Multi Tasking Mama Intro

Hello, Mommies! I am excited to be a part of this site and be able to help Kadi out- she is a true multi-tasking mama! I have been following this blog for awhile because the premise really resonated with me.
I got pregnant with my oldest son, Jared, when I was 16. I was already living on my own (yucky family situations) but being a parent was something I was not at all prepared for. Thankfully, I had a mentor. One of my dad's ex's took me under her wing and showed me the ropes of pregnancy. When you are an admittedly vain teen, the changes to your body are downright scary. Then God (didn't know it was Him at the time LOL) brought an awesome man into my life who not only fell in love with me but my unborn baby. He is the only father Jared has ever known and we have now been married for almost twelve years.


Jared was born five weeks early so not only did I have my first baby at 17 but he was a preemie, with an infection that kept him in the hospital for a week and no sucking reflex (this makes breastfeeding rather difficult). Because he was tiny and fragile, I was scared to death I was going to hurt him. He did end up rolling off the couch at three weeks old because I fell asleep while feeding him- no damage though ;p. I'm proud to say that he is healthy, smart, athletic and well adjusted, despite the fact that I'm his mama.
I became a statistic when I got pregnant with Matt when Jared was just six months old. A statistic because over 1/3 of girls that get pregnant as a teen will have another child within the following 18 months. I certainly didn't set out to get pregnant again (birth control pills and antibiotics don't mix) and felt completely overwhelmed at the thought of another baby so soon. I ended up suffering from severe post-partum depression for several months after Matt was born.
Then, in God's perfect timing (though it didn't seem like that at the time) when Matt was 18 months and Jared was almost three, we got custody of my husband's five year old (from a previous relationship). At 20 years old, I was the mom of three, five and under. The funny thing is people from my mom's group would ask me for advice even though they were much older than me.
I don't regret a thing, because I know that all experiences and situations lead us down the path God has for us. Not to say that it has been easy by any stretch. I so look forward to sharing the things I have learned with mama's online as I do with teen parents in my local area.

I sincerely look forward to what God has in store for this site!

Melissa Multi-Tasking Mama