DD (17) says she has “baby fever”

[Anonymous]

I has serious baby fever at a 17y - but I wasn't having sex so there was no chance of me having a baby!

I nannied for a family with an infant and worked in a church nursery in the infant room on Sundays/Wednesdays so that helped.

I ended up not having kids till I was 32....and in some ways think I would have been a more patient mother at 17y than I was at 32...though I obviously was NO WHERE near ready to have kids then.

[Anonymous]

We had some family friends growing up where the teen daughters loved babies. The mom was a nurse and signed up for be a foster family for newborns who needed a place to stay for about a week or two until their adoption was finalized and they could go to the adopted family (or back to the mom if she changed her mind). The mom was technically the foster mom but her teen girls together did a lot of the baby care (they had a schedule). It sounds weird but it was actually a very good thing -- they were providing a very necessary service for about 4 years while the girls were in high school, and the girls got a lot of newborn experience as well.

[Anonymous]

Show a video of a birth.
Strap a watermelon to her stomach and cantaloupes to her chest for a weekend.
Wake her up every three hours and keep her up for an hour for a weekend.
Spend more time to with her. Sounds like she wants something to love her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She says she wants a baby. Advice?

Tell her you'll be a loving grandmother but you are done raising children. Ask her how she will support herself and a child. There's a big difference between a planned pregnancy and an accidental one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had some family friends growing up where the teen daughters loved babies. The mom was a nurse and signed up for be a foster family for newborns who needed a place to stay for about a week or two until their adoption was finalized and they could go to the adopted family (or back to the mom if she changed her mind). The mom was technically the foster mom but her teen girls together did a lot of the baby care (they had a schedule). It sounds weird but it was actually a very good thing -- they were providing a very necessary service for about 4 years while the girls were in high school, and the girls got a lot of newborn experience as well.

This. She needs to somehow take care of a baby that's not her own. Babysitting? Nannying? Mother's helper? Lots of people need this help right now.

[Anonymous]

Rent one of those "Baby, Think it Over" dolls for two weeks. Tell your daughter she is solely responsible for it. Unlike a regular doll or an egg, those things cry and wet themselves and have a sensor that makes them not stop until you take care of them. Tell her you won't babysit it, watch it while she showers, or get up with it at night. Unless she can convince her teachers to let her bring it to school, she will have to find someone (not you) to handle it during that time.

[Anonymous]

IUD—stat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make her watch 16 & pregnant and Teen Mom. Seriously.

Just the first season or two. After that, the girls got lots of money from the show and started buying nice homes, cars, vacations, etc.

I was going to say this too. The first season of both of these shows is totally different from the shows now and I think it really showcases the struggles. It's more of a documentary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rent one of those "Baby, Think it Over" dolls for two weeks. Tell your daughter she is solely responsible for it. Unlike a regular doll or an egg, those things cry and wet themselves and have a sensor that makes them not stop until you take care of them. Tell her you won't babysit it, watch it while she showers, or get up with it at night. Unless she can convince her teachers to let her bring it to school, she will have to find someone (not you) to handle it during that time.

This is dumb. It’s all the work of a baby but she won’t feel any differently because it’s a doll. If she wants to get pregnant she’s going to get pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent one of those "Baby, Think it Over" dolls for two weeks. Tell your daughter she is solely responsible for it. Unlike a regular doll or an egg, those things cry and wet themselves and have a sensor that makes them not stop until you take care of them. Tell her you won't babysit it, watch it while she showers, or get up with it at night. Unless she can convince her teachers to let her bring it to school, she will have to find someone (not you) to handle it during that time.

This is dumb. It’s all the work of a baby but she won’t feel any differently because it’s a doll. If she wants to get pregnant she’s going to get pregnant.

She has no idea what "all the work of a baby" entails, which is a big part of the problem. The idea of a baby is a lot more appealing than the actual work of the baby especially for a teenager. Also, get her an IUD immediately.