Michelle and Jim-Bob Duggar have more kids in their household than my son has in his public school classroom, but they’re ready to welcome more. Michelle suffered a tragic miscarriage in December of 2011 with what would have been her 20th child. The family has been open about the fact that the loss was devastating to them and that they’re actively trying for more. After a recent trip to an orphanage in China, they admitted that they’re considering adoption and that their children are the ones pushing for it! They want to make sure it’s God’s plan for them, though, and it say that they’re praying on it.

They have 19 children, two grandchildren and one more on the way, but Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar say that doesn’t necessarily mean their family is complete.

“We are open to the idea of adoption,” Michelle, 45, tells PEOPLE. “We are praying about it, and we will see what God has in store. Love for children has been placed on our hearts.”

The ever-expanding crew – eldest son Josh, 25, and his wife, Anna, 24, just recently announced they are expecting their third child in June – were moved by a visit to an orphanage in China on their recent trip there.

The visit to Beijing was filmed for TLC’s special 19 Kids & Counting: Duggars Do Asia, which airs Tuesday (9 p.m. ET) on TLC.

“The kids are definitely pushing towards wanting us to open our home up to another child or more,” says Michelle. “They see how much we have been blessed with and how little so many children have and they want to share. We tell our children that would have to be something that is God’s will for our family, and we will see if it is. Our children love children, and we all do.”

Though Michelle and Jim Bob, 45, lost their last pregnancy – a girl they named Jubilee – to miscarriage in 2011, Michelle says, “We are open to whatever is in store. It doesn’t really matter whether I would have another child or we would adopt, but we want to approach it with an open heart.”

She adds, “We have friends that have adopted children who are a great influence in our lives, and we have talked about their experiences. So it’s something we’ve considered. We have to know for sure that is what God wants for us to do.”

“When he gives us a child [through pregnancy], there is no doubt in our minds that is what He wants, but when it comes to adoption, we would have to know for sure that was His will.”

[From People]

I don’t get that last statement, about how they somehow know that God wanted them to have a specific child because they conceived when they were actively trying to have another baby. It doesn’t make sense to me at all as it doesn’t account for free will.

I just checked, and they currently have eight children under 12, seven teenagers, and three daughters 20 and older. (Their oldest son has moved out, is married, and is expecting his third child.) So if they adopt at all, their kids are going to be the ones raising the adopted children. That’s how it works in their family, and they have good system worked out, one that may not be fair to their daughters, but they run a tight household. They’re also a very loving family, and while I can’t imagine living like that, I’ve been impressed with how chill and orderly they are. So I don’t hate this idea, is what I’m saying. It sounds insane to those of us who struggle to raise less than a handful of children, but if they adopt kids that would otherwise not find homes they might be doing them a service. I hope that God tells them to take a break, though. Put a fork in it, Duggars!

photo credit: FameFlynet and TLC

The Duggar Family is still news, because not only are they super prolific they’re still reality stars. Their show, 19 Kids and Counting, has its 11th season premiering next month, so I guess this latest announcement dovetails nicely with that. Don’t worry, matriarch Michelle Duggar, 46, isn’t pregnant again with what would be her 20th child. Her daughter-in-law is expecting her third baby. The oldest Duggar boy, Josh, 25, is expecting his third baby with wife Anna, 24. (I’m surprised that they’re in their mid 20s already, I thought he was only 20.) They are already parents to a nearly two year-old son, Michael, and a three year-old daughter, Mackynzie. Here’s the announcement, from People:

The pitter-patter of little feet may sound more like a stampede at a Duggar get-together – and this summer the volume is due to increase.

The famously fertile family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting have another baby on the way. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s oldest child, Josh, and his wife, Anna, tell PEOPLE they are expecting their third child.

They are already parents to daughter Mackynzie, 3, and son Michael, 21 months.

“It is very exciting,” says Josh, 25. “It’s fun for Michael and Mackynzie being so close in age and this baby will be, too. We feel very blessed and happy.”

Anna, 24, had taken a pregnancy test when the family visited Asia for 19 Kids and Counting: Duggars Do Asia (premiering Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on TLC), but it was negative.

“I thought for sure I was pregnant and so I was a little disappointed,” she says. “But two weeks later, I found out I was pregnant.”

