50 replies to this topic

[TheBombDotCom]

Where did this show come from on Bravo? I'm just flipping through and noticed this is a new airing of this show...at 7am EDT.

It's a short-run documentary-type show but seemingly with Bravo's production. The title cards are reminiscent of Flipping Out.

[Nittany84]

I think it's airing primarily on Oxygen, but they probably are putting it on Bravo occasionally to help promote it.

I quite enjoyed it. Claudia, the woman who was adopted from Haiti, was so interesting. She was strong to resist the pressure from both her boyfriend and the baby's father not to choose adoption, and it's a good thing she did. Her boyfriend was supportive (and I laughed when he told the baby that girls don't like a guy who can't hold his bowels), but it was a little weird that he was so insistent on her keeping the baby. I also respected that the parents she chose decided not to be on camera. After the adoption, Claudia seemed so much freer and happier. During her pregnancy, she seemed rather flat, though she could have been uncomfortable around the cameras.

Mary and her situation were a little odd. I knew she was going to keep the baby when she seemed to be finding a reason to reject the couple she originally selected. It was a little obnoxious that the would-be adoptive mother was so enthusiastic at the ultrasound, but she was nervous, I'm sure. I'm glad the couple ended up getting another baby. I think Mary will struggle for a while, but with any luck her church will help create a supportive environment for her child. I'm agnostic and have never been religious, but I do think that a church community can be helpful for someone in her situation.

It was a little weird that her husband admitted--according to her--that he wouldn't have married her if he knew she would get "sick." Perhaps he was relieved to have the "out" of the affair and the baby.

[TheBombDotCom]

I thought it was pretty good.

If it's an Oxygen show, give it some time and Andy will bring it over to Bravo and turn it into trash-fest

[Strivers Row]

I saw this on Oxygen the other night. I thought it was really well done. I was glad Mary didn't give up her baby, simply because she was doing it for the wrong reasons - to keep a man (a man who didn't want her in the first place). I have a feeling had she given the baby up, the man would not have stayed anyway and she would have experienced many, many years of regret. I know that adoption counselor was ready to kill her.

I liked Claudia. I hope she gets herself together. She seems to have a head on her shoulders and I think she did the right thing for herself and her baby. I wish her the best.

[Three Foot Six]

Ugh, maybe I'm horrible, but I disliked Mary SO much. She planned to give up a baby she didn't want to give up just to grovel for an asshole who didn't want to deal with her when she was sick? (And she actually told him he would be a good father one day? Sure, until the day the baby gets sick, then he'll tell it he never would have had a child if he'd known it would be so much trouble. What a dick.) And then when it was clear he wanted a divorce no matter what, only then she was willing to keep it. I guess I'm glad she didn't let herself be coerced into a final decision she didn't want, but the fact that she WOULD have if the husband would have stayed was pathetic. Way to prove you're making a good decision for your child and nobody else. I hope she gets it together.

[kcblue86]

The Mary story bothered me because the husband was a jerk and I really could not understand why she was choosing to pursue him over the child. I was also a little confused about the timeline with the affair. Hadn't the husband already broken up with her at that point? I thought they were separated when it happened. And does the baby's father know? I was glad when she didn't go through with the adoption in the end, but I was frustrated (like the adoption counselor must have been) that she took so long to reach that decision and gave two sets of adoptive parents that false hope for getting a child. I was glad that Jeremy and Nicole were able to adopt another baby.

I liked Claudia. She had good family support and genuinely seemed to have thought out her decision. The baby's father was an ass. She texted that the baby was born and he responded "who is this?" Classy guy.

[beezer]

I thought Mary was a horrible bitch. Her constant smirking and 'aren't I cuuute how stuff like, happens to meeee!?' demeanor turned me off right away - and that was just when she was relating her tragic tale of... cheating and being so dumb as to get knocked up doing so. While going on about her church.

Then when she fucked over the poor adoptive couple because the woman felt like it was her baby? Bitch, is that not the point of the exercise? Would she have preferred that the woman was detached and didn't feel like she was the mother? That whole thing too, done with this smirky head cock and non-explanation explanations like people will be sypathetic to her idiocy. Also while going on about her church family and how she'd sinned but god forgave her. Did he forgive you for fucking around with that couple's emotions while you decided if you wanted to give up a baby to keep your gamery, adolescent looking husband?

