"16 and Pregnant"

MTV has a new show out, "16 and Pregnant." It premiered last night, so after Jaxon went to bed Jason and I watched it. I have seen several adds for the show over the past few weeks and sort of felt indifferent about it. Surely MTV isn't trying to make teen pregnancy look cool, right!? I can only hope that the reason for this new series is to show how incredibly hard it is to be a parent. Let alone a TEEN parent. I was 26 when I had Jaxon and I felt completely clueless! I can't imagine being 16 and knowing what to do with a baby! This episode followed the end of Maci and Bryan's pregnancy, and the first few months of their life after having their baby boy, Bentley Cadence. (Not a name I would choose for my son, but that is not important.) The camera's followed them around their school, their home, and a couple of doctor appointments giving us viewers a glimpse of what their life is like. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as teenagers go. They hung out with their friends, were involved in school functions, and seemed to get along well with their parents. They actually lived together in a small apartment near Maci's mother. Just your typical teenage couple......but pregnant. Maci would get a little upset because Bryan was not acting very interested in the pregnancy, instead he was more concerned with hanging out with his friends, and partying. I don't guess I really know how Maci wanted him to act. I'm sure he acted uninterested because he regretted getting his girlfriend pregnant in the first place! As the show went on I found myself so full of all different kinds of emotions. I got mad, sad, mad again, and then just really angry!! I could literally feel my blood pressure rising! It was one of those things, like a train wreck, where you just can't stop watching. A few things really irritated me about Maci and Bryan, well other than the fact that they were WAY to young to be having a child. The morning after Maci gave birth her mother came into her hospital room to see her new Grandson, and one of the first things out of Maci's mouth was something like, "He gets up so early, it really gets on my nerves." I don't even know what to say to that! It is going to be a LONG time before she will ever get to sleep in again. Another thing that really irritated me was at Maci's high school graduation, her family was taking pictures after the ceremony had ended, and posing between her friends and family she was holding her son, and she starts to whine, "Ugh, Mom he's ruining the picture!" I didn't know if he had a dirty diaper, or if he had maybe spit up on her gown.....whatever! In my book, babies don't ruin any pictures!! The show continued on, showing how they were getting along with the new baby. They bickered, went days without speaking, and Bryan continued to party with his friends. It was clear to me that the relationship probably wasn't going to last much longer.

I believe that this show stirred up so many emotions because I struggled with getting pregnant. I can remember how much it would hurt to see any woman pregnant, especially a teenager! I can also remember being out to dinner one night with Jason, and I saw a very young pregnant girl step outside to smoke while she was having dinner with her family. It just killed me! It hurt my heart so bad. Knowing that I wanted a baby so incredibly bad, and to watch her go outside and puff away on a cigerette like it was no big deal. I just don't understand how some people don't care?? I tend to be really naive at times, and I choose to see the good in everybody, but sometimes it's almost impossible.

I suppose the reality of it is, teenagers ARE having sex. I can only pray that in the future I don't have a teenager who makes me a Grandmother sooner than I am ready to be one.