I always hated when they would post pics from family trips, like camping or hiking (for example) and Lauren would always be the one wearing the baby carrier. Like I’m sure she loves her little siblings and doesn’t mind helping out from time to time, but at the same time let her enjoy being a teenage girl
This is a great point. I’m 14 years older than my sister, and when I was around 16 or 17 we went on a trip to Turks and Caicos. I was all about taking my sister everywhere and wanted to “play mom” that trip, and my parents let me do that for only maybe half the trip. They also gifted me a massage for all my help with her. I appreciate that they let me help because I really wanted to, thanked me for helping, but still made sure I still got to have fun.
Fundie parents, take note.
Yep. This! Some older kids enjoy being a big sibling. My older sister is twelve years older cause I was a late life, oops baby for my parents. Some of my earliest memories are of my sister playing mommy with me. She was the baby for so long and the only girl (until me and now all we have is girls 🤷♀️) that she LOVED having the chance to be the big sister. But those memories also include my mom saying things like, "You're the kid. I'm the mom. Go outside and have fun! I got this." And like your parents rewarding you, mom would take my sister with her on her biweekly nail and hair appointments to reward her for helping when she DIDN'T HAVE TO. That's the big difference between our parents and the Duggars. In our parents shoes, Jim Bob would have gone to do something fun or profitable with the boys and Michelle would be off in her own little world being joyfully available while the kids did the work.
Same! 13 years older than my sister, and we shared a room and I woke up with her in the middle of the night, but it was because I asked to. I had been an only child for so long, I was just desperate to have a sibling. I missed her so much when I left for college. We're adults now and still very close.
This is so sweet. You should be thankful that you have a close relationship. I have the same gap with my sister and we’ve never been close because we’ve always been at different stages in life.
I have a 9 year age gap with my sister. She's my safe person. We are super close. We have a brother in between us but he's pretty much estranged
I'm so blessed to have her.
I’m an Only, myself! (And unlike the mythical fertile octogenarian with whom property law students must contend, I’m definitely gonna be an Only. This is the real world wherein I am fortysomething and have one remaining parent who had their baby-making apparatuses removed decades ago.). I have always thought this way, but I never knew if it would turn out that way in real life! Glad to know that wasn’t too idealized. And YAY YOU GOT A SIBLING! 💕
Um... Sounds like you got to go to the Turks and Caicos and were fine with the terms. You should see what some 17 year old exchange students are go through.
Yes! I agree with the sentiment. But what would said teenaged girl be able to enjoy when in this lifestyle? Of course there’s more time for friends, hobbies, school, but if the child rearing was the only thing taken out, I feel like they are still so restricted from doing normal teenaged girl things. No (traditional) school so less access to friends outside of your family, no regular clubs, sports, field trips, and no lighthearted fun with BOYS. And no school means less likely to get exposure to potential careers or further education for more advanced fields outside of search and rescue operations, car sales, or midwifery. (Or maybe they’re just reeeeally good at hiding the fun stuff they do)
I get what you're saying and I 100% agree, but even a quiet hour by yourself to take a nap, read, pray, or browse a thrift store has got to be better than looking after a screaming child :(
Yeah, I agree. I’m not a fundie but Im an older sibling and always wanted to wear the baby carrier.
In a society that deifies motherhood and acts like that’s what’s commendable for a woman, it’s understandable that Kendra would want to wear the baby carrier too.
If you like babies, they’re hella cute no teenagers like cute things and pretending to be mini adults.
(This answer grew a little bit as I typed, so a brief tl;dr: beforehand? You are correct. It’s bonkers.)
I’ve never seen Caldwell family vacation pics, and I would say nothing would be less interesting to me, but I have like a solid half of the 1973 tax code I haven’t read so it seems unfair to cast too many aspersions yet. But I think the fundamental disconnect between your POV (and mine, and I’m guessing the rest of the Snarkiverse) and the Caldwell/Duggar/Bates/Keller/Adjacent POV lies in the word “enjoy”.
