N is for Nothing

     I am watching 16 & Pregnant. I watch it every week for a couple of reasons. One, it's one of my guilty pleasures. Two, I host a 16 & Pregnant chat post in a Young Mom group on CafeMom.

     Let me just say, these girls know nothing about what they're getting into. Now, I am not an advocate for teen pregnancy, quite the opposite actually. However, once you get yourself into certain situations, you should do some research and be prepared for what's coming.

     The teenager they featured tonight was 37 weeks pregnant and had planned nothing. She hadn't decided if she was giving the baby up for adoption or keeping it. That's not so bad. I understand that that's a difficult decision. However, she had bought nothing for the baby. No crib, no car seat, no diapers, no clothes. You have had 9 months to plan for this one day, one would think that you could be a little more prepared.

     I can't imagine having a commitment as big as another human life and having nothing prepared. We had a crib up, car seat ready and all of the newborn clothes washed before Thing 1 was born.

     After she decided to keep the baby, she started to realize that there were other things that she hadn't planned for. She can't afford daycare, so she decided to do cyber school. Good decision. However, she made no plans for childcare while she works. It wasn't long after she went back to work that she had to call in because the (unemployed) child's father flaked on watching her while mom worked. 

     I guess the thing that really gets me is that they think that it's all going to be easy. They think that things will just work out and things will go their way. Reality check - it doesn't work that way. You have to work to get the things that your child needs.

     Ok. Rant over.