There’s never a dull moment with the Duggar family. Brothers Joe, 24, and Josiah Duggar, 22, are both expecting a baby girl! Joe and his wife, Kendra Duggar (née Caldwell), 20, and Josiah and his wife, Lauren Duggar (née Swanson), 20, announced the sex of their unborn babies on June 25 on Instagram and the on family’s official Facebook page. Each couple created a video and photo reveal, where they thanked Counting On fans for their love and support.
“We are so excited to announce the gender of baby number #2….It’s a GIRL🎉💝”, Joe and Kendra shared on their joint Instagram account. “We are so thrilled to welcome our sweet baby girl this November!” The couple smiled in a photo accompanying the post, which included their son, Garrett David, 1, dressed in a blue onesie with the No. 1 on it. Kendra held a matching pink onesie with the No. 2 on it.
“This gender reveal was centered around Garrett’s first birthday party and they gave him a smash cake!”, Duggar patriarch and matriarch, parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar wrote on the family’s Facebook page. “Garrett was the person who revealed that he was having a baby sister once he got to the middle of the cake and there was pink frosting!”, they added. Kendra also shared a written message to the Duggar’s Facebook page that read: “Parenting has already proven to be more wonderful than we could have dreamed. Even though we come from large families, there is nothing like having your own children. We are so thrilled that a little girl will be joining our family! Garrett is going to be such a great big brother.”
In the video reveal (seen below), Joe admitted that the couple “didn’t suspect” that the gender of the baby was going to be a girl. “The similarities to this pregnancy and last pregnancy, I kind of thought that it would be another boy,” he said, adding, “But, we were so excited to hear that it was a girl!”
Kendra later expressed her excitement about preparing for a little girl. “There’s the fun shopping and getting dresses and bows and all kinds of little girl, cutesy things. I talked to Jessa [Duggar] some on just the advice about going from one to two and she had a lot of helpful pointers. It’s just kind of that transition time right after you have that baby, going from one to two and it’s all good after that, until the next transition.”
Josiah and Lauren’s reveal had a more mysterious element to it. They shared a collage of photos. The first was a black and white snap of themselves, with Lauren holding a “It’s a…” sign. The second photo was in color and showed the couple dressed in pink, with a sign that read, “It’s a girl”.
“We are so thrilled to announce that we are having………………..a GIRL!!! Baby girl, you are already so loved and a joy to our family!”, the couple wrote on their joint Instagram account alongside the photos. “Your fingers are small but you already have your daddy’s wrapped around them and you will forever have mommy’s heart! God is so kind to give us you”
Jim and Michelle opened up about Josiah and Lauren’s road to pregnancy in a candid message on Facebook. “After suffering from a miscarriage last year, Lauren and Josiah have been cherishing every step of her current pregnancy. So when it came to finding out the gender, they wanted to be surprised along with everyone else!”, the parents wrote. Lauren suffered a miscarriage last October. “They had bloodwork done to determine the gender and gave the results to Lauren’s sister Lily. At a small party, each family member was given a balloon filled with white, pink or blue confetti and whichever balloon had either blue or pink would determine the gender,” they explained. “But Lily surprised them by hiding one final balloon in the back with the actual reveal confetti – PINK! It’s a girl for Josiah and Lauren!”
In the video reveal, Josiah said he thought they were having a girl all along, while Lauren admitted, “I was wrong,” as she laughed. “There’s a lot of things to be excited for with a little girl… dressing her up. There’s a lot more things to buy for a little girl,” Lauren said, telling her husband, “I don’t know if that’s good for your wallet.” Josiah added: “There’s a lot more options, I know that!”
Josiah then explained how the couple has been careful with this pregnancy to ensure that their baby girl is safe and healthy. “Lauren’s pregnancy thus far has had its challenges, its ups and downs, just making sure everything is going. So, we’re definitely keeping an eye on things and making sure we go to our checkups and things like that. I’m just excited for this new phase of life,” Josiah revealed.
As for the nursery? — “We’ve gone with gender neutral,” Lauren said, explaining, “I’m a very practical person, so I’d like to reuse it if we have a boy later on. So, it’ll only have a few little pink things in there. We’re so thankful for our ‘Counting On’ fans and their love and support.”