After confirming the pregnancy and telling Josh, Anna and Duggar cousin Amy planned a family meal with baby carrots, baby corn and tiny cherry tomatoes to break the news to everyone else.

“Josh and Anna are great parents,” says Jim Bob, 47. “It is neat to see their family expanding. I remember those days when Michelle and I went from one to three because we had Josh and then we had twins. It is a great start.”

[From People]

Read what Jim-Bob said about his third grandchild: “it’s a great start.” Three kids are “a great start.” You know that the pressure is on for these two to reach double digits and that they’re already behind their parents’ record. I hope they’re all happy and healthy, and they seem like a nice family in that cultish kind of way. I also hope that if Anna ever gets overwhelmed and decides that she doesn’t want to have any more babies, that Josh will respect her decision. You know it’s not hers to make though. Also, do you think these two are gunning for a spin off?

Here’s a clip from The Today Show with the announcement. Note that Michelle is back to her old hairstyle.

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This news came out a few days ago but this is the first time I’m seeing video of this mess (above) so we may as well report on it. Apparently Michelle Duggar got a haircut and blowout as a plot point in her reality show which otherwise revolves around her eerily calm life with her family of 19 kids. (18 of whom are still at home, her oldest boy is off with his new wife working on their own child army.)

Michelle has previously described her late 80s hair as some kind of appeasement to her husband. She wrote a treatise earlier this year on how women should accept their husband as their leader, basically. Some highlights: “Discover and conform to your husband’s real wishes; explain your hairstyle to others on the basis of your submission to your authority; separate your “rights” from your responsibilities.” So to me that’s a hint that she’s not that pleased with her awful aqua-net curls and storybook bangs and that she’s trying to explain it as Jim-Bob’s preference.

In the show, when she got a glimpse of herself with decent hair, she seemed shocked and started stammering about Jim-Bob. While she was explaining the makeover she was back to her awful old hair. Anyway there’s a story on People Magazine claiming she’s used to it now and switches back and forth between her new normal hair and her old nasty curls, but I doubt that’s true. Michelle admitted the hairdresser was a friend of hers and I think she’s just trying to sound like she likes her new hair when she can’t stand it like that. She said it looked like she just got out of the shower.

Reality star Michelle Duggar of “19 Kids and Counting” recently got a makeover for the first time in her life. Thanks to her childhood friend Cindy, Duggar lost her curly cut and got a slick modern ‘do.

At first, Duggar wasn’t sure she was happy about it. Upon seeing her new style, she said, “Wow, it’s definitely different.” When asked if she loved it, Duggar said she’d “learn to love it.”

And now, it looks as if she really has. Duggar spoke with People magazine about the haircut, which she got as part of her 46th-birthday-party-surprise.

“Going from curly to totally straight was a shock for me,” Duggar said, “but I am loving it and I have been doing both styles, curly and straight, since the cut.” She said her husband Jim Bob is also adjusting. “I know Jim Bob likes it long and I am trying to impress him — what he likes is what I want,” Duggar said. “I think he was a little shocked at first, it was so straight and so different. But he does like it.”

It couldn’t have been easy to get a different hairstyle after nearly four decades, but Duggar said she had faith in her friend Cindy. “I can trust Cindy,” she said. “But my back was to the mirror and I didn’t know how much I got taken off. It was too funny when I realized how much was gone! And it felt so light.”

[From TV.Yahoo.com]

This woman is stuck firmly in the early part of the 20th century when it comes to her life’s role, it’s not like she’s going to accept a 21st century hairstyle without kicking and screaming. It’s a shame because it made her look 10 years younger. Almost as if she was fertile again. Too harsh? You know that’s the only way she’d accept a change, if it came with more BABIES. As she said what she wants for herself is whatever Jim-Bob likes, and he likes her with that God-awful hair.

