“Once you have your baby in your arms, it is genuinely all worth it.”
By Kaelyn DiMartino ’25
This article profiles Stacy Niper, a friend of Kaelyn DiMartino ’25.
Caught up in the wrong group of friends, getting into little fights, going from school to school, having to move around from house to house and even town to town is unfortunately what life looked like for Stacy Niper growing up, but that all changed in a heartbeat.
Growing up Stacy didn’t have the most stable life. Her mother and father were split for as long as she could remember. She mainly lived with her mother as her father floated in and out of her life whenever it was fitting for him, but as she recalls, he was more “out.” Stacy and her mother did not always get along. At the age of nine years old, she was kicked out by her mother and forced to go live with her father. In November, her father up and left without even saying goodbye and moved to Florida. From nine years old to twelve years old, she lived with her grandparents on her father’s side. At the age of thirteen she bounced around between living with her mother, grandma, and aunt on her mother’s side. When she was forteen years old, she was living with her uncle on her father’s side. Eventually, when she was fifteen years old she went to move back in with her father and his wife. Stacy was shocked to see and hear that they would be expecting a child, which meant a lot would change. She thought, this time, since she was older, maybe there would be a chance to have a decent relationship with her father, but the wife got in the way and tried to put a wedge between them. The wife was not nice to Stacy at all, and tried to make her leave by saying that she needs to get rid of her things to make room for the new baby. She would even at times try to keep her from her mother, even though there were visitation rights that were court ordered. Stacy and her father got into a big fight which was the last straw, so she finally moved out.
At sixteen years old, Stacy had met the person who she didn’t know would be the love of her life and the father of her children on Nov. 3, 2003. His name is Allen Niper and he was nineteen years old at the time. On Nov. 9, 200, they started dating. They had such a strong connection that it didn’t take long for them to realize how serious they were about each other. Well, Stacy ended up moving in with Allen, his brother, and his father about a year later. She finally found the stability that she deserved.
When Stacy was seventeen and Allen was twenty one, their lives completely changed forever. Stacy found herself at the hospital because of really bad stomach pains. Allen went with her to support her. They found that she was pregnant. It was a very shocking and intense moment for the young couple. They went home, and she immediately ran inside crying. Allen’s father was on the porch and immediately guessed that Stacy was pregnant and Allen confirmed his assumption. Allen’s father told him to go inside and comfort her, so he did. After a little while, Allens father went to talk to them and tell them, “What’s done is done, and we just have to get through it and deal with what is to come.” Ultimately, his father was supportive and helpful. This is not what Allen and Stacy planned, but Stacy believes that this is what was meant to happen. She isn’t religious by any means, but she feels as though the universe brought this to her for a reason.
They both knew they needed to tell their mothers. Stacy called her mom that evening and told her she was going to be a grandma. Her stepfather listened in the background, confused. Her mother was saying “No I’m not. What are you talking about?” and her stepfather took the phone and told her to come over tomorrow to talk about it more in-person. The next day, both Stacy and Allen went to her mothers house to talk with her and her husband. They sat down and Stacy’s mother went through her options with her. She could either keep the baby, put the baby up for adoption, or have an abortion. Stacy said that abortion was completely out of the option, as was adoption. Her mother and stepfather were completely supportive of her decision and just wanted to make sure that she knew her options.
Allen then had to tell his mother, so Stacy and Allen went over and they had a family meeting. It was Stacy, Allen, his mother, his stepfather, and his brother. Allen’s mother was not thrilled at all. She is very religious and by-the-book. She was pushing that Allen and Stacy had to get married, because having a child without being married is a sin. Stacy was against getting married so young, but Allen felt pressured by his mother to marry Stacy, so he proposed to her with a gold ring and Stacy said no. She knew it was forced by his mother, because if Allen was genuinely proposing, he would have known she hates gold and loves silver. Countless times his mother said she would adopt the baby and Stacy repeatedly said no.
Stacy’s biggest struggle when she was pregnant was morning sickness and getting up for school. She had really bad morning sickness and she was going to an alternative high school which was from 7:00am to 12:00pm. By the time she felt okay enough to go to school, there was usually only an hour left. However, she had great relationships with her teachers and they were so supportive of her. They went to her baby shower and she still talks to them to this day. Stacy and Allen had been living downstairs throughout her time of living in his father’s house. When they found out she was pregnant, they moved upstairs and swapped rooms with Allen’s brother. It was then Stacy and Allen’s room near the room they made into a nursery.
