Written by
Corinne Platt

Photographs by
Joanna B. Pinneo

When Iris was two months old Shantel was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder, more commonly known as "manic depression."

It is a condition in which a person experiences periods of depression and periods of mania, an intense high.

When Iris was about six months old, Shantel started having conflicts with girls at school as well as the teachers and principal. They felt she needed more structure and her social worker was able to enroll her in a school that offers staff therapists and counseling sessions and helps regulate her medications. The school picks Shantel up and drops Iris off at daycare.

"Iris is six and half months, she’ll be seven months the 5^th of July. I just went to the doctor two days ago. She weighs 15 lbs. and 7oz. so she’s huge. She’s teething now and that can be hard for babies. They get fevers because the teeth are breaking through the gums and they get real high fevers and you’re supposed to give them Tylenol for that so I’m giving her Tylenol.

"The school I went to before was a good school cause I used to be able to see my baby every day. But I used to have conflicts between other girls. I was scared they were going to take it out on my daughter. So now where I am where I take my daughter to the daycare I feel more comfortable with her there. My new school is okay. There’s all these hyper kids there who do a lot of drugs. We have to drop UA (urine analysis) all the time."

"The biggest change is getting up at 6:00 in the morning. That’s a real big adjustment. I really don’t have that much room for my clothes. Most of my dresser is filled with my daughter’s stuff. My room is so tiny now because I have her crib and all her stuff in here. And all her clothes, it’s hard to take care of. I’m not using all the money on me no more it’s all on her. If I have $5 and I need a pair of shoes and she needs some formula, well I gotta give up my shoes, wear the old ones, and go get her some formula. So it’s not all me no more. Its all the baby."

"I never grew up with a dad. My mom was struggling to be the mom and the dad at the same time. My baby’s dad isn’t around now, but he’s going to be coming around and I don’t really want my baby to grow up without a dad. I don’t’ want her to grow up like I did without a father."

"My mother’s really clear about I’m the mother to Iris and she’s not, she’s just the grandmother. … I’m trying my hardest to appreciate everything she does for me cause she came through for me a lot when I was pregnant."

"I do plan to finish school because I want to have a good example for my daughter. I don’t want to quit school you know and be dependent on McDonalds to pay my apartment or maybe I won’t even have an apartment. I just want to have a good life. I don’t want… like everyone tells me I’m going to be tied down for 18 years, it’s not true. It’s not. You’re tied down if you don’t have a supporting family but I have a supporting family so I’m not tied down. So I feel like I could still graduate and I could still be on my happy little ways and support my daughter and get my stuff going. So, I don’t feel like I’m tied down. I’m very happy to be a mother at my age."