Lauryn’s Story
Lauryn was pursuing her Associate’s degree at Trident College and transitioning into a new job when she found out she was pregnant with her son Cameron – Cam for short. At the time, her long-term plan included earning her business degree and eventually owning her own property management business. With the news of her pregnancy, she remained committed to those goals but knew she needed to adjust her timeline. She became determined to graduate before she had her baby.
Lauryn was referred to New Moms by a friend and first enrolled in our pre-natal group. Lauryn said she arranged to leave work early each week so she could make it to every single meeting. During this time, she also started working with one of our New Moms doulas and home visiting coaches in preparation for her son’s birth. Because of COVID-19, her Doula, Mary, was unable to be at the hospital when Lauryn gave birth to Cam. However, Lauryn said the experience was still very positive because Mary made sure she was excellently prepared.
Cam is now almost 10 months old and Lauryn continues to meet with her New Moms coach, Jennifer. She calls these virtual home visits her “weekly pep talk.” Lauryn said she looks forward to their meetings because she thinks of Jennifer as a big sister or mentor.
“Sometimes you don’t want to tell your parents, ‘I’m feeling like a bad parent today’ because people hold that against you like for the rest of your life,” Lauryn said. “I know I can tell Jen ‘I feel like a bad parent today’ but she’s going to come back and give me some type of positive reinforcement to shake this feeling and to move on.”
Lauryn works hard to balance school, work, and motherhood. Her long-term goals include finishing her Bachelor’s degree in business and eventually purchasing some properties. She is currently enrolled in an 18-month business management program from National Lewis University. She said she wants to “knock out” school while Cam is still little, so she can be an active parent when he starts school.
Lauryn encourages other young moms to partner with New Moms saying, “New Moms is for everyone, especially because you get a sense of sisterhood when you connect with you home visit coaches. I feel like that’s really important.”