Why Fans Are Wondering If There Are Any Secret Duggar Babies On The Way

The reality series "Counting On" may be long gone, but the "counting" part goes on and on. Out of the original 19 children in the famous Duggar family, ten are either parents or about to be. That adds up to a lot of grandchildren for parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar — so many, it seems, that even they can't keep track.

The latest family member to expand the clan is Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth, whose big news had her family cheering. She and husband Austin have two children and just found out they're expecting their third. Being a true millennial, she captured her family's reactions via FaceTime on her YouTube channel, "Following the Forsyths." She first called her dad, holding the pregnancy test stick out so he could see. "Is that what I think it is? Wow," Jim Bob said, laughing. The next part of the video, though, is what has fans murmuring. Joy told her dad, "You're going to be a grandpa again. Number...I don't know how many?" Jim Bob immediately replied, "Number 30." 

Is that so? As Mirabel from "Encanto" sang, "I think it's time for a grandkid round-up!" Joy's new baby will be her third, and her brother Jeremiah recently announced the happy news that he and his new wife are expecting their first baby, a girl. Their siblings have 11 boys and 12 girls between them (via In Touch Weekly), but that only comes to 27 in all. That's why fans are murmuring about the math.

Going strictly by the baby announcements made over the years by the Duggar family members who are active on social media, the "GrandDuggar" total comes to 27. But if Jim Bob claims to have a full 30, something isn't adding up. Could he have been including the babies his children lost to miscarriages? Joy, Jinger, Jessa, Jill, and the wives of Josiah and Josh have all suffered pregnancy losses (per Monsters and Critics and the Dillard Family). But if that were the case, then Jim Bob would probably have mentioned having six "angel babies" in the total count.

Thus was born the "secret Duggar babies" theory. According to In Touch Weekly, some fans are speculating online that a few grandchildren might have been born under the radar. Joseph Duggar, who has three children, hasn't posted to his Instagram since November 2021, and Josiah's account is invitation-only and has only two posts. Could these low-key brothers have expanded their families without alerting the internet? Then there's son Justin Duggar, who announced the big news of his wedding back in February 2021. Given the Duggar family's religious beliefs — which promote a traditional family model and frown on birth control — it seems unusual that one of its members would wait so long to add to the clan. With no clarification or comment from any of the Duggars, however, it's more likely that Jim Bob's miscount is a slight case of "grandpa brain."