{"id":191301,"date":"2018-11-23T08:05:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-23T14:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=191301"},"modified":"2018-11-18T19:27:53","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T01:27:53","slug":"fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(The Life Source<\/a>) February 11, 2017. I was just a few weeks shy of my 20th birthday when I found out I was pregnant.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations! I am so excited for you!\u201d my sister quietly said, tears in her eyes. I leaned against the wall of the CVS bathroom and took a shuddering breath, looking at those two telltale pink lines on the pregnancy test, trying to convince myself it was a dream or some kind of hallucination. The room seemed to spin around me, and I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. Excited??? No, I didn\u2019t feel my sister\u2019s excitement. \u201cPromise me you won\u2019t tell anyone,\u201d I begged.<\/p>\n

Like most 19 year olds, I wasn\u2019t planning on getting pregnant. Maybe someday in the future… when I\u2019m financially independent, married, and have already had my fun and travelled the world – then I can think about it. But right now? Hell no.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0An unplanned pregnancy changed this drug-addicted mom\u2019s life for the better<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

2017 was supposed to be the year I got my sh*t together. 2016 had been too crazy. I had attempted suicide, dropped out of college, moved across the country for treatment for 7 months, and finally conquered an eating disorder that had ravaged my life since my early teens. 2017 seemed off to a great start – I was happy and healthy for the first time, and planning on going back to college. I had a new job, a new boyfriend, and things were finally getting on track.<\/p>\n

But now this? a baby? What was I supposed to do with a baby?<\/p>\n

Friends and family members all reacted differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s amazing. You are a badass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a huge responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you decide to do – I support you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were you, I wouldn\u2019t have the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seemed like an impossible situation.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t old enough to have a child. I didn\u2019t have a degree. I didn\u2019t have enough money. I didn\u2019t have my own home. I wasn\u2019t married. How dare I bring a child into this world without knowing for sure that I could take care of him? It wasn\u2019t the right time. I wasn\u2019t ready.<\/p>\n

\"pregnant\"

Photo via thelifesource.org<\/p><\/div>\n

READ:\u00a0How my unplanned pregnancy at 39 taught me the power of faith over fear<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet I knew I would regret having an abortion. What right did I have to make the decision to end another person\u2019s life? I had talked to women that had – and they had such heartbreaking stories to tell. Stories of regret, of feeling powerless, of being afraid.<\/p>\n

I was so afraid.<\/p>\n

Much of my life, I had made decisions in fear, and it had gotten me nowhere. Fear of others\u2019 opinions had turned me into an actress, pretending to be someone I was not. Fear of feeling my emotions had caused me to find any excuse to numb myself. Fear of hurting others\u2019 feelings had kept me spiraling in codependent and unhealthy relationships. Fear of life itself had consumed me, and I had spent so much time running from reality.<\/p>\n

I had learned over time that decisions made in fear are the decisions we regret.<\/p>\n

This time, I had to make a decision out of love. Love for myself and love for the tiny human growing inside me.<\/p>\n

Love is the force of life, the force that creates, the force that connects us.<\/p>\n

Fear is the force of death, the force that destroys, the force that divides us.<\/p>\n

I considered adoption. For months I sifted through profiles on adoption agency websites. I talked to people I knew that had adoptive parents. I learned everything I could. I even found a couple who seemed perfect, but I chose to wait until I was absolutely sure, and one month away from my due date, before contacting them.<\/p>\n

For most of my pregnancy, my relationship with my boyfriend struggled. When we began our relationship, we hadn\u2019t thought about the future. We were living in the moment, having fun and enjoying life. But there we were, suddenly faced with not only our future as a couple, but the future of our child. I moved in with him, we fought, I moved out, we made up, I moved back in. We went to therapy together. We learned (and are still learning) how to communicate and compromise. After 6 months of uncertainty, we decided to commit to each other and to our child, and be a family, come what may.<\/p>\n

After 39 weeks of morning sickness, exhaustion, and emotional turmoil, followed by two days of labor, our son was born at 11:55 am on October 19th, 2017. The first couple of months were agony, emotionally and physically.<\/p>\n

But I have grown to appreciate the pain, because after great pain comes greater joy.<\/p>\n

I am lucky enough that my boyfriend, now fianc\u00e9, has been by my side through all of it, and is still by my side today. Our son recently celebrated his first birthday, and is growing into a sweet, joyful, lovable little boy. Love like this cannot be explained, only experienced.<\/p>\n

What about my future?<\/p>\n

I have not abandoned my dreams, and my life is not over, like I initially thought it would be. I am slowly making my way through college and plan to get my Master\u2019s in Counseling Psychology.<\/p>\n

My fianc\u00e9 and I are planning our wedding, and we hope to have more children in the future.<\/p>\n

\"pregnant\"

Photo via thelifesource.org<\/p><\/div>\n

READ:\u00a0My unplanned pregnancy saved me and made me who I am today<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Having a child when you are young does not mean giving up your dreams. It simply means slowing them down, and becoming flexible. Your priorities change, and sometimes your dreams change. You fall in love in an earth-shattering way. Love like this cannot be explained, only experienced.<\/p>\n

When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear told me that I would be alone in this. That my life would be over.<\/p>\n

And Love has shown me the opposite. Love has a way of illuminating the darkest of times and showing up in the most difficult of circumstances. My fianc\u00e9, friends, and family have been there for me in ways I never expected. My life is more peaceful, fulfilling, and beautiful now than I ever could have imagined.<\/p>\n

Fear told me only of the pain – and yes, of course, there has been pain. But Love has shown me the joy that comes after the pain. Yes, it was difficult. But would I go through it again? Yes. A hundred times over.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was published at The Life Source<\/a> and is reprinted with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(The Life Source) February 11, 2017. I was just a few weeks shy of my 20th birthday when I found out I was pregnant. \u201cCongratulations! I am so excited for you!\u201d my sister quietly said, tears in her eyes. I leaned against the wall of the CVS bathroom and took a shuddering breath, looking at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":191308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,9455],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-23T14:05:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-11-19T01:27:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/caterina-j-family.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Caterina J\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Caterina J\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Caterina J\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb79b4815dcaf327f7863c91d7be216\"},\"headline\":\"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-23T14:05:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-19T01:27:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\"},\"wordCount\":1172,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Guest Column\",\"Human Interest\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\",\"name\":\"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-23T14:05:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-19T01:27:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb79b4815dcaf327f7863c91d7be216\",\"name\":\"Caterina J\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b3fe2598cbf25b863ad711acedfe5ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b3fe2598cbf25b863ad711acedfe5ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Caterina J\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/caterina-j\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.","description":"When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.","og_description":"When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2018-11-23T14:05:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-11-19T01:27:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/caterina-j-family.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Caterina J","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Caterina J","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/"},"author":{"name":"Caterina J","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb79b4815dcaf327f7863c91d7be216"},"headline":"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.","datePublished":"2018-11-23T14:05:32+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-19T01:27:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/"},"wordCount":1172,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Guest Column","Human Interest"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/","name":"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-11-23T14:05:32+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-19T01:27:53+00:00","description":"When people ask me, \u201cWhat is the most surprising thing about becoming a mom?\u201d my answer has always been, \u201cIt is easier than I expected.\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fear-alone-pregnant-love-opposite\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fear said I would be alone when I got pregnant. Love proved the opposite."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb79b4815dcaf327f7863c91d7be216","name":"Caterina J","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b3fe2598cbf25b863ad711acedfe5ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b3fe2598cbf25b863ad711acedfe5ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Caterina J"},"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/caterina-j\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":191310,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191301\/revisions\/191310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}