[Shellikin]

The day I found out, I sat my parents down and said "mom, dad... I'm expecting a baby. I want you to know that I was using two forms of protection, I wasn't being stupid about it. I guess that didn't work." They were shocked at first (can't blame them, really), but said "well, I guess times are changing" and told me they'd support me in whatever I did, but they weren't going to raise the baby... which is something I wouldn't have even asked. My mother's mother (the only grandparent I have that's still alive) got told over the phone by my mom after I had already decided on the adoption. She reacted by saying that I had disgraced the family... of course, no one in the family talks about how my mom was born 7 1/2 months after her parents were married. I'm still a little bitter about the Grandma thing.

The baby's father told no one... actually whenever we were around his friends or family, he'd make me wear a sweatshirt to hide the little bump. When I started showing through the sweatshirt, he stopped contact with me... picked it up again once the baby was born. He told me he didn't want people thinking he got me pregnant... I said "but you did." He never acknowledge the child and it's highly doubtful that he ever mentioned it to anyone in his life.

The best advice I can give is avoid phrases like "I know you're going to be mad, but..." because you honestly don't know how they'll react until it happens and people usually get mad when people say stuff like that. And tell them! Family is the best source of support that you have in this tough time.