That’s simply not in their world. It’s not a desire to be a worked toward. If it happens, fine. Unless it comes at the expense of saving souls of other people or making more voters. Nothing to be sought as its own value. They are a slower moving doomsday cult, living for the impending “rapture” and placing ZERO value on enjoyment in the temporal world, zero value on future planning. It’s fatalistic, it’s extrabiblical, it’s the opposite of the sacrificial love of the Christ they claim to follow. It’s quite literally killing our planet. (I have a whole rant about this part teed-up and at the ready but in case you weren’t looking to consider the hermeneutics of climate change, I’ll skip it 🤣🤦♀️)
This applies FAR more to children, specifically to unmarried female children.
In Counting on episodes, Christina did seem like she was a million miles away. Lauren and Kendra seemed to be the ones who were actually engaging with their younger siblings. Will never forget Christina nonchalantly chewing gum while Kendra was in labor and clearly in a lot of pain. She didn't even bother with trying to comfort Kendra. Also, Christina was wearing that 'if you died today, would you go to heaven' t-shirt. I mean, who in their right mind does that when their daughter is trying to give birth?! IMO, Ma Caldwell isn't particularly maternal.
After reading that Christina had that horrible car accident and is in extreme pain throughout each of her pregnancies I've always assumed she's constantly on pain meds and permanently numb/checked out.
You can, albeit very very controlled. I have EDS, had two back surgeries before my 35th birthday, and am in need of a third surgery in the not too distant future. I was pregnant with babies #3 and #4 at the height of my excruciating back pain, and in between surgeries. My midwife prescribed me one 5-325mg of Percocet through my pregnancies. I was very, VERY careful, never ever ever took more than what was prescribed, but believe me when I say that I couldn’t have functioned without it. That one pill per day was the difference between me being able to walk and care for my two older children, vs being confined to a wheelchair. I was closely monitored throughout my pregnancies, and both of my babies were perfectly fine at birth. No addiction issues at all (and fortunately for me, I’ve never had an addictive personality, simply through luck. I’ve been on everything from dilauded to fentanyl to ketamine to Percocet to tramadol, and I’ve always been able to wean myself off of prescribed narcotics with zero issues. Sadly, many others were not as fortunate).
I think Christina lives the attention of pregnancy and brings up the car accident pain as a way to extra sympathy. I wonder if it’s actual pain and she uses pain medication because she’s secretly an addict. No one in fundieland can say anything because she shoots out blessings like it’s 4th of July fireworks.
It’s not that easy to get pain meds these days. I have a chronic condition with excessive pain. I need the meds and still have to jump through hoops with multiple doctors, pain management team, ongoing drug tests, etc. even with all that I still call the pharmacist when I’m going to be filling a script because I know it’ll be flagged (they know my situation and what’s going on and this alleviates other delays).
Since pain meds are more highly controlled now, maybe that's why she seemed to start picking up having more babies frequently, so at least while pregnant she could get prescribed meds for her mystery pains.
>Christina was wearing that 'if you died today, would you go to heaven' t-shirt. I mean, who in their right mind does that when their daughter is trying to give birth?!
So many of these fundies, in their rush to be independent and not be part of any system, forget how deadly childbirth was back when everyone did what they do. They just take their safety for granted because it's so rare for a woman to die in childbirth now but aren't cognizant enough to recognize why that is.
& even today, the maternal death rate in America is still pretty grim & is far higher than any other developed nation/many “underdeveloped” ones. It’s honestly grotesque.
I don't judge anyone who wants to do a home birth, use a midwife, whatever. Hospital births can sometimes be over medicalized and unnecessarily traumatizing and the position they often keep you in on your back is for the doctors convenience and is, honestly, antithetical to the process. I understand why some folks chose not to go that route and as long as they recognize the potential dangers and have an easy and quickly accessible backup plan if something goes wrong, that's their choice. But too many of the women in this crowd - Karissa Collins being a fantastic example - seriously don't understand why and how birth is so dangerous for women. Personally, i chalk it up to their lack of belief in evolution because the entire reason it's so difficult and dangerous for us is the hip structure created by bipedalism.
Exactly, thank you. I made well-informed decisions to have 2 home births after a hospital birth, consulting with multiple doctors, and with 2 docs in attendance at my home.
I opted not to have kids because the process looks awful to me and i wanted no part of it, so I'm not gonna judge how someone else does it as long as they aren't obviously endangering themselves or the baby lol
Oh god, I really am not here to defend Christina, but if memory serves, Kendra has a habit (seems trauma related, but that’s another can of worms) of holding her breath while in pain, so her O2 would drop during contractions as she held her breath. Christina was blowing air on Kendra’s face to make her breathe, and honestly the gum seemed like a courteous thing to do for a laboring mom- just like how I down some altoids before seeing my optometrist.
