'God answered our prayers': Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard expecting baby after miscarriage

By Jeannie Ortega Law, Christian Post Reporter Monday, February 28, 2022

Duggar sister Jill Dillard of "19 Kids and Counting" fame revealed she and her husband, Derrick, are expecting another baby after her recent miscarriage.

“We’ve been keeping a little secret!” the couple said in a blog post shared Sunday. 

The Dillards suffered a devastating loss last fall due to the miscarriage of their baby they named River Bliss.

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“We have prayed that, if it was God’s will, He would bless us with another baby," they said.

“We are excited to announce that God has answered our prayers and we are expecting our rainbow baby due July 2022! We are so thankful for a healthy baby and pregnancy so far and we look forward to finding out the gender soon!”

Rainbow baby is a term used for a baby born after a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Dillard was a main figure in her family’s popular TLC series, “19 Kids and Counting,” which followed her Christian parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, and their ultra-conservative household. After seven years on air, she starred in the spinoff series, "Counting On," along with her sisters. She decided to quit the show in 2017. 

The couple, who married in 2014, have two sons, Israel David and Samuel Scott. They first revealed in 2021 that Dillard had suffered a miscarriage.

“We recently found out we were expecting our third baby,” the Duggar sister captioned an Instagram video at the time. “We were thrilled! However, a few days later we started miscarrying. We love and miss you, River Bliss!”

The Arkansas native disclosed that the name of their unborn child was intentional. 

“One meaning for River is ‘tranquil,’ and here in Arkansas, rivers are often a serene, beautiful escape in nature,” they explained in the blog post at the time. “We also like how the River talked about in the Bible (Rev. 22:1-5) represents God’s life-giving presence. The river of life (Holy Spirit), ‘flows from the throne of God,’ and with the tree of life is ‘for the healing of the nations.’” 

They added, “Our baby doesn’t get to live here with us on earth, but is forever with the source of the river of life, in the presence of the Lord!”

The Dillard family's announcement comes as the eldest Duggar sibling, Josh Duggar, is facing up to 20 years in prison for allegedly having over 200 images of child porn on his devices of children “ranging from about 18 months of age to 12 years of age.”

After Josh Duggar was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography in December, the Dillards shared a lengthy statement on their family website. 

“Josh’s actions have rippled far beyond the epicenter of the offense itself,” they said.

“Children have scars, but his family is also suffering the fallout of his actions. Our hearts are sensitive to the pains Josh’s wife, Anna, and their seven children have already endured and will continue to process in the future. This trial has felt more like a funeral than anything else. Josh’s family has a long road ahead. We stand with them, we are praying for them, and we will seek to support them however we can during this dark time.”