For better or worse, there are a lot of new things going on in the lives of the Teen Mom girls this week! We’ve got puppies, custody battles, birthday parties, and birth mom bonding sessions coming your way.

Everyone loves a puppy. What’s even cuter than a puppy is a baby hugging that puppy and happily yelling “doggie!” So I completely understand why Farrah was charmed by the idea of getting a puppy for her and Sophia to celebrate her culinary school graduation. But Farrah seemed to be surprised when the puppy started doing its business on the carpet, and I hope she was joking when she held it over the toilet and told it to go potty. Having a puppy is kind of like having a baby; it needs a lot of care and attention, as well as potty training. So I hope Farrah isn’t overwhelmed when she realizes she has to take care of Sophia and Candy the puppy.

In another part of the country, Maci and Kyle are having a good time easing into life together with Bentley, but Ryan’s parents are getting suspicious of her living arrangements. Several times they mention to Ryan that it’s unhealthy for Bentley to have men “coming and going” through his life and his mother’s home. If I recall correctly, the only man that was consistently coming and going (mostly going) out of Bentley’s life was his father Ryan, so maybe they should let Kyle and Maci be. I’m sure Ryan’s parents have the best intentions, but their son’s lack of involvement in Bentley’s first year is why Maci left and found Kyle in the first place. Eight out of ten teen dads don’t stay with the mother of their child, so Ryan and his family should concentrate more on Bentley and less on Maci’s love life.

If you’ve been keeping track, Amber and Gary are broken up again, and are on negative enough terms that Gary decides they should throw separate birthday parties for Leah. However, Gary decides to go out and party the night before her birthday, so he leaves the house and the party unorganized and unprepared, then has his mother take care of it all. For the first time I began to see why Amber is always so frustrated with him, since his own mother admits Gary is sloppy and lazy. Amber is upset she can’t be at the party, but she makes up for it by taking Leah out for a birthday dinner that night. She and Leah still can’t live together, and neither Gary nor Amber have a legal license, but if she spent half as much time making an effort to see Leah instead of complaining how she never sees her, the problem might be solved.

Catelynn leaves Tyler this week to head to her second birth mom retreat, bringing with her a friend who also recently chose adoption. She opens up to the group about her relationship with the adoptive parents Brandon and Teresa, and how her emotions and opinions have changed over the past year. Since she and Tyler have gotten past the emotional step of accepting their decision, they have graduated to a place where they are figuring out exactly what their communication level and relationship to Brandon and Teresa should be. Catelynn says she feels guilty for not checking in with them more often, since she wants to maintain a stable line of communication. When some girls at the retreat talk about how their adoptive parents decided to close communication, Catelynn becomes fearful that she’s allowing the same thing to happen to her. She and her new friend Emily have an emotional conversation where they reflect on what it means to be a mother. They combat their guilt over questions like, “how can I be a Mom if I don’t have my kid?” and the group talks about the distinction between a “mother” and a “parent.”

What do you think about Catelynn’s guilt? The girls on the show who make adoption plans often say they feel guilty for making their choice, and question whether they really are mothers. Catelynn views herself as a mother, just not a parent. As a mom, she made the very first choice in her child’s life when she decided who would parent her. It’s an impossible choice to make, and fewer than 3% of pregnant teen choose adoption. Does is seem like Catelynn made the right choice despite her guilt?  Why do you think so few teen moms choose adoption for their children?

What do you think about this week’s episode? Being a teen mom brings new challenges each week, some good, some bad, most unexpected. Protecting yourself from unplanned pregnancy is one challenge everyone should be up for.

This post was written by Kate, an intern for The National Campaign. Kate is a senior at George Washington University, studying journalism and sociology. She loves theater and cooking, and eats mashed potatoes every single day. Have a question for Kate? Email us!