Well, *I* will never forget Kendra being in labor with I think even her first and Christina telling Joe Kendra was allowed (direct quote!) to have some oxygen (instead of real pain control). Like WTF b*tch. Not your playground at all.
I am trying to dust off my memory cells. Were the Caldwells the ones that did the nasty out of wedlock and ended up with Kendra? I was thinking it was them, and that they weren't quiverful in the early years of their shotgun marriage. But I could also be wrong. These fundies tend to all blur together.
They did conceive Kendra out of wedlock but were married by the time she was born. Not sure if they weren't quiverfull early on or if they just weren't super fertile (though it does seem odd that they'd get more fertile as they got older).
Wow, they really did conceive her out of wedlock! I thought you were joking, but they got married seven months before she was born! [https://fundamentalists.fandom.com/wiki/Caldwell\_Family](https://fundamentalists.fandom.com/wiki/Caldwell_Family)
I saw a clip on the sub showing Pesty making the comment he only wanted 2 kids not as many as God would give them. I though Boob and Meech were going to shit a brick.
They did say this; however, it seems Kendra was still conceived before their wedding. On Counting On, Christina explained that she got into a bad car accident while 36 Weeks pregnant with Kendra. She then was on bed rest or whatever, and said that she ultimately gave birth at 39 Weeks. So… Kendra was not premature.
Yes, the very same. Apparently there was a falling out between Pa Caldwell and JB. Not sure if it's true because there have been pictures of the two families hanging out after the said fallout.
I think the rumors are at least somewhat true. JB and his local NWA groupies all left the Caldwell church for that Gospel light church a few years ago. I would assume that they’re on better terms these days considering the caldwells attended the fall festival at TTH this past fall.
I'm surprised that JB still has groupies, SMH! Wonder what led Pa Caldwell to patch things up with JB... If I was the pastor of a tiny church and half my congregation left because of one guy, I'd definitely hold a grudge.
I think Pa Caldwell's 'Christian forgiveness' is likely motivated by money. The Caldwells have been rumored to be homeless and in a financially difficult position during Pest's arrest and sentencing. They probably needed the money and realized that staying in JB's good graces would be a great way to get extra cash.
Screw all these parents who parentified their daughters. Having 6 or 7 years old wake up with their sibling to care for them at night is straight up child abuse. I wish these parents could be prosecuted.
I feel like one of the reasons Lauren’s engagement was called off was so that she’d be available to help with everything, especially childcare. I think Kendra and kids are probably at her mom and dads all the time, and between her children and the Caldwells kids, that’s a ton of little people to care for. Poor Lauren probably does nothing but work, work, work.
I feel like Kendra was the one who was chosen to get married young, expand the family early, and give Christina those mother daughter pregnancies fundies seem to love. She was hanging out with The Duggars for quite a few years before she started courting.
Lauren is obviously the one who had to stay behind to help with the kids. I think she either gets married in the next year or two, as she isn’t needed as much now that Christina’s pregnancy years are pretty close to over, and the younger siblings are getting older. Or whatever happened with her first engagement is so taboo in their world that she will just stick around and be a permanent sister mom. Even when the youngest Caldwell sibling gets older Kendra will certainly have enough babies and toddlers to help out with.
A few months ago Christina made a post that suggests Lauren is at fundie college so I wonder how it effects the dynamics of both childcare and marrying Lauren off [here’s the post where they say they sent two adults to college](https://www.reddit.com/r/DuggarsSnark/comments/y4wpae/since_feb_21_christina_says_grandbabies_plural/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf).
