will”. Yes, every child is a blessing to someone and it is fine to see it that way, but also deciding on only 2 children or none is also a blessing to some.

  31. sweetyy says:

    “Vagina: It’s not a clown car”

  32. JaneLane says:

    Sweetyy- That joke was funny 3 years ago.

  33. Cinderella says:

    That poor little baby. It’s so sad seeing one so tiny and helpless.

    I really hope the Duggars stop having babies. They were so dangerously close to tragedy and Michelle can’t keep doing this to herself physically. It can’t be healthy.

  34. texasmom says:

    I’m glad the baby is doing well and I think they are a pretty nice family.

    Having said that, this is cele”bitchy” so I want to whine about one thing:

    Did anyone else notice that the bigger kids are all stuck making a rictus of a fake smile throughout the entire interview??

  35. Tazina says:

    Michelle can have children until she’s done with menopause, so she’s got at least another seven years of fertility left. Hopefully she won’t take advantage of it.

  36. Anastasia says:

    Uh, princess pea and others: the Duggars have said straight up that the buddy system is used in the following way: when the youngest baby is weaned at six months, it is assigned to the oldest child whose own former buddy is now old enough to take care of themselves (it rotates, obviously). That older buddy takes CARE OF the baby until they are old enough to take care of themselves.

    It’s not just a partnering system for when they are out, how ridiculous. I have never heard them assert such a thing.

    And I think it’s gross that they have made the birth of this child into a TLC special. The Duggars are turning into everything they claim to be against.

  37. Anastasia says:

    The guy whose teachings they follow expressly forbids adoption. Too stressful to your biological children. That’s why they don’t adopt. Well, that’s the official reason.

  38. orion70 says:

    I also don’t get all the hatred directed at this family, whether I am on board with everything that they do or not.

    Years ago, it was not uncommon to have HUGE families, and i’m fairly certain that no one grew up feeling abused because they *gasp* didn’t have their own room, or *gasp* had to help out around the house. What about kids who grow up on farms? I doubt they sit on a throne of specialness and endless hours of “one on one” time. Both my parents worked growing up, my sisters watched me every day, cooked, cleaned etc.

    I have known a couple of people from large families and they were all very well adusted, loving families.

    Make no wonder there is so much “me me me” out there now.

    And I also think that unless there is substance abuse or something involved, blaming a mother for a premature birth is wrong, no matter what. Sorry, but people have preemies while they are young and having their first baby too.

  39. Anastasia says:

    People actually did NOT have families THIS big back in the day, because so many kids died young. You might have eight babies and four lived to adulthood. Or twelve babies (even that was a high number) and four lived to adulthood.

  40. orion70 says:

    k, Anastasia, i’ll be sure to tell that to those families that I know with 10+ kids , because evidently they don’t exist.

    I’m not disputing that infant mortality was higher years ago, but i’d like to know where you’re getting your claims of 4 from, as both sets of my grandparents raised families a helluva lot bigger than that during the Depression and onwards, and most had that many or more. I doubt i’m an anomaly.

    It’s the comments about how this all somehow caused a premature baby, and the innuendos that the way they are raising their children is tantamount to abuse, that bothers me.

  41. snapdragon says:

    ok, so evidently this pregnancy was very dangerous for mrs. duggar – pre-eclampsia, sky high blood pressure, etc. will her husband stop impregnating her now? he needs to get a vasectomy already.

  42. Anastasia says:

    Uh orion, I didn’t say they don’t exist NOW, I said they weren’t THIS huge a long time ago, because of infant and child mortality.

    The numbers I cited where what we call EXAMPLES.

    Oy.

    And yeah, let’s not blame Mrs. Duggar for all of this. I believe Mr. Duggar has a role to play. They both need to stop having kids. Should have already stopped.

  43. JuJu says:

    Snapdragon: out of the 40+ posts, you are the first person that I’ve seen who has brought up the idea that perhaps Mr. Duggar should have a hand in stopping this mass procreation movement the two of them have going on.

    Thank you 🙂

  44. Sunflower says:

    This is like the Octomom saga… Get over yourselves!! Stop over populating this earth!!

  45. SKB says:

    Hey Nightshade You never watched the show, cause if you did you would know that they just don’t have a party once a year for the all the Children. Each child every month as there own Birthday! So before you open your mouth and let you ass over ride your mouth. think before you say anything!

  46. Amy says:

    I’ve watched the show and while I think it is ridiculous they don’t feel the need to practice birth control, you can tell the family is very close-knit and that everybody cares about each other. That being said, I hope Michelle realizes that she is not as young as she used to be and that her body is starting to slow down. What if this happens with the next baby? Hopefully this will make them rethink on having more kids because who wants to go through the stress of worrying about another preemie? I hope the little baby pulls through though.

  47. Anastasia says:

    Now she can have another baby even faster!

  48. sweetyy says:

    @JaneLane: Thanks for that helpful and informative comment! Kisses!

  49. Erica says:

    I cant believe some of you being so rude to them. They love their children and its not right to judge them based on how many children they have.
    Its never to easy to have a premie regardless of how many children you have had. I wish them the very best and hope little josie pulls through because shes got lots of people who love her and i know she will be a happy child.
    Pre clampsia can happen to any pregnant women old or young. I had it with both my children and im just now 26 and had my second.

