I was so concerned about what my family was going to think about me being pregnant at such a young age, I was afraid of being rejected. I was worried about not having a career. I felt totally overwhelmed. However, my natural instinct told me I must take good care of that little someone that was now growing inside of me. I felt a huge responsibility knowing that now I need to watch very carefully what I do, eat, drink, and even how I move around to avoid anything from hitting my belly. I was concerned about what was I going to do after the baby was born? I don't know how to take care of a baby. .
Two days after the great news, I made an appointment with my OB-GYN doctor. I couldn't wait for someone professional to tell me everything was going to be ok, and that I was just going to go through a natural stage in which I would have to be more precocious about everything around me. I never had this type of conversation with my mother; she never initiated it and I never asked. At the doctor's visit I also got overwhelmed with information and directions I MUST followed while being pregnant. At that time, the only thing I knew was that I needed to follow my doctor's advice for the sake of my baby and my own. But I never knew deep in details exactly how the environment, my cultural background, beliefs, and my emotional state could affect your development.
Now I am taking a Developmental Psychology course, and I am learning so much about prenatal and postnatal development. I wish I would've known back then what I know now; I would've done a lot of things differently while being pregnant, and even after I gave birth to you. But there's no time for regrets! I'm glad my natural instinct was always active telling me "protect and cared for your baby before and above all", and that's exactly what I did! .
The first thing I did when I learned I was pregnant was to stay away from alcohol, smoking, and smokers.