After:

Before:

We heard in February that the Bates Family of Tennessee, with 19 children who range in age from six months to 23 years, were getting a reality show on TLC. The Bateseses (deliberate typo and it stays) previously appeared on The Duggars’ reality show, and are now getting their own spinoff, to air this month. So which show do you think will get more viewers: “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” or “United Bates of America”? Here’s more:

On Monday, August 13 at 9 PM ET/PT, TLC welcomes another supersized family in UNITED BATES OF AMERICA, an all-new series following Gil & Kelly Jo Bates and their large brood of 19 children, ranging in age from six-months to 23-years old. Audiences will recognize the Bates family from several episodes of the hit series 19 Kids and Counting, as they are close friends of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s clan. Each thirty-minute episode of UNITED BATES OF AMERICA explores a new adventure with the Bates family as they manage everyday life in the hills of Tennessee—and the inevitable chaos that ensues with 10 girls and 9 boys running around under one roof.

This eight-part series begins with newborn Jeb’s emotional homecoming from the hospital—and the unavoidable adjustment of adding another child to the family—along with the children planning for their much-anticipated annual Valentine’s “I Love You Day” gift exchange soiree. Over the course of the season, Kelly Jo and Gil share their love of music and family values—from homeschooling their children, to goofing off while building chicken coops and whitewater rafting. Second oldest daughter Erin, heads off to college for the first time to continue her education beyond her many years of homeschooling and the gang goes to hang out with the Duggars at the biggest social event of the year—the annual ATI homeschooling conference.

While the Bates family makes the country life look easy, they aren’t without their struggles. See how the family copes with the older boys working at Gil’s dangerous tree-cutting business, and when Kelly Jo is hospitalized, can the family function smoothly without her?

[Press release from TV By The Numbers]

“Duggars Without Pity” has a list of all the Bates kids and their ages. Their names are normal and non-alliterative. Mom Kelly-Jo, with the Michelle Duggar lookalike 80s hair, is 45 and dad Gil is 47. I just spent some time I won’t get back watching preview clips on TLC’s site. The show looks very much like The Duggar series in that the kids are sweet and wholesome, they’re very religious and homeschooled, and they do family activities like singing and playing instruments. Kelly-Jo’s last child was born premature and with health problems, which will be covered on the show from what I gather. He seems to be doing well now at six months old.

I find the Duggars’ show, “19 Kids and Counting” kind of dull, but people must enjoy it because it’s still airing. Season 10 premieres on August 28th. “United Bates of America” premieres on August 13th.

So “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” will get more viewers, right? What should “TLC” stand for, since “The Learning Channel” is in no way accurate. How about “The Lowest Common denominator” channel? They could also just change the acronym, and “WTF” comes to mind*. Not necessarily for The Bateseses, since they seem comparitively normal when we’re talking about “Honey Boo Boo,” “My Strange Addiction,” and the show I just discovered – “My Teen is Pregnant And So Am I.” This really exists. Here’s a profile video (below) of the show from ABC News. They need to be more skeptical of this whole concept. Just because something happens, doesn’t mean there needs to be a TV show about it.

Here’s a clip from “United Bates” with more on TLC.com

*I do like “Say Yes To The Dress,” though and “What Not To Wear” is also decent. “Cake Boss” isn’t my thing, but it’s not bad. So some of their shows aren’t trash.

Mother of 19 Michelle Duggar was asked in an interview if she was concerned about overpopulation and her family’s impact on the environment. She then attempted to explain that there was no such thing as overpopulation since everyone in the whole world can fit in Jacksonville, Florida. She really said this.

“The idea of overpopulation is not accurate because, really, the entire population of the world, if they were stood shoulder to shoulder, could fit in the city limits of Jacksonville.”

Technically that could be accurate that everyone could fit in Jacksonville, notwithstanding all the trampling and deaths that would occur if you attempted to shove the entire world together, which would help address overpopulation anyway. There’s no way I could figure out this math on my own, but I found this wiki answer that explains that if you fit three people per square meter you could stick all the people in the world in a space of 2,280 square kilometers [adjusted for current population, which may be underestimated], or 880 square miles. Jacksonville is 874.3 miles, so maybe with some additional trampling you could shove the whole world up in there. So there you go, overpopulation doesn’t exist!

It’s a weak argument against overpopulation of course, as it doesn’t even account for how much space a person needs to live or the fact that the world’s resources are finite, but that’s Michelle Duggar’s message. She’s got her reasoning and she’s sticking to it.

