Melissa

Melissa found out that she was pregnant when both she and her boyfriend were 17. She was 2 months pregnant when she took a pregnancy test in September of her senior year. Of course she was concerned about graduating and overall having a good school experience. At first her friends were very supportive about the pregnancy, excited for Melissa, and anxious to see the baby! But that quickly changed.

As the first semester of school was coming to an end, so were Melissa's friendships. She and her best friend started drifting apart. They fought over stupid things and just didn't see eye-to-eye. Her other friends soon followed and as a result of this Melissa never had a baby shower.

During the second semester of her senior year, she did classes where she taught herself so that she was still able to graduate on time. She didn't hang out with any friends since she really didn't have any. Melissa spent most of her time with her boyfriend. But her hard work payed off and she graduated two months early! Although, she wasn't able to attend prom or any other school events.

Melissa had her daughter on May 8, 2011 (mother's day). She was induced at 11 pm the day before and delivered at 4:18 pm on the 8th. She weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 22" long. Her name is Quinn after the Glee character (Quinn Fabray) with whom Melissa greatly related to (pregnant in high school with friends leaving her). In fact, seeing how Quinn got through her pregnancy gave Melissa hope. During her stay in the hospital only one person from school came to see Melissa even though she had posted on Facebook and texted everyone that she had had her baby.

She finally went home and had a rough recovery, she was in a lot of pain and pretty sad. Still no one came to see her or her daughter that they had been so anxiously awaiting just months before. All of her friends just stopped talking to her and wanted nothing to do with her. Melissa felt so alone. She was diagnosed with postpartum depression.


Since then Melissa has gotten over it and everything has been okay. She has learned to move on without friends and still has no friends to this day. But, she has worked out a timeline as to when she would like to start working and going to college. She is now engaged to Quinn's father and all that is left health-wise is a stomach problem she has had since she had Quinn. Melissa would like to wish luck to all the other teen moms out there and remind them that: "You don't need bad friends in your life or people who don't care about you. All you need is your baby and family :)"


I know just what Melissa felt without the support of her friends, but in the end she is right. As I often say: "Friends come and go, but family is forever." (:
~Izabella

Angela

Angela's mother was a teen mom. Her mother battled with an addiction to drugs for as long as Angela can remember, and Angela never met her dad.When she was 16 her and her mother lived in a small town. One day when Angela came home from school, a friend of her mother's let her know that her mother decided that she didn't want to live there anymore, so she moved away without Angela. Angela then moved in with her mother's friend and moved on with her life without her mom.

Angela met a boy named Michael one day at a dance. Michael was the sweetest person that she had ever met. They started dating shortly after they met and a few months later, Angela found out that she was pregnant. This was the summer before her junior year of high school. Angela moved in with Michael and his family and they were very sweet to her. They showed Angela a love that she had never experienced with her own family.

On March 5, 2010 Angela gave birth to her beautiful little girl Aliya via c-section at 4:54 pm. She called her mother, but she never showed up to see her daughter or her granddaughter. Michael and his whole family were there at the hospital to support Angela.


She was able to finish out her junior year of high school because Michael's mom babysat Aliya for her during the day. One month after starting her senior year of high school Angela found out that she was pregnant again. She was even more scared than the first time she got pregnant and she actually considered all of her options. But in the end, she just couldn't choose abortion.

On May 4, 2011 Angela gave birth to her little angel Alyssa Gabrielle at 8:17 am via scheduled c-section. She then graduated high school on June 3, 2011. Michael and his entire family were by her side of course. Angela now feels blessed to be a mom, she loves her little angels and her fiance.

Angela has gone through a lot in her life and I am so glad that she finally found her happy ending!
~Izabella

Gaby

Gaby had been with her boyfriend for two years when she got pregnant in December of 2008. She found out she was pregnant in January of 2009 at approximately 6 weeks pregnant. Her mother found the positive pregnancy test in Gaby's purse. Her mother told her father and both were very disappointed. Gaby's boyfriend was very scared but also happy. Gaby's aunts were also unhappy with her. But ultimately everyone realized that there was nothing that they could do about it now. So, the next month Gaby and her boyfriend got married. (They have now been happily married for nearly three years).

Gaby had an easy pregnancy, she enjoyed watching her belly grow every day. She had an awesome baby shower with her supportive family and friends. On September 15, 2009 Gaby gave birth to her son Alexander. He was happy and healthy, and everyone was excited to meet him. Her parents were thrilled to have a grandson and they loved him so much!

But, at just two weeks old Alexander fell very ill. He had reflux in his kidneys and had to be hospitalized multiple times. The first time was for three days, then for five days, and then for one whole week. Baby Alexander even had to spend his first Halloween in the hospital. Gaby says it was so difficult to see her baby like that. She wants everyone to know that being a teen mom and a teen wife is not easy especially when you have to watch your brand new baby sleep in the hospital attached to various machines and what not.

I think the best lesson here is that no matter how easy it may seem at first, teen parenting is never a cake walk.
~Izabella

Yexenia

Yexenia graduated from high school in 2009 at 17 and a half. She was very excited to start attending an amazing University that she had fallen in love with. Her dream was to major in biology and study to be a plastic surgeon or a veterinarian. Ever since she was a little girl she saw herself in the medical field. Her first quarter at college went very well and she passed all of her classes. But a few days after she finished taking her exams, Yexenia began to feel very ill, she started cramping and throwing up. She thought these were signs of beginning her period, so she ignored it. She had a feeling though that that month felt different. She felt like she knew she could be pregnant but she denied it to herself multiple times. Finally though, Yexenia had to know and she went and bought herself two pregnancy tests.

