Counting On suffers from the same problem as so many reality shows nowadays, in that its stars are so famous and so popular on social media that it’s very easy to stay up to speed with what’s going on in their lives.
Some have argued that these circumstances render reality TV obsolete, but Counting On remains as popular as ever, and last night’s episode provided some potent reminders of why that is.
The installment served up major developments on different fronts, as the two most rebellious Duggar siblings each prepared for the next stage in their life.
Back in July, Jinger Duggar welcomed her first child, a girl named Felicity.
But at the time that Monday’s episode was filmed, the young couple was still clueless as to the baby’s sex.
“There was a lot of anticipation waiting to find out the gender,” Jinger told the cameras of prior to her doctor’s appointment.
“Who’s the baby going to look like? We were both so thrilled.”
Jeremy — clearly overwhelmed by seeing an image of his daughter for — struggled to put the profound moment into words.
“That’s incredible,” he said at one point.
“This was my first time ever being in an ultrasound, and the fact it’s my child was astonishing,” Vuolo later added.
“I was almost at a loss for words.”
Despite some initial misgivings, Jeremy and Jinger opted to find out the baby’s gender as early as possible, and lucky for us, the emotional moment was caught on camera.
“We opted not to be surprised so maybe we could have more time to reflect on the name, and maybe down the road we may choose to be surprised,” Vuolo said.
“When the technician told us what we were having, we were both overjoyed,” Jinger told the cameras.
“We just could not believe it.”
Just a few months later Felicity Nicole Vuolo entered the world at 8lbs. and 3oz.
And so far, fans have continued to share in every moment of her young life.
Of course, Jinger and Jeremy weren’t the only ones gearing up for a life-changing moment on last night’s show.
Josiah Duggar and Lauren Swanson got married in June, and on Monday’s Counting On, fans got a peek at the preparations as Lauren attempted to find the perfect dress for the occasion.
The Duggars and their fundamentalist community are typically very big on gender roles, but Lauren broke with tradition by bringing her dad along on her dress-shopping excursion.
“Before Josiah came into the picture, my dad was my very best friend,” Lauren told the cameras.
“He was someone I always would talk to about anything if anything was wrong, and I really value my dad’s opinion.”
Of course, there are downsides to shopping with the guy who’s footing the bill:
“I really wanted him to be part of it. My dad will probably be more concerned about the price, just knowing my dad,” Lauren said.
“He’s very frugal. I don’t necessarily like to pick the expensive things. I don’t tend, to but that happens.”
Clearly, Lauren’s not as conservative as the Duggars — so it’s a good thing that she found happiness with the most non-traditional of the Counting On clan.