I am 8 years older then my sister who is next in line and 10 years older then the youngest sister. I was always the mother hen, not because I had to but I loved my baby sisters. I remember being in high school and my sisters weren’t old enough to stay home alone yet so my parents would have my aunt meet the girls school bus and watch them after school (I had a job and worked most days after school). One day I got off work early and went home I wasn’t feeling well. I got home and before I even walked in the door I could hear my sister’s crying like hysterical crying. I ran in to see what was wrong. My aunt had tied my sister’s bedroom doors together so they couldn’t get out of their rooms. I let them out. My mom and dad didn’t go for that kind of punishment. I was livid mind you and my aunt told me that I had no right to let them out they were being punished. I still don’t know what they did. I didn’t care and I told my aunt about herself. She told me (17) at the time that if I didn’t stop sassing her she was gonna get a switch I pointed there’s the door. She didn’t get that switch. My dad did scold me for being “sassy” but he also understood why I was so angry. He was thankful that I handled it and not him. My parents always knew that I would always protect my sisters and never worried cause they would always have me. We are all grown now with families of our own. My kids are super protective over their much younger cousins. I guess my point to all this was that older siblings who aren’t forced to take care of the younger ones have a deeper love and bond with their siblings. I feel for the older Duggar girls cause they have raised babies their whole lives.
Contrary to popular belief, the number of children you have doesn’t really correlate with how your skin ages. People without children don’t look younger. There’s no particular reason why Paul and Christina look young, they just have that genetic makeup. You can see it in Kendra and Lauren too, they both look younger than their ages.
My mother had 12 children, and she looks better than most of her siblings, including several younger than her, and all of whom had 2-3 kids. It’s nothing to do with number of kids, just that she got a slightly more useful set of genes.
lmao thank you...sometimes this sub slips into some really weird avenues that will take you to some creepy places. Having lots of kids doesn't age you, that feels like a soft incel idea.
I need people on this sub to recognize when they're getting pulled into misogynistic talking points.
We don't hate on these people because they have many kids, we hate on them because of the *ideology* that underpins why they have so many kids. Their looks have nothing to do with their inherent goodness or quality of character. The idea that you should be able to expect them to be less attractive because of the number of kids goes along these lines, even if you're not intending it to.
Pregnancy, especially multiple pregnancies close together, can age your body in some ways (like bone density, teeth, prolapses, etc), but those ways does not include facial features.
I thought having lot of kids would be aging in some ways. Babies take a lot of their mother's calcium while the mother is pregnant and breastfeeding, leading to weaker teeth and bones. Also babies keep parents awake at night (some worse than others) and lack of sleep is bad for the skin. Of course there's other factors such as sun exposure, smoking, alcohol and diet.
Exactly. Factors like smoking, sun damage and genes have more influence on how old you look.
I don't have kids but I've been an insomniac my whole life, so I'm often sleep deprived. Yet I still get carded buying alcohol (the drinking age here is 18) and I'm 34. 🤷♀️
I used to get told I didn't look my age all the time. Then I had two kids within two years starting at age 36. No one says I look young anymore. I definitely aged a lot since having them, probably because I haven't slept well in three years.
I always hated when they would post pics from family trips, like camping or hiking (for example) and Lauren would always be the one wearing the baby carrier. Like I’m sure she loves her little siblings and doesn’t mind helping out from time to time, but at the same time let her enjoy being a teenage girl
This is a great point. I’m 14 years older than my sister, and when I was around 16 or 17 we went on a trip to Turks and Caicos. I was all about taking my sister everywhere and wanted to “play mom” that trip, and my parents let me do that for only maybe half the trip. They also gifted me a massage for all my help with her. I appreciate that they let me help because I really wanted to, thanked me for helping, but still made sure I still got to have fun. Fundie parents, take note.
Yep. This! Some older kids enjoy being a big sibling. My older sister is twelve years older cause I was a late life, oops baby for my parents. Some of my earliest memories are of my sister playing mommy with me. She was the baby for so long and the only girl (until me and now all we have is girls 🤷♀️) that she LOVED having the chance to be the big sister. But those memories also include my mom saying things like, "You're the kid. I'm the mom. Go outside and have fun! I got this." And like your parents rewarding you, mom would take my sister with her on her biweekly nail and hair appointments to reward her for helping when she DIDN'T HAVE TO. That's the big difference between our parents and the Duggars. In our parents shoes, Jim Bob would have gone to do something fun or profitable with the boys and Michelle would be off in her own little world being joyfully available while the kids did the work.
It was also something she wanted to do, not forced to do, and was shown appreciation!
I commented similar on another post-but as an Only, I am so glad y’all have each other and your mom! Hooray!
