First blog - my life as a young parent

Hi everybody,

My name is Hannah and this is my first blog so i would like to tell you a little about myself and my life as a young parent. I am 22 years old, i fell pregnant at the age of 18 and i now have a daughter, her name is Lillianna and she is turning 3 in January.

My daughters father and i separated only weeks after she was born this was no surprise as we had many problems in our relationship during my pregnancy. Three years later, even after mediation and a court order outlining orders regarding our daughter we still don't get along and cant communicate effectively between one another.

However, I have a partner i have been with for the last year and a half who is fantastic and very supportive. He comes from a strong cultural background which made it a bit difficult for his family to accept me as a young single mother but we now get along great and i visit their home regularly with my daughter.

I live alone with my daughter in a Community Housing unit this can be both an advantage and disadvantage as i love having my own space with my daughter and not having anybody intervene with how i parent Lily. The downside is budgeting the living expenses and not having much support as my family live 4 hours out of Sydney.

I have spent the past two years studying while Lily has been attending Long Day Care. I have completed many certificates and i am now studying to be a primary school teacher at University. When i first started at Uni it was scary and overwhelming but i now fit in and cant wait to graduate. I also worked for 6 months in a childcare  which drove me nuts after a short while - looking after 20 toddlers all day then going home to your own isn't fun !

The Talking Realities Young parenting program helped me to gain confidence, socialize, make goals as well as complete some units from the Cert III in Community Services and become a peer educator. Being a peer educator   involves giving presentations to high schools students in the Fairfield / Bankstown regions in Sydney. These are information sessions regarding the realities of being a young parent that also provide information about supports services that can be accessed. I was very nervous during my first presentation but i am now more relaxed and enjoy it.

       Wow ! I just realized how much i have rambled on, i will leave you with this biography/blog lol and i will be post again shortly
     
      Take care :)