Growing up mum would always tell me people who get pregnant early, they don’t end up anywhere in life. They’ve basically ruined their lives. It’s just so much harder to do things. That’s like pretty much half of the reason why I didn’t tell her, because I was worried what she would think of me, you know?

When I fell pregnant it was almost as if I literally felt myself becoming dumber. I felt myself fitting into the stereotype because I had already dropped out of school. My mum had always told me people who get pregnant at early ages are stupid. I remember she had even told me that if I ever were to fall pregnant she would be so mad, she would kick me out. She wouldn’t help me at all.

Up until the day I held my baby I had like literally stayed away from holding newborns. I had always been scared to hold them in case I dropped them or they cried when I picked them up. I didn’t even know how to change a nappy. I changed my sister’s nappy once and it didn’t turn out great. Having to stay up late, lose huge amounts of sleep, breastfeed, commit to and even love something you’ve never met before. I thought, ‘What if I have this baby and realise I don’t actually want to have a baby?’

I begged for my mum every time a contraction came. Surprising as me and my mum don’t normally just plain admit how much we care for each other. Cause she’s a really stubborn woman, so she’s raised me to be really stubborn as well. But I swear when I was in that room I was crying for my mum, every second I begged her to come by my bedside. I would just hold her hand, tell her not to go. I guess in that moment it made me realise how much I appreciate her.

My partner was just in the corner. His face was pale. It was as if he was going to vomit for me. Then we were just waiting, waiting, endlessly waiting it felt. Then I think it was like 11 o’clock at night. I’d just been wishing for it to be over and suddenly like I get a contraction and then the nurse comes in and she’s like, ‘Okay, you’re ready to push,’ and I was like, ‘Ready? Are you sure?’ And she was like,’Yeah’, but then at that moment I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to push. I don’t want to push. I’m scared’. I was like, ‘Can we wait? I’m not ready’. They’re like, ‘What do you mean you’re not ready? We’ve been waiting all day!’

I blacked out a few times. Was apparently pulling people’s hair and scratching people. But then my son had finally come. As soon as I saw him, just this wave of - I don’t know how to explain it - like a wave of emotion had just come over me. As soon as I saw him. People have talked about love at first sight and I’d never known what that meant until I saw him, you know? And I was like, ‘I love you. I do’. All those feelings of doubt had just disappeared. And at the click of a finger, I turned into a mum, you know? I thought that it would be hard transitioning from teenager to mum. But seeing your child, it’s just amazing.