When the rightly shocked adoption counselor asked for her reasoning, all Mary could muster was a random smiling 'well, like, it just you know... I need to feel comfortable,' or some such. With not even seeming awareness of what she was doing. I wonder how much money that couple spent on her.

Then hooking another couple before deciding to keep the kid, which anyone saw coming? Just a horrid, utterly self-absorbed bitch. Not that someone should go through with an adoption so other people aren't upset but the whole thing seemed like she was just playing with people to create a sob story to get her husband back - 'see how much I love you, I'm even giving up my baby! Want me back yet?' expecting him to want to take her and the kid because of her willingness to sacrifice.

Happy the couple found another kid and they dodged a bullet dealing with her loony butt. Feel bad for her kid.

Claudia was cool - felt bad she got involved with the jerk but she saw he was a jerk, confirmed he was a jerk and didn't get sucked back in and made the best decision for her and the baby. Yay her. The scene in which the guy tells her he'll support the kid then miscounts the baby mamas but accurately counts the SIX kids he has at 25 ("I started at 20," like it's a contest) was amazing. I think she'll do well. I think Mary will have two more kids within the next 5 years and be living in a trailer explaining to everyone who'll listen how she's made mistakes with those random guys but god forgives her and her kids are the best thing that ever happened to her and she has to go, she's meeting this guy from Walmart at the bar... She was as dumb and self-absorbed and train wrecky as the 16& Pregnant girl, just older. Which I wouldn't have cared except for her messing with the poor adoptive couples like it was nothing.

Edited by beezer, Jul 28, 2012 @ 6:04 AM.

[McKay]

Then when she fucked over the poor adoptive couple because the woman felt like it was her baby?

Does this idiot not grasp the concept of adoption? If this person is adopting the child you are pregnant with, it is in fact her baby! Pity the poor kid, stuck with that dolt of a mom.

[carried away]

Mary... So God frowns on abortion, but adultery is a-okay? Alrighty then! Lordy lordy, what an idiotic bitch. That she would give her baby up for the dickhead husband who clearly didn't even love her was pretty rich. I admired Claudia for knowing exactly how things would play out if she kept the baby, and made her decision accordingly. And she ended up being right, of course! I like this show, I hope it wasn't a one-off.

[Bastet Esq]

I'm not interested in babies, but the ads for this made it look like an actual short-form documentary series so I gave it a whirl. I think a better format would be to give each woman her own episode, as a lot was glossed over, but it worked.

Kudos to Claudia for not compounding one mistake with another, and good on the parents of her baby for not appearing on camera. I also like that they chose their own name for their son, but honored her desires by making Isaiah his middle name. I felt sure Claudia wouldn't be taken in by any nonsense the baby daddy spouted, but I worried occasionally that her hormonal, newly in love self would put too much stock in her well-intentioned but misguided boyfriend (who, surprise, was no longer her boyfriend by the time of the update). I was pleased to see her remain clear-headed and hope things work out well for both her and the baby.

Mary and that Bethany adoption service deserved each other, from everything I've read about that place. She was horrid, and so are they. (And yet they are masterful at putting their facade out there by appearing on shows that don't bother to expose their practices.) Her story nearly sprained my eyeballs. She gets married at 20 - to a guy who five years later still not only looks, but acts 16 - gets sick, finds out her husband didn't think those "in sickness and in health" vows actually meant something, has an affair rather than ditching the husband, gets knocked up, wants the baby but agrees to place it for adoption in order to keep a husband who doesn't want her and isn't worth keeping even if he did, gets mad that the woman she has chosen to be the baby's mother acts like the baby's mother, backs out, strings along another couple rather than acknowledging she doesn't actually want anyone to adopt the baby, then lies there sighing moonily with her baby that is now going to be raised by a short-sighted moron who probably has no education, skills or prospects. Poor kid; I hope Mary grows up before s/he does.

Edited by Bastet Esq, Jul 29, 2012 @ 1:05 PM.

