Almost 9 years ago, I was just an average teenager fresh out of high school, just living life with no responsibilities other than the mediocre restaurant job I obtained during my high school years and a girlfriend I have been with since the 11th grade. After my senior year of high school, things took a drastic change in my life, which took a toll on how I can live my life. I found out that I was going to be a father! Hearing the words, “Congratulations you’re going to be a Father” made me feel enthusiastic, happy, over-joyed and all the good stuff you expect to feel when hearing those words. I also had some mix emotions. I also felt scared, terrified, lost, confused, and overwhelmed. I had no clue what I was even doing with my own life; I didn’t know how I was supposed to care and know what to do for someone else’s life. These ideas came to my head all at one time; I was overwhelmed with how I was going to provide the essentials a baby needs, such as diapers, clothing, formula, toys, and even health insurance. In reality, at the age of 19 years old I wasn’t supposed to be able to provide those things for a child. I was supposed to start planning out my own life, like college, or setting life goals for myself. A normal teenager isn’t supposed to worry about health care or diapers at that age. So I took no time in trying to find a way to provide for my son; so I got a job as a welder at Lufkin Industries welding on oil pumping units. Lufkin was a big manufacturing company
Being a father has modified the way that I will always think and act for the rest of my life. Before I was blessed to have my now 2-year-old son Josiah, I never noticed how much a child would change the way you live. I did understand that I would be changing diapers, being responsible for feeding, bathing, and being that constant support for him, but I didn’t think that it would change the way I think mentally. I must account for Josiah in every decision that I make whether that’s knowing he has a safe and comfortable place to go when I am at work, decided and cooking what he eats for dinner, and just making sure that we, as a family, are spending quality time together to make sure he knows that he can rely on my wife and me. Having a child
“What am I going to do with a child? I’m still a child?” I asked myself. There were plenty of times when I was down and upset because I wondered about my future and my child’s future. As a substitution to beating myself up about the situation, I prayed and kept going with my life. I had three main obstacles during my pregnancy. The first obstacle was my parents. My mom and dad are wonderful parents, but, they were strict and my being so young and pregnant made them even more so. My mom would walk around the house shaking her head and yelling about every little thing she disliked. Sometimes I would get so angry I thought my head was going to explode, but, that was my hormones changing and causing me to act differently towards some situations. She was so furious about everything and I didn’t know why! One day she called me into her room and told me to sit on the bed, and then she locked the doors behind her. I thought was going to die! She
So I had my son and I was getting close to time to start working again, then it happened. I didn’t want to leave my son and go back to work. During my pregnancy, I had visited some business ideas, I even wrote an entire back end for a janitorial
Five years ago I gave birth to a baby boy, although I can't really call him a baby since he was the size of a small elephant. I knew I had to do something to afford him the best life possible. A friend of mine had gone to a local technical college for a medical assisting program. She graduated and soon moved up to being the practice manager at the pediatric office she worked at. I asked her some questions, she gave the school and job a rave review and I was hooked. I walked into school when Greyson was three weeks old and asked the counselor to sign me up for the next available class. The counselor looked at me with wandering eyes, letting them fall to rest on Greyson at my chest. She asked me "are you sure..you have a new baby?" I replied
As the doctor placed my beautiful baby girl in my arms my life had a whole new meaning. It was a feeling I could never express in words. I was a mommy. My fears were gone.
When my 15-year-old sister called me on the phone from 1300 miles away to tell me that she was pregnant, my whole world came to a standstill. She was crying because she was scared. Scared because she knew our parents would be angry. Scared because she didn’t know how she would finish high school. Scared because she didn’t know if the father of the baby would stick around. Scared because she couldn’t afford a baby. Scared because she knew she would have to stop being a teenager and learn how to be a parent. She wasn’t ready for the responsibilities of parenthood.
My support system was good and I was ready to take care of my child. I grew up without my father he was in and out my life. So I told myself if I ever had a child I would be forever present and be a damn great provider. As I held my little bundle of joy so many thoughts run through my mind, life is about to change for me.
Honestly, when I first found out I was pregnant, I was terrified but now I am ecstatic. I am still terrified but not for the same reason. When I first found out I was pregnant, I was scared because I didn’t know what to expect but now I am terrified because I am actually bringing a little human into the world and I am responsible for them and their wellbeing and that is scary. A bigger part of me is ecstatic though because I get to witness the life of someone I birthed. Son, I want you to know that you are coming into a family that is financially off well. You will be coming into a middle-class family so you will not have to worry about anything. I do not want you to take these things for granted though because everything you have was worked hard for. Although your father and I are not together and have not
A year ago today, I would have never expected to be a mom. Being a mom has definitely changed my perspective on life. Of course my mommy instincts kicked in for my little cub immediately. Who knew I could love someone so much? The moment I laid eyes on my son is the moment I fell in love! For nine months I never understood my whole situation. I was beyond confused and didn't know what to expect. My mom would question me every single day asking me how I felt? I really didn't know how I felt ,because I was so numb! The numb feelings finally went away after I gave birth to the most perfect little boy. The days I spent in the hospital were horrible. Nurses kept coming in every hour or so. I haven't slept in two days! Then finally on the third
If I were to describe my pre-mommy days I would have to say that, in all, I was not living but merely surviving. I had no real idea who I was or wanted to be. I had a “cookie-cutter” planned life. Even though I married at age 19 we did not plan on having
In conclusion, having a baby is such a beautiful experience, it is definitely life changing. Even though I’ve only been a mother for seven and a half months, I feel it is my greatest accomplishment. Until this day I’m still learning to be a mother. It was a true blessing to be able to experience giving birth to my daughter, because not every woman is lucky enough to experience
I was with my boyfriend for three years, it had been a rough and bumpy road but we were happy. We where doing ok financially but didn’t plan for a baby. When I told him I think he cried more than me, he was happy though. We knew it would be a dramatic change so we started to prepare. It
According to Bradly and Slade (2011), the birth of a child inevitably results in changes to men’s lives and the transition to fatherhood is easier for some men than others. However, fathers experiencing mental difficulties can impact the development of the child. Unfortunately, Bradly and Slade’s clinical implications were based on 20 year old data and focused primarily on depressive symptoms. More research is needed into other areas of mental health as it relates to fatherhood. (Bradley and Slade, 2011) A study by Garfield et al (2014) presented results which showed that depressive symptoms for fathers increased through the child’s first 5 years of life. However, the authors noted several studies reported the positive aspects of being a father, including being less angry, more enthusiastic, happier and increased bonding and attachment to their
My daughter Reagan turned a precocious four on January 16th of this year. Looking back, I remember the very moment I saw her make her way into this world. In that instant, every possible human emotion plugged into one as they make their way down the Assembly Line of Life cut through me like a hot knife cuts through butter. That emotional roller coaster moment was a tortuous lay down of the facts that I was not remotely ready to be a father, as I was both ill-prepared, and ill-equipped. However, I like so many fathers before was proceeding forward at full steam ahead, blindly moving into the uncharted territory of Fatherhood. Looking back, I can remember very clearly seeing my dad’s
Growing up, my parents had given me everything that any child ever wanted; a good home, loving parents, and lots of materialistic objects. I went to a private school, where on paper I looked very involved. Though I was very active during my time in high school there was always a disconnect, an empty feeling that I had within myself. Day in and day out I was just going through the motions of life, not looking or hearing what God 's will was for me. That empty feeling I had would all change when God put Fradwin in my life who had taught me a valuable lesson. Unknowingly, Fradwin helped me understand the value of hard work and how to become grateful; two important lessons that have been forever ingrained within my heart.