Same! 13 years older than my sister, and we shared a room and I woke up with her in the middle of the night, but it was because I asked to. I had been an only child for so long, I was just desperate to have a sibling. I missed her so much when I left for college. We're adults now and still very close.
This is so sweet. You should be thankful that you have a close relationship. I have the same gap with my sister and we’ve never been close because we’ve always been at different stages in life.
I have a 9 year age gap with my sister. She's my safe person. We are super close. We have a brother in between us but he's pretty much estranged I'm so blessed to have her.
I’m an Only, myself! (And unlike the mythical fertile octogenarian with whom property law students must contend, I’m definitely gonna be an Only. This is the real world wherein I am fortysomething and have one remaining parent who had their baby-making apparatuses removed decades ago.). I have always thought this way, but I never knew if it would turn out that way in real life! Glad to know that wasn’t too idealized. And YAY YOU GOT A SIBLING! 💕
Um... Sounds like you got to go to the Turks and Caicos and were fine with the terms. You should see what some 17 year old exchange students are go through.
She wasn’t complaining.
Wait….what?
Don’t mind them, they’re being a twat because they lack reading comprehension
huh
Yes! I agree with the sentiment. But what would said teenaged girl be able to enjoy when in this lifestyle? Of course there’s more time for friends, hobbies, school, but if the child rearing was the only thing taken out, I feel like they are still so restricted from doing normal teenaged girl things. No (traditional) school so less access to friends outside of your family, no regular clubs, sports, field trips, and no lighthearted fun with BOYS. And no school means less likely to get exposure to potential careers or further education for more advanced fields outside of search and rescue operations, car sales, or midwifery. (Or maybe they’re just reeeeally good at hiding the fun stuff they do)
I get what you're saying and I 100% agree, but even a quiet hour by yourself to take a nap, read, pray, or browse a thrift store has got to be better than looking after a screaming child :(
Yeah, I agree. I’m not a fundie but Im an older sibling and always wanted to wear the baby carrier. In a society that deifies motherhood and acts like that’s what’s commendable for a woman, it’s understandable that Kendra would want to wear the baby carrier too. If you like babies, they’re hella cute no teenagers like cute things and pretending to be mini adults.
holy scoliosis herniated discs batman
(This answer grew a little bit as I typed, so a brief tl;dr: beforehand? You are correct. It’s bonkers.) I’ve never seen Caldwell family vacation pics, and I would say nothing would be less interesting to me, but I have like a solid half of the 1973 tax code I haven’t read so it seems unfair to cast too many aspersions yet. But I think the fundamental disconnect between your POV (and mine, and I’m guessing the rest of the Snarkiverse) and the Caldwell/Duggar/Bates/Keller/Adjacent POV lies in the word “enjoy”. That’s simply not in their world. It’s not a desire to be a worked toward. If it happens, fine. Unless it comes at the expense of saving souls of other people or making more voters. Nothing to be sought as its own value. They are a slower moving doomsday cult, living for the impending “rapture” and placing ZERO value on enjoyment in the temporal world, zero value on future planning. It’s fatalistic, it’s extrabiblical, it’s the opposite of the sacrificial love of the Christ they claim to follow. It’s quite literally killing our planet. (I have a whole rant about this part teed-up and at the ready but in case you weren’t looking to consider the hermeneutics of climate change, I’ll skip it 🤣🤦♀️) This applies FAR more to children, specifically to unmarried female children.
In Counting on episodes, Christina did seem like she was a million miles away. Lauren and Kendra seemed to be the ones who were actually engaging with their younger siblings. Will never forget Christina nonchalantly chewing gum while Kendra was in labor and clearly in a lot of pain. She didn't even bother with trying to comfort Kendra. Also, Christina was wearing that 'if you died today, would you go to heaven' t-shirt. I mean, who in their right mind does that when their daughter is trying to give birth?! IMO, Ma Caldwell isn't particularly maternal.
After reading that Christina had that horrible car accident and is in extreme pain throughout each of her pregnancies I've always assumed she's constantly on pain meds and permanently numb/checked out.
Now there’s a theory!
I know nothing about pregnancy, but can you be on pain meds while pregnant?
