Jinger Vuolo (nee Duggar) was understandably a little freaked out about what would go down in the delivery room.
“I had heard so much about what it would feel like, the kind of pain I would experience and how difficult it would be, and it made me nervous,” the first-time mom admits in the new issue of Us Weekly. “But when the time came, I felt like God gave the grace to cope.”
The TLC personality, who welcomed daughter Felicity on July 19 with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, reveals that her labor was exhausting. “Everyone told me giving birth was like running a marathon but until I experienced it, I really did not know what to expect,” she says. “But I have been so thankful to have so much great help around me, giving me time to rest and recover.”
Of course, one of those people, is the baby’s dad, Jeremy. The 30-year-old former soccer player — who recently tweeted an ode to coffee — is clearly helping with those late-night feeds. And Jinger tells Us he was “a great support” as she pushed through contractions. “He was right there beside me the entire time, giving me encouraging words to press on,” she says. “There were several times I told him, ‘It hurts so bad, I can’t do it anymore.’ And he’d say, ‘I know it hurts but you’re stronger.’”
The couple, who tied the knot in November 2016, both fell in love with the moinker Felicity months before she was born. “It just felt right,” raves Jinger. “The name itself means intense happiness or supreme joy. It was also the name of a young Christian girl long ago who valiantly stood strong for her faith.”
The new season of Counting On premieres on TLC on Monday, July 30, at 9 p.m. E.T.
For more on the Duggar family, check out the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
With reporting by Brody Brown.