Michelle then went on to say that her family buys things used that people discard, which is actually a nice message so I have to give her credit for that. She also quoted Mother Teresa as saying “to say that there are too many children is to say that there are too many flowers.” Michelle explained that they teach their children to be helpers and give back to the world, which also sounded great to me. It’s true that her children are very kind, giving people. Two of her boys are trained in CPR and actually helped save a little girls life!

At the end of the video, Michelle claims that there are countries where the death rates outnumber the birth rates, and that’s also why overpopulation is a myth.

“We’ve had other countries coming to our doorstep asking us to let people know that they need to have more children, because they are seeing that their death rates are outnumbering their birth rates, and they’re in crisis. They don’t have people of marrying age for their youth now…. So I think we are so deceived when we believe [in overpopulation]. It’s not true, it’s a lie.”

It is true that there are countries with negative population growth. There are more countries with overpopulation issues, which of course affects the entire planet negatively.

Michelle also believes that the earth is only 6,000 years old, and that’s what she and Jim-Bob teach their kids.

Story and quotes thanks to Evil Beet

Yesterday we heard that Michelle Duggar was advising women to let their husbands tell them what to do in all matters and to never talk back to them or question their authori-tay. Here’s a small sample of what she said, and you can re-read our previous story if you missed it. “Husbands are commanded to govern their wives; God works through a man’s decisions… Ask your husband to define your responsibilities; Ask your husband to tell you when you have a resistant spirit; dispel a backbiting tongue by silence.”

Michelle wants a man to tell her what to do in all matters, so it’s not surprising that she and her husband are publicly endorsing a Presidential candidate who feels like he can do the same for the women of America. We’ve seen Michelle and Jim-Bob at events supporting Rick Santorum for President, and she told Radar Online why:

“We want a man that honors God to lead our nation,” Michelle Duggar said about the man she is supporting for the Republican party nomination.

“We have been praying to the Lord that if you want the heart of the voters to turn to Rick Santorum then please do so,” she said.

“We prayed that more people would take a look at him, and more people are getting behind him.”

“He’s a family values candidate with a proven track record. He honors life and stands up for what is right.”

[From Radar Online]

It’s easy to see why Santorum is the Duggars’ choice, since he shares so many of the Duggars’ values on important issues. Although Santorum has supported funding for contraception, he has spoken out against contraception among married couples. He’s also against women working outside the home and is of course anti-abortion. Here are some quotes from Santorum on these three issues

On contraception: it’s ‘dangerous’ even among married couples
Last year Santorum told the Christian blog Caffeinated Thoughts that as president he would warn the nation about “the dangers of contraception” and the permissive culture it encourages. “Many of Christian faith have said, `Well, that’s OK. Contraception is OK,’” he said. “It’s not OK. It’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be. … If it’s not for purposes of procreation, then you diminish this very special bond between men and women.” – Huffington Post and Time.com

On women working outside the home
“Many women have told me, and surveys have shown, that they find it easier, more ‘professionally’ gratifying, and certainly more socially affirming, to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children.”

This is a result, he wrote, of “radical feminism’s misogynistic crusade to make working outside the home the only marker of social value and self-respect.’’ – From Santorum’s book It Takes a Family via Washington Post

On abortion: he would ban and criminalize it
I believe that any doctor that performs an abortion, I would advocate that any doctor that performs an abortion, should be criminally charged for doing so. – Daily Beast

Santorum does believe in abortion when it’s medically necessary to save the life of the mother, although he does not make an exception for rape or incest.

See, he sounds just like the Duggars! No wonder they think he’s the best person to be our next President. I’ll pose a rhetorical question that comes to mind when I hear about the Duggars: what century are we living in?

Doesn’t it seem like the Duggars are taking it up a notch recently? They’re letting their [fill in the blank] flag fly. (There are all sorts of adjectives that come to mind to put before “flag,” and I’m sure you can come up with plenty too. “Freak” is too easy.) In December, after Michelle Duggar sadly miscarried her last pregnancy around her 19th week, she recorded a public message to the baby she lost that included an awful lot of pro-life rhetoric. She said, in part, “So often in society babies are looked upon as a problem, trial or responsibility, but God says babies are a blessing. We do not believe that babies are a bother, a headache or a financial drainer or a career interrupter.”

