Becoming a mom is never easy at any stage in life, but it can be particularly difficult when you’re barely an adult yourself. This is something that Anchorage, Alaska resident, Kaleena Pysher, knows all too well. Now in her mid 20’s, Kaleena was only 18 when she discovered that she had become a pregnant teen.

Even worse, the unsuspecting teen found out she was pregnant in a routine checkup with her general physician. The news took both her and her stepmother completely by surprise.

Unable to wrap her head around the news that she was now a pregnant teen, Kaleena went as far as taking two more “at home” pregnancy tests on her own to make sure the GP wasn’t mistaken. To her utter disbelief, the two tests only revealed what the doc had already told her. She was definitely pregnant.

Upon realizing that she was carrying a new life inside of her, the pregnant teen “had to make some very adult decisions,” according to Kirsten Ballard, Kaleena’s stepmother.

Being only 18-years-old and totally taken aback at her pregnancy, Kaleena found herself struggling to decide what was best for her baby and herself.

The pregnant teen didn’t believe her past experiences had prepared her for motherhood yet.

After thinking it over long and hard, Kaleena decided to try to give her baby the best shot at a good life as possible. The teen determined that she was going to put her baby up for adoption.

“When I first found out that I was pregnant, I knew I didn’t have the life experience to raise a baby, and I wasn’t going to be selfish… So, I decided for adoption,” Kaleena recalls.

If she needed confirmation she was making the right choice, it came almost immediately when someone told the pregnant teen that a family friend was currently looking to adopt.

At just four months into her pregnancy, Kaleena reached out to connect with the friends of the family, who have chosen to remain anonymous. The friends said they would be happy to raise Kaleena’s baby as their own.

Throughout the remainder of her pregnancy, Kaleena sent the adoptive parents regular updates. She would send pictures of her ultrasounds, tell them when the baby was feeling extra kicky, and even let them know when their baby had the hiccups.

In her quest to maintain a healthy pregnancy, Kaleena learned about the benefits of breastfeeding from a home health nurse while receiving prenatal care.

Once she knew about the overwhelming benefits to her baby, she decided there was just no two ways about it. She was going to breastfeed her baby.

“When a baby is fed breast milk, they are just way ahead of the game. I decided that I wanted my baby to have the best options and to be able to grow — and so, I knew I was going to pump and give her that benefit,” she divulged.

When baby Raylie was finally born, Kaleena informed the adoptive parents that she intended to breastfeed her while they were in the hospital.

Furthermore, Kaleena was going to pump her breastmilk after the family had taken Raylie home, and she would ship it to them in batches so that Raylie would have a fresh, regular supply of healthy breastmilk.

The teen learned the ins and outs of pumping her breast milk, and actually had good success.

She found herself being able to pump as much as 6 ounces every couple of hours, which she would then store in bags in her freezer until there was enough to ship.

Kaleena put herself through the physical pain of pumping, and the excruciating emotional pain of knowing she wouldn’t be the one to feed it to her baby so that she could give Raylie all the best of what she had to offer.

The adoptive parents covered the shipping costs of the breast milk. Eventually, though, Kaleena had built them up such a storehouse of it for Raylie that they had to tell her they didn’t need anymore. While it would hurt Kaleena not to be able to provide something so beneficial to her baby anymore, she knew that she could still provide for others.

Kaleena decided to donate the rest of her breast milk to a Milk Bank located in Colorado. Her breast milk would be screened then dispensed to babies in a local neonatal intensive care unit.

Kaleena’s kind thoughtfulness in keeping the adoptive parents included in the pregnancy and continuing to provide for her baby where she could paid off big-time in the end for Kaleena. Even though the adoptive family no longer requires her breastmilk, they go out of their way to keep Kaleena in the loop about everything going on with Raylie.

In addition to Face-Timing with Kaleena, the family often sends her pictures and videos of her birth daughter. Even more, they go out of their way to make sure Kaleena knows that she is family, too.

“They have told me that we are a family now. They say that I will always be her mother, and that they are appreciative of the gift of life I have given them,” Kaleena explains.

To learn more about this beautiful story, watch the video below.

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H/T: Shareably