Hey all,

I'm new to the forum and would like to share my story. I am eighteen years old, as well as my girlfriend. We have been dating for almost a year now, and she is expecting a baby in roughly four months. (About 21 weeks along as of today). This pregnancy was unplanned, of course I cannot think of too many teenagers today that would want to fully take on the responsibilities of raising a baby, let alone being mature enough to do it properly.

I currently attend the University of Iowa as a freshman while she is a senior in high school. I am pursuing a degree in Pharmacy which requires approximately seven years of school. My girlfriend was planning on attending the same university and living with me in the fall, but given the situation it would be close to impossible for both of us to go to school and care for our child at the same time, so she has decided to take a year off and see how things go. Our plan is to buy a condo (I will be attending school for a long time, and this investment will actually save us a lot of money in the long run) and live together in the city. We have every intention of raising this baby together and providing it with the essentials to a good life.

In the past few months I have be growing more fond of the fact that this is reality. Firstly, I have to say that I have yet to tell my parents she is pregnant. I understand that there is no one right way to tell them besides just letting them know. I plan on having my girlfriend with me this weekend when I go back to my hometown. I have decided to invite them out to lunch with us and then break the ice a little by soothing into the conversation. It'd be great if they actually end up taking it better than the version I have playing inside my head. I understand that it will take some time for it to sink in.

My parents and her parents have never formally met. My parents know what their parents do and a few things about them and her parents are the same way. I would like to get them together and discuss everything in person so they know that we are going about this is a serious way. I want to get the message across that this is not some screw up and now we are running back to them in hopes they can bail us out and support us completely financially; I am leaning more towards seeking their guidance and advice about what they think we should do. They obviously have experience in the field and I will definitely be grateful for all the help we can get. I will let my parents and her parents know that I am taking responsibility for our actions and accepting everything optimistically.

My girlfriend and I are closer to reaching a state of contentment accepting the fact that our lives are going to change drastically. There are some things that we will never be able to do in life that we would have wanted. We have already started the process of growing up to quickly and that is just something we have to get used to. I think a hard part about it is watching your friends pursuing their dreams/trying to achieve what they want in life baby free. On the other hand, I am growing up and quickly going through the transition of adolescence to adulthood. I do have a few friends my age that are expecting babies, as well, and three of the four babies' daddies are staying true to their pregnant girlfriends and want to take care of their kids. My last friend (narcissistic a**hole) split on his girl, but I am sure she will be getting child support from him because his parents are loaded.

We have another ultrasound tomorrow to find out the sex of the baby; I'm very excited, and hoping for a little boy. Wish me luck.