Double Take

The saying is true; you’ll never understand a situation unless you’ve been in the situation yourself. Teen pregnancy shows the real character of the new mother and father. I’m here to tell you a story about one of my very closest friends, Brittany. Almost three months ago she gave birth to two adorable identical twin girls, Ella and Emma.

“I never thought it would be this difficult. Before I got pregnant it was all about me, I went out, did whatever I wanted to, now I’m lucky if I can find a babysitter so me and my fiance can go to dinner or the movies,” said Brittany.

Brittany, 20, and her fiance Johnny, have been together on and off for 5 years. I’ve seen them laugh, cry, and fight. But they’ve been so supportive of each other throughout this whole journey and it took something like this to bring them together.

“I never thought this would happen to me, you see all those shows on TV, but you never think it would happen to you… Getting pregnant was one thing, but then to find out three months later your having identical twin girls, that will make you freak out just a little more,” said Brittany.

Having a baby at such a young age is a difficult task and any teenage mother out there should be proud of themselves for doing this the right way, like Brittany. She wasn’t angry at herself or wishes this never happened, she took it day by day and dealt with the situation she now had to overcome. She finished her semester at nursing school in June at 6 months pregnant. Brittany and Johnny took the summer getting a house ready for them and the new members of the family that were due early September. Johnny went to school and got his CDL license, which is a commercial driver’s license to drive larger vehicles, like tractor trailers. Now has a full time job working as a yard jockey driving trucks back and forth for a company, to support his family

On August 24, Ella and Emma were born. They were born premature so they had to stay in the hospital for longer than they anticipated. “The whole time I was pregnant I was fine because they weren’t here yet, the moment my babies came out is when I started to panic, I’ve babysat my little cousins before but now I was responsible for two little girls. It’ll change your life around,” Brittany said. Being in the hospital with her and going home with her after they were born, I saw the fear in both their eyes. But they’re getting through it.

Day by day they are learning and growing from this experience. “I wouldn’t trade my girls for anything in the world, but it is important for other girls to know the struggles that you have to overcome, it’s no walk in the park,” Brittany adds.