Tuesday, April 22, 2014

16 & Pregnant: Autumn Steps Up, Dustin Doesn't

Autumn gives it to the audience straight at the end: "So in my opinion, you should wait to have a baby, because your life is not what you're gonna think - you're gonna think you're gonna have a family, money in the house, and you're not. you're gonna be stuck at home with your mom or your dad for years. and most likely, I hate to break it to everybody, you're not gonna be with the person you have a baby with." Well, that's probably pretty spot-on advice, and I actually felt bad for the girl... she turned her life around and seemed to be trying pretty hard, but her babydaddy wasn't very interested in the selflessness required to be a father. I look forward to learning more about this young mother, whose child is currently five months old.
facebook.com/16andpregnant
16 & Pregnant "Autumn" (S05E02): She's a 16-year-old sophomore from Richmond, VA, who met babydaddy Dustin a year ago, and they spend all their time together. Her older sister, Misty, recently had a baby, but does not appear to live at home, and seemingly gets support from her child's father. [we don't actually see the infant.]

Before she got pregnant, Autumn was a partier, but she stopped while Dustin is still carefree. She didn't want to go on the pill for fear of gaining weight, and she announced her pregnancy to Dustin by showing him the test on FaceTime. [I've never heard of someone not believing home pregnancy tests!] She started homeschooling so she can finish in time. 

November, 30 weeks: Autumn is worried that Dustin won't stop partying, and he only says he won't do it as much when Drake is born. [omg.] They both plan to keep living at their respective homes, but have infant set-ups in both locations. [fair plan.] She's put on 40 pounds, and the couple and their moms have lunch to discuss how things will work when the baby is born. [very amicable conversation, though it weirds me out how casual both mothers were about the kids' lifestyles.] Dustin has bought a used crib, but otherwise isn't working toward getting things together. He admits that he's been smoking for five years but will stop smoking in the house and will not be high around the baby. [that's a start, but seriously??!?] But, he's not planning to stop smoking entirely, and he doesn't have plans to get a job, either. [how does he pay for his weed currently?] They go to a consignment store to look for more stuff, and Autumn's mom helps Dustin start looking for work. [he doesn't have very good phone etiquette.]

33 weeks: Dustin gets hired at a bike shop, and he's staying clean. His mom calls the cops on him because there is weed all over from his friends, but it blows over. Still, Autumn buys an over-the-counter drug test, and although he says he's clean, he won't take it. [ooooh.... I wonder if he just doesn't want to set a precedent of taking them?] She convinces him to try it, and he passes. He helps her do a belly mold as she has some contractions, and it turns out that it's estimated that she'll deliver in 7-10 days. But, it doesn't even take that long. She is 4cm dilated by the time she got to the hospital, so the doctor broke her water and started her on pitocin. She doesn't want future babies. [she was quite adamant about that! but I hear many people in labor get that way.] She gets an epidural to deal with the pain, and has the baby before long: Drake LeSeuer is 7lb, 5oz, born December 17th.

4 Days Old: Dustin doesn't want to help at night, but he'll hold the baby and change him during the day. [something is better than nothing, I guess?]

1 Week Old
: Everything is harder than Autumn imagined, and she's struggling to keep up with her schoolwork.

2 Weeks Old: Days are going by when Autumn doesn't see Dustin, and he's not spending his paychecks on diapers or other baby supplies. [uh oh...]

1 Month Old: They owe $280 for Drake's circumcision, which is money Autumn doesn't have. Her mother suggests that Autumn ask for child support, as all Dustin has done is play with the baby and stop smoking. [he hasn't contributed financially YET?!?] She decides to give him one more chance before filing for child support, but he won't even commit to give her $40/week or even just buying a pack of diapers and a box of wipes each week. [seriously??!?] She tells him that he needs to get it together, and she's giving him a month before filing.

2 Months Old: It's Valentine's Day, and she sees a lawyer about filing for child support. She also gets a job at a restaurant. [I'm glad that she's pulling everything together. I wonder how they managed to pay that hospital bill?]
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