Bristol Palin Has Baby, Names It Tripp

The world's second most famous teen mom, Bristol Palin, went and did it.  She gave birth to a son, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston.  Who is the first you ask?  Why Jamie Lynn Spears, who also can't name children, with that whole Maddie Brian nonsense.

I don't get Tripp.  I've always heard Tripp as a nickname for someone who is a 3rd.  Is Tripp a real name?  Then again my name is Jodi which is not a real name.  Everyone always asks me what it is short for and it is short for nothing.  My name is Jodi, which is a stupid not real grown up name.  Which is why I am sensitive to people who name their children stupid not real grown up names.

But, with that being said, I'm of course glad mom and baby are healthy.  What a long road to hoe this young mom has, with baby Daddy's Mommy going to jail and all.  Mommy still has to finish high school and Daddy is studying to be an electrician.  And other Grandma is Governor of Alaska and maybe running for President in 2012, G-d help us all.

At least they have supportive family, who are said to be thrilled with the new addition.  "We think it's wonderful," said Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol's grandmother Sally Heath, who confirmed the news. "The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited."  The Governor's office has not released a statement.  Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Gov. Palin said, "This office will not be issuing any statements on [Bristol's baby]. We’re here to talk about state government and that matter falls outside of that.

I find it a tad ironic she gave birth the same day a study came out that said premarital abstinence pledges are ineffective.  The study found teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do.  And Sarah Palin was a huge advocate of abstince only education.  And her grandson is living proof of how well it works.

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Comments

[Sils]

You are the only person, other than my mother and myself, who I have ever seen use the phrase "a long road to hoe" - although we usually say "a tough row to hoe."

Also, I have nothing to say about this as there is an entire side of my family I can't even hear stories about without hearing dueling banjos in the background. Teenagers have babies and it's sad. I hope they all grow up all right.

p.s. Even if you get a grown up name like Patricia people change it to Patti and then even when you are a real grown up no one will call you Patricia and everyone will insist upon spelling Patti with that perky little Y instead of the I that your parents decided to use when you were 3 -- and the only reason you know that is because one side of your christmas stocking actually says "Patty" and the other "Patti" and you asked and sat there slackjawed when you were told that they changed the spelling on your nickname when you were 3 because your sister thought the I was "cuter." And no, I will not fix that run-on mess.

[cindy w]

"The study found teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do."

THANK YOU so much for pointing that out. The abstinence-only advocates make me stabby, I'm grateful there's an actual study to show how ineffective it is.

As for Bristol... sigh. I just feel sorry for that girl. Like Sils said, I hope they (meaning mom & baby) grow up all right.

[Barbara]

Can I get all post-partum picky on you? When you end with "Her grandson is proof of that." It made me think that right now Palin might be glad her daughter didn't use birth control because when you actually hold your grandchild you CAN'T regret it's existence. This is coming from the mother of a 3 week old unplanned 4th baby whose existence is totally un-regrettable. Now.

[Sarah]

As someone who didn't have sex until I was married, isn't all that surprising to me that the pledges don't work. My guess is that a lot of young people enter into them to please their parents or as a result of peer pressure and are totally unprepared for what the commitment will require.
I had a pretty sheltered childhood where learning about my body and its hormones was pretty much limited to what I heard in health class. Nothing prepared me for the ways that nature sort of kicks in and can start wearing down your resolve in the heat of the moment. I speculate this is why so many of these kids end up having unprotected sex. They didn't prepare for it because they never thought they'd get that far.
I had my own reasons for remaining abstinent (and managing to shut it down when the action began to endanger it), both religious and not (healthy fear of diseases, babies, and the emotional risks), but I never took any formal pledge. And, being contrary by nature, I'm not so sure that signing one wouldn't have had the opposite affect.
At the end of the day, I think I stayed a virgin because I'd made a promise to myself on that particular topic. It was just on that invisible list of things I wasn't going to do: kill people, shoplift, wear blue eyeshadow, attend a boy band concert (that's just my list--if you love Backstreet, I won't judge). And I think that it only worked because it was an intrinsic motivation.
When it is my turn to be the parent, I am hoping to have the grace to be very honest with my kids. I will certainly tell them why I think my path worked for me. I'll also be frank about the pitfalls. That said, I also want to be clear with them what they need to know if they opt to be sexually active. Because honestly, whether or not I think it is a good idea, I don't want to create a void of information that leads them to choices with even worse consequences.

