I became a nan at 34 after my daughter fell pregnant at 15 – then I learnt she PLANNED her baby
A WOMAN has revealed she became a nan at 34-years-old after her 15-year-old daughter got pregnant DELIBERATELY.
Jane McNeice never could have expected she would become a grandmother in her mid-30s.
Now 47-years-old, she has shared what her unique family dynamic with daughter Laura, now 27, looks like.
After Laura welcomed her daughter Evie, 11, into the world, Jane found out she was pregnant shortly after becoming a nan.
That means Oliver, now nine, is two years younger than his niece Evie.
Jane now has three children including Laura, while Laura has four.
Jane revealed she was “absolutely devastated” when she found out Laura wanted to become a teen mum and even asked her to consider terminating the pregnancy.
She said: “It was quite a shock
“We had unusual circumstances as Laura was planned even though I had her [at 18-years-old].
“But what we learned later was that Laura’s pregnancy was also planned.
“What we have found out in the last couple of years is reasons why we might have chosen motherhood quite early on.
“We are both autistic.”
The author from Doncaster, South Yorks added she has spent “pretty much her whole life” trying to work out “what felt wrong” before a Facebook post triggered some answers.
She explained: “I was scrolling through the page on Saturday morning and I just came across the post titled Girls With Autism with symptoms listed around.
“And I literally just went, ‘tick, tick, tick.’
“I knew straight away.”
Jane was then formally assessed but had to wait a year to be diagnosed.
By this point, Laura, now a mum-of-four, had also began to suspect that she had autism.
She was diagnosed at aged 26, and Oliver too received a diagnosis a few months later.
Jane shared that although she was initially unhappy about Laura’s teenage pregnancy, she realised over time that it was meant to be.
The nan said: “I bought into the neurotypical ideals – that your child does well, they go off to university, and they get a great job.
“They get married, they have to 2.4 for children, a nice house, a nice car.
“Now that we know we’re autistic, we’re able to say what is normal for us.
“It’s a different standard to what is normal for a neurotypical family.”