[Mellieb]

I got the idea that the father of Mary's baby was also married, thus why the discussion of him was very vague.
I also have a suspicion that there is way more to the story of her marriage than she claims. She said he left her because she got sick, then said he didn't move out until she had the affair? I call BS on her story.

Edited by Mellieb, Jul 30, 2012 @ 3:33 AM.

[Nittany84]

I also have a suspicion that there is way more to the story of her marriage than she claims. She said he left her because she got sick, then said he didn't move out until she had the affair? I call BS on her story.

I think that this is her version of events: They get married at 20, she gets into a car accident, she gets "sick," he has to take care of her, he says on their fifth anniversary that he can't do another five years, she has an affair and gets pregnant, then he moves out.

In a deleted scene, she says that she was sick because of fibromyalgia. It's a very controversial diagnosis, one that I still treat with a degree of skepticism, I must admit. I have no doubt that she probably experienced physical pain, but in her case, I would not be surprised to learn that the symptoms were psychologically induced. Something just seemed "off" with her.

[mamcu]

When Mary was looking at the adoption booklets she immediately dismisses an older couple because they looked older.

[flappa1016]

Looks like Amber Portwood isn't the only trailer park reality "star" living in Anderson, IN. I'm sure that Mariah and Pazley(!) are somehow related to Amber/Gary - all of them thar Anderson folk that we've seen have that inbred look.

[kccody]

This episode was so good! Amanda rocked my world. You picked great dads to parent your baby. Mariah- there are no words, I got the Gary/Amber connection right away too. So glad she placed the baby for adoption. She should have done that with Pazley too and got on with her life. So many strikes against her- she reminded me a bit of Reese Witherspoon and her sister was an Amazon. Good decisions about adoption for these women- and now ladies- Birth Control!

[runnergirl543]

I had to register just to post about this show. I caught the Mary/Claudia episode yesterday and the new one is on DVR. Did anyone else thing that the "sick" Mary was talking to was addiction? I wondered if after the car accident, she became addicted to painkillers. Either way, I thought she was horrible. She loved the adoptive couple when they were focusing on her, but as soon as something was the baby, she turned into a jealous teenager. I just wanted to smack her and tell her to wake up. I wish she would have given the baby up because she needs to focus on herself and give that baby a chance at a normal life.

[raiderred]

and now ladies- Birth Control!

Lawdy isn't that the truth!
Can someone enlighten me as to what a young girl/young woman thinks when the thought of pregnancy might happen...especially the second time? I'm looking at you Mariah. I'm certainly no prude because I started having sex in high school(ugh, not really proud but hey it happens) and one of the first things I did, behind my parents' back, was go to the planned parenthood and get some BC pills and this was way back in the "olden" days-80's!

[beeblebrox]

I finally watched the Amanda/Mariah episode. Amanda really amazed me with determination to see that the gay couple became parents. She had a lot of family and friends against it. I really disliked her sister at one point by pressing the fact that she was trying and would raise the child herself. It seemed like she didn't respect Amanda's decision to give the baby up for adoption until after the birth. She reminded me a lot of Claudia in the previous episode who knew that adoption was the best for both baby and birth mother.

Mariah actually surprised me with going through with the adoption. She seemed like she could go in the opposite direction at times. I laughed so much when her mom said she wanted to raise the baby. She looked like she was dressed from something out of the 80's with that pink scrunchie. I'm glad that Mariah and her sister took their mother to task about her parenting and how she wouldn't be effective as a parent to this child. I really hope that Mariah gets her GED and can move forward in life beyond her 9th grade education. I felt so bad for her when she said that she didn't have a GED or any skills at such a young age.

[interestedg]

I really liked Claudia and believe she was acting in the best interest of her baby.

Mary was a different story. I have adopted children. In those days the adoptions were closed. Mary talks about people not knowing what it was like to consider placing her child for adoption. She does not know what it is like for Jeremy & Nicole. But my biggest problem with her was Eric. To try to win Eric back, she was putting her child up for adoption. I have no sympathy for Eric. We have been married over 40 years. In the first 5, I had ovarian cancer & took chemo. We both lost our parents. In the last 5, I have had 3 back surgeries that failed, 2 heart attacks & now have a broken foot. My husband has been my rock & still is. My sons are grown & married & are like their dad. They take care of their wives, children & still call or come by to check on me daily.

