Abbie Duggar has had a pretty rough time during the first weeks of her pregnancy. It was recently revealed that she suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum — an extreme form of morning sickness. Abbie was even hospitalized a few times as a result. She is expecting her first child, a girl, with husband John David Duggar .
The expectant dad spoke with Us Weekly about his wife’s scariest pregnancy moments. John David revealed that Abbie became extremely dehydrated, requiring an IV both in the hospital and at home. He continued by saying that Abbie’s severe nausea lasted around seven weeks. Since Abbie was unable to keep much down, she wasn’t eating or drinking a lot. The few trips to the ER were needed so that the Duggar daughter-in-law could get enough fluids, which ultimately helped get her through the rough patch.
The mom-to-be, who is a nurse, praised her reality star husband for taking excellent care of her during that time. John David helped out by doing some of the household chores while she was feeling bad. Abbie called him “an angel.”
“I keep her water filled up, and her snacks for her. I keep her eating and just comfortable. Anything I can get for her, I try to. I run to the store, [get] whatever she needs, just keep her as comfortable as possible when she’s feeling bad,” John David told Us Weekly .
Okra is apparently the one food that Abbie is craving these days. John David shared that she eats it pretty much any way she can get it. Abbie even mixes the vegetable into smoothies sometimes.
From the looks of it, Abbie’s second trimester seems to be going much better than the first.
A maternity photoshoot was featured in the magazine, with the Counting On couple posing together. Abbie’s small baby bump can be seen in the photos. She is wearing a grayish-blue dress that is belted around her small waistline. She has a ring of white flowers and greenery on top of her curly blond hair. The ensemble appears to be the same outfit that she was seen wearing in an earlier TLC promo, where she announced her pregnancy at the Duggar maternity photoshoot. John David is wearing tan pants with a white shirt in the snaps as he stares lovingly at his pregnant wife.
Ever since the Duggar couple made the special announcement in August, Abbie has been sharing a few baby bump snaps on Instagram. Earlier this month, Abbie also revealed that her due date is in January. The couple will be welcoming a baby girl to start the new year off.
John David and Abbie’s photoshoot, as well as the rest of the Duggar family, will be featured on this season of TLC’s Counting On .