Baby Seewald 6 is on the way!
On Friday 7th March, Jessa Seewald posted a surprising Instagram announcement - not only was she pregnant, but she was 'halfway to holding [the baby] in [her] arms'. So I suppose we've found the missing GrandDuggar 39 from Joy's podcast interview! Jessa and Ben Seewald are already parents to Spurgeon Elliot (9), Henry Wilberforce (8), Ivy Jane (5), Fern Elliana (3) and George Augustine (1).
Early, Late, or On Time?
This pregnancy announcement was definitely early. After the birth of George in December 2023, Jessa's predicted pace was 929 days, which would have meant a birth in July 2026. 929 days would have been quite a long spacing for Jessa, who was relatively consistent in most of her pregnancies, but was due to the maternal multiplier also coming into effect. To date, Jessa's shortest spacing has been with Henry, who was born only 459 days after big brother Spurgeon, but this is very much an outlier for the Seewalds. Taking into account prior miscarriages Jessa has had and ignoring the Henry spacing, Jessa's average was 777 days (which would have meant a birth in February 2026). If we do include her data with Henry, her prior average was 697 days (which would have meant a birth in November 2025) so this pregnancy is still early, even then.
Timing of Pregnancy Announcement
Jessa's announcements have been getting later over time, though this pregnancy wasn't announced as late as George's was. Her average was to announce on Day 131. Taking Jessa's statement to mean she was literally halfway through the pregnancy on 7th March, and therefore announced on Day 140, her average announcement time stays the same at Day 131 (18 weeks, 5 days).
Due Date
If 7th March was the absolute midpoint of the pregnancy, Jessa would be due 25th July 2025. On average, she gives birth one day early. That gives a predicted date of birth of 24th July 2025 for Baby 6. A birthday on 24th July would mean a spacing of 583 days between George and the new baby.
Impact on the Data
This pregnancy drastically speeds up Jessa's pace. She's now predicted to have a total of 10 children, up one from her previous prediction. This pregnancy also affects the maternal multiplier, though the effect was fairly small. It is a quicker pregnancy in the 30-35 age bracket though, with the average pace in this age bracket now standing at 709 days, and therefore reduces the predicted pace for other women in this bracket.
Jessa's new predicted pace for Baby 7 is 783 days. They are not expected to announce the gender or the name of this baby or any upcoming ones, based on precedent from previous pregnancies. With all prior babies, they have done this after birth.
Baby Seven?
With a pace of 783 days, Jessa is predicted to announce her next pregnancy in April 2027 for a birth in September 2027.