Kendra Duggar Opens Up About Her Daughter's Birth: "I Thought I Was Gonna Die"

It's been a few weeks since Counting On stars Kendra and Joe Duggar welcomed their second child together, a baby girl named Addison Renee, and while the new parents seem over the moon now, their daughter's arrival was actually a frightening experience. In fact, in a new special for their TLC reality show, Kendra Duggar opened up about her daughter's birth and shared that she was scared for her life at one point.

Joe and Kendra welcomed their daughter Addison on Saturday, Nov. 2, joining her 1-year-old big brother Garrett, and Counting On cameras were there to capture the special and, at times dramatic, moment unfold. In a birth special video shared on TLC's website before it airs during an upcoming episode of Counting On, viewers can see Kendra struggling to breathe while she was in labor and crying as she went through contractions. It was so difficult for Kendra at times that she expressed her fears to her husband after she'd finally given birth to their daughter.

"I thought I was gonna die," she told Joe.

Fortunately, Kendra had her mom, Christina Caldwell as well as her sister Lauren Caldwell and husband by her side to coach her through the tough moments, reminding her to breathe and coaching her through her contractions. Kendra experienced similar difficulties when she gave birth to Garrett in June 2018, especially when she had trouble remembering to breathe during labor.

Kendra elaborated on her breathing problems during her first birth special with Garrett for Counting On, saying: "I tend to want to stop breathing and just kind of hold my breath when I'm in a lot of pain. And that's something that even during my childhood I've had to work on when I would fall down — to remember to breathe and not hold my breath because that causes more problems."

As for Addison, Joe shared during the special that she arrived alert and "quiet." He added, "Maybe that's a sign of good things to come."

Until this episode of Counting On airs, fans can stay tuned to the couple's Instagram account where Joe and Kendra will hopefully share for more updates about life with their little one.