Counting On stars Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth and Austin Forsyth shared a gallery of emotional photos showing the couple holding their stillborn baby, a few days after revealing Joy-Anna suffered a miscarriage last week. The gallery included a photo of Joy-Anna’s mother Michelle Duggar and sister Jill (Duggar) Dillard visiting them at the doctor’s office.
The new photos show the couple holding their stillborn child, which they named Annabell Elise after learning it was a girl. Another photo shows Joy-Anna with her friend Carlin (Bates) Stewart, who did the makeup for her. The last photo shows the baby’s footprints, alongside a quarter to show how small the baby was at 20 weeks.
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“We only had her for 20 weeks, Life is fragile and precious,” Joy-Anna wrote in the caption. “So thankful the Lord gave her to us for that short time! She will be in our hearts forever!”
Joy-Anna went on to thank her fans for their “love and support” and Stewart for “coming to town to be here for me and for doing my hair and makeup for pictures with our little girl!”
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Stewart also shared other photos taken from the doctor’s office, and included her own heartbreaking caption.
“I wish there were words to express how broken hearted I am for my best friend,” Stewart wrote. “Seeing her give birth to her little girl, Annabell Elise, and knowing that she would never be able to hold her again while on earth just brings tears to my eyes. Yet, through it all, she has been so strong and held on to Jesus, knowing that we will see her little baby in heaven one day.”
Stewart continued, “I know that Jesus doesn’t promise that we will not face difficulties in this life, but He does promise to be by our side every step of the way. I’m so grateful to have a friend as precious as Joy, and I know that she would covet prayers at this hard time.”
The Forsyths announced they lost their baby on Wednesday, a week after their doctor told them the sad news. They shared a black and white photo taken at the doctor’s office. The couple said they found comfort in their faith.
“Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time,” the couple wrote. “Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord. In the words of King David after the loss of his baby, ‘I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me’ (2 Sam 12:23).”
“We were so sad to hear that Joy and Austin’s baby girl passed away mid-way through their pregnancy,” Joy-Anna’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, wrote in their own statement. “The pain of losing a child is unimaginable. Yet, for the one whose hope is in God, there is a peace that surpasses our finite understanding. We pray that God will comfort Joy and Austin and carry them through this difficult time.”
Joy-Anna and Forsyth are also parents to son Gideon, who was born in February 2018.
Photo credit: Instagram/Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth
