Early in April, the world learned that Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon was pregnant with twins.
This was exciting, albeit overwhelming, news for her and her husband, Josh Efird.
Lauryn has been playing things close to the vest — unusually so, for an entire family of reality stars.
Now, it’s reported that Lauryn has given birth via C-section.
The Sun reports that Lauryn and Josh welcomed a baby girl and a baby boy on May 19.
Mama June Shannon’s latest grandchildren were born via C-section at a Georgia hospital.
The facility specializes in high-risk pregnancies.
Both of Lauryn’s babies are healthy, and were able to go home just a few days following their births.
She, too, recovered and went home — though we all know that C-section recoveries are lengthy and often painful.
Pumpkin’s baby daughter reportedly weighted 6 pounds, with her baby boy weighing 5 pounds and 4 ounces — just barely under the average healthy size.
Considering that they are twins, that sounds very healthy for both of them.
Given that they were born nearly two weeks ago, chances are that they are both now substantially heavier than they were at birth.
Gaining several ounces or even a pound a week is not out of the question for healthy, well-fed newborns, but different babies grow at their own pace.
Lauryn and Josh have never formally confirmed that they were expecting.
The news that broke in April came via report.
Neither of them have addressed the pregnancy in public, and neither have most of their families.
However, Mama June did touch on the topic — without confirming it.
June simply stated that her daughter needs another child “like she needs a hole in her head,” a reference to Lauryn and Josh having enough on their plate.
Lauryn is only 22 years old, but already has a 4-year-old, Ella, and a 10-month-old, Bentley.
June did acknowledge that Lauryn is a good parent, describing her kids as “spoiled like hell.”
We should of course keep in mind that June grew up in and spent most of her life in extreme poverty and abusive environments.
Lauryn’s children will never have to rely upon roadkill or ketchup-based spaghetti. In most ways, fame has been a true blessing to this family.
Of course, even if Lauryn and Josh were rich — and they are not — making the jump from two kids to four is a huge deal.
Significantly, they are now dealing with two newborns, a baby, and a preschool-aged child.
That is a lot of children, and one hopes that friends and family are helping out with childcare, housework, and anything else. It’s a lot.
Many families lean on grandparents for childcare when newborns need time and attention.
It’s unclear if Lauryn would trust June enough with something as precious and fragile as her children at the moment.
While the family has spent a lot of time and energy mending fences, June erased a lot of trust during her downward spiral … and also lost custody of Alana.