If you thought you saw a pregnant teen as you walked through the halls or one walking around with a newborn baby, you’d be correct! In Mrs. Pisano’s SUPA Child Development class, students have the opportunity to be pregnant for the day and experience taking care of a newborn. These assignments help you connect what we are learning in class to real life and help you better understand what it is like to be pregnant or be a parent.
When I first put the pregnancy belly on, I was surprised at how light and small it was and thought wearing it for one school day would be a breeze. I thought it would be heavier and way bigger, but by the end of the day, I did not feel the same. I easily got tired going up stairs, I couldn’t fit in some desks, and I had difficulty picking things up. I usually don’t carry a backpack and only carry the books I need for whatever class I’m going to, but it was so hard to hold my books because the belly was in my way, so I quickly gave up and just used my backpack. If I could wear the belly again (which I very much do not want to), I would see what it would be like to go out in public. The belly was kind of lumpy and if you looked at it long enough you could tell it wasn’t real, but it would be interesting to see if I was treated differently or if anyone commented on a teenager being pregnant. Overall, it was cool to experience, but one day was definitely enough.
When it came time to take care of the real care baby, I was so excited. Ever since middle school when I found out this was an assignment for a class our school offered, I knew I had to do it. Not only did I want to take care of a baby that was “mine,” but I also wanted to see how well I would do taking care of it. When it was my turn in class to take care of the baby, I started getting nervous. What if it cries in class? Will I wake up to take care of it crying in the middle of the night? Who can I trust to babysit? While the overwhelming thoughts of motherhood started to take over, I realized I will be just fine and the worst outcome is the robot baby reports to Ms.Pisano that I should not have a child any time soon. I had the real care baby for 2 school days and 1 night. Overall, it wasn’t as hard or stressful as I thought it would be. He slept most of the school day and it didn’t take long to decipher the different cries. He took a long nap after school, which gave me time to do my homework and didn’t wake up until dinner time. Dinner time was the worst of it because he somehow needed to be fed, changed, burped, rocked, and anything else you could think of back to back until he fell asleep again at 10PM. He slept until 5:15AM, cried once to be fed and changed, then slept until school time. I’m sure there are parents reading this right now thinking this assignment isn’t hard enough, but for a teenager trying to manage taking care of a newborn while also living their normal life, it was hard enough.
