The Duggar family just gained another mini member! Abbie Duggar (née Burnett) gave birth on Tuesday, January 7, to her and husband John David Duggar’s first child.
“Our lives have changed forever with the arrival of our baby girl,” the couple told Us Weekly exclusively of Grace Annette on Thursday, January 9. “She is a beautiful gift from God. We are so blessed the Lord has given her to us. It’s still surreal to know that we are really parents but it’s a great new adventure that we are excited to take on together.”
The infant arrived at 3:21 a.m. at 7 pounds and 11 ounces. She measured 20.75 inches long.
Us confirmed in August that the nurse, 27, was pregnant. “We are on Cloud 9 about welcoming our own little Duggar into the world,” the Counting On stars told Us in a statement at the time. “It really is amazing to think about being parents and having our own child to raise. We are thankful that God has blessed us with this new life and we look forward to taking on this new adventure!”
Later that same month, the reality stars revealed the sex of their baby-to-be with pink confetti.
Abbie had a tough pregnancy, suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which is characterized by extreme morning sickness, the TLC personalities explained to Us in October.
“It hit her hard, and she was down for probably seven weeks,” John, 29, told Us exclusively. “She was hospitalized a couple times. We made multiple visits to the ER for dehydration. … She couldn’t eat, pretty much, or drink, or anything. So she was actually on IVs and had IVs at home. So that was a pretty scary time.”
Abbie opened up about this on a December episode of Counting On. “I am currently eight weeks along and I’m feeling awful,” the pregnant star said in a confessional at the time. “I pretty much just been lying in bed, go to the bathroom and maybe to the couch. … Morning sickness has hit me pretty hard. … I’ve been admitted to the hospital a couple of times on top of that. It’s been a pretty rough go of it.”
Despite her symptoms, the Oklahoma native maintained a positive mindset. “At this point, I have to remind myself why I’m so sick,” she says. “It honestly hasn’t been very enjoyable. I just keep saying, ‘There’s a baby coming! There’s a baby coming! This has a good ending.”
Her husband, though, felt helpless “watching [her] in pain.” The 19 Kids and Counting alum explained on the show: “[I] wish I could take it away, do something to help her.”
He and Abbie wed in November 2018 in Oklahoma.
