Alexis

When Alexis was 15 years old she found out that she was pregnant. If this wasn't hard enough for her family to digest, the father of her child was not 15 but 21 years old. This is one of the many reasons Alexis was less than thrilled to tell her family the news. Eventually she broke the news to her mom who immediately tried to convince her to have an abortion. Alexis knew that she didn't want to have an abortion, so she turned to her 21-year-old boyfriend for support.

Her boyfriend Brian was very supportive throughout her pregnancy. But this was only due to the fact that he was obsessed with Alexis. He ended up being very controlling. When Alexis broke up with him because he was treating her badly he ended his support and would just call her names and make her feel bad.

Even without the best support system Alexis still managed to complete her 10th grade year. She enjoyed school, but that soon changed also. She ended up losing all but one of her friends when she was first pregnant. Then when she was 7 months pregnant her only friend began drifting away too.

At this point Alexis felt utterly alone. Well time went on and eventually it was time for Alexis to give birth. Her whole family came to the hospital when she gave birth to her daughter Ava and ended up being very supportive. Brian was there too and he even convinced Alexis to give Ava his last name.

Alexis soon realized that this was the biggest mistake she had every made. Brian cared nothing for their daughter. He was still selfish and controlling. Even at the age of 22 he made it a point to talk to all of Alexis' ex-friends because he knows it pisses her off. He would tell them false information about her so that they would spread rumors about Alexis.

Alexis despises Brian and has now realized that it is impossible to act 16 and 30 at the same time; and that teenagers should not be left to make adult decisions.

~Izabella Tovar

Shelby

Shelby met her boyfriend when she was just 14 years old. She liked him and he liked her, so they started dating. They had been dating for just over one year when they became sexually active. As a 15 year old and now sophomore in high school Shelby was loving life. She was a varsity cheerleader, a straight A student, and had a boyfriend that she adored. But that all changed when she found out that she was expecting.

Shelby had finally built up the courage to tell her mother that she was sexually active at the age of 15. Then just one week later she had to tell her mother that she was pregnant. Her mother was a teen mom herself so she was understanding, but being a mother she was far from happy. Initially Shelby was positive that she was going to have an abortion. She was not going to give up her cheer team and possibly compromise her superb grades because of a mistake.

However, Shelby soon changed her mind. Thinking deeply about it she realized that if her mom would have had an abortion, she would not be here. Therefore how could she take her child's life? Shelby made the same decision that her mother had made just 15 years earlier and in her junior year of high school she gave birth to her beautiful daughter.

During the rest of her high school years her relationship with her boyfriend was constantly on the rocks as he was far from helpful. Shelby ended up graduating high school with a 4.0 GPA and her boyfriend slowly came around. She was accepted into the University of Virginia's Nursing School and as she grew up, so did her boyfriend. As time went on their relationship strengthened and he became a great support system to her.

Shelby was very grateful of him because her first year of college was a bit of a juggling act. She had to commute an hour to and from school every day while being a mother and planning her wedding. With each other's patience and support they all soon fell into a routine. Last June, after completing her first year of college, Shelby married her longtime boyfriend and the father of her daughter. They were able to move closer to her school and things are now a bit easier for Shelby and her little family. She is in love with her husband and is grateful for his support, she is still attending college and her commute is shorter, and she is enjoying life with her amazing daughter. Their life is not easy and money is tight but they are all happy and healthy; they couldn't ask for more.

Shelby wants teen mothers to know that it is possible to juggle school with a baby. Education does not need to be put on hold just because you get pregnant.

I couldn't agree more. (:
~Izabella

Christina

When Christina was a freshman in high school, she met a boy. As teenagers usually do, she thought it was love. They stayed together for a year and by then they decided they were ready to have sex. The condom broke and they didn't know what to do. The only thing they could do was wait... and sure enough, eight weeks later Christina found out that she was pregnant.

She was 15, pregnant, and terrified. She did NOT want to tell her family, so she didn't. Christina decided to tell a few select friends and her health teacher. Her teacher was very nice and super supportive. She respected Christina's decision to not tell her family right away and helped her through it. Christina ended up hiding her pregnancy from her family for six months and the whole time her health teacher would check in on her, talk to her, and make sure she was doing alright.

On April 13, 2006 Christina's grandfather passed away; just one day before her 16th birthday. This was a very tough week to get through and she started to let her guard down. The next week at school the nurse called Christina into her office. She had noticed that Christina had been wearing unusually baggy clothes and was particularly trying to hide her belly. Christina confessed to her pregnancy and after some crying the nurse called Christina's mother in. This is when her family finally found out that she was pregnant. Her mother wanted her to put her baby up for adoption but Christina didn't want to. After much disagreement they all agreed to keep the baby.