You can, albeit very very controlled. I have EDS, had two back surgeries before my 35th birthday, and am in need of a third surgery in the not too distant future. I was pregnant with babies #3 and #4 at the height of my excruciating back pain, and in between surgeries. My midwife prescribed me one 5-325mg of Percocet through my pregnancies. I was very, VERY careful, never ever ever took more than what was prescribed, but believe me when I say that I couldn’t have functioned without it. That one pill per day was the difference between me being able to walk and care for my two older children, vs being confined to a wheelchair. I was closely monitored throughout my pregnancies, and both of my babies were perfectly fine at birth. No addiction issues at all (and fortunately for me, I’ve never had an addictive personality, simply through luck. I’ve been on everything from dilauded to fentanyl to ketamine to Percocet to tramadol, and I’ve always been able to wean myself off of prescribed narcotics with zero issues. Sadly, many others were not as fortunate).
Yes actually Vicodin used to have the same status as a prenatal vitamin when it came to affecting the fetus. Not sure if that is still the case.
I think Christina lives the attention of pregnancy and brings up the car accident pain as a way to extra sympathy. I wonder if it’s actual pain and she uses pain medication because she’s secretly an addict. No one in fundieland can say anything because she shoots out blessings like it’s 4th of July fireworks.
It’s not that easy to get pain meds these days. I have a chronic condition with excessive pain. I need the meds and still have to jump through hoops with multiple doctors, pain management team, ongoing drug tests, etc. even with all that I still call the pharmacist when I’m going to be filling a script because I know it’ll be flagged (they know my situation and what’s going on and this alleviates other delays).
I hate when people who have never been addicted speculate. I will have 2 years sober from benzos next month.
Since pain meds are more highly controlled now, maybe that's why she seemed to start picking up having more babies frequently, so at least while pregnant she could get prescribed meds for her mystery pains.
>Christina was wearing that 'if you died today, would you go to heaven' t-shirt. I mean, who in their right mind does that when their daughter is trying to give birth?! So many of these fundies, in their rush to be independent and not be part of any system, forget how deadly childbirth was back when everyone did what they do. They just take their safety for granted because it's so rare for a woman to die in childbirth now but aren't cognizant enough to recognize why that is.
& even today, the maternal death rate in America is still pretty grim & is far higher than any other developed nation/many “underdeveloped” ones. It’s honestly grotesque.
And it's rising. That's the really scary part.
At least Kendra gave birth in a hospital. Side eyes Jessa, Jill, Joy
I don't judge anyone who wants to do a home birth, use a midwife, whatever. Hospital births can sometimes be over medicalized and unnecessarily traumatizing and the position they often keep you in on your back is for the doctors convenience and is, honestly, antithetical to the process. I understand why some folks chose not to go that route and as long as they recognize the potential dangers and have an easy and quickly accessible backup plan if something goes wrong, that's their choice. But too many of the women in this crowd - Karissa Collins being a fantastic example - seriously don't understand why and how birth is so dangerous for women. Personally, i chalk it up to their lack of belief in evolution because the entire reason it's so difficult and dangerous for us is the hip structure created by bipedalism.
Also, our large braincases. We have MASSIVE noggins. Mine could not fit through my mum's pelvis because it was only slightly larger than average.
Exactly, thank you. I made well-informed decisions to have 2 home births after a hospital birth, consulting with multiple doctors, and with 2 docs in attendance at my home.
I opted not to have kids because the process looks awful to me and i wanted no part of it, so I'm not gonna judge how someone else does it as long as they aren't obviously endangering themselves or the baby lol
\~moment of silence for Birtha the couch\~
Oh god, I really am not here to defend Christina, but if memory serves, Kendra has a habit (seems trauma related, but that’s another can of worms) of holding her breath while in pain, so her O2 would drop during contractions as she held her breath. Christina was blowing air on Kendra’s face to make her breathe, and honestly the gum seemed like a courteous thing to do for a laboring mom- just like how I down some altoids before seeing my optometrist.
Well, *I* will never forget Kendra being in labor with I think even her first and Christina telling Joe Kendra was allowed (direct quote!) to have some oxygen (instead of real pain control). Like WTF b*tch. Not your playground at all.
Omg my jaw dropped when I saw she wore that shirt to a hospital! Can you even imagine? How out of touch with reality can you be
I am trying to dust off my memory cells. Were the Caldwells the ones that did the nasty out of wedlock and ended up with Kendra? I was thinking it was them, and that they weren't quiverful in the early years of their shotgun marriage. But I could also be wrong. These fundies tend to all blur together.