Well now Michelle has a message for the wives of the world. We should ditch all our girlfriends and never ask anyone for advice except our husbands. We should never question anything our husband does and let him have the final word on everything. Michelle said all this on her reality show, “19 Kids and Counting.” Radar has the details:

* A Husband Needs A Wife Who Accepts Him As A Leader And Believes In His God-Given Responsibilities”: Husbands are commanded to govern their wives; God works through a man’s decisions — good or bad; Bad decisions reveal his needs and allow the wife to appeal and demonstrate Godly character; The more a wife trusts her husband, the more careful he will be in giving her direction; Never ask others for counsel without your husband’s approval; reassure your husband that you understand and believe that he is your God-given leader.

* A husband needs a wife who will continue to develop inward and outward beauty: How can you become more of the wife of your husband’s dreams?; discover and conform to your husband’s real wishes; explain your hairstyle to others on the basis of your submission to your authority; separate your “rights” from your responsibilities.

* Ask your husband to define your responsibilities; Ask your husband to tell you when you have a resistant spirit; dispel a backbiting tongue by silence.

[From Radar]

So is Michelle saying that Jim-Bob is responsible for that awful 80s hair she has and that she’d like to change it? I just kept focusing on this line “explain your hairstyle to others on the basis of your submission to your authority.” It’s bizarre. If you read between the lines on that first bullet point, it sounds like she saying that you should let your husband do a bunch of stupid sh*t on his own so that you can ultimately get your way, but maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part. Overall it reads like antiquated ridiculous pap. A women’s place is in the house doing whatever her husband wants, dressing and looking exactly as he wants and being available for sex all the time without birth control.

I hope that in practice this isn’t actually how this woman lives. In a different family dynamic where the man is abusive, her advice could be quite harmful. That’s all on the wife, though right? She’s just supposed to take it without question, never talk back or leave, and just pray that the man treats her better.

I shouldn’t put so much emphasis on the stupid crap this woman says. She’s got some competition coming in the enormous family reality show circuit, and she knows she’s got to step it up if she wants to remain in the news.

The Duggars are shown at The 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference on 2-10-12. Credit: Mark Wilkins/FameFlynet Pictures

The Duggars are back and were on the Today Show yesterday. (Video is below.) Last night was the premiere of the ninth season of their TLC reality show, “19 Kids and Counting.” They have not yet aired footage of Michelle finding out she had a miscarriage at five months, but a preview reveals that it will be shown this season, and we’ve also heard that they’re going to show footage of the memorial for the baby. They’re famous for having a huge family, and they’ll continue to have kids as long as “God” grants them with kids. This is what they always say, and it’s not surprising to hear them continue to say it after their last baby was miscarried and their baby prior to that was born prematurely and with health problems. They’re tenacious, and they already have a schoolhouse full of kids but that doesn’t diminish the tragedy they suffered. The story is sad and heartbreaking and you feel for Michelle. She’s handling all this very well considering what she went through, but I get the very strong impression that she feels that its her duty to promote a pro-life agenda. Anyway here’s what they said to Ann Curry, whose one-note “are you ok?” approach to celebrity interviews was actually appropriate in this instance:

Michelle and Jim Bob spoke to Ann Curry on TODAY Tuesday, their first public appearance since the miscarriage in early December.

“It’s devastating, and many others have experienced very similar situations,” Michelle said. “Probably the hardest part is that when a loss like this occurs people really don’t know what to say…. We realize our sweet little Jubliee is with the Lord, and we will see her again someday.”

And if another child isn’t in the cards, the Duggars say they’re enjoying being grandparents. Their oldest son, Josh, has two children with his wife Anna.

“We have heard so many things about being a grandparent and now we know why it is so great,” Michelle told Ann Curry. “You get the joy of playing and spending time with them but you don’t have all the responsibility.”

Their grief over the loss of the baby they later named Jubilee Shalom will be on display in their reality show this season. A preview clip provided to TODAY by TLC shows Michelle and Jim Bob in the doctor’s office for what they thought would be a routine ultrasound. Instead, they found out the baby’s heartbeat had stopped. Michelle is crying and cradling her belly with her hands, while Jim Bob sits next to her with a look of shock on his face. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,” she prays between sobs. “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Jim Bob prays with her, then says softly, “Michelle, I’m so sorry.”

