Arkansas mom delivers 16th child; dad says mother and child are fine
The Associated Press Updated: 1:52 p.m. ET Oct. 13, 2005
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she’s already thinking about doing it again.
Johannah Faith Duggar was born at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and weighed 7 pounds, 6.5 ounces.
The baby’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative, said Wednesday that mother and child were doing well. Johannah’s birth was especially exciting because it was the first time in eight years the family has had a girl, he said.
Jim Bob Duggar, 40, said he and Michelle, 39, want more children.
“We both just love children and we consider each a blessing from the Lord. I have asked Michelle if she wants more and she said yes, if the Lord wants to give us some she will accept them,” he said in a telephone interview.
The Discovery Health Channel filmed Johannah’s birth and plans to air a show about the family in May.
The Learning Channel is doing another show about the family’s construction project, a 7,000-square foot house that should be finished before Christmas. The home, which the family from the northwest Arkansas town of Rogers has been building for two years, will have nine bathrooms, dormitory-style bedrooms for the girls and boys, a commercial kitchen, four washing machines and four dryers.
Jim Bob Duggar, who sells real estate, previously lost his bid for the U.S. Senate. He said he expects to run for the state Senate next year but isn’t ready to make a formal announcement.
Michelle Duggar, 39, had her first child at age 21, four years after the couple married.
Their children include two sets of twins, and each child has a name beginning with the letter “J”: Joshua, 17; John David, 15; Janna, 15; Jill, 14; Jessa, 12; Jinger, 11; Joseph, 10; Josiah, 9; Joy-Anna, 8; Jeremiah, 6; Jedidiah, 6; Jason, 5; James, 4; Justin, 2; Jackson Levi, 1; and now Johannah.
All I can say about this is wow. And here I thought 3 or 4 kids was considered big for a family. Boy was I wrong. I can't imagine 18 people being in the Duggar house now. And I can't imagine that poor, stressed and stretched woman giving birth not once, not twice, but sixteen times in her 39 years. Once she got started popping those babies out, she sure hasn't let up. There was a slight lull between Joshua and twins John David and Janna, and between Jill and Jessa, but she's been pretty steady for the past 17 years.
Most women give away their baby clothes and baby furniture after one or two kids; I sure hope the Duggar family kept all of their stuff. And I don't even want to find a calculator to figure up how many diapers that couple have changed over the past 17 years, either.
After discussing this at work today, we did some online searches to find out what the record is for most children delivered. We searched at the Guiness World Record book site, and in Google and Yahoo and a few other search engines and couldn't find a thing. So I'm asking you, my faithful readers, to see if you can find the answer to this pressing question. I want to know if Michelle Duggar is a record holder, or if there is some other woman out there that has delivered more children than Michelle. Please email me or leave comments if you find the answer. I want to know.
1 comment:
It's rather refreshing to see a couple that loves kids so much that they want to have more and be able to take care of them while certainly making sacrifices that most of us aren't accustom to. I guess what bothers me is the recent headlines in Kentuckiana about Christopher 2X and his ability to scavenge around the neighborhood seeking a cause altough he has two children to support but hasn't provided a means. Hail to the Arkansas couple for their patience of Job and an inherent love for children. I almost envy them in a way because they're so busy that they probably don't have time to be concerned about the dreadful news coverage that we subject ourselves to everyday. What's more, like our biblical kinfolk from days past, this couple will have their own Social Security in the 16 precious children and who knows how many grandchildren that will inevitably bless them in the years to come.
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