Being young and pregnant

“I can’t be a mom, I’m still living with mine! “
      When I turned 18 and shortly after graduated from High School, having a baby was far from on my mind. I thought I was just going to enjoy my new found freedom going to college and mooching off of my family for a while longer so that I wouldn’t have to grow up too fast. I figured I was going to take my time and wait till I graduated college before starting a new life of my own. Shortly after my first semester of college however, I had a shocking surprise that made me realize that things weren’t going to go as planned. I was going to have to grow up a lot faster then I had ever imagined when I realized that I was going to have a baby.
      When I first found out my initial reaction was to cry. I didn’t know what I was going to do. So many questions and concerns ran through my mind. Luckily I had my very supportive boyfriend to calm me down a bit and help me realize that we could do this together. Though still scared out of my mind I knew that no matter what I wanted to keep the baby and that sooner then later I had to tell my mother. She had my brother when she was only 16 and I came only a year after so I figured even though she would be crushed to hear the news, she would be supportive. But that didn’t help the fact that I was still terrified to tell her.
      Eventually the news came out in the middle of McDonald’s parking lot and then it all really began. Soon the whole family knew and the hardest part of it all was the fact that they didn’t know how to react. Pregnancy is one of those things where you want to hear the words “Congratulations!” But being so young no one really knew what to say. They asked questions like “Are you planning on keeping it?”, “Are you still with the father?”, and “How do you feel about it?” Once they got all the information they needed I got the congratulations but usually it only came following the words “Well then I guess”. Every so often I would get a meaningful congrats, but people were still scared for me.
      Luckily after a 9 week ultrasound picture and a couple of weeks for it to all really sink in, everyone started to calm down and actually become excited for a new baby in the family! My mother started thinking about what grandma name she wanted to be called cause in her opinion she was to young for Grandma. My boyfriends mom started buying diapers so that we would already have a collection before the baby even came. And everyone else would tell me about all the adorable baby clothes they saw when they went grocery shopping.
      Now over halfway through the pregnancy most of our family and friends are excited for the new baby. We now know the sex is a boy and everyone is already buying us adorable little outfits. Though they are all still very scared for me they give me a lot of support. My mother is planning on babysitting whenever I need it for college cause her biggest concern is for me to still get a good education, something that didn’t work out for her when she was out of high school with a baby. But no one forgets to remind me that its going to be hard having a baby. Though at times its still very hard just being pregnant at such a young age, I’m excited for my new son and I know I wouldn’t be able to get through it without the support of everyone. -By Nicole Shaffer