Finally it was getting close to her due date and she began to have serious contractions. So, she went to the hospital and was told that she was in active labor. The doctor asked if she wanted her water to be broken and Christina said no. This was fine because her baby was not under stress and she wanted to go all natural. For five long days Christina was having contractions but she was not dilating and her water wasn't breaking. Her mother and her went shopping so that Christina could walk a lot and finally her water broke. On August 1, 2006 Christina welcomed her beautiful baby girl Emma Elizabeth into this world.

In December of 2006 Emma's father proposed to Christina. At the time Christina thought for sure that they were not going to be statistics. In September of 2007 Emma's dad left for the Navy and they set a wedding date for June 2008. But just two weeks before their wedding date, Emma's dad was kicked out of the Navy and he disappeared. Christina was hurt not only for herself but also for her daughter because she really didn't even know her dad. But she began to move on. Christina began college in the Fall of 2008 and she wanted to become a police officer.

Shortly after she started classes, Emma's dad called and wanted to "work things out". Christina obliged but with reasonable caution. She refused to let him see Emma until she was sure things were going to work to avoid further confusion for her daughter. He had already walked out once and she couldn't risk putting her daughter in line for more disappointment. Christina was right in exercising caution because just a week in she found out that he was not only cheating on her now but had been basically their entire relationship. She was so glad she hadn't let him see their daughter at all. That was the last time she talked to Emma's father.

By Fall of 2009 Christina had decided that she was fine being single. But she ended up meeting a man named Atticus through a mutual friend. She had had a few classes with him but the two were not familiar with each other. Christina tried to fight it but she realized that they were meant to be together. After just one week she brought Atticus to meet her family and her daughter, they all loved him. Finally Christina realized what true love was, and it was not anything like what she thought she found as a freshman in high school. One month later Atticus proposed, and a few months after that the two eloped.

Christina found happiness. But then in April of 2010 she got really sick. She had a cyst that ruptured and got infected. This was a lot to pay for as neither her nor Atticus had insurance. So Atticus decided to join the Army. Christina and Emma were both so thankful and proud of him, and they still are.

Emma knows Atticus as her daddy and she is so proud of him that she says she wants to be a soldier just like her daddy when she grows up. Even though Emma Elizabeth is now almost six-years-old it still hurts Christina to think back to what Emma's biological father was like. Christina says that any man can father a child, but it takes a real man to be a dad. She is so grateful for her husband Atticus who has been an amazing dad to Emma and she is very happy with her life now.

This is a picture of Christina, Atticus, and Emma Elizabeth. (:

~Izabella Tovar

Kacee

In August 2008 Kacee was 15 years old and a few weeks away from beginning her junior year of high school. This is when she ran into an old boyfriend. His name was Anthony and though he was 14 years old he had flunked out in the 8th grade. Kacee had known him in the 8th grade but since it had been three years since she had last seen him she decided to hang out with him again.

The two hit it off instantly and started having sex within two weeks. Kacee soon found out that Anthony was a cheater and a liar but since she had lost her virginity to him, she trusted him. She loved him and thought he could change. Kacee also trusted him when it came to birth control but, as she soon found out, the "pull out" method does not work.

In February of 2009 Kacee found out that she was 8 weeks pregnant. When she told Anthony he just brushed it off acting like it was nothing. But slowly he started pulling away from her. In just two weeks time he had cut off all contact with Kacee. Her parents freaked out when she told them so overall Kacee felt very alone. She had no idea what to do and didn't have anyone to help her through it.

Kacee knew that abortion wasn't for her and decided to sustain the pregnancy. But due to her lack of support she was thinking pretty seriously about adoption. Anthony called every few months but he was never there as support for Kacee. It wasn't until July (at 7 months pregnant) that Kacee decided that she wanted to keep her baby.

On October 8, 2009 Kacee gave birth to a baby girl and named  her Aleena. Even though this was the beginning of her senior year of high school Kacee still kept up with school and graduated in 2010. As for Anthony, he saw Aleena when she was four weeks old. This was the first and only time that he ever saw her. He also has two other children: a son only 3 months younger than Aleena, and a daughter born in the Fall of 2011. Anthony has signed away his rights to Aleena but still calls Kacee every few months, mainly to be nosy.

