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Jessa Duggar and her husband, Ben Seewald, are preparing to welcome their seventh child, with the reality star revealing that a photo of her positive pregnancy test was how she broke the news to him.
The former 19 Kids and Counting star announced that she was six weeks pregnant during an October 28 appearance on Matt and Abby Howard's Unplanned Podcast. Seewald confirmed that their families had known about the pregnancy, but the podcast hosts were the first people outside their relatives to hear the news.
Duggar said she sent her husband a picture of the test while he was out golfing with her brother, Jed Duggar. Seewald recalled looking at his phone while sitting in a golf cart and being caught off guard by the message.
"I was just like, 'Wait, what?'" he said. He added that he immediately shared the news with Jessa's father and brothers. Duggar admitted that she was the one who suggested having another child, explaining that she tends to develop baby fever soon after giving birth.
"It's always me," she said. "I get baby fever way too soon. I'm like, 'How can I have a newborn and have baby fever?'" When she raised the idea of a seventh child, Seewald agreed. "She's the one carrying this child," he said. "If she wants to have another one, if she wants to be a mom again, who am I to stand in the way of that?"
The couple, who married in 2014, already have six children: Spurgeon, 10, Henry, 9, Ivy, 7, Fern, 5, George, 2, and Edward, 15 months.
While the pregnancy was planned, Seewald acknowledged that raising a growing family comes with concerns, particularly about finances and ensuring each child receives enough individual attention. He previously described feeling overwhelmed when they discovered they were expecting their sixth child, which had been unplanned.
The experience prompted the couple to reconsider how they managed their schedules and spent time together as a family. Duggar said they have worked to become more deliberate about making time for their children.
Despite the practical concerns, the couple said they have not settled on a maximum number of children they want to have. "We don't believe that like you have to have a max number or whatever," Duggar explained. "We want to be on the same page as a couple."
For now, the family is preparing for the arrival of their seventh baby.
