After giving birth to their 19th child nearly three months premature, Michelle Duggar said she is making the most of every minute she gets to spend with new daughter Josie Brooklyn.
“Josie is doing as well as can be expected for a baby at her age. We are taking each hour as it comes,” Michelle told People. “We feel so blessed that God has given us to her and are cherishing every moment with her.”
Michelle and husband Jim Bob welcomed Josie on December 11. At birth, she weighed 1 lb., 6 oz., and was delivered via emergency C-Section.
Michelle has since been released from the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences hospital. However, Josie has remained under hospital care.
The reality mom’s doctors said the premature birth was due to a rare condition called preeclampsia, which causes high blood pressure during pregnancy.
“God’s will is what we would choose if we knew all the facts. Our children’s spiritual maturity is going to deepen so much through this, in a way that couldn’t happen any other way,” Jim Bob told People. “This is so difficult, but I know that we are leaving this in God’s hands.”
The couple – who star on TLC’s “18 Kids and Counting” — announced they were expecting the new addition to their family in September.
A spokesperson for TLC previously confirmed to Access Hollywood the network was planning to change the name of the family’s reality series to “19 Kids and Counting.”
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