  50. KM says:

    To each his own, and do people really need to post such hateful,rude things? Maybe it’s time to find something better to do than critisize others. I wish the Duggars and thier precious newborn all the best. I know Michelle is a much more patient and calm mother than I could even wish to be and I only have 2 kids!

  51. laura says:

    I am pretty sure they are getting paid thru TLC for there series I was also told that they claim there house as a church so they dont have to pay taxes…is that ture?? after watching a few shows I noticed that the older children are taking care of the children, I rarely see Michelle taking care of them. I truly feel so sorry for that premature baby…Michelle was told before it will be a real health risk to have another child…I feel that child should have rights, it wasnt the childs fault that Michelle didnt listen to the doctors…now this child is suffering throught premature problems…this child should be put in custody of the proper authorities and the duggers need to have some serious counseling before the baby goes home!! what about all those kids out here that need families..why couldnt they of adopted…why cant they adopt a few kids???? why is it so important to them to have the a bunch of kids? Just a shame… The family do come across sweet and innocent…and maybe they are in some ways, but I think they need alot of counseling…

  52. mommyof1 says:

    O.K.
    3 Things

    1) If you don’t like them, DON’T WATCH OR READ ABOUT THEM ON THE INTERNET?!?!? Seriously we live in America and they don’t ask for help from the Government so why gripe about them, instead gripe about someone like OCTOMOM or some idiot women with like 6 kids from 6 different dads non of which pay child support!

    2) I never see people giving Brad and Angie a hard time? Isn’t this the same thing really, its just that Angie doesn’t wanna “RUIN” her body and adopts.

    3) People PREACH about about acceptance and tolerance but NO ONE tolerates Christians or any type of the religion.

  53. Yvonne says:

    My heart & prayers go out to you both and your family. At 1st I was not in agreement with you having so… many children. You both seem have it so together and I believe that that is because of your faith in the Lord. My hat is off to you and your family. My paternal grand parents had 16 children, so I know about lg families. I myself only had 4 and raised 3. The 1st at 16 yrs of age and gave him up for adoption. Best thing I could have done for him. My prayers go out to Josie that she pulls throw. What I don’t understand, is that for people that have so… much love to give why don’t you open your home & hearts to children that are in need of a very good home, which you clearly have. I know all about the christian believe in procreating, but what about those children that are orphaned because of one reason or another, which is out of their control??? Please don’t get me wrong, I think your are wonderful parents & a wondereful family, perhaps you would consider giving an under prevelidged child a loving home.Lord know there are so… many out there. All my best and prayers to all of you Duggars. Yvonne

    hearts

  54. Roger MacDonald says:

    The Duggar parents are media attention addicts. They crave the attention. Ignore them and their ratings will drop and they will go away. Also they claim to be “debt free”, that may sound rosie, until you realize that Mr. Duggar is a third generation high stakes realtor. Of course he’s not in debt, he makes his living on OTHER people getting into debt.

  55. Debra says:

    Do we think they are finished now? Are they really going to risk another pregnancy which may end up killing Michelle and a new baby? Do they think that maybe GOD is trying to tell them something with this baby? Isn’t Michelle tired, just plain tired of being a baby factory? I have seen a mother of 5 have her oldest raise the little ones and those older ones tell me how tired they are of raising their siblings and though they love them dearly they sometimes just need a rest! Is it really medically OK for Michelle to keep cranking out kids? I think she needs to put it to rest now. If she doesn’t want the pill or another form of birth control for herself then maybe Jim Bob can get a vasectomy and if she gets pregnant from that then they can say that maybe GOD had something to do with that. He needs to take some responsibility. After all, he just hops on, squirts and climbs off, deal done! I really feel like Jim Bob is selfish. All the rewards, none of the pain!

  56. diane says:

    The good: They have created a family and are living debt free. No credit card, car note, or mortgage bills. Everything they do is based on cash. They are some of the very FEW people that aren’t a burden on society when it comes to finances. Their children are well mannered and polite. Too many children now are foul mouthed heathens who’s parents are too busy clubbing and having promiscuous sex and living off the system to even pay attention to what their kids are doing. They are taking the time and effort to educate their kids by home schooling. Many parents in this era have never even read a story to their kids (sorry but once when they were little doesn’t count.)

    The not so good: I think that the parents are stifling to the point where extra curricular sports, dancing and most music is off limits. (Then again so much of this generations hip hop/pop music is filth and talks about nothing but sex, money and bling)

    Overall, I do think that 19 children is far too many to have for one woman. We’re only human and it isn’t realistic to think that we all don’t need some “me time” to recharge our batteries. I don’t know if anyone has noticed this as well, but none of the kids have rebelled at all!! How do they maintain such control over the children???

  57. diane says:

    oh, and there’s something about Mr. Duggar that creeps me out. I can’t quite put my finger on it but aside from the fact that he seems extremely controlling…there is something a bit perverted that I get from his demeanor.

  58. Rational says:

    Is this a race to the Guinness Book of World Records or an irresponsible attempt to prolong the “less than interesting” show on TLC?

    As parents, they should be asking for forgiveness. Those poor children-instead of enjoying their childhoods and receiving attention from their parents, they are raising their siblings.

    How selfish of Mr. and Mrs. Duggar. Please put yourselves last, as you preach and live, get off your backs and raise the kids you have- I see plenty of grandchildren in your future.