Michelle had also suffered a miscarriage during her second pregnancy. That first miscarriage was what caused Michelle and Jim Bob early in their marriage to rethink their plan to have two or three children, and instead to eschew family planning and leave the number of children they have up to God.

Between 20 to 30 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Dr. Rebecca Brightman, an OB-GYN at Mount Sinai hospital in New York, told TODAY in an earlier interview that having a lot of children doesn’t increase the risk of miscarriage, but that Michelle Duggar was at increased risk because of her age — she is 45, and women over 40 are more likely to have babies with chromosomal abnormalities, which is a leading factor in miscarriage.

[From The Today Show]

It must be comforting to believe in an afterlife so much that you know you’ll see your loved one again. I know that sounds snotty but I honestly mean it. I’ve heard my religious friends say similar things about people they’ve lost.

This is how the Duggars make a living now, and they’re promoting their show and sharing their trials with the world. Unlike other visits to NY City, Jim-Bob and Michelle were on their own without their kids. They have plenty of little babysitters at home I guess. I found it surprising that they describe being grandparents as enjoyable because there’s no responsibility. How much responsibility do they feel for their own kids?

We’ll soon see another huge family, their friends the Bates with 19 children of their own, on TLC.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Jim-Bob and Michelle are shown at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC on February 10, 2012. I guess they left their kids at home for that, too. Credit: Mark Wilkins/FameFlynet Pictures

People Magazine has a story today about a family that is now just as large as the Duggars, The Bates Family from East Tennessee. They just welcomed their 19th child, and they share several things in common with the Duggars other than 80s hair and having the same huge number of kids. The Bates live debt free, they home school, and they let God decide how many children they’re going to have. They actually sound nice, in the way that The Duggars sounded nice before they were all over the place. The Bates are getting a reality special on TLC, and it sounds like a pilot for a show. Go figure.

Having 19 kids – and willing to welcome more – isn’t just a Duggar thing any more.

Meet Gil and Kelly Bates of Lake City, Tenn., who had their 19th child – a boy, weighing in at 7 lbs., 8 oz., named Jeb Colton – on Feb. 1.

“You would think with your 19th child, you wouldn’t get excited and nervous,” Gil, 47, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “But I was as nervous with this baby as I was with our first.”

The Bates family has known Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar for decades and has even appeared with the Duggars on their TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, which returns for season 6 on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET). Now, the Bates family will have their own show, a one-hour special airing March 27 on TLC after the 19 Kids and Counting season finale.

In addition to new baby Jeb, all the Bates kids live at home: Zach, 23; Michaella, 22; Erin, 20; Lawson, 19; Nathan, 18; Alyssa, 17; Tori,16; Trace, 15; Carlin, 13; Josie, 12; Katie, 11; Jackson, 9; Warden, 8; Isaiah, 7; Addallee, 5; Ellie, 4; Callie, 2 and Judson, 1.

“It is very exciting, and we’re nervous, too,” admits Kelly, 45, of the prospect of having their family life televised for millions to see. “Our biggest desire is to be real. The Duggars have helped people. We talked it over with the children, and everyone likes the idea of helping others. It is not wonderful all the time. We have the same struggles everyone has.”

The Bates both say that when they married 25 years ago, they anticipated having a “normal family” with “two or three kids,” but that didn’t happen. Three months into their marriage, they were pregnant with Zach. “We decided to trust God for children,” Gil says. “And I would not trade His choices for mine any day.”…

Like Michelle Duggar, Kelly says that family and friends have often expressed concern that having so many children would be dangerous to her physical well-being. “I have not had health issues and have had pretty easy pregnancies,” Kelly says. “We try to live healthy and make wise decisions about our health. We had a piece about the choice we’re making.”

[From People]

This People article doesn’t mention that the baby is in the ICU. The Bates’ website says that he was 7lb 8oz at birth and that he’s in the ICU, but his issues sound minor and hopefully he’ll be ok. “Due to an excessive amount of amniotic fluid and a very quick descent through the birth canal, he ingested a lot of fluid which caused him to have difficulty transitioning and allotted for an unexpected trip to the ICU nursery. He is doing wonderful and should be heading to his new home soon!”

