Keeping the Baby

Hi, my name is Terah and I just wanted to share my story for anyone who is out there and pregnant and scared. I am 17 right now and have a 3 month old son named Aiden. I chose to keep my baby and honestly, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I was only 16 when I got pregnant and when my son was born. I was a junior in high school. My boyfriend was 17 when I got pregnant, and turned 18 shortly after that. I’m happy to say we are still together and plan on getting married some day.

When I found out I was pregnant, I was absoulutely terrified. I didn’t even find out by taking a home pregnancy test. I was taken to a hospital an hour away from my house because my mom thought I was trying to kill myself because I had locked myself in my bathroom. They asked me if I was pregnant and I told them I might be. They made me take a test and a half an hour later they came in and told me I was pregnant. That was so scary for me because no one was with me except police officers and a social worker. The police officers called my mom and told them. After about another 2 hours, I finally got to go home.

Telling my boyfriend was scary but I had previous talked to him about the possibility. He was shocked when I told him, but he didn’t try to take off. He was very supportive and knew that I was going to keep the baby no matter what, so that was really helpful. Luckily, he wanted this baby and decided we should stay together and be a family.

Telling his parents and my dad (my parents are divorced) was probably one of the hardest parts. I told my dad through a text message because I didn’t have the guts to call him. He understood and waited a while to call me because I’m sure he was in shock too. My boyfriend’s mom has told the story many times about how she was having the best day ever and then she knew something was up when my boyfriend said "mom, I need to tell you something…" She was going to tell my boyfriend’s dad but never got the chance. Living in a small town has it’s downfalls and he found out by word of mouth. He was actually very happy as this would be his first grandchild.

My grandmother was another hard person to tell because she is very conservative. When she first found out, she was really mad and wanted to take me to a clinic to get an abortion. Eventually, she came around and now she loves my son more than anything. She even babysits him once in a while.

As for school, I stayed in school until two weeks before Aiden was born. I passed everything the first 3 quarters of school and stayed out of school the last quarter, which did lead to me failing that quarter, but that’s my own fault and has nothing to do with having a baby. Next year I’m going to an alternative school to get my HSED. I’ll be going 8-Noon Monday-Thursday every week. I might also be graduating early, in January, 4 months before the rest of my class graduates.

Overall, having my son has been the best thing to ever happen to me. He is so happy and full of life and I love watching him grow up and do new things everyday. If you are questioning what to do, know that keeping your baby can be good for you and that it may even help you change your life around. My son is the greatest thing in the world and has made my life so much better. I hope my story can help someone. 🙂