Jessa Duggar grew up in front of TV cameras on her family's TLC reality show, 19 Kids and Counting, and in November 2014, the same cameras filmed her on her wedding day, as she tied the knot with husband Ben Seewald. The couple now stars together on the Duggar spin-off, Counting On, where they share glimpses of their lives as parents to their young sons, Spurgeon and Henry. And though it may not be easy to raise two children under the age of 3, Ben Seewald's quotes about fatherhood show he's loving life as a husband and father.
Jessa and Ben's relationship began in September 2013 with a traditional Duggar-style courtship (think: chaperoned dates and very little physical contact), but it didn't take them long to realize they were a perfect match: less than a year later, according to People, 19-year-old Ben and 21-year-old Jessa announced their engagement.
A few months after that they were married, and their first son was born only days after their first wedding anniversary. In 2017, they welcomed their second child, and while they may not exactly be intending to have as many kids as Jim Bob and Michelle, it certainly sounds like Ben hopes he and Jessa will expand their family in the years to come.
He Takes His Role As A Father Very Seriously
Ben may be a young dad — he was only 20 when his first son was born — but he sounded like an old pro pretty much right away. In a video message for TLC filmed a month after Spurgeon was born, Ben spoke about his adjustment to fatherhood, and while he admitted that the sleep depravation was pretty rough, the love he felt for his son seemed to more than make up for it. He said:
There's a lot of things that are awesome about [being a dad]. Having your own little guy, and just the privilege of raising a little kid. It's a huge responsibility and a huge blessing at the same time.
He Wanted His Sons To Have Meaningful Names
Jessa's parents may have decided to give all of their children names that start with the letter "J," but when it came time to name their own children, Jessa and Ben took a bit of a different approach. Shortly after Spurgeon was born, Ben explained the unique name choice to TLC, and said,
His name is Spurgeon Elliot Seewald ... Charles Spurgeon was a preacher that lived back in the 19th century, and he had a big impact on our lives, and his writings and sermons and books are still around today. They just continue to impact many, many people.
After their second son's birth, Jessa and Ben took a little bit of time to decide upon a name, but at the time, Ben told TLC, "This baby is probably going to have a unique name, sort of like Spurgeon's, but we haven't quite settled on a name yet." Their final decision? Henry Wilberforce Seewald, a name Ben said was once again inspired by a historical figure:
William Wilberforce was a British politician in the 1700s and he was very instrumental in abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire as well as doing a lot of other great things, and he's a real hero of ours, someone that really walked with God and his closeness with Christ and his joy that he had in the Lord really fueled his life and all that he did. And that's why he was so relentless, even after facing defeat so many times, he persevered and he lived to see the day when the slave trade was made illegal throughout the British Empire.
His Fatherhood Strategy Is All About Preparation
It's not easy to leave the house when you have an infant, but it didn't take Ben a long time after Spurgeon's birth to learn a thing or two about surviving an outing successfully. His trick? There's no such thing as being too prepared. In an episode of Counting On, Ben shared his wisdom, and said:
We probably wouldn't use up 10 diapers in one day, but, you know, it's better to be over-prepared. Because what if we forget to put some extra diapers in there next time? ... I just think, "let's stuff this thing with diapers." We need an extra outfit? How about two or three extra outfits? Make it four.
He Wants A Big Family
Although many couples decide around the two-kid mark that life is already chaotic enough, Jessa and Ben both come from large families, and definitely seem to want to have a large family themselves. Though he may not have as many siblings as his wife does, Ben is the oldest of six, and in 2016, Jessa told Us Weekly, he "jokes about wanting 15 sons." But whether or not that ends up happening, one thing the couple does agree upon is their desire to grow their family through adoption.
Though Jessa gave birth to both Spurgeon and Henry, adoption was something they've been open about even before they became parents. In 2015, according to E! News, Ben said:
Kids are so important. We hope to adopt a lot of kids. If God blesses us with biological kids of our own, it's not going to quench our desire to adopt.
Ben and Jessa definitely have their hands full these days with their two boys, but it also doesn't look like they'd want it any other way. And while they still have quite a long way to go before they have their own super-sized Duggar brood, Ben's love of fatherhood makes it seem pretty likely that there will be many more baby announcements in his and Jessa's future.
This first-time mom wants to have a home birth, but is she ready? Watch how a doula supports a military mom who's determined to have a home birth in Episode One of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below. Visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for the next three episodes, launching Mondays in December.