Like the Duggars, the Bates family also supports Rick Santorum for President and has been campaigning for him.

Kaiser and I were talking about this, and we agree that this is a choice that people make, and that we should respect that choice even if it’s one that we find strange and wouldn’t make for ourselves. (We’re talking about the decision to have so many children, not the decision to put your kids on TV.) At least for these two semi-famous families, the Bates and The Duggars, it seems to be working out for them. Some mothers who have escaped these type of extreme childbirth situations say it’s very oppressive, that they have to care for large numbers of children while living in abject poverty, and that it’s particularly hard on the children in these families who have to care for their siblings from an early age. From outside appearances all the children in these two families are happy, but there are 38 kids here. One of them is bound to talk trash someday.

Jubilee Shalom Duggar from WMtek Inc on Vimeo.

Reality star Michelle Duggar, 45, miscarried what would have been her 20th baby around her 19th week of pregnancy earlier this month. The family held both a private ceremony and a larger memorial for the baby, a daughter whom they named Jubilee Shalom. During the memorial, photos were shown of Michelle holding Jubilee’s tiny hands and feet. While some people took offense at that, others pointed out that it’s common to photograph the dead and that sometimes these photos are all grieving families may have to remember the little ones they lost.

Now Michelle has recorded a message for Jubilee. One one hand, it’s touching and sad. She’s mourning for what she lost and what she’ll miss with this child. Some of what she said really moved me. All her children are special to her and this was a huge loss to her family. On the other she really goes into some pro-life territory here and spends a lot of time talking about how other people don’t value babies. It’s obvious exactly what she means. I’m trying to be measured here, but the amount of preaching she does is obvious. Plus she’s making it public and this was posted on the Duggar family website, it’s not like they’re only choosing to share it with friends and family.

Dear Jubilee, mommy wanted to write a letter to my precious baby girl. You know, your name Jubilee Shalom Duggar means “joyful celebration of peace.” We were so thankful to God when we found out we expecting you.

So often in society babies are looked upon as a problem, trial or responsibility, but God says babies are a blessing. We do not believe that babies are a bother, a headache or a financial drainer or a career interrupter. We love babies. Your siblings did not view you as the competition. They are truly saddened and disappointed to not have really known you. Only God knows how much you were already loved. You are not loved any less because you were baby number 21 or Duggar grandbaby number 23. We are blessed because you lived. You were only here with us such a short time. It’s an awesome thought to me that you fulfilled your life’s purpose in such a short time. What a blessing to know that you are in the arms of Jesus and that is was His face that you saw first.

You were loved, you were wanted. Your parents wanted you to be. Your grandparents wanted you to be. Your brothers and your sisters wanted you to be, and the rest of the family wanted you to be.

I will miss listening to your heartbeat and praying for you as you grow in my womb. I will miss feeling you kick in my tummy. I will miss cradling you in my arms and singing to you. I will miss teaching you to sing Jesus loves me. I will miss watching you grow up and learn. I will miss seeing life through your eyes… I will miss noticing how you do things like the others, or how different you are… I will miss holding you, hugging you and kissing you…

You’re a love I was able to touch for such a short few moments, and a life I will hold in my heart. I don’t know God’s purpose for taking you on to Heaven, but I know your short life will help me remember truly how fragile life is. It will help me to more fully enjoy the time I have here with the other family members. It will help me to focus on what truly matters in life, and help me to be more aware of Heaven and the ultimate destination…. I like to think of you being in Heaven with our other loved ones… From now on when I’m asked how many children I have, the answer will be 21 19 here and 2 in Heaven. You are precious to me Jubilee, mommy loves you.

I’m sorry this woman lost her baby. That must have been horrific and awful and heartbreakingly sad. The fact that they already have a big family does not change what a tragedy it was. Most of what she said touched me and made me feel very sorry for her family.

Abortion is legal in this country and all the sweetness and preaching and sad stories are hopefully not going to change that. You cannot reduce the issue to one in which people somehow think babies are a “burden.” I wouldn’t expect the Duggars to grasp that it’s much more complicated than that, since they also believe that the earth is about 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and humans co-existed. I’m sorry, that’s what they believe. These people have a platform and they’re using it and we’re pointing that out. I’m very sorry for her loss and in no way mean to make light of it.