coty

I deal with the youth quite a bit my recommendations are simple. Forget all you know and hear. There is no correct "do it this way and get it right" plans because children and families vary.

With that said I recommend getting married as the Rev said. Let this child know its part of a family, next I recommend the Couragous study (you can find it at any christian book store). It's molded around a christian life style, but even if you don't have faith the study will put some mind blowing facts at you and make you gut check yourself.

Last thing is no matter what comes of your relationship with everyone else in the world, a child NEEDS a Father. Children without fathers statistics start out like this and get worse:
• 15.3 times more likely to have behavioral disorders
• 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide
• 6.6 times more likely to become teenaged mothers
• 24.3 times more likely to run away
• 6.3 times more likely to be in a state-operated institutions
• 10.8 times more likely to commit rape
• 6.6 times more likely to drop out of school
• 15.3 times more likely to end up in prison while a teenage
• 73% of adolescent murderers come from mother only homes

I came from a drug-addicted, alcoholic, abbusive father. If it wasn't for a step father ( my true personal hero) who was grounded in faith and loved me as his owe. I would be like my biological father now. Being a dad isn't just being around it's being there for your child.
Beyond that relax my step said " It was easy being a father all you had to do was love your son!"

And Congrats!