February 6, 2012
Having kids while still a kid
Carly Thaw, George Washington High School
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Many teens enjoy sitting down on Tuesday nights to watch MTV's hit reality series "Teen Mom 2," questioning what it's like to be a teen mother. But what's it like to live that reality? To be the mother of two by age 15?  That's life for one Putnam County teen.

She didn't plan on her first pregnancy. At age 12, she was a victim of rape.

Despite the circumstances, she chose to have her baby. "Abortion isn't part of my beliefs, and I thought a lot about adoption, but it never felt right to me," she said.

Instead, she spent 36 hours lying on a hospital bed in labor with her son. Imagine giving birth to your first child while only in your first year of middle school, knowing that it's only a matter of time before this little person comes out of you and you are known from now on as "Mommy."

Sounds frightening, right? It was.

"The first pregnancy was stressful, painful and scary," the teen said. "Being pregnant for the first time was an awkward situation because I didn't know what to expect. I was beyond worn out, and it was many sleepless nights."

A few years after giving birth to her first son, she was pregnant again. She'd thought the odds of repeating the same scenario as her first pregnancy were slim to none. She didn't picture being raped again.

"Now that I think about it, I never thought I could get pregnant again," she admitted.

Though she was prepared for her second go round, it wasn't easy. "I at least knew what was going to happen, and labor was much shorter than with the first, but it still lasted over 19 hours."

The teen said her two children have been different people since the moment they were born. She said her first son was every mother's blessing -- calm and quiet, rarely making a peep. Her second son was the polar opposite.

"[He was] always cranky, couldn't sleep or be satisfied, and he still is," she said. "He was underdeveloped, which makes things harder for him and always will. Even if he's small and puny and a slower learner, he will always be my goofy, wild child."

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