The Duggars: Do They Really Need 20 Kids and Counting?

The new season of 19 Kids and Counting premiered recently.

I'm not sure if you watch it but I do. I find their life intriguing and I surprisingly agree with alot of their morals of life. Their children are so beautiful! I think they have some of the best behaved children in this whole nation! Not to mention, they raise those 19 children DEBT FREE! Even we have debt! Wow! :) I think Michelle is an amazing wife and mother, I wish I could be as awesome as her! She is one of my heroes! Seriously! My husband thinks they are completely insane and I am just as crazy for liking them lol. But I do. I watch their show religiously. :)

Hi, my name is Jillian and I am addicted to 19 Kids and Counting... I wish I could be crazy enough to have that many kids lol...

Last season, Michelle and Jim Bob lost their 20th child. Michelle was 18 weeks along and they found out it was a baby girl. They named her Jubilee Shalom and hled a funeral for her at their church. The last episode of that season was so heartbreaking for everyone who watched. Even my husband teared up when Michelle started talking about the children never meeting their sister, because he thought about Rosalie never physically meeting Alan or Anna. It moved everyone.

Now with their new season, they are talking about countinuing to try for number 20. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this. Their last pregnancy ended in a miscarriage and the one before that was a premature delivery at nineteen weeks. Michelle is well into her forties and has recently had galbladder surgery. All of these factors together plus the fact that she already has nineteen children to raise and be there for makes me believe that in her best interest, as well as her family's, she should stop getting pregnant or at least not be trying for another.

I'm not just your average anti-20th child person, I love this family. I have been big supporters since there were only 16 children. I celebrated with them while they welcomed the last four children and sobbed with them while they buried their beautiful Jubilee. In any other circumstance, I would say go for it and have as many babies as you can. But in this specific situation, I think her baby limit is up... And I hate saying that for her, I do. I too, would have 20 children if I could but my husband feels differently. But what if something happened to her with this pregnancy? That would be just dreadful! I couldn't imagine her leaving behind all of her wonderful children. That seems almost more heartbreaking then Jubilee's passing! :/ Or what if they suffered another miscarriage? They have already experienced two, one where they had to actually tell their children about it, a third would be just devastating.

I honestly am only thinking of them. I wish she would stop or at least not be trying. Now, I could be wrong and they could not actually be trying, just continuing to not use contraception. But then that brings up another important question- There are ways of naturally preventing pregnancy (Natural Family Planning) that involve no contraception. Why not use that route? Now, I cannot truly judge them as it is their own life and their own choices. Plus they are a complete different religion then me, they have a slightly different outlook on life. But I just wish that Michelle and Jim Bob would think it fully through before deciding to try again. Their existing children are the ones that are most important now.

In the end, I will support the Duggars with what they choose. Like I mentioned earlier, it is their own lives and outlooks so I cannot judge them for their decision. I do not know fully why they chose it. As a Tao Buddhist, I do not believe in a god or fate. I believe in energies and nature. So I do not understand what it would be like to just relinquish your life to a god and put your trust in their decisions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people who do this, I just do not understand how it feels.

Now its time to weigh in: Do you think the Duggars should be trying for more children? Or should they be happy with the ones they have?