Samuel Dillard — known as SamSam by his parents — is the infant son of Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard.
Since his birth, fans have spotted hints that baby Samuel has some sort of health problem.
New photos shared by the Duggar family have even more fans worried that Samuel has a health issue. And puzzled that the Duggars are keeping it quiet.
The Duggar family is not one to stay quiet about their ever-expanding brood.
Any time that a Duggar baby is born, there are photos left and right.
Sometimes, a mother will sit down and do a photoshoot with a magazine within days of giving birth. Reproduction is a huge part of the Duggar brand, folks.
So the relative lack of photos and proclamations of joy in the weeks that followed SamSam’s birth were … suspicious to a number of fans. Fans were curious for other reasons, too, which we’ll get to in a moment.
First, look at these recent photos:
He’s so cute!
As usual, many Duggar defenders think that asking questions about one of the children qualifies as "hate."
But fans who have been curious about Samuel for a while point out that he appears to lack a prominent bridge to his nose.
That can be an indicator for certain genetic disorders.
If Samuel was born with visible indications of a disorder at birth, that might have explained the relative radio silence that the family went into about their new addition to the Duggar family in those few weeks after he was born.
You might look at adorable photos of Samuel and say "well, he’s cute; his nose doesn’t mean that he has a condition or disorder."
And you might be right.
But, as fans of the Duggars are quick to point out, there’s more than a social media absence after his birth to make fans wonder.
After Samuel’s birth, Jill started posting some cryptic messages on social media.
They were, of course, Christian in origin.
On Instagram, Jill wrote:
"It’s easy to praise God when things are going great, but do we continue to count our blessings when things aren’t going like we planned?"
That’s not the usual sentiment that a happy mother expresses after her child’s birth.
Some, however, note that there may have been some complication with Jill.
Some suspected that she’d required an emergency hysterectomy after Samuel’s birth. If true, that would certainly qualify as crushing news for a member of a fertility cult.
Others wonder if she may have been suffering from post-partum depression. The human body can be cruel, folks.
For what it’s worth, Samuel also seems to spend a lot of time on the floor. Even for a baby. And, often, without a blanket, which infuriates a lot of followers who hate the idea of a baby wallowing on the carpet for hours.
But that might just be yet another Jill Duggar parenting fail.
Are these latest photos further evidence that Samuel has a genetic disorder? We sure don’t know.
We do know that the Duggars are just about the last family we’d want a potentially disabled child to be born into. (Or any child, for that matter)
And we have to wonder why Jill and Derick haven’t either cleared up this rumor … or confirmed it. Some fans can’t help but wonder if the couple is ashamed of their son.
We should point out that perhaps the strongest argument for Samuel not having a genetic disorder is that his parents haven’t spoken about it.
With all of the money that Derick and Jill asked for to help with their "totally legit" missionary work, you’d think that they’d milk their fans for donations if they have a child with any sort of specual needs.