Kacee recently completed her sophomore year of college and is working 25-30 hours a week. She is in the process of moving out on her own with Aleena. She hasn't dated anyone since she's had her daughter and she is okay with that. Kacee loves her daughter very much and has made Aleena her top priority in life. Aleena is her pride and joy but Kacee doesn't deny that being a single teen mom has been the hardest thing she has gone through in life.


Kacee says that she not only lost her childhood but she also lost herself in the process, and to her that has been the hardest part.

I couldn't agree more with Kacee. Thanks for reading!
~Izabella

Holly

Holly lives in Houston, Texas.


The Summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school Holly was 16 years old and had just broken up with her boyfriend. Unfortunately it was a little too late, Holly had already been sexually active with her boyfriend. Holly took a home pregnancy test that Summer and it was positive. She told her mom and together they went to their family doctor to confirm. The doctor confirmed that Holly was pregnant and estimated her to be about 6 weeks along.


Holly's mother was in utter shock, she could not believe that this was true. Could her 16 year old little girl really be pregnant? And with a boy that she isn't even with anymore? It was too much for Holly's single mother to handle on her own. One week after they found out, Holly and her mother vacationed to Santa Fe, New Mexico to spend time with her uncle and aunt.


Her mother, aunt, and uncle all agreed that Holly was too young to have a child and that abortion was her only option. Holly began to listen to them and made her appointment at the clinic the next day. Besides, the baby's father didn't want anything to do with Holly or the baby.  He told Holly to get an abortion and never speak to him again. He said that she was selfish if she didn't get an abortion because it would ruin his life. Holly felt as if she had no other option.


But the day of, just hours before her appointment, Holly said no. She said no to her mother, something she had never done before. Holly was not going to get an abortion. She was going to sustain this pregnancy. The next choice she had to make was adoption or motherhood.


Upon returning home, things between Holly and her mother were horrible. They hardly spoke. Her mother was very upset; she just cried and told Holly that her life was over.


When school started again Holly was a junior in high school and she was 2 1/2 months pregnant. She hadn't told any of her friends that she was pregnant yet. So carrying around a secret like that led her to feel like an outsider, a freak. Her home life wasn't much better with her mother being so upset. So, on the second day of school Holly decided that she would move in with her father and her stepmom.


Holly lived with them until Christmas Day, and the whole time she wasn't even in contact with her mother. But her dad and stepmom hardly kept their opinions to themselves either. They were both very adamant about Holly choosing adoption for her baby. But Holly didn't want to give up her baby for adoption. As soon as she found out that she was having a baby girl she decided she would keep her and name her Autumn.


Holly's mom eventually accepted the fact that her daughter was pregnant and was going to need help raising her daughter. So Holly moved back in with her mother around New Year's. She was excited for the baby and even Holly's friends were supportive and made an effort to be there for her. Thanks to them, Holly had a wonderful baby shower.


Autumn's father and his family came around too and they are part of her life now. Holly's dad isn't around much though because he is stil upset that she chose to take responsibility. But Holly has her mom to help her and Autumn get through. She is currently a senior in high school, she took all upper level classes this year and worked at her local mall through the holidays. Holly loves Autumn more than anything in the world and is confident that she made the right decision by keeping her.


Here is a picture of cute little Autumn. (:

~Izabella

Kali

Kali had a baby when she was 18 years old, a son named Kaidan on February 24, 2011. Kali and Kaidan's father have been together for four years and are still going strong. She is a full time student in college and it is hard work. Kali wants people to know just how hard it is to be a mother and a student. Taking care of a baby requires a lot of work and on top of that you have to study because you need to have a career to help support your baby, working at a pizza shop isn't going to cut it if you have a child to support; raising a child is not cheap.

The only thing that gets Kali through the day and all of the hard work is seeing Kaidan's smile. He is her everything and by seeing his precious smile lets her know that she can do anything for him; she wants him to have a better life than she did. Kali still lives at home with her mom and it can be tough. They fight about Kali having to pay rent. It's not that Kali doesn't want to help out, she does. (In fact she knows she has some responsibility to since her little brother also lives with her mom and has to be supported for by their single mother)But Kali only makes so much money and Kaidan's father doesn't have a job, so she has to provide solely for Kaidan.

Kaidan's father is in their lives and is great and loving. Kali is very grateful to him for not running from his responsibilities because it was too stressful, he is a good man. She is also very grateful to her mother. Kali could not imagine living on her own being 18 with a one-year old. She loves being a mom to Kaidan but Kali does miss being able to hang out with her friends and go out on the weekends. She realizes that it is a tough adjustment.

