Jill Duggar Dillard’s Open Letter To Jessa Duggar Seewald: Let Jana Babysit
Jill Duggar Dillard recently shared a little motherly advice with her younger sister, Jessa Duggar Seewald: get plenty of rest, and don’t feel guilty about asking other people to take care of Baby Spurgeon while you recover.
In a post on the Dillard Family website, Jill Duggar revealed that she actually participated in the birth of Jessa’s first baby. However, Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, are currently on a long-term missionary trip in Central America, and they decided not to fly back to the States to witness Spurgeon Seewald’s dramatic arrival. It’s likely that Jill used FaceTime or Skype to watch the birth, and maybe the Certified Professional Midwife also gave her family some tips on how to help Jessa out during the difficult delivery that landed her in the hospital.
“Hey Jess, Derick, Israel and I are so excited for you and Benji!” Jill Duggar wrote in an open letter to her sister. “I can’t believe you have a little one now! It was such a joy to get to be apart (sic) of the birth from Central America, thank you. You were a champ! I felt those contractions with you.”
Jill Duggar also told her sister that she wants her 7-month-old son, Israel, to keep in touch with cousin Spurgeon via FaceTime as much as possible. Jessa’s husband, Ben Seewald, shared a photo of the baby boys’ first FaceTime interaction on Instagram.
Jill begged Jessa to visit Guatemala soon so that she and Derick can meet their nephew, and she dropped a hint that she and Derick aren’t going to be missionaries forever — Jill is planning on Israel and Spurgeon living close enough together that they can share a wardrobe.
“I’m sure since they were about the same size at birth they’ll be sharing clothes too.”
Jill Duggar added a P.S. to her open letter for her sister that included a little Duggarly, motherly advice — she told her Jill & Jessa: Counting On costar not to feel guilty about taking advantage of the kindness of family members and friends who are willing to babysit so that Jess can rest.
“Don’t feel bad letting friends and family help you these first few weeks!” Jill wrote. “The more rest you get the better for you and baby and the faster you’ll recover!”
Jill Duggar’s P.S. could be a direct response to a recent RadarOnline report about how Jana Duggar is being “forced” to stay up all night caring for Baby Spurgeon while Mama Jess catches up on her sleep. Because 25-year-old Jana is unmarried and has no children of her own, she’s often tasked with taking care of other family members’ children.
According to People, Jana has been spending the night at Jessa and Ben’s home along with Grandma Duggar. Jana probably feels like she’s already a parent after spending almost two decades serving as a “sister mom” to more than a dozen younger siblings, and this is why RadarOnline claims that Jessa took “an uncaring dig at her unmarried and childless sister” when she made the comment below.
“You never realize the responsibility of being a parent until you have a baby yourself.”
Jessa said that she had to ask Jana for help because she kept getting up and shining a flashlight in Spurgeon’s face every time she heard him make any noise. Worrying about her son was making it impossible for her to get any rest.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, Michelle Duggar also offered Jana’s childcare services to Jill Duggar after Israel was born. However, it was Joy-Anna Duggar who was sent to Central America to babysit Israel while Derick and Jill took Spanish classes.
Jess isn’t just getting help from Jana — she’s also taking a page from Jill Duggar’s post-birth playbook by making her husband change diapers while she recovers from her son’s traumatic delivery.
“Ben is changing all the diapers,” she told People.
After Israel was born, Jill Duggar told the magazine that she was also given a temporary reprieve from diaper duty during her first days as a mom.
“I still haven’t changed a single diaper,” Jill said. “Derick has been changing them all.”
The Duggar daughters needed all the rest that they could get after both of their home births went horribly wrong — Jessa had to be rushed to the hospital for a blood transfusion after Spurgeon was born, and Jill had to have a an emergency C-section after being in labor for 70 hours. It’s a good thing the girls have so many helping hands.
[Image via DuggarFam Instagram]