I remember it like it was yesterday. I had just moved into my very first apartment, and I was excited to be on my own. About a week later I went to see my boyfriend (Will) in Houston because I lived in Austin. It was the week before Christmas.

I looked at the calendar to see what day it was and noticed I was a week late. I didn't let Will know of my suspicions because I was scared. I was only 19, and I had finally gotten my own place. I didn't want to take a pregnancy test for fear it would confirm my suspicions.

Will noticed I hadn't been eating or feeling well, and he saw me glancing at the calendar every so often. Finally he asked me how late I was. I told him, and he drove me straight to the store to buy a pregnancy test. I took the test along with three others, and they all confirmed the same thing. I was indeed pregnant.

I was very scared and didn't know what I was going to do because abortion was not an option, nor was adoption. But I didn't have the means to support a baby and myself. I cried for nearly two days.

Will told me that whatever I decided to do he would be behind me 100 percent. So I told him I was keeping the baby, and he could be there or he could leave. So Will moved in with me.

I had my first doctor appointment, which confirmed I was about 2 months pregnant. We got to see our first ultrasound of the baby, and it was beautiful.

I had a pretty rough first 5 months. I couldn't keep anything down, and I lost 25 pounds instead of gaining. So as the months went on, the financial situation got worse. And Will and I weren't getting along at all because he wasn't working.

On Valentine's night, my worst night when I was very sick, he took my ATM card and went out and spent $80 of my money at the bars. He started to drink every night, and one night after he found a job he went out after work with the people he worked with and came home beyond intoxicated. He started yelling at me, calling me all kinds of terrible names.

I believe he was doing all of this to get me to miscarry because he would say that he didn't want another baby (he had one he wasn't taking care of, by the way) and get me upset to where I was throwing up and hyperventilating.

But this night was very different. He was outraged, and he hit me. When he hit me I flew off my rocker and started hitting him back because he was hitting his girlfriend who was pregnant with his child. He then hit me in the stomach, and when I ran to leave, he threw me on the ground and proceeded to kick me.

The cops were called, and he went to jail. I went to the hospital to have the baby checked, and it was fine.

The pregnancy was going fine, and Will's friend bailed him out of jail. He stayed with his friend for a month, and I refused to let him come back. I finally told him that if he came back there was no drinking, and when he got paid, the money went to me to pay bills and put in the bank.

Well Will came back, and all was going well. He wasn't drinking, and we found out the baby was a girl. I decided to name her Madison MacKenzie!

The day for Madison to be born came and went. I went over my due date. I was miserable at this point. I was big, swollen and couldn't fit in my shoes. I had to wear flip flops.

So anyway, a week later I was induced. I was put on a Pitocin drip. Contractions sucked; they hurt big time!

When they broke my water at 8:30 a.m. contractions got even worse. I was trying to do the birth naturally, but I was in so much pain I got an epidural. And it was the best thing I have ever had in my life! I felt nothing. I slept through it all.

I woke up at about 11:30 a.m. in the afternoon, starving and thirsty. And they would not let me have anything to eat or drink. I was convinced they were trying to starve me to death. I attempted to get Will to go to Subway and smuggle me a sandwich in, but he wouldn't do it. GRR.

Then at 12 p.m. Will and my aunt went and got lunch for them and came back to the room with it. I made them both leave. When they left, the nurse checked me and said I was complete. I told her to go get Will, but luckily he came back to get something, and I told him it was time. He went white as a ghost.

We started pushing at 12:30 p.m., and at 1:15 p.m. Madison was brought into this world! She wasn't crying or anything. I was scared because she wasn't making a sound, but then I heard the nurse say, Ow, she bit me. And Madison was given to me. She just looked around. She was so alert. It was the most amazing experience of my life.

Now Madison is 10 months old today, and she is growing so fast. It's amazing how smart she is. She is 3 months ahead on certain things she should be doing. She said baby the other day, and refuses to play with her toys. She likes the telephone, remote controls and cable box instead. She has a lot of energy for a little girl and hates naps. Actually, she hates sleep period.

I am very lucky to have my precious little angel. And Will and I have been going to couples counseling. Things are going great, although the money situation is much worse since I got laid off a week after Maddie was born.

A word of advice to expecting mothers: Enjoy the time you have with your baby inside you. Read stories to him/her every night, and sing to him/her. It's the only time you will have with just the two of you as a whole.

After they are born you will miss feeling their movements, and you will feel empty but full of love for your little miracle.

If you have any questions feel free to email me. Thanks for letting me share my story with you.