Kaidan is growing up, he is healthy and fun. Kali wants young girls to realize that being a teen mom is hard because although you still feel like a baby yourself at times, you are now fully responsible for a baby too.

Kali, Kaidan, and Kaidan's Father

~Izabella

Allison

Allison found out that she was pregnant three days after Christmas in 2008. Her and her boyfriend stayed together and kept the pregnancy a secret. They didn't tell anyone; not their parents or their friends. They kept it to themselves because they were scared and wanted to know what they were going to do before they told anyone about it. While Allison was at school one day towards the end of February she passed out on the stairs after gym class. It wasn't hard enough to hurt herself or her baby but she was not well. Both her and her boyfriend got scared but they didn't think anything of it.

A few days later Allison went to Chicago auto show with her dad, boyfriend, sister, and her sister's boyfriend. While at the auto show Allison began leaning on her sister and telling her that she didn't feel well and was going to pass out. Her sister didn't believe her, but she did. The next morning her mom was going to take her to the doctor and asked if she was pregnant. Allison was forced to tell her that she was. Her mom was very upset and it was bad. When her dad got home from work Allison's mom told him that Allison was pregnant. Her dad was supportive.

The next week Allison's mom was forcing her to get an abortion but she didn't want one, nor did her boyfriend. Her and her boyfriend both prayed that something would go wrong so that she wouldn't have to have the procedure. When Allison went to the doctor's office they performed an ultrasound and discovered that she was too far along for them to do the procedure in that office. She was 16 weeks along and the state of Illinois allows abortions up to 20 weeks but she would have to travel to Chicago to have a 2-3 day procedure. Finally Allison's mom realized that she was meant to have this baby and let her sustain the pregnancy.

On July 24, 2009 Cassidy Ruth was born. She was perfect and Allison and her boyfriend made a great team. It  would appear that everything was going to work out for this young family. Allison was a full time sophomore in college studying social work. Her boyfriend was also a full time student and was working. Everything was perfect.

Until New Year's Eve 2010. On that day Allison's boyfriend's best friend committed suicide. Her boyfriend has never been the same since and a wedge had come between them and made their relationship very difficult. As the year anniversary approached Allison feared for the worst but she didn't anticipate what would happen next.

In November 2011 Allison's boyfriend told her that he wanted to take a break. From Allison, and from their daughter essentially. Needless to say Allison was broken. She believed that they would always be happy, that they would get married one day. Now she just feels stupid. They had been together for 3 1/2 years and then it was all gone. What hurt Allison the most is that their daughter is now 2 1/2 years old, she fully understands that her daddy isn't around and it breaks Allison's heart to see how much Cassidy misses her daddy. Allison just feels so broken.

If you have been in a situation similar to this and would like to help Allison get through this by giving her some advice please comment below or email me at izabella.tovar917@gmail.com and I will let her know.

Thank you,
Izabella (:

Samantha

Samantha got pregnant at 18 years old. She had been dating her baby's father since they were both 15, they were true high school sweethearts. Samantha found out that she was pregnant at 12 weeks along and it came as a total surprise. She was very happy but the dad was petrified, they were constantly fighting about what to do with the baby. Samantha wanted to keep the baby and eventually the father agreed.

They found out that they would be welcoming a daughter into this world and decided to name her Ava. Samantha had a rough pregnancy. She had placenta previa which is where the placenta (which is usually located near the top of the uterus to supply the baby with nutrients through the umbilical cord) is lying low, usually near the top of the cervix. This can become a problem later on in pregnancy and can lead to bleeding or early delivery. If it persists until labor then a c-section is usually required. Samantha went into pre-term labor at 6 months. She had to go on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. Luckily though, Ava was born on March 12, just five days before her due date.

Samantha and Ava live with Samantha's parents who help and love and support her and Ava. She and Ava's father fought a lot and were under a lot of pressure. They had both just graduated high school and Samantha was in her first semester of college. But, Ava's father couldn't hold down a job and didn't want to attend college. Samantha got a job at an amusement park to put herself through school and she focused her whole life around Ava.

About a year ago Ava's father joined the military. Samantha wasn't wild about the idea at first. It was hard for her to deal with and she was angry at first. But in the end she decided to support him. Now the two are engaged to be married and her and Ava miss him dearly.

Ava is now 2 and a half making her mommy proud each and every day. Now 21 Samantha is glad it worked out with Ava's father and is grateful for her parents' support. She wants people to know that "it's not easy being a young mom; people are quick to judge, friends come and go, but i would never change a thing. I love my little girl."

I wish Samantha and her family the best in life and I know how powerful it is just to have the support of your parents!
~Izabella