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growing Taylor

December 23rd, 2012 . Posted in by Taylor, education, teen pregnancy & parenting, women, work/career | 1 Comment »

My entire life whenever I thought about what kind of mother I wanted to be I knew I wanted to stay home with my kids until my youngest went into kindergarten. I wanted to be the mom who volunteered at her kids school, drove them everywhere, made every meal from scratch and had dinner on the table in a spotless house when my husband came home from work all while raising a handful of beautiful polite children. Having my son early changed things slightly, I hadn’t yet finished high school and I had no husband to support us. I knew to be able to give my son the kind of life I wanted for him when he was 6 weeks old I started attending school with him in daycare down the hall. It was the most amazing compromise and I was very happy with my decision. Unfortunately for reasons beyond my control that stopped being an option when my son was about 7 months old. (I will do a blog about this later)  It was pretty disappointing but I was secretly thrilled I’d be able to spend my whole day devoted to my sweet little boy! Over the next year I tried to go back to school several times but could not stand leaving him. I was very blessed to have amazing family support that allowed me to stay home with him.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing nothing but raising my son for the next year and a half, but shortly after his second birthday I knew it was time for a change. I had completely lost myself in my motherhood, I referred to myself mommy in public without even realizing it several times, I had no outside life I spent 24 hours a day 7 days a week alone with my son and you could tell. I was going stir crazy, my brain was turning to mush and I desperately needed some adult (non mom) interaction.  I applied for my local college and was accepted! I was beyond excited, I was finally taking the steps needed to be able to provide for myself and my son! Yet something still didn’t feel quite right, I was having an awful time finding a daycare I trusted. On a whim I decided to apply for college in the city I grew up in, 5 hours from my current city, 5 hours from my mom, and 5 hours from my mommy friends! I was accepted, and found a preschool there I loved instantly! It truly seems meant to be 🙂
My son will be two and a half January 16th, January 7th I start college. I am thrilled to be able to learn more about who I am as a person,  if I don’t take this time to grow into myself I don’t know how I will be able to help Grayson grow into anyone. I know it will be hard to leave my son but I am no good to him unless I take the time to work on myself. I have a long road ahead of me, 4.5 years of being a single momma in college. I am terrified but it feels right. I can’t wait to see who I become!

First College Paper

December 1st, 2010 . Posted in by Kelsi, education | 2 Comments »

So I wrote my first college paper  few months ago and thought I would share it with you all! Its about Aubrey and my life then and now I guess. Sorry its so long but I wanted to share it!

I believe in the gift of life. On December 17, 2008 my entire view on life changed in an instant. I was a senior in high school ready to graduate and go on to college at FAU 1… 2 little did I know God had something in store for me- I had found out I was pregnant. Never in my life had I been more scared of the unknown. I wasn’t ready for what was ahead 3 but I knew that this baby belonged to me and I would love it eternally.
It was the middle of my senior year. I had been accepted into Florida Atlantic University. Everything was set in stone 4. I was enrolled and planned on joining a sorority in the fall of 2009. When I found out I was pregnant, I was in denial. I kept telling myself that something like that just couldn’t happen to me. I was nervous and didn’t know what to do with myself. On top of that fear, my parents were disappointed and no longer on speaking terms with me. The guy that had gotten me pregnant wanted nothing to do with neither me nor my future baby. My friends all told me that I couldn’t possibly have the baby, that it would ruin the rest of my life. The next month was the toughest of my pregnancy. I was alone.
About a month into my pregnancy, something great happened to me. 5 A boy from my homeroom was in Wal-Mart next to me and asked for my number. And the best part was that he was completely comfortable with me having a baby just a few months down the road. Sean was what got me through those long nine months. He and I had some rough patches, but he was like an angel. He was my gift from God at that moment.
About six months into my pregnancy, I started having doubts again. I didn’t doubt the fact that I would love my baby with all my heart, but I doubted myself. I wasn’t sure if I could handle a baby at eighteen years old. I didn’t know if I was mature enough to handle the long nights ahead. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to be a good parent. Parenting was a foreign subject to me and I was starting to have doubts. I considered finding better parents for my daughter. I looked into adoption. I honestly thought long and hard about the decisions I knew that I needed to make in the near future.
After talking to several close friends about my situation, I came to a decision: I would be an awesome mommy. I was excited for this little girl to come into my world. I knew that God had some reason that I could not explain at the time for why she was given to me at such a young age. God had a plan for me; and I just didn’t know what it was yet. I loved my baby girl even, 7 through the painful kicks to my ribs. She was mine forever.
August 23, 2009 was the proudest moment of my life. I was in labor for a full 24 hours and I pushed for three of those hours! My beautiful baby girl was born at 6:23 p.m. Aubrey Jade Parker weighed seven pounds, fourteen ounces, and she was nineteen and a half inches long. She was my little bundle of joy 8. All I wanted to do was to hold that precious gift from God. Her presence alone made ever ache, pain, and contraction worth it.
People say babies cannot smile on their own until they are older. My daughter smiled on day two. She slept through the night at three months and rolled over at five months. She started crawling at eight months, but that’s probably because nobody ever wanted to put her down! She’s just too cute to let go of! 9Every day, her smile brings happiness to my world.
I now know why God gave me Aubrey. If I had chosen not to have Aubrey, I would have wound up at FAU in a sorority. That’s not where I was supposed to be in life. My place in this world is in Huntington, West Virginia, with my daughter Aubrey, and Sean. Aubrey brought Sean and I together. Our bond is inseparable now. He is the best daddy I could have ever asked for. God gave me Aubrey to keep me in Huntington. He had a different and even better plan that I had in mind.
Sean and I are now happily engaged. We are both in school and ready to see what else God has to offer us. Having a baby has changed my plans in life. Having a baby has made me stronger that 11I have ever been. Aubrey has inspired me to stay in school. She is the reason I wake up in the morning and force myself out of bed for those 8 am 12 classes. Sean, Aubrey, and I are a team. We have learned to embrace what we have and accept what we don’t. We are building a life together one day at a time.
Aubrey is walking now. It was a crazy thing to see. Two days after her first birthday she picked herself up and just started going. She made it ten whole steps before falling. Instead of giving up 13 she picked herself back up and tried again. She is a wonderful example of determination and of 14hope. No matter how hard the task she keeps at it until she gets what she’s trying to accomplish.
Whatever God has in store for a person no matter what age they happen to be I believe they 16should embrace it. The gift of life is a beautiful thing. Every unborn baby deserves a place in this world to love and to be loved. My daughter has made me a better person; she was my beautiful gift from God. People are made and designed for a specific purpose and they too deserve a wonderful life on earth.

welcome! :)

November 28th, 2008 . Posted in education, Links on YM, teen pregnancy & parenting | No Comments »
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Welcome to the YM blogs…

Society seems to have a lot to say about teen pregnancy and young moms. Well guess what? We have some things we’d like to say back!

We’re more than a stereotype. Young moms can be great moms. We’re intelligent, we love our kids and want the best for them! We’re motivated to finish our educations. We’re responsible and can manage a home with amazing efficiency. We may come from all backgrounds and walks of life, but aren’t limited to stay in them. We have the potential to mobilize our resources and become anything we want to be.

The YM blogs will start out as a collective blog with several authors. Some of us are younger, some are older. Some of us are American and some are Canadian.  Some of us have partners and others are single moms. What we all have in common is that we are proud young mommies and we support each other!

We welcome comments and discussion in the YM Blogs, but please remember the YM Community Guidelines apply here as they do in any discussion area of the site (boards, groups, chats, etc.).

~Kris
28-yr-old married mom of 2 from Ottawa, ON