Wednesday, April 25, 2012

16 & Pregnant: Jordan's Mom is Crazy

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

"Don't think that you're ready to grow up, because you're not." Straight from the mouth of Jordan, a 17-year-old who drops out of high school to raise her baby. Her problems are quite different from Alex, whose mother booted her out of the house for choosing to keep her baby. Instead, her mother wants to keep her home with the baby, and keep her boyfriend far away. The reason? He's white, "dirty," and disrespectful. So, Jordan struggles to figure out how her baby will be able to have both parents - so she moves in with Tyler's family. Shortly before the baby is due, however, her mother decides to come around, convincing Jordan to move back home. Her mother was supposed to allow Tyler to come around as he pleases, but he still doesn't feel welcome and the new family ultimately falls apart. While I think a lot of the blame falls on Jordan's mother, she doesn't seem the type to ever accept that, and the point is moot.

16 and Pregnant "Jordan" (S04E06): Jordan is 17 years old, a junior in high school, and lives with her mom, two brothers, and a sister. She wants to be a dental hygienist in the future, but for now she's finishing her classes online. BabyDaddy Tyler is a loner, and her mother and friends are all surprised that she dates him and then gets pregnant. Her mom noticed changes in her chest and eating and sleeping habits before Jordan announced her pregnancy. 

May, 34 Weeks: Jordan has been staying with Tyler for a few weeks now, which her other allows in case of a medical emergency. It bugs him that he can't go to her house, but her mother calls him "dirty-looking" and disrespectful, plus she's not a fan of the racial difference between them. She makes it clear that he won't be allowed in after the baby's born, either, which is what worries Jordan. Her mom insists that Jordan come back home after the baby is born, but doesn't make a good case by saying that Tyler probably won't be a big participator in the childcare. [suggesting your prediction is one thing, but this woman is just so rough all the time! what was with the "my hubbies" as a category or person in her phone??] Jordan tells Tyler's parents about the scenario and they invite her to stay there after the baby is born, but Jordan worries that her mother will call the police. [I bet she would, too.]

May, 35 Weeks: She wants to wait until the last minute to tell her mom about the new living plan... like when she's in the delivery room. Her friends tell her to break the news to her mother sooner than that, though. [yeah, I agree with them!] His parents buy a bassinet for them, and Jordan starts to get some baby clothes at a consignment shop.

May, 38 Weeks: Her mom asks her to come over, and it turns out to be a surprise baby shower! [is her sister, Justice, also pregnant? They state that she's due on May 29th, which is in two weeks. So, she goes from 34-40 weeks pregnant during the month of May! Bad job with the timeline YET AGAIN, MTV! oh, and did you see two or three white people at the shower? I guess her mom makes exceptions...] During the party, Jordan's mom says that there's no point in a bassinet being at Tyler's house because the baby won't be allowed over there - his parents aren't clean. [this woman has serious problems. If the baby can't go to Tyler's and Tyler can't come to the baby, how do you want your daughter's child to have a father figure at all??] Her mom threatens to not allow her an epidural if Jordan misbehaves, but she leaves anyway. [is anyone still unconvinced that the woman is a monster? not that every woman needs anesthetics during labor, but she's just holding anything she can over Jordan's head!]
Photo by MTV
Jordan and Tyler decide to go steal an expensive crib (that Tyler paid for) from her mother's house. Afterward, Tyler is slightly worried that Jordan's mom will press charges, but she just leaves Jordan an angry voicemail, where she's more upset that Jordan let Tyler in the house than she is that they took the crib. [can we reiterate that they live in LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA and that we saw a horse and buggy during the show? this is a pretty white area, guys... I've been there. how does this woman live without dealing with white people?]   

May, 39 Weeks: She's finished her school assignments for the year and meets with her friends to figure out their senior schedules. They're surprised that she's coming back in the fall. She's figuring on her mom wanting to watch the baby, but if that doesn't work, she doesn't have a back-up plan and her friends aren't all that interested in helping. [eh.] She's been ignoring all of her mother's calls, but when she gets an email that says her mom will let Tyler be involved in the baby's life, she goes over there. [talk about bait! and geez, who still has an AOL email address?] Her mom claims that she didn't realize how serious Jordan and Tyler were, but Tyler would be allowed over after the baby was born. She even lets him come inside to talk about the situation, though he's a little hesitant to believe that everything is hunky dory now. [yeah. me too...] Jordan is willing to come home under these circumstances, but Tyler is afraid that it's just an act and that things will change. [I'm surprised Jordan is falling for this obvious manipulation. I understand that she wants her mother's help with caring for the baby, but the woman brings no other positives to her life!] 

June, 40 Weeks: On her due date, her mom and sister help her do a belly cast, just a few hours before her water breaks. [so this is the younger sister who lives at home? and Justice is an older sister who was just at the shower?] Two hours into labor, the pain worsens and she gets an epidural. Three hours into labor, it's time to push. [one can only pray for a labor as quick as that!] Chase Alexander is born May 31st at 9lbs, 3oz. [another fail, MTV! don't tell me it's June and then make it obvious that it's still May! and if she was due on May 29th and was only in labor for a few hours, how is it the 31st? LIES.]

2 Days Old: Tyler is supposed to spend the night at Jordan's when the baby comes home, but his mom claimed he had other things to do. Her mother says that it must be partly Tyler's fault, too, because he'd otherwise try harder to be there. [eh. even if Jordan's mom was at work, there's still plenty of siblings around to make him feel uncomfortable!] 

3 Days Old: Tyler comes over the next morning and says that he felt unwanted by her. [this was an odd scene... what was the bottom line?]

June, 2 Weeks Old: Jordan invites Tyler's parents over and his mom almost immediately asks what made Jordan change her mind about her living situation. [great question, as it never really seemed that she explained her decision all that well.] Things remain calm, though his parents are surprised that he hasn't been calling her at all.

July, 1 Month Old: Tyler hasn't been by for weeks, and her family has started to resent him again. [something tells me that not only are they the reason he doesn't come, but also that they do resent him.] Tyler shows up at 9pm, expecting to see Chase for a minute. Jordan won't let him, as the baby is asleep. [duh.] There are more racial problems, and Jordan decides that she wants full custody. She's also decided to drop out of school because she can't do it all. [the final scene with Tyler was a shame, what with her brothers following him out to his car and everything. And it wasn't really clear as to why Jordan is dropping out of high school, so I guess her mom wasn't that keen on watching the baby for her after all.]
Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email This Pin This

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

so I live in Lancaster and it's actually not as hard to avoid white people as you think. Lancaster is actually in the top 200 for racially segregated cities in the country. If you live in Lancaster City, it's majority Puerto Rican; if you move out to the suburbs that's when its all white. Even so, it really just depends where you shop.