{"id":19584,"date":"2024-08-22T12:28:08","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T16:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=19584"},"modified":"2024-08-23T13:23:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T17:23:24","slug":"teen-mom-with-triplets-finds-new-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2024\/08\/teen-mom-with-triplets-finds-new-home.html","title":{"rendered":"Teen Mom with Triplets Finds New Home"},"content":{"rendered":"
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mullen.kat \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At just 14 years old, Indiana teen Shariya Small found herself in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), mother of premature triplets, and all alone in a hospital in August 2020. \u201cI was 14, I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to be a mom right now,\u201d she told People<\/em><\/a>. A nurse on the NICU floor, Katrina Mullen, noticed the teen mom and felt an instant connection. A single mother as well, Mullen\u2019s journey into motherhood began when she was just 16 years old. \u201cShe\u2019d be there alone for days at a time sitting at her babies\u2019 bedside,\u201d recalled<\/a> Mullen. Shariya\u2019s babies had been born at just 26 weeks and she felt all alone. \u201cI felt like I couldn\u2019t relate to all the other moms on the floor,\u201d she said. She kept tight-lipped about her own personal life until Mullen shared that she had been a teen mom too. \u201cThat\u2019s when we really developed trust,\u201d said Mullen.<\/p>\n

A friendship developed, and Small would spend time with Mullen even when she wasn\u2019t working the NICU floor. \u201cIt felt really good to finally have somebody to talk to that wasn\u2019t on my phone,\u201d said Small. Her babies, Sarayah, Serenitee, and son Samari, were released in January 2021 one at a time. The pair stayed in touch afterwards, with Small reaching out to Mullen whenever she felt overwhelmed. After Mullen made the drive to Kokomo, IN, to check in on Small, she quickly realized that all was not well. Small was staying with a relative, sleeping on a couch, while the three babies slept in a playpen. Samari had developed a bad case of eczema and had lost a lot of weight, requiring a trip to the hospital. The stint resulted in a diagnosis of \u201cfailure to thrive.\u201d This prompted a referral to Child Protective Services. Soon, mom and all three babies were finding themselves in foster care.<\/p>\n

Small then asked Mullen if she would consider taking the four of them in. It was a big decision for Mullen, a mother of five, with SeQuayvion, 16, ShaKovon, 14, and JJ, 7 still at home at the time. Yet she knew it would be nearly impossible to find someone to take in all four of them. \u201cI just kept thinking, \u2018I have to do this.’ I knew Shariya was intelligent and resilient and she just needed a safe place to put her roots. I knew it would be hard, but we’d figure it out,\u201d said Mullen. She took the four into her home, got licensed as a foster parent, and after 668 days, she adopted Small. During that time, Small learned the ropes of motherhood from Mullen. \u201cIn the beginning, it was me pretty much doing everything for the babies and her observing and participating when she felt confident. And now she\u2019s in charge. I\u2019ll watch them if she wants to go hang out with her friends and stuff that teenagers do.\u201d There were the usual challenges of raising a teenager, but Mullen loves her daughter. \u201cI\u2019m so proud to be Shariya\u2019s mom. She just amazes me every day. When she\u2019s frustrated with the babies, she never raises her voice. She\u2019s just blossoming into this incredible woman.\u201d Small has since graduated from an alternative high school and plans to become a social worker. \u201cI want to help other teen moms, because I wanted somebody like that in my corner,\u201d Small said. \u201cI think I would be a big help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At just 14 years old, Indiana teen Shariya Small found herself in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), mother of premature triplets, and all alone in a hospital in August 2020. \u201cI was 14, I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to be a mom right now,\u201d she told People. A nurse on the NICU floor,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":627,"featured_media":19587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-messages"],"yoast_head":"\nTeen Mom with Triplets Finds New Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2024\/08\/teen-mom-with-triplets-finds-new-home.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teen Mom with Triplets Finds New Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At just 14 years old, Indiana teen Shariya Small found herself in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), mother of premature triplets, and all alone in a hospital in August 2020. \u201cI was 14, I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to be a mom right now,\u201d she told People. 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