Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra have a big decision to make amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Tuesday’s Teen Mom OG season premiere, the couple tries to weigh if daughter Nova, 5 at the time of filming, should be attending her first year of school or hold off to stay home with her parents and lessen their risk of contracting the virus.
“It’s just crazy how this is her first year of kindergarten,” Baltierra tells his wife. “First year of full-on, five days a week school … on a bus, and it’s all through this COVID crap.” Lowell notes that the little girl has been “going stir crazy,” and is begging her “all the time” about getting to go to school. Baltierra adds, “Kids need to be in some kind of routine. It keeps them grounded,” and admits that teaching a kindergartener at home is far beyond his skill set.
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“Listen, I’ll be honest โ I am not a good teacher. I can’t teach the kid,” he says. Lowell agrees that teaching Nova at home while also caring for 1-year-old daughter Vaeda won’t be easy, especially as she tries to move forward with her own career goals and dreams, but still has reservations about the school year. “The only thing I’m worried about is if she gets it from going to school,” the MTV star reasons. Baltierra places the ball in his wife’s court, telling her he’s “comfortable with whatever [Lowell’s] comfortable with.” But she responds, unsure, “I don’t know either, honey.”
Ahead of the Tuesday, Jan. 26 season premiere of Teen Mom OG, Lowell told PopCulture that filming during the pandemic and caring for her kids was “a lot,” and made her grateful for living in a more rural area with lots of land and ways to get outside. On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lowell and Baltierra also had to mourn the loss of a second pregnancy in November, but the Conquering Chaos author shared that her second miscarriage proved how much the work on her mental health had paid off. “I think I could just tell a big difference,” she shared. “The first miscarriage that I had really overcame me โ my anxiety was in high gear and wouldn’t leave for weeks.”
As for adding another member of the family, Lowell and Baltierra “definitely do want to have one more child,” but feel it will happen when the time is right. “It’s up to the universe,” the reality star said. For more of Lowell’s story, as well as those of co-stars Amber Portwood, Maci Bookout, Mackenzie McKee and Cheyenne Floyd, don’t miss the return of Teen Mom OG on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
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