[Aimee Greeblemonkey]

WORD.

[Robin]

Tripp - well, it will be a heck of a trip for the 3 of them, now won't it?

[AmyC65]

Sarah, thank you. Well said. I, too, stayed a virgin till marriage primarily for faith-based reasons. But there was no such thing as public proclamations back then, and I don't think my parents would have participated if there were. To my memory, they never told me "not to", but they educated and influenced me in a way that I knew it was not for me and I made an internal promise to God (and self) of a few things I wasn't going to do.

And I try to parent my kids from that angle - that it's an important personal conviction to hold and it can't be anyone else's, else it probably won't stick.

[Karen]

Eh. As my husband said, "She's still a kid. I didn't expect a particulary elevated name for the baby."

I'm sure people have issues with our kids' names. They're old-fashioned and my oldest's is rarely heard. Even my mother screeched, "That's a HORRIBLE name! The kids will tease him!" Yeah, whatever.

[AzRN]

i remember working w/treasure as a college student at the hospital. she was wonderful, but to be a grown adult w/a name like treasure must have been difficult (she was at least 45 when i knew her). made me name my daughter a name that could be shortened as a child, but could be used in full once she needs her depends changed at the nursing home. nothing says dignified like, "Treasure, honey, let's change your diaper." just sayin...

[NH]

Frankly I don't know what the big deal is. Lots of young girls get pregnant at age 18. It's no big deal.

You people are obsessed. All the hypocrite nutcases came out with that Obama scary guy.

Palin for Pres in '12 Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NH]

PS - you people forget that Obama is an illegitimate child?

His mother was a whore.

He's also an illegitimate citizen too...but it's being covered up.

God help the hypocrites for they know not what they do.

[Annie]

NH, Way to be a troll and hater. I don't think an out-of-wedlock child makes the mother a whore. Palin for pres, God help us all.

[Karina in T.O]

Aren't all the small kids in the Palin clan called ridiculous names?? Like Trigger and Trapper and Trailer or something??? Okay, my bad, I know no one is named Trailer yet, but isn't Bristol's baby brother Trig? As in a TRIGGER??? Oy.

And speaking as a 34 year old woman who's been with her man since I was 14, I am proof that if parents don't simply stick their head in the sand and preach abstinence to their kid, there will be no unwanted babies. I've been on the pill since I was 15. Because you know what??? My mother was under no illusions. A horney teenager who's 'in love' needs to go on the pill and practise safe sex!!! I was never a teenage mom because I protected myself, not because I took some bogus ass pledge not to shagg.

Babies having babies is ridiculous, and a teenage girl should enjoy being a teenager, and not having to have the responsibility of being a mother, oh and lets not forget the ensuing 'marriage' that the Palin's are selling. Pfft! This family needs to dissapear from our collective minds......I don't want to hear about this Palin 2012 crap!

Whew! Rant over. ;)

[cindy w]

NH, there's no such thing as an "illegitimate citizen." I think you meant to say that Obama is either a non-citizen or an illegal alien, but you're incorrect either way. Go read a non-partisan site like factcheck.org, that particular rumor has been thoroughly debunked. Even the guy who started the rumor admitted that he was wrong.

Oh, and I don't think anyone here was calling Bristol Palin a whore for the fact that she had a child out of wedlock. Most of us feel sorry for her because we know how hard it is to be a parent, and how ill-equipped the average teenager is to deal with the responsiblity. So by the same token, calling Obama's mother a whore is way out of line. Even your average Republican would probably say you're going too far with that one. Just saying.

[PunditMom]

Track. Trig. Tripp.

Trick or treat?

[Baby Names]

It's a pretty lame name, but at least it fits in with Tripp's uncles Trig and Track.

[Jodi]

From one Jodi to another, I hear you on the dislike of the name. Everyone asks me what my name is short for also, and I'd really prefer a more adult name.