Jessa Duggar Seewald, one of the many stars of 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, already shares three kids with her husband, Ben Seewald. The two are mom and dad to 4-year-old Spurgeon, 3-year-old Henry, and Ivy, who will celebrate her first birthday in May.
Even though Ivy wasn't even born a year ago, Jessa has inadvertently kicked off rumors that she might be pregnant with baby No. 4. She recently shared that she had a conversation with her 4-year-old about the baby names they both like.
In a Facebook post from last week, she shared their conversation:
“I love older names, and was talking with Spurgeon about this.
"Me: 'Do you like the name ‘Alice,’ for a girl?'
"Spurgeon: 'Alice? That sounds like ‘malice.’ That is not my favorite name. I prefer ‘speeding-delightning.’"
Of course, Duggar fans immediately leaped onto the details of the conversation and were super curious about why Jessa was even having the conversation with her son in the first place. Could it mean that she's pregnant with her fourth baby? Let's investigate.
This isn't the first time this year that Jessa has had fans wondering if she's got a fourth baby on the brain. Back in February, she and some of her family members engaged in a conversation about pain management during labor and delivery. She commented that she didn't get an epidural with the birth of her daughter, Ivy Jane, but then said, "Man, I’m gonna have to get an epidural next time."
In and of itself, this is an interesting statement to make. Jessa gave birth to all three children at home, but it certainly sounds like she's open to having a hospital delivery if she has a fourth child. She did plan to deliver Ivy Jane at a hospital, but she gave birth so quickly that her daughter was delivered on the couch!
Jessa and Ben got married in 2014, and they've already had three kids since then. So obviously, growing their family is a priority. And Jessa even said in 2014 that she would be interested in having more kids than her mother did.
"I might have more than 19 kids. Probably not all biological. I want to adopt a lot."
She has also mentioned adoption as a path toward parenthood since then. In 2016, she said, "We have many friends who have walked this road, so we have seen firsthand the amazing power of adoption. There are so many kids out there who are longing for the love of a family, and we feel strongly about opening our hearts and our home to welcome them in."
She and Ben were even getting ready to move forward with the adoption process, and then the pair put the plans on pause when Jessa got pregnant with Spurgeon.
"We don’t know what the future holds, but as the Bible says, 'Man plans his way, and God directs his steps. So we want to move forward with paperwork and a home study, and just be ready for however God opens those doors."
Michelle Duggar might also be Jessa's mothering role model in more ways than one. Jessa has previously shared that she often turns to her mom for advice: "Every time I come to my mom for advice, she always reminds me that I’ve got this. There’s no pressure to do things just exactly how she did them, but I’m so grateful for all her advice and help. Even when I feel overwhelmed, she’s always there to encourage me and tell me, 'You’re doing a great job!' That gives me the courage to trust my instincts and do what I feel is best for my baby."
Having said that, after her oldest son was born, Jessa acknowledged that she will do some things differently: "Spurgeon is still pretty young, but I’m sure that as he continues to grow, I will find that I tend to do some things differently than my mom did. That’s the beauty of the individual family. No one is identical."
She also added, "There will be variations with little things here and there, but I know that our foundational goals remain the same — to raise our kids to love God and be a blessing to others."
If she and Ben decide to return to their discussion about adoption, they could end up being the first members of the family to grow their family that way. While Michelle and Jim Bob are legal guardians to their great-nephew, no one in the family has adopted a child.
In 2013, Michelle did comment that she and her husband were "open" to adoption. "We are open to the idea of adoption. We are praying about it, and we will see what God has in store. Love for children has been placed on our hearts. 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."
If and when Jessa and Ben decide to add to their family, their friends and followers will likely be thrilled for the couple. The couple may even consider adopting from foster care, which would be a pretty powerful thing to do. In 2017, she said, "Ben and I still have a deep desire to adopt, and it’s something we continue to look into. We’ve also talked about fostering to adopt."
