Most 15-year-old females are obsessed with fashion, men, and partying. On the other hand, Jamie found out she was expecting—and she’s now devoted her attention to raising her infant son.
The day was a standard high school Friday morning, the first period for science class, and I was there like any other typical high school student. What comes to mind are perhaps the Styrofoam cups filled with tiny plants, the charts, and posters that decorated the classroom walls, or the teacher stopping by to see if we’d finished our homework. Regular occurrences in a teenager’s day-to-day life.
It was only when the wall-mounted speaker started beeping, “Jamie Rush, report to the nursery!”
Seeing it was another indication that I was not a typical high school student. At the time, I was a teen mother attending an alternative school with a built-in daycare. I hurried to the nursery, where the attendant greeted me, and I excused myself from class. She scowled at me and said, “You forgot to leave your son’s diapers!” I admitted that I had left them at home to borrow some from someone else. Okay, but she shook her head at me as if to scold me, “Careless youngsters!”
I realized how out of place I felt in high school following my kid’s birth in these moments—and there were many of them that year. Since graduating in June, I’ve been working as a clerk in a toy store in my hometown. Because my existence is so unusual compared to other youngsters, I can’t ignore this truth.
The night of the school performance in tenth grade was a turning point in my life. I was 15 years old when I was in high school. While we were simply friends, he invited me out for an evening stroll that night. He took hold of my hand and led the way to the stadium. He kept kissing me and telling me how beautiful I was, over and over again. I was apprehensive yet elated. I’d been so self-conscious about my appearance that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. That’s lame, I know.)
As a result of one event leading to another.
Because I had a close relationship with my mother, I told her about what had happened the following week. As a result of my fear of becoming pregnant, I couldn’t keep the news under wraps. Somehow, I’d always felt something wasn’t quite right with my body. She replied that we’d have to wait and see what happens.
A few weeks later, pregnancy tests were taken and showed a highly faint pink line. My mother came running when I called for her, and we ended up at the doctor’s office later that day. After doing the blood test, he returned to say, “Positive,” in an authoritative voice.
My mother and I were both terrified and numb as we stared at each other. My mother wasn’t angry with me as far as I could tell. It may be because she had my older brother at the tender age of 17, and he ended up being a wonderful person. In any event, we were both a little nervous and excited when the initial shock went off. Pro-life parents, my mother, and I never contemplated an abortion. As for adoption, it was out of the question for me; I couldn’t picture putting my child up for adoption.
Pregnancy spurred me on to study all that I could about birthing and raising a family. Reading about the various stages of a child’s growth on several pregnancies-related Websites was an eye-opening experience. Prenatal vitamins were taken, and prenatal visits were made in droves during my preparations for the impending arrival of my child. I indulged in far too much fast food while pregnant despite my best efforts. Remember, I was feeding two people!
Because I was only 15, my pregnancy was deemed high-risk, yet it turned out to be a breeze. Except for the fact that you had to give birth. Whoa! That was a lot of pain! Tyler Dominic Rush was born after 19 hours of labor. He was a handsome young man with a full head of jet black hair and stunning blue eyes. He was gorgeous and healthy, and he belonged to me.
I was eager to get home from the hospital, but I became cold as soon as we stepped foot inside our house. The feeling was something like this: “Oh, my God! I’m a mommy for the first time! What should I do at this point?” I’ve never felt so small and innocent in my life. But with the support of my mother, I was able to learn how to hold, feed, and bathe him on my own. Despite having a Winnie-the-Pooh-themed room, he slept with me for the first five months of his life.
When I informed the father that I was pregnant, our relationship was effectively over. He was never quite ready to become a father. I think it’s best if he doesn’t become involved because we don’t get along very well. For now, I have no idea what’s ahead of me. It’s something I’d instead not think about right now.
Support for a Teen Mom Is Essential
Thank you, Mom and Dad. Tyler gets part of his expenses paid for by me, but they’re providing for both of us in the end. When I’m at work, my mother watches the kids. When it comes to him, she’s fantastic, perhaps too good. When I lay him down to sleep, he’ll cry incessantly. As much as I try, Mom always manages to calm him down in the blink of an eye. I’ll confess it: I’m sorry about that. My dad’s life has been made more difficult by the entire ordeal. He’s not looking forward to having to share his home with a baby again, and it irritates him at times. Despite this, however, he’s a fantastic person who is always there for you.
For the most part, I am an introvert. Because of the issues they discuss, the clothes they wear, and the parties they attend, Friends from my past can no longer reach out to me. Instead of sleeping away the night listening to music or conversing on the phone, I go to bed at 8:30 p.m. so that I can wake up at 6 a.m to get ready with Tyler.
Someday, I hope to return to school and enroll in a few classes at a local community college. At the moment, Tyler is everything to me. I can’t get enough of him. There are a lot of terms he knows at 15 months old, and he’s just starting to talk. He calls me “Mama,” “Mamaw,” “bye-bye,” “hello,” and “no-Ty” when I see him (for “no, Tyler” when he does something wrong)
He can wave bye-bye, clap his hands, and point to where he wants. A shirt is the first item he selects from the drawer. He also knows how to fasten his shoes using Velcro! So proud of him, I just can’t believe it. I adore purchasing things since my toy store gives me a 25 percent discount. Woot!
Tyler is a good kid most of the time, but like any other toddler, he has his ups and downs. In public, I cringe because I feel a lot of pressure to be the perfect mother. There are times when I fear people are judging me because I’m a teenager when he behaves out or falls over and hits his head. I
My son is in love with me, and I know he thinks I’m an excellent mother. Not only do I not condone the idea of encouraging underage pregnancy, but the reality is that it is challenging. But I believe Tyler has helped me become a better person because of him. The world needs to know that young moms may be just as compassionate, loving, flawless, or imperfect as any other mom. Even if we’re not as experienced as other parents, we’re just like them in that we have a lot to learn.
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