Yet Eric could not handle her wreck & subsequent illness. Eric & Mary seem like very selfish people. My fear with Mary, is that her baby will never come first. Being a mom is the hardest best thing we ever do. I will never understand Mary being so desparate to have Eric. Yet Mary wanted Eric no matter how he treats her. When she talks about moving on from Eric, all I could think was she was talking about meeting another guy

[auntie thesis]

and now ladies- Birth Control!

Word to nth degree.

I know quite a few trailer park knock-ups who keep having kids with worthless deadbeat dads and then boo-hooing because it's so hard to raise a kid without him around. Immature jackasses like Mary's old man aren't worth the light of day in the first place. He didn't give a rip about her or the kid...she was just blinded by the light of dependency. Sadly enough, her kid will grow up with her as a piss poor role model instead of growing up with a decent family who loves it and cares for it and teaches it to be a decent human being.

Needless to say, I'm getting a bit sick of these "Oh look at me! I'm young and knocked up!" type of shows. There's another one Discovery Health that looks to be a knock of Teen Mom with hints of this show sprinkled in. Perhaps I'm just a bit jaded by the dumbfuckery and selfishness that seems to go along with these shows. In most cases, I don't see why these selfish bitchy ingrates are allowed to leave the hospital with their babies in the first place. If I were an adoption counselor or any type of mental health professional, I'd have called CPS on Mary's loony ass as soon as she went into labor. Fuck her and her feelings. That kid deserves better than bowls of cold Easy Mac eaten in front of the tv for the next 10 years.

The other girls didn't inspire my ire quite as much. I liked Claudia, was ok with the one who gave her baby to the two dads, and can't remember any of the others I may have seen on this show.

[Fabricationary]

I thought Mary was an attention-seeker who would have applied for 16 and Pregnant if she could have. She looked pretty rough for 25. It was obvious when she picked the second adoptive couple but didn't want to meet them until after the birth, that she was giving herself an easy out and not serious with following through with adoption. When she said she wasn't meeting the couple, I knew she would decide to keep the baby.

But in Mary's defense, the first potential adoptive couple did annoy me when they were in the sonogram room and fawning loudly over the baby, seemingly taking it for granted that it was going to be their kid, guaranteed. I feel like potential adoptive parents shouldn't cross the barrier of claiming ownership of the kid when it's still in the biological mom's belly - it's adoption, not a surrogacy or gestational carrier situation. But the way that Mary told her adoption counselor that she was dumping them was vague and didn't (at least the part that aired) mention the sonogram incident.

Like others have said, I think Mary was considering adoption for all the wrong reasons - namely to possibly win back her husband, despite that he made it quite clear that he was not interested. I doubt he was easy to live with during their marriage, but neither was she, probably.

I didn't catch how old Claudia was - I thought I heard she said was 20 at the end, but she seemed to conduct herself with more maturity than a 20-year-old would. I'm glad that she pursued the course of action she wanted and didn't get screwed by her baby daddy or current boyfriend. The baby daddy was a total loser, but seemed to be all bark and no bite, so hopefully his parental rights got terminated without any protest from him.

I thought Amanda made her choice for all the right reasons. The show didn't give a lot of airtime to her boyfriend, who was also giving up his biological kid - he seemed to also agree with the choice, so kudos to him. The adoptive parents seem like a fantastic couple.

I suspect Mariah probably applied for 16 and Pregnant as well as this show, but the 16 & P folks probably didn't bite because 1) they haven't exactly had good luck with girls they've found in Anderson, IN and 2) this was Mariah's second baby and she was almost out of her teens. I'm glad she made the choice that she did, though it was concerning during the show that she didn't seem to be dealing with the emotions of the choice and instead seemed to want to avoid confronting them. It would have been interesting to hear more from her current boyfriend, who wasn't the father of either of her kids, to learn what his feelings were on the adoption (IIRC, they started dating after her first trimester, when abortion was no longer a legal choice).

[Strivers Row]

I fell asleep before last night's episode ended. Did both ladies give their babies up?

