Last night on 16 And Pregnant 18-year-old Aleah LeBeouf, a diabetic teen from St. Louis, MO, welcomed daughter Peyton. Because of her diabetes she has a high risk pregnancy and has to check her sugar multiple times a day. Doctors warn her that her daughter Peyton could be stillborn if she doesn't monitor her sugar closely. Aleah worries constantly that she won't be able to provide a good life for her daughter or that her medical issues could also make her daughter sick.
Aleah is dating Shawn, who is 19 and has a three-year-old son named Noah from another baby mama. Noah's biological mom is not in the picture so he lives full-time with Shawn and his family, and Aleah acts as a mother-figure to him.
CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE!
Aleah is a good student who is currently in college. She's pretty together and seems very mature. She has a close relationship with her mom and stepfather, but things haven't always been great! Aleah was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and has to check her blood sugar and give herself insulin shots. When she found out about her diagnosis in high school she went a little crazy, started partying and getting in trouble. After getting in a fight with another girl she got sent to Juvy, where she met Shawn. How exactly does one meet a boy in jail – aren't boys and girls separated? Do they do things differently in MO?
In addition to having another kid, Shawn has about a bajillion speeding tickets (plus missing teef!) and he just can't stop getting them either. "I just have a lead foot," he says by way of excuse.
Shawn works at a plastics factory when he can get shifts, but all of his paycheck seems to go to tickets and court costs. Lovely. Aleah lives with Shawn, his son Noah, his parents, and Shawn's 65 other brothers who are rambunctious, rowdy, and loud. She has trouble dealing with the chaos, and coupled with her diabetes plus school along with being very pregnant, feels stressed out. Aleah's mom and step-father worry about both Aleah and Peyton's health, but are very supportive. In fact both Shawn's parents and Aleah's parents are supportive.
Aleah got pregnant when her birth control "wore off" but her periods never returned. Apparently she thought if you got birth control like one time it worked forever. It's not magic, kiddos! Since Shawn is spending all his money on speeding tickets and Aleah is in school, the plan is to live with Shawn's family until they save money for a place. Shawn's mom will help babysit and Aleah will continue with college. They don't plan to be there long. Aaaaand then Shawn gets another ticket! ANOTHER one! Aleah is upset about the money, but is distracted by their baby shower. Oooh! Shiny! And Pink!
After the shower, Aleah's blood sugar is 258 and keeps going up. Her doctor admits her to the hospital and after unsuccessful attempts to bring her sugar down Aleah delivers Peyton three-weeks early. Everything seems healthy, but then Peyton has breathing problems and is sent to the NICU. She has a common problem many babies of diabetic mothers have in that her own sugar has to readjust post-utero. Everything ends up being fine and the euphoric couple brings Peyton home to Shawn's family's house.
Shawn's house is straight chaos and Aleah is very unhappy there. Furthermore despite a willingness to work any shifts at the factory, Shawn's work is sporadic. Aleah just wants to move, but instead she is stuck dealing with loud squabbling and raising two kids. Aleah is about to snap so the couple goes to look at a townhouse.
In the course of figuring out how much they would need to save to rent a place Aleah adds up all Shawn's speeding ticket and court costs and learns he owes $2500! And a lot of the fees are related to Shawn not paying tickets on time or showing up to court. Aleah is furious. Rightfully so. Shawn blames his alter-ego, Adam Lind Leadfoot.
That evening the couple gets into a fight because Aleah doesn't feel Shawn is taking the situation seriously. His attitude is very flippant. He accuses Aleah of acting like his mom and says she's supposed to be the mother of his kids, not him. Shawn's mom gets involved and yells at the two of them for arguing about something as stupid as money. Really? Yeah, it's soooo stupid to want to pay your bills! She also points out that because they became parents so young they'll likely have money problems their whole lives.
For Aleah the argument isn't about money, it's about Shawn's irresponsibility given that he's a father of two. For Shawn, he just doesn't want to be nagged, cause he's like already upset he can't spend that money on a new car cause he really wants one.
Aleah decides to go to her mom's house with Peyton. Shawn and his mother gang up on Aleah and refuse to let her take Peyton. "She came out of my vagina!" Aleah snaps. "Well guess who put her in there?!" Sean argues back. Aleah decides to go to her mother's house alone, despite the fact that she's still breast feeding. Aleah's mom Billie is a lot more rational about the situation but does not want Aleah and Peyton living somewhere so loud and unstable. She is on Aleah's side that $2500 is a lot of money to waste. Billie urges Aleah to move home and even says Shawn and Noah can move in as well, but it's too far from Shawn's work. And it sounds like the less time Shawn spends in the car, the better!
Aleah decides to talk to Shawn the next morning and they agree to give it another shot. "If you get another speeding ticket, we're through," she warns. So what does Shawn do? Get another ticket! He gets caught going 69 MPH in a 50 zone. He claims he didn't know the speed limit. Aleah takes Peyton and goes to her mother's house. She is heart-broken that Shawn is so irresponsible and self-centered. Billie seems to be bitting her tongue. I bet she does not like Shawn one bit!
The next day Shawn and Noah come over. Aleah tells Shawn that she is going to stay at her mother's house with Peyton until they have enough money to get a place. She'll continue with school and he can watch Peyton while she's in college. Aleah, of course, regrets getting pregnant so young, and resolves to try and make things work with Shawn because now they have Aleah together.
That's always what makes me sad about this show – many of the girls get trapped in these dead-end relationships with men they probably would not stay with if there weren't a child involved.
WHERE IS ALEAH NOW? Aleah and Shawn are still together and now have their own place. Noah's biological mother now has shared custody and the couple seems happy.
[Photo Credits: MTV & Facebook]
TELL US – WILL ALEAH AND SHAWN MAKE IT WORK? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF ALEAH'S EPISODE?