Yexenia took both pregnancy tests while her boyfriend waited outside of the restroom for her. She prayed to God that she wasn't pregnant and even told herself that if she wasn't, she would never have sex again until she was married. Well, the tests were...POSITIVE. She couldn't believe it and felt that all of her dreams were gone and her world was over at just 18 years old...She walked out of the restroom and saw her mom laughing with some friends that she had over. Yexenia felt so guilty that she was going to ruin the dreams that her mother had for her. Her mother always wanted her to get married in a white dress, learn from her mistakes and not be a teen mom like she was.

When Yexenia walked into the room and saw her boyfriend, she burst into tears. Instantly her boyfriend knew and he started shaking. They had no idea what to do. She just kept telling him that her dreams of going to medical school were gone. Her major concern was disappointing her parents, and she knew the moment that she told them they would be devastated. Finally she calmed down and talked about things with her boyfriend, but she still didn't tell her parents. But, the next couple of weeks she was very sad, and also quite sick. She says that though she grew up religious and knew abortion shouldn't even be an option for her, she thought about it. But since then she has always told herself that she would never get an abortion nor would she even think about it again.

Finally Yexenia told her mom and her step-dad that she was pregnant. Her mom cried a lot, but in the end she told Yexenia that she would always be there for her and support her throughout everything. Her step-dad didn't talk to her for weeks. She then had to tell her birth father. He was never really there for her but they did keep in touch, and he always gave her great advice. She was so scared to tell him that she took her mom and her step-dad with her. Her birth father didn't even know that she had a boyfriend, so you can imagine how awkward it was. Not only did Yexenia have to introduce her boyfriend to her birth father, she had to tell him that this boyfriend was the father of his first grandchild! Needless to say, he was shocked and very disappointed. But, Yexenia felt much better  after telling her parents.

At this point Yexenia knew that all she could do was accept things for how they were and move on with her life. Her daughter was born around August of 2010 and is a beautiful, healthy 15 month old now. Her and her boyfriend got married in April of 2011 and as of tomorrow (November 18) they will have been together for 6 years. Thankfully, things are going great for them now: they have their own place, her husband has his associate's degree in criminal justice, and she is currently going to college to become a registered nurse. She wants to start out slow and major as an RN with hopes that one day she will become a doctor.

Yexenia says that as a teen she didn't think about the consequences. She had been having unprotected sex with her boyfriend (now husband) since she was 14. They had only been together for five months and she never really thought that she could get pregnant. But after 4 years of having unprotected sex, she did get pregnant. She wishes that she would have known more about birth control, but she wasn't informed. Yexenia also says that from watching Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant, she has learned so many things about birth control that she wished she would have learned sooner. She doesn't regret her daughter, but she does regret having unprotected sex. She wishes she could have her same daughter but have her be born later. Her advice though is to always be positive and just look to the future.

I wish the best for Yexenia and her family, and I couldn't agree more with her about always looking ahead!
~Izabella

Haley

Haley got pregnant when she was 16 years old and though she had a very supporting boyfriend, her pregnancy was rough. Haley was constantly sick and in & out of the hospital. But on January 7, 2011 her rough pregnancy payed off. She gave birth to a baby girl named Lily who weighed 6 lbs 2 oz.

When Lily was only two months old she had to have heart surgery. It was coarctation of the Aorta repair. The surgery saved her life, but it was not an easy process for her parents. Haley says: "I never imaged that at just 17 I'd be spending two weeks at the PICU..." 

Lily's father has always been very supportive of Haley and Lily, and Haley has never doubted him as a father. He is in the military, and they got married September 9, 2011. Haley plans on getting her GED and going to college for nursing, but between her pregnancy and Lily's heart troubles it has been difficult for her.

Both families stand behind them 110% and Haley knows just how much of a blessing that is. She realizes that she couldn't have gone through any of this without them. Lily is 10 months old now, healthy, and hitting her milestones quite well! Haley says: "Being a teen mom has its hard times, but when I wake up every morning to my baby girl smiling, it makes everything worth it."

I can't imagine how difficult it would be to watch your baby have to go through surgery... Haley and Lily are both strong!
~Izabella

Mariah

The following story was shared with me by a young girl named Mariah. She is in 11th grade now (just like I am) but her story begins when she was in the 7th grade...

Mariah found out that she was pregnant when she was in seventh grade, she first considered abortion considering her family would provide her with no support. She ended up going against her family and keeping her baby. She had her son, Jason when she was in eighth grade and her only support system was her cousin. Mariah raised Jason with the help of her cousin until Jason was about one year old.

Mariah realized that although she was trying VERY hard to raise her son, she was only in middle school and didn't even have the option of getting a job therefore she had little money. The hardest thing that a mother can realize is that raising her child herself is not the best option for her child. Although it was very difficult for Mariah, she and her cousin decided that the best option for Jason would be to have him live with Mariah's cousin for a while. Her cousin was out of school, had a job, a place to live, and could ultimately supply Jason with anything he would ever want or need. Although Mariah was giving up her motherly duties to her cousin, Mariah would still able to see Jason every week.

On Jason's second birthday, Mariah spent the entire day with him  and she felt very confident in her decision. Jason was very happy and living life well. Mariah hopes that one day Jason will understand her decision to give him to her cousin temporarily and will see that she only wanted what was best for HIM in the end.

Mariah is a junior in high school this year and can not wait to graduate next year. As part of the agreement with her cousin, Mariah will be able to get Jason back when she graduates from high school.


I personally wish her the best and respect her decision to do what was best for her son, no matter how hard that decision may have been.
~Izabella