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Hi refinnej,
So happy to hear that you are hanging in there. My daughter is raising her 3 yo son alone (well, with some help from her Dad and me). She considered adoption for a while but decided to wait until after her son was born before she made a final decision. It was a huge change for her, especially in the beginning when her long-term boyfriend ditched her because she would not have an abortion. She is very, very happy now and an amazing mom. That said - there have been some really tough days for her and single parenting is not for the weak-hearted.
Our number one concern was health care for her son as her part-time job did not have health care, and she was still in college. Her dad and I entered into a kinship care agreement with her making it possible to have our grandson on my medical insurance. Also, in our state medical care is provided for all minors so that was a backup plan. Kinship care is mostly used in cases where relatives are providing primary care for a child whose parents are not able to do so. But in our case, it is more of a safety net, mentoring type of arrangement because our daughter is doing a fabulous job as a mom.
My daughter borrowed furniture and received most of what she needed for the first year as gifts. The only thing that she insisted on buying herself was a car seat. Both sides of the family went nuts with gifts as this was the first great-grandchild and there had not been a baby on either side for a while.
Just start asking around for resources. You won't believe how much people will help. Give my best to your parents. I was numb for a few weeks after my daughter told me about her pregnancy. Once I calmed down a little bit, I started to get really excited about being a grandma.
Happy G'Ma
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