[Nittany84]

I suspect Mariah probably applied for 16 and Pregnant as well as this show, but the 16 & P folks probably didn't bite because 1) they haven't exactly had good luck with girls they've found in Anderson, IN and 2) this was Mariah's second baby and she was almost out of her teens. I'm glad she made the choice that she did, though it was concerning during the show that she didn't seem to be dealing with the emotions of the choice and instead seemed to want to avoid confronting them. It would have been interesting to hear more from her current boyfriend, who wasn't the father of either of her kids, to learn what his feelings were on the adoption (IIRC, they started dating after her first trimester, when abortion was no longer a legal choice).

I had a real soft spot for Mariah. Though I wish that she had placed her first daughter (Paizley?) for adoption as well, I thought she had a good heart and understood the limitations of what she could provide for a baby, financially and emotionally. With her and with Catelynn on Teen Mom, who I am sure had a similar upbringing, I was fascinated to see who they picked as the adoptive parents, because clearly each was at least in part of thinking about how she wishes her own parents had been. With Mariah, picking an older, sort of quiet family with a military background, it makes me think that she really did wish that her mother had been a stricter disciplinarian and less dramatic, while Catelynn went for a very warm, sensitive couple.

I hope Mariah has an IUD firmly in place. Funny, when I was a dorky teenager, I thought the party girls were more mature in some way. But during her awkward interactions with would-be employers, when she was talking about being a cheerleader and not being violent, she seemed like such a little girl.

[Angeltoes]

I fell asleep before last night's episode ended. Did both ladies give their babies up?

Yes.

When the woman with the three kids (can't remember her name) showed her own baby pictures, I couldn't get over how much her youngest daughter looked just like her. You'd have thought it was the same kid. Kudos to Grandma for being such a rock for her.

I couldn't believe that the couple Sydney picked wanted her to fork over some breast milk. Then the adoptive mother medically arranged it so she herself could do it. Wow, major counseling needed there.

[Strivers Row]

Thanks Angeltoes. Before I fell asleep, I felt like Sydney might back out. I imagine the breastfeeding had to be tough for her.

[Fabricationary]

Jamie and her friends' sense of style was definitely...interesting. Hair glitter *(to make up for lack of shampooing?) and wrinkled, baggy clothes that look like you just rolled out of bed in are just the attire I think of when I go to a bar to try to pick up guys.

But on a more serious note, Jamie's story (as well as Amanda's from last week) are making me reconsider my preconceived notions that most women who choose adoption are young (teens/early 20s) and/or don't already have kids at home. I feel like Jamie was making her decision out of a place of maturity, but understandably found it very difficult to justify to people "I'm keeping this kid but not that one" (like her very-unhelpful-friend pointed out).

Sydney's overall demeanor while pregnant seemed very downcast and resigned-to-her-fate(similar to Claudia last week).
The whole agreeing to breastfeed the baby afterwards seemed odd, as well as the adoptive mother attempting to breastfeed even though she hadn't gone through the pregnancy. When Sydney explained that part, she seemed to have a similar eyeroll expression as when she explained how fun it was to be doing water aerobics with seniors. I was under the impression that nipple stimulation in a woman who hasn't been pregnant recently or at all won't induce milk gland maturation unless she's also taking hormonal supplements.

[damagedkids]

Would love to know why the wife of the trans man who wanted to breastfeed didn't carry. They never said she didn't try.

[scarlett45]

Maybe they really wanted to adopt? Not everyone who adopts is incapable of having bio kids and some people aren't comfortable with assisted reproductive technology- especially when there are children already alive who need homes.

[IvySpice]

I don't have Oxygen, so I'm glad they put full episodes on the Web. Word to everything that's been said about Mary and Claudia. I've seen women put their children second to a good-for-nothing man many times before, but actually considering giving the child AWAY to please a good-for-nothing man? That takes the cake.

[whatevez]

I just saw the Mary/Claudia episode today. Loved Claudia and I'm completely rooting for her future.

I just couldn't with Mary. I was so angry at her for 1) Trying to win back that douche and 2) Leading on not only one but TWO sets of adoptive parents. Such an assy thing to do.