Entertainment
Josiah and Lauren Duggar's journey to parenthood has been full of difficult, emotional, and beautiful moments. And in a new Counting On special, Lauren Duggar opens up about giving birth to their daughter, Bella Milagro, and viewers are given a behind-scenes-peek into what looked like an exhausting two days of labor.
Josiah and Lauren welcomed their daughter on Friday, Nov. 8. At the time, in a statement to Us Weekly, the couple described Lauren's labor as "long and difficult". "When we finally got to see and hold our precious Bella Milagro all of the pain went away," they told the magazine.
Lauren's birth special on TLC's website documents Bella's "long and difficult" arrival, but Counting On fans are also shown the moment when they finally get to meet their baby girl. It's revealed in the special that Lauren had to have not one, but two epidurals administered to her when the first one wasn't working. Lauren's right leg began to feel heavy after her first epidural and her blood pressure dropped. A few hours later, Lauren's doctor decided to order a second epidural. The Counting On star was ultimately given medication to help during labor.
Josiah and Lauren's birth special was certainly dramatic, but ultimately ended with their smiling baby girl. Beyond Lauren's epidurals, here are a few more interesting facts that were revealed in the special.
Lauren Walked On A Treadmill To Induce Labor
Lauren started experiencing some "pretty intense contractions" 10 days before her due date. To help speed up the process, the couple headed to Lauren's parents' house, where she did lunges up the stairs, bounced on an exercise ball, and walked fast on a treadmill. Josiah said in the special that this caused more cramping and allowed the labor to progress. But, Lauren didn't work out for too long; the couple went home to wait out the contractions before making their way to the hospital 24 hours later.
Lauren Was In Labor For Almost 48 Hours
The TLC birth special first starts out at the couple's home during the day where Lauren is experiencing some of her first contractions. But the couple didn't actually go to the hospital until 24 hours later.
After experiencing symptoms of back labor and struggling through her epidurals, Lauren began losing steam and started getting fatigued. Especially since she had been in the hospital for over a day. After almost being in labor for two whole days, Lauren finally was able to start pushing.
Baby Bella Smiled At Lauren & Josiah When They Held Her
Once Bella finally made her big debut, the couple was able to enjoy their first moments with their little girl. Lauren's labor was well worth the hardship once she got to hold Bella, who was so alert during those first few moments. Her eyes were wide open and looked directly at her parents. "It was like she smiled," Michelle Duggar said in the episode. "Oh she says, 'The woman I love, there she is. My mom.'"
The labor might have been long and painful, but it seems that it all subsided once Lauren got to lay her eyes on Bella.
