Hi everyone. I'm a new grandmother. I wasn't sure where to post this. I think I'm just looking for a little support and encouragement.
Some background: My teen daughter had a baby this year. (She got pregnant on the Pill.) She is now 19. She managed to graduate high school pregnant and in spite of many physical complications. She made the choice to have the baby, and I have supported her in her decisions along the way. I will admit that this was a difficult situation at first and has been a rough year for us both.
My grandson is healthy and smiles and laughs easily. My daughter is planning to start college classes next year. They both live with me and I'm financially supporting them until she can get on her feet. I work full time and help take care of him to give her breaks.
The baby's father is in their lives. He and my daughter do not have any formal legal agreement but have been working out visitation on their own. I don't interfere, however, I don't allow him in my home because of the way he has treated her and me. He is disrespectful and manipulative. He leeches off me when he can get away with it (eats my food, uses my daughter's car, etc.), and I want boundaries. He is also in his late teens and lives with his mother, and my daughter takes the baby to their home a few days a week so they can spend time together.
I watch my daughter making the same mistakes with him over and over again. She has basically subsumed herself to him because she thinks it will keep him in my grandson's life. (Her own dad left when she was a baby and did not have contact with her, so that may be part of it.)
Anyway, I'm trying to keep things as normal and comfortable as possible in our home for the two of them, but the baby's father kind of infects her with his attitude. She is surly toward me when she's been around him, like she's channeling him. It's very hurtful.
I feel isolated at times and am not always sure what to do. Wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences with kids who became parents at a young age. The teenage years are hard enough without this.
How do you acknowledge Easter.