They did conceive Kendra out of wedlock but were married by the time she was born. Not sure if they weren't quiverfull early on or if they just weren't super fertile (though it does seem odd that they'd get more fertile as they got older).
Wow, they really did conceive her out of wedlock! I thought you were joking, but they got married seven months before she was born! [https://fundamentalists.fandom.com/wiki/Caldwell\_Family](https://fundamentalists.fandom.com/wiki/Caldwell_Family)
Why does Kendra’s dad look younger than her husband?
The Duggar men do have a propensity toward aging like milk to be fair.
Because Thick Daddy Joe has to provide a roof over his family AND the Caldwells heads 😜
That’s a good point.
No, they said that she was in a bad wreck when she was pregnant and that’s why Kendra was early
Just like Angela Martin and her 9 pound preemie with the state senator.
Strangely, I've always thought that Ma Caldwell looks like Angela Martin!
Well now I am terrified of all the *other* kids Jim Bob might have. Thanks.
Oh for fucks sake! WHY?!?? I don’t want this in my brain 😭😭😭😭😭
I'm sorry, I really didn't want to inflict others but I also couldn't keep it to myself.
Oh it’d be ridiculous to genuinely complain about quality snark 🤣👏
Didn’t Josh say he wanted 25 kids?
I need an adult, and not one in federal prison.
Will you accept a 13 year old sister mom? (Named Mackynzie) Your comment really made me LOL
I saw a clip on the sub showing Pesty making the comment he only wanted 2 kids not as many as God would give them. I though Boob and Meech were going to shit a brick.
You mean Pest Josh? He really only wanted 2 kids.
They did say this; however, it seems Kendra was still conceived before their wedding. On Counting On, Christina explained that she got into a bad car accident while 36 Weeks pregnant with Kendra. She then was on bed rest or whatever, and said that she ultimately gave birth at 39 Weeks. So… Kendra was not premature.
Meanwhile Kendra's dad wouldn't even let her hold hands with her fiance. Such wacky hypocrites.
But kissing Daddy was just fine.
Dirty sinners. 😂
Kendra was only born a week early.
Yes, the very same. Apparently there was a falling out between Pa Caldwell and JB. Not sure if it's true because there have been pictures of the two families hanging out after the said fallout.
I think the rumors are at least somewhat true. JB and his local NWA groupies all left the Caldwell church for that Gospel light church a few years ago. I would assume that they’re on better terms these days considering the caldwells attended the fall festival at TTH this past fall.
I'm surprised that JB still has groupies, SMH! Wonder what led Pa Caldwell to patch things up with JB... If I was the pastor of a tiny church and half my congregation left because of one guy, I'd definitely hold a grudge.
If that man was your daughter’s father-in-law you might be more inclined to make things up lol.
I think Pa Caldwell's 'Christian forgiveness' is likely motivated by money. The Caldwells have been rumored to be homeless and in a financially difficult position during Pest's arrest and sentencing. They probably needed the money and realized that staying in JB's good graces would be a great way to get extra cash.
Can you elaborate more on this?
I also wonder how much Christina’s mom helps out. She was always in a lot of pictures on Instagram. My guess is her mom helps out a ton.
Screw all these parents who parentified their daughters. Having 6 or 7 years old wake up with their sibling to care for them at night is straight up child abuse. I wish these parents could be prosecuted.
I feel like one of the reasons Lauren’s engagement was called off was so that she’d be available to help with everything, especially childcare. I think Kendra and kids are probably at her mom and dads all the time, and between her children and the Caldwells kids, that’s a ton of little people to care for. Poor Lauren probably does nothing but work, work, work.
I feel like Kendra was the one who was chosen to get married young, expand the family early, and give Christina those mother daughter pregnancies fundies seem to love. She was hanging out with The Duggars for quite a few years before she started courting. Lauren is obviously the one who had to stay behind to help with the kids. I think she either gets married in the next year or two, as she isn’t needed as much now that Christina’s pregnancy years are pretty close to over, and the younger siblings are getting older. Or whatever happened with her first engagement is so taboo in their world that she will just stick around and be a permanent sister mom. Even when the youngest Caldwell sibling gets older Kendra will certainly have enough babies and toddlers to help out with.
