[michellemis]

I was 18 at the time. You would think I would know what to to. Not me. I came from a broken home. There was no one to show me what to do. I was staying with my mother. She said she was moving & could not take me with her. She said it is hard enough taking care of herself, much less take care of her own daughter & her new born son. She suggested i give up the baby for adoption. I thought I was really going to be on the street literally. I though to my self, how was i going to feed my son. Doing the unthinkable never entered my mind. I had no other choice. Little did i know, the Salvation Army that I had to go to , took in mother & child. I wished someone told me that. By then it was too late. I still believe in my heart, that was the right decision.

[LyndzyBloo]

My name is Lindsay and I'm 19 and 3 months pregnant. I chose an open adoption for multiple reasons (for one my state doesn't allow private adoptions but i wouldn't do that anyways). One of the main reasons I chose open adoption is because I want to be part of this child's life so very much but at this age I can't do it on my own and alone.

It's easier to explain my whole story. My mother had my brother and I by different men and married my stepfather when i was one. From the time I can remember Steve*, my stepfather, beat up my mother and I and behind closed doors was molesting me and raping me. When my mother got sick from her addiction to alchohol she told me about my biological father and then a couple weeks later she died. I was still living with Steve during and after her death but my brother was kicked out. Within the year after my mothers death Steve got remarried and had a son with this new woman. We then moved from Califronia to the East Coast. The abuse and everything else behind closed doors continued till I was 14. When I was 14 I got an abortion because I didn't want to give birth to Steve's child. But within that same year, my little brother was born who i treated like he was my own. I moved out of that house when I was 17 and found myself doing many different drugs, and then joining the army to straighten my life out. I was discharged early for medical reasons and found myself homeless for the next year. I finally settled down at my current address when I did something stupid. I messed around with a married man and found myself pregnant again (he wore protection i swear). I decided for the open adoption because I dont know if i'm always going to have a roof over my head and I want my child to be safe. I want to be involved so badly because it's my child but it's hard because I'm going into this whole parenting thing blind because i don't have my mom or dad to look to.

I'm really looking for advice of how to deal with the up coming seperation and just how to deal with all this without my mom.

(i am giong to counsling on top of this too).

So if you could help out in anyway by being a friend or giving some advice I'd appreciate it so much

[lglysson]

you are a brave young lady to have gone through so much and now dealing with a pregnancy. I gave a child up for adoption 18 years ago. Although it was a difficult choice, I don't regret it. I hope you can find a local support group, that helped me greatly.
Prayers and blessings...