[Jackie McClellan](/columnists/Jackie+McClellan)  
11/3/2009

It's the moment we've all been waiting for, as Anna gives birth to her daughter Mackynzie Renee.

This past week's episode of "18 Kids and Counting" was a special one for all. Because this episode was a special one, it was an hour long, and divided into two parts.  
  
The first part of the episode centered on Michelle and Anna's doctor visits, and them shopping for their babies. To begin the episode, Anna and Michelle had their doctor's appointments at the same time on this particular day. What was special about this episode was that now they have started filming at Josh and Anna's house. Early that morning, Josh and Anna picked up Jim Bob, Michelle and Jordyn to go to the appointments. Anna said that Josh is not a morning person, while she is.  
  
When they got to the doctor's office, they had to fill out the required paperwork. Anna and Michelle were both called in for their appointments at the same time. The main reason Michelle said she went to the doctor was to start her pre-natal care. The nurses figured that after all the children she has had, she knew what to expect. While Michelle had an ultrasound done, everyone had to leave the room. They found out that Michelle would having one baby, and that she is further along than she thought. They concluded that she was about nine weeks pregnant, meaning she got conceived on Father's Day. Michelle also figured out that Anna's baby will be about five months older than her baby.  
  
At Anna's appointment, she and Josh heard the baby's heartbeat. The nurse said the baby has a good heart rate of 125. Josh and Anna were also able to ask any questions they had.  
  
While they all were at their appointments, their grandmother watched the other kids, most of whom were still sleeping when their parents left.  
  
After the doctor appointments, Jim Bob stayed home to watch the younger kids, while all the girls went baby shopping at a consignment store called The Growing Kids. Before the girls even left, they showed Jim Bob where everything in the kitchen was, because he didn't normally make dinner. The girls didn't get a chance to make dinner before they left, so he had to figure it out for himself.  
  
Then the girls left and picked up Anna. When they arrived at the store, they had to wait in line because there were so many people there. As soon as they got into the store, they had instant success. They found many items they liked right away.  
  
Back at home, Jim Bob and the younger kids made dinner together. They made a family recipe of barbeque chicken sandwiches. Most of the kids liked it, but not all of them, in particular, Jedidiah didn't like it.  
  
Back at the consignment store, Anna called Josh for advice, and asked him if he could come by with his truck after work. Anna and Michelle got along well while shopping. The two discussed what products are essential for certain ages of babies.  
  
"Mrs. Duggar is great, as far as getting advice from," Anna said.  
  
In the end, they found some really good deals, and they were happy with they got.  
  
To finish the day off at home, Jim Bob and the younger kids had popsicles for desert. While eating these popsicles, Jim Bob led a Bible session around the dinner table. The theme of the Bible Study was to encourage your brothers and sisters to do good.  
  
The second part of the episode focused on the birth of Anna's child. The episode began with a look back at Josh and Anna's relationship. It included tidbits of how they met, how he proposed to her on her birthday in 2008, the announcement of their baby, and Anna's pregnancy along the way.  
  
Next in the episode, they described Josh and Anna's job, and how Anna is learning about it along the way. The two sell used cars. They talked about how selling cars this summer was difficult, and that times were slow. Anna said it's easier to relate to someone their age. She also said it is disappointing when someone is excited about buying a car, and then they come back after the test drive and don't want to buy it anymore.  
  
After that, Anna and Josh went to their Bradley class on child birthing. Even though they forgot to do their homework, their instructor Miss. Theresa, still thought Anna looked great, and that she did well in her exercises.  
  
During all this, the Duggar family women had begun planning a baby shower for Anna. The little Duggar boys were just beginning to understand the concept of a baby shower, but they were still confused on why "the baby showers are not for boys."  
  
After their Bradley class, Josh and Anna picked up Anna's Mom and sisters (excluding the one who came into town early and had stayed at Josh and Anna's house) from the airport. They had come into town for Anna's baby shower. Everyone was excited to see everyone because they haven't seen each other since their brother's wedding about a year ago. Now that three of them are married, they have begun to spread across the country.  
  
The Duggar women set up for the baby shower. A family friend arrived to help them; she brought a lot of food for it. They had decorated the house in pink and bright green, the two shower colors Anna had requested. The only hold-up during the preparation was the cake. The cake decorators had spelled Mackynzie's name wrong on the cake. They had put an "i" instead of a "y". So Michelle carefully fixed it with some frosting she had. It now looked like a "y".  
  
Jim Bob then loaded up the little boys once he saw the shower was about to begin He couldn't leave however, without examining the cake.  
  
After much preparation, the women hosted Anna's baby shower. Josh had brought Anna, her mom, her sisters and her nieces back to the Duggar house for the shower.  
  
"Mrs. Duggar is one of the busiest people I knowand I had told her not to make it a big dealand when I arrived, I was amazed," Anna said.  
  
The women began the party with many creative games. Then they all ate the food and cake. They also took many pictures, and spent time talking and catching up with one another.  
  
"It was nice to see all my family, and spend time doing things that girls do," Anna said.  
  
By this time, Jim Bob and the boys had come back, and of course divulged into the remains of the cake.  
  
The episode then skips to the morning on October 8. On this particular morning, Anna woke up and said she thought she might be going into labor. Josh immediately called the doctor, and of course, the doctor was out of town. Anna kept walking back and forth around their house. Josh also called his family who was at a convention in Texas at the time. Jim Bob told his son that his mom Michelle and his sister Jill were on their way.  
  
Because their doctor was not in town, Anna said she wouldn't feel comfortable with a different doctor. Josh and Anna began to consider doing a home birth because of this. They asked Miss. Theresa, their Bradley class instructor, if she would help with their pregnancy if Anna decided to give birth naturally in their home. Miss. Theresa said she would, but double checked with them to make sure that that was what really what they wanted to do. The trio talked about it for a couple of hours, and then Josh and Anna decided to go through with it.  
  
Luckily, Michelle and Jill "made it just in the nick of time" as Jill described, for the hard part of the pregnancy. The two stood by Anna through the entire pregnancy. While Anna was in labor, she kept walking back and forth between the bedroom and the bathroom. She also said the shower helped her feel a lot better.  
  
Finally, after more than 11.5 hours in labor, Anna gave birth to their daughter Mackynzie Renee Duggar on October 8 at 6:38 p.m. Anna endured it all through natural birth.  
  
Two days later, the rest of the Duggar family was able to join them. They were all very excited about the new addition. The kids were also excited to be aunts and uncles.