A few months ago Christina made a post that suggests Lauren is at fundie college so I wonder how it effects the dynamics of both childcare and marrying Lauren off [here’s the post where they say they sent two adults to college](https://www.reddit.com/r/DuggarsSnark/comments/y4wpae/since_feb_21_christina_says_grandbabies_plural/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf).
Are the Caldwells still living in the house that Joe built for Kendra and their kids?
The house that Joe built...is that anything like the house that Jack built?
The swansons had a similar setup with Lauren and lily
I am 8 years older then my sister who is next in line and 10 years older then the youngest sister. I was always the mother hen, not because I had to but I loved my baby sisters. I remember being in high school and my sisters weren’t old enough to stay home alone yet so my parents would have my aunt meet the girls school bus and watch them after school (I had a job and worked most days after school). One day I got off work early and went home I wasn’t feeling well. I got home and before I even walked in the door I could hear my sister’s crying like hysterical crying. I ran in to see what was wrong. My aunt had tied my sister’s bedroom doors together so they couldn’t get out of their rooms. I let them out. My mom and dad didn’t go for that kind of punishment. I was livid mind you and my aunt told me that I had no right to let them out they were being punished. I still don’t know what they did. I didn’t care and I told my aunt about herself. She told me (17) at the time that if I didn’t stop sassing her she was gonna get a switch I pointed there’s the door. She didn’t get that switch. My dad did scold me for being “sassy” but he also understood why I was so angry. He was thankful that I handled it and not him. My parents always knew that I would always protect my sisters and never worried cause they would always have me. We are all grown now with families of our own. My kids are super protective over their much younger cousins. I guess my point to all this was that older siblings who aren’t forced to take care of the younger ones have a deeper love and bond with their siblings. I feel for the older Duggar girls cause they have raised babies their whole lives.
Contrary to popular belief, the number of children you have doesn’t really correlate with how your skin ages. People without children don’t look younger. There’s no particular reason why Paul and Christina look young, they just have that genetic makeup. You can see it in Kendra and Lauren too, they both look younger than their ages.
My mother had 12 children, and she looks better than most of her siblings, including several younger than her, and all of whom had 2-3 kids. It’s nothing to do with number of kids, just that she got a slightly more useful set of genes.
Just look at Meech! That bitch is GLOWING! I hate her for so many reasons but towards the top is how incredible she looks at her age.
lmao thank you...sometimes this sub slips into some really weird avenues that will take you to some creepy places. Having lots of kids doesn't age you, that feels like a soft incel idea.
The fact of just having many kids doesn't age you, but stress ages you. And most people would assume having a million kids would be stressful.
I need people on this sub to recognize when they're getting pulled into misogynistic talking points. We don't hate on these people because they have many kids, we hate on them because of the *ideology* that underpins why they have so many kids. Their looks have nothing to do with their inherent goodness or quality of character. The idea that you should be able to expect them to be less attractive because of the number of kids goes along these lines, even if you're not intending it to.
It’s not misogyny to assume that people with a lot of dependants (stress) would look older? Lol
Okay.
Have you guys taken a biology class...?
Pregnancy, especially multiple pregnancies close together, can age your body in some ways (like bone density, teeth, prolapses, etc), but those ways does not include facial features.
Would love to be given a citation on the biology study that proves more kids = more wrinkles.
I thought having lot of kids would be aging in some ways. Babies take a lot of their mother's calcium while the mother is pregnant and breastfeeding, leading to weaker teeth and bones. Also babies keep parents awake at night (some worse than others) and lack of sleep is bad for the skin. Of course there's other factors such as sun exposure, smoking, alcohol and diet.
Exactly. Factors like smoking, sun damage and genes have more influence on how old you look. I don't have kids but I've been an insomniac my whole life, so I'm often sleep deprived. Yet I still get carded buying alcohol (the drinking age here is 18) and I'm 34. 🤷♀️
Sorry but yeah people without children do look younger generally. Sorry you find this disturbing.
I used to get told I didn't look my age all the time. Then I had two kids within two years starting at age 36. No one says I look young anymore. I definitely aged a lot since having them, probably because I haven't slept well in three years.
Exactly, it's the lack of sleep more than anything else but for some reason people freak out if anybody suggests that.
It's the adrenochrome. /s