But, considering the baby-crazy culture that Hollywood is creating, I have to say that the "Baby Borrowers" show could possibly be a true "reality check" for teens. Plus, it's so relevant for us since we're starting on this journey of raising a child too! So I'm blogging while I'm watching the first episode that I have Tivo-ed.
So the premise of the show is these 5 teenage couples (most of them 18 or 19, and one of the guys is 20) will take a life journey, 3 days at a time. 3 days with a baby, 3 days with a toddler, 3 days with pre-teens, 3 days with teenagers and then 3 days with senior citizens. The show has 5 houses on a cul-de-sac, and each couple is living in one of the houses for the whole experiment. There are 2 couples from Texas (jeez, it's like Texas is reality show breeding ground), 1 from San Diego, 1 from Georgia and 1 from New Hampshire.
They open the show with intros of each of the couples, how long they've been together, how they're all like "we're so ready to be parents because we love kids" ... ok, so it's actually mostly the girls who are saying this, and the guys are just like "uh, yeah, I'm so whipped I'll do whatever she says. Plus it's cool to be on TV." A few of the guys say that they're hoping this experiment actually makes their girlfriends realize how NOT ready they are to be parents. I'm trying to keep an open mind here, so none of the couples completely annoys me yet. Not so for my dear Christopher, who thinks they're all stupid for wanting to be parents before they can legally wind down from a crazy baby day with a cold, frosty beer. (Not that we do that, mind you -- we're lightweights, remember? Unless it's some sort of fruity cocktail for Chris!)
Day 1 -- the girls have to wear pregnancy suits (read huge boobs and ginormous bellies) and the couples go to infant care class at the local hospital (too bad they didn't have Sgt Keely to teach their class. Those kids would have been scared straight and given up the whole silly idea then!). And we have a winner for the first girl to annoy me on the show! The honor goes to Kelly, the debutante from Georgia. She gets all insecure because her SO (his name is Austin) giggles when she puts the suit on... goes on and on about how she looks fat and that he's making fun of her, blah, blah, blah. Tears flow and then of course the dramatic locking of herself in the bathroom. Wait... who's the baby here? All these dramatics, and she doesn't have the excuse of having real pregnancy hormones surging through her body! Ugh, I just want to slap her. Again and again and again. Here... misery loves company, so enjoy a clip:
It makes me feel for Austin the way I did for Nick Lachey when I would catch the random episode of "Newlyweds" on MTV.
Next task... prepare the nursery! Apparently there's not much drama here, because this part of the show lasts all of 2 minutes. I do have to say that I'm liking the couple from Katy, Texas. He's a Southern gentleman through and through, and he tells his "pregnant" SO to go rest while he puts the crib together. My hubs was the same way!
Day 2 -- The babies arrive! The parents introduce the couples to their babies (at this point, Chris says, "These must all be their second children because there's no way I would let these idiots touch my Bellie." Our poor, someday-to-be second child! Apparently, he/she has big shoes to fill already from Big Sister.) and provide them with very thick binders complete with instructions on how to care for their child (eating habits, bedtime routines, preferences, etc). NO FAIR! God didn't provide us with a handy dandy binder! The show producers are quick to point out that each couple will have a professional nanny living with them who will not be involved with the care of the child, but just keep constant watch for the safety of the baby. Also, the parents will be close by watching surveillance video of the "idiots" caring for their child.
Chaos ensues at each of the households. I won't bore you with the deets, but we have another winner for most annoying girl. That would be Alecia, from Houston. She's trying to feed her baby, who, like a normal baby, doesn't necessarily want to eat his veggies. He'd rather be held and be given a bottle. Of course, at 7 mo, he needs solids to complement the formula he's being given. Alecia tries time after time to shove the spoon into little Karson's mouth and he keeps spitting it out. She starts cussing and finally throws down the spoon and says, "Fine. Don't eat then." At which point, the shocked mother of Karson (rightfully) storms over to the house and rips Alecia a new one. Woo hoo! Go Mom! She tells Alecia that she needs to put the baby's needs first and get over herself. Alecia argues that the baby doesn't want to eat, just wants the bottle. Mom says that Alecia should be making the decisions, not the baby. Alecia throws a temper tantrum after Mom leaves and says she won't touch the baby any more because she doesn't want to deal with Mom. She says she's here to learn, not to be criticized. As one of my friends and fellow bloggers says, WTF? Again... who's the baby here???
The show closes during Night 1 when they're all trying to get the babies to sleep. My fave couple from Katy seems to be doing well. I love the guy, Jordan, who shows his frustration but still plugs through and supports his SO (Sasha) through all the crying. The couple from New Hampshire completely forgets to bathe their baby, change her diaper, or even put her into her PJs before trying to get her to sleep. The guy in that couple (Sean) annoys me because he keeps referring to the baby as "it". So baby's Mom storms over to rip him a new one. He had "jokingly" said to his SO (Kelsey) to just put the baby in the crib and let "it" cry because that's what "it's" going to do anyways. Mom is pissed! She says that's nothing to joke about. After Mom leaves, Kelsey cries upstairs in her room because she knows Mom has a right to be mad, but it still hurts anyways. While Sean is downstairs grinning because he says his "plan" is working because Kelsey is not happy and now she won't want to have a baby with him. Ugh. I want to punch his smug face in. Jeez, this show is making me violent.
You've probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about the couple from San Diego. Much like Texans seem to be stereotyped on TV as all being hicks who wear cowboy hats and ride horses to school/work, Californians seem to be stereotyped as surfer dudes. Hmmm... which stereotype would you prefer? Well, the Cali couple on the show actually ARE surfers! Awww... how... ugh. Anyways, the girl is completely orange (and my evil mind is thinking, maybe they'll do a follow-up show with them 10 years in the future and she'll have leather skin before she turns 30) and the guy is... well, he's a surfer dude. As a couple, they're not very interesting, but their baby Miley (whose Dad is Wiley) is the cutest baby of the bunch. She's adorable! I wish I could find a clip of her to show you, but alas, none to be found. Honestly, we could be biased because Miley is part Asian :-)
About two-thirds of the way through the show, Chris is ready to shoot them all. He is totally empathizing with the parents and probably imagining Annabel as each of the babies. I don't think he'll be joining me in watching future episodes.
On the next episode, we see the remaining 2 Baby Days. One person in each of the couples has to go to work, while the other is the SAHM/D. Diaper doody ensues!
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