Joy-Anna Duggar Welcomes First Child With Austin Forsyth

There’s a new Duggar in the family!

On February 23, Joy-Anna Duggar, 20, and husband Austin Forsyth, 24, welcomed their first child, a baby boy. Weighing in at 10 pounds, 3 ounces and measuring 22 inches long, Gideon Martyn Forsyth is healthy and both mama and baby are doing well, the family reports.

“We are blessed beyond measure with the arrival of our son, Gideon Martyn Forsyth,” the family told People.com in a statement. “Looking at our child for the first time was such an incredible moment! God is so good, and we are so thankful.”

The Duggar family official account also posted the exciting news on Instagram with a photo of the new parents:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfqnmXsl5Fg/?hl=en&taken-by=duggarfam

Joy-Anna and Austin were lifelong friends, having known each other for 15 years before entering in what they call a courtship. Physical contact, including kissing, is almost entirely banned until marriage. Once a couple is engaged, they are permitted to hold hands. But Joy-Anna and Austin got caught breaking the rules of courtship when they got so excited that they hugged after his proposal. (Usually the only types of hugs that are allowed are “side-hugs.”)

After a three-month engagement the happy couple married at Cross Church in Rogers, Arkansas in March 2017. For their honeymoon, the two set off to Geneva, Switzerland. Joy-Anna later announced her pregnancy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVFh1QmFyAU/?hl=en&taken-by=duggarfam

The Duggars rose to fame as the ultra-conservative family on the reality show “19 Kids and Counting.” Patriarch Jim Bob and his wife Michelle Duggar are fundamentalist Christians who do not believe in using birth control and instead rely on God to determine how many children they would have. Their unique lifestyle made their show a popular one on the TLC network; the family’s current spin-off is called “Counting On.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfd4zzKFh79/?hl=en&taken-by=duggarfam

For Jim Bob and Michelle, baby Gideon is their 10th grandchild and counting. They already have five grandchildren from their son, Josh Duggar, 29, and his wife Anna: Mackynzie, Michael, Marcus, Meredith and Mason.

Daughter Jill, 26, who is married to Derrick Dillard, has two children, Israel and Samuel, and Jessa, 25, who is married to Ben Seewald, has two children, Spurgeon and Henry.

The new parents shared photos of their new addition on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfq9ArlhOpl/?hl=en&taken-by=austinandjoyforsyth

What a sweet time for these two young parents.

As for the rest of the Duggar family, more grandchildren are on the way! Next up is Joseph Duggar, 23, and wife Kendra Caldwell, who are expecting a baby boy later this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc2gv93lS63/?utm_source=ig_embed

Jinger Duggar, 24, and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, 30, are also expecting their first child by early summer.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfUl0ipgtV7/?taken-by=jingervuolo

Congratulations to the growing family!