‘Counting On’: Does Joe and Kendra Duggar’s Baby No. 3 Put Them On Track For More Kids Than Michelle and Jim Bob?
Counting On stars Joe and Kendra Duggar are expecting baby no. 3. The reality stars shared a photo to Instagram on Aug. 19, though fans had already suspected the two might be adding to their family after Kendra recently took a lengthy social media hiatus. Now, with a third on the way, are they officially on track to have more kids than Michelle and Jim Bob?
Joe and Kendra Duggar have two little kids
When Joe and Kendra wed back in 2017, they didn’t wait long to start a family. The two began courting in March 2017, though Joe knew right away that he was ready to propose. He and Kendra only courted for about two months before he popped the question at his older sister Joy Duggar’s wedding to Austin Forsyth.
Once Joe and Kendra were engaged, they planned a wedding in four months and tied the knot in September 2017. Exactly nine months later (to the day), the two welcomed their first child, Garrett, in 2018. Less than a year after that, the couple announced that baby no. 2 was on the way, and they welcomed their second child, a daughter named Addison, in November 2019.
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The two called baby no. 3 the ‘tiebreaker’
Recently, fans had grown suspicious of whether Kendra could be pregnant with baby no. 3. Fans remember her taking a brief social media hiatus prior to announcing her second pregnancy, so when she went missing from Instagram for several months, people were becoming more curious about whether the two were expecting another child.
On Aug. 19, Joe and Kendra proved fans’ theory to be correct: The two announced that their third child is arriving in February 2021. With that, Joe and Kendra will have welcomed three kids in less than three years.
Many fans are excited for the couple, offering them congratulations, though some did touch on how many children Kendra is having in such a short time (she celebrated her 22nd birthday earlier this month). “What a sweet announcement!” cousin Amy King wrote. “You have a beautiful family!” someone else said. “Kendra is super fertile,” a fan wrote, noticing the couple’s three pregnancies so close together.
Joe and Kendra are pacing slightly behind Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar
With the announcement of baby no. 3, Joe and Kendra are on track to have 19 kids. Kendra was already slightly ahead of Michelle in that she started having kids at a younger age, but this newest announcement seals the deal. At this point, Kendra and Joe are having three kids in just under three years, or an average of one child every 16 months. That means Kendra could have 19 children in about 25 years, or by the time she’s 45 (based on age 20, her age when she welcomed her first child). Michelle had her 19th child at 43, so that puts Kendra and Joe slightly behind the two.
Viewers have criticized the couple for having so many children so young
Though many people are happy for the two, not everyone who watches the show was excited for Kendra and Joe when they announced their second child a little more than a year ago. Viewers accused Joe of turning his wife into a “baby machine” and following in his parents’ footsteps of having so many kids. Now that the two are welcoming a third with an even shorter separation of time than the first two, it’s inevitable that some fans are thinking the same.