On April 23, 2006, everyone’s lives were about to change. It was a rainy Sunday and Stacy was having a lot of contractions. She felt as though she needed to go to the hospital and thought she might be in labor. So she called her midwife and the midwife said she will meet her at the hospital. The hospital examined her and she was only 2cm dialated, so they told her to go home and come back later on when it gets worse. She didn’t want to go home because of how bad it was raining and all the flooding going on, so she begged the doctors to let her stay and they let her.
Allen Edward Niper III was born at Milford Hospital. He was 8lbs, 6oz, and 22 inches long. Doctors estimated him to be about 6’6, which he is on track for. Allen was named after his father and his grandfather. His father’s name is Allen Edward Niper II, and his grandfather’s name is Allen Edward Niper. So to carry on the “legacy”, they named him Allen Edward Niper III. Stacy wasn’t as fond of the name, but wanted to make Allen happy, so she went along with it.
Stacy stayed home with “little” Allen and took care of him while “big” Allen was at work. He worked at Lowes to make money and support his family. As much as it was a challenge to not see his baby all the time, he knew that it was crucial he helped out financially. Stacy was a stay- at-home mom. Allen helped as much as he could when he was home with them after long days of work. He would even take some night shifts and they would switch so on and so forth. A couple months later when Allen was about five months old, Stacy worked at Dairy Queen for only about 8 hours a week to have some money. Allen had no problem giving her money, but she liked to have her own money to spend. Stacy only worked about eight hours a week, because she did not like to leave little Allen. She quit after a little while of working there to be home with her baby. Stacy had also started going back to school when Allen was five months old.
Stacy and Allen eventually rented their first house together on Dec. 31, 2016. Allen was about 10 years old at this time. Stacy and her sister went to a jewelry store to get a bracelet fixed, and she couldn’t help but look at the rings and found a really pretty ring, so she sent it to Allen. Her birthday was 2 days later. Stacy, big Allen, and little Allen went downtown in Milford to get pizza to celebrate. After, big Allen wanted to go to the pond to “see if there were any fish”. Stacy wasn’t interested considering it was her birthday. She kept complaining about it and would’ve rather gone home. All along, there was a plan though. Big Allen gave little Allen his phone to record and that is when Stacy and big Allen were walking to the bridge that goes over the pond and she said “Look, there is fish, are you happy now?!” She turned around to see big Allen down on one knee with a ring in his hand. They got engaged on Nov. 7, 2016.
It was finally time to plan a wedding. Stacy wanted the wedding to be in the fall and Allen wanted the wedding to be in the spring. She wanted it to be either Nov. 3, because that is when they met, or Nov. 9, because that is when they started dating. She told him if he wanted a springtime wedding, then she wanted him wearing his uniform. Allen is a firefighter which was a big part of his life, and many firefighters wear their uniform on their wedding day. However, he thought that was tacky and did not want to wear his uniform. He said if we have a fall wedding, then he wants to wear camo. So they compromised and they got married on Nov. 3, 2017. Allen got to wear his camo vest, and they were both happy.
Your life does not end when you have a baby so young, and Allen and Stacy are a good example of that. I asked Stacy what advice she would give to other young mothers and she said, “Make sure to go to the doctors, stay on top of prenatal care, lean on your support system and let them help you. If you need any kind of help, always reach out to somebody. You are not alone, and you did not ruin your life.” Big Allen also gave some advice and said, “You have to do what you have to do to support everybody. It is not going to be easy. It is going to be very hard. You’re not just supporting one person anymore, you are supporting two people. It sucks because I do not think I spent enough time with Allen, but I had to support them.”
They had so many joyful and pure moments that they will always hold onto for the rest of their lives, but of course they had some struggles along the way. Little Allen had nothing but a good and happy life that Stacy and Allen provided for him. He is a very good kid who turned out amazing. They are still in fact a happy family to this day. Stacy is now thirty seven years old and is an advanced medical support assistant at the VA, and big Allen is forty years old and works on emergency vehicles by installing lights and making them unique. Little Allen is eighteen years old and graduated from Platt Tech High School on June 13, 2024. He is now working his way to be a paid firefighter, but right now volunteers with his father at the Derby East End Hose Company. Little Allen wanted to be like his father and become a firefighter. Firefighting has been in his blood ever since he was born.
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