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Parenting

New mom shares list of 'icks' and other new parents are nodding hard in agreement

"The 'I've raised kids, I think I know better than you' speech."

Tay|TikTok

New mom shares her list of pet peeves and other parents relate

Becoming a new mom is hard. You've got this tiny human depending on you for its survival all while you're healing from bringing them into the world. But the piece that can get to be overwhelming is fielding visitors and their well intentioned unsolicited advice.

You're already feeling a bit underprepared for the undertaking but you've done your research, spoke to professionals and have been in every mom group imaginable.

So if you know nothing else, you know what rules you have around others spending time with your new bundle of joy. Here's the thing though, not everyone respects those rules or your new position as a mom, which means you're constantly defending your boundaries.

One new mom, Tay shared a series of photos through video on TikTok that displayed, "icks" she has as a new mom.

The post has caused some waves with people who are probably feeling a bit guilty of doing the things on the "ick" list. But there are many new parents in the comments nodding their heads hard in agreement.

New mom shares her list of pet peeves and other parents relate

Tay|TikTok

As someone who has been a new parent, I can honestly say that I wish I had the knowledge that I was allowed to tell people "no, thank you" when it came to my new baby. It's amazing that new parents are finding community and courage through social media to set clear boundaries. So what are the new mom "icks" that have gotten people whipped into a tizzy?

newborn looking at camera with text overlay

New mom shares her list of pet peeves and other parents relate

Tay|TikTok

The icks range from refusing to give the baby back upon request, even if the child is crying to offering unsolicited advice. Tay really lays out multiple scenarios that many new parents are likely familiar with. A big one that I have personal experience with fending off is kissing.

Babies are so dang cute and no matter how small they are, they always have the chubbiest little kissable cheeks so it's easy to see why some people feel like they just have to give them a smooch. But kissing a newborn that isn't yours can be dangerous for the baby and new parents are now more educated on those dangers, option to forbid kisses from everyone but mom and dad.

newborn smiling while sleeping with text overlay

New mom shares her list of pet peeves and other parents relate

Tay|TikTok

Another "ick" that got lots of attention from commenters was talking to the parent through the new baby in an effort to be passive aggressive. If you've never experienced it before, it's when someone is holding your baby and talking in a sweet baby voice looking lovingly into the baby's eyes while saying something like, "you must be keeping mama busy cause the house is a disaster." Let's all take a moment to roll our eyes.

It seems these complaints are fairly universal for new parents if you take a gander at the comments.

"How do I send this to my MIL without sending it to her," one person asked.

"I feel this. A mom will never forget how she was treated during pregnancy and postpartum. It's when we are most vulnerable," another wrote.

"My mother in law used to body shame me through my infant," one mom confessed.

"I have gotten the 'I have raised 5 kids, I think I know better than you' from my mom so many times since having kids," someone wrote.

No matter who's baby it is, I think its safe to say you should respect the parents boundaries, even if you don't understand them. Watch the entire video here.

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Joy

Couple secretly name their first child after his uncle. His reaction is priceless.

“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Uncle has the best reaction to finding out his nephew has his name.

Having siblings is a toss-up. Either you grow up thinking they're the best thing since the creation of ranch dressing, or you wish they really did find you in a trash can so you could find your other family. Luckily for these two brothers, they have the best-case scenario and like each other more than a little bit.

In a video uploaded to social media and shared by LADbible, the internet gets a sneak peek inside the delivery room of the older brother and his partner. The younger brother is enamored with his new nephew he's holding in his arms while the new mom films the interaction, capturing the moment the brand new uncle is let in on the surprise.

This love-stricken uncle has no idea what's coming, and how could he? New babies have a way of completely wrapping you up in a pink fog where everything is wonderful and you forget everything around you for a little while. Holding a new baby is like the ultimate dopamine rush and this uncle was fully immersed.

"This is the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life," the uncle says before his brother asks, "Do you want to know his name?"

Get ready to cue a big cheesy grin, because ugh, it's an adorable interaction. While the awestruck uncle is still holding the baby, his brother informs him that the baby's name is "Brooks Hayden Stone."

"You swear," the younger brother says.

His reaction to the realization that his first nephew is named after him is priceless. Watch the entire heartwarming interaction below:

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brotherly love

Internet

Mom sparks passionate debate after saying she would choose her own life over child’s during birth

Having an older child to come home to really changes your perspective.

Photo by Christian Bowen on Unsplash

Moms admit they'd choose their life over their child's in childbirth.

Surprise! There's a debate going around social media, specifically TikTok, about mothers who would choose to save their own lives over their baby's life if complications arose during birth. Apparently, the internet is having some big feelings, and surprisingly—or maybe not surprisingly—it's coming from other women.

Honestly, when I first saw the videos going around about this very heated debate, I didn't think much of it. But the conversation continued to grow and the judgment of moms who would choose themselves was abundant, so I decided to have a look-see. The debate started after Anabel Morales went viral on the platform for posting a video with a text overlay.

“To my husband: If I’m giving birth, and the doctor says you need to pick between me or the baby. Please save me. I don’t want Ethan to grow up without a mom, & I don’t want you to have to raise two babies alone while also grieving your wife,” Morales wrote.

Unsurprisingly, many moms agreed, myself included. The thought of leaving behind children to grieve the loss of their mother while being cared for by a father who is also grieving his wife seems unfathomable to some when there's a choice involved. But to others, the clear choice is on the other end of the spectrum because they couldn't imagine living without their child. Currently, the 6-second video has 6.6 million views and over a half million likes.

"My mom sadly passed away because it was either me or her. But no one understands how hard it was for me and my dad. Having him raise me alone and me having to grow up without a mom. So I will choose myself no matter how forced I am to choose the baby. Because I don't want the baby going through what I did. It sucks," one commenter shared.

That certainly adds another layer that I don't think many people considered when having this hypothetical but very possible debate. In America, the pregnancy mortality rate is much higher than in other developed nations, with the 2018 CDC data showing that the pregnancy mortality rate among white non-Hispanic people at 13.7 deaths per 100,000 births. The rate is significantly higher for Indigenous and Black people at 26.5 and 41.4 deaths per 100,000 births, respectively.

@anabelmoralezz
😩😩 #trending #viral #pickme #husbandwife #laboranddelivery #savethemoms #foryou #foryoupage #fy #fyp #momsoftiktok

"I used to say save the baby not me. Now that I have a daughter I think so differently," another mom wrote.

"I had these feelings during my third pregnancy and felt so guilty. I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way," someone else commented.

On the other side of the camp, plenty of people said they would choose their baby. While some were more respectful in their word choice than others, the sentiment was clear.

What you would do in a situation where the choice is between you and your soon-to-be Earth-side baby is completely personal. It's something discussed in hopes that the choice never has to be made, but for some families it does, and it's one of those instances where there's no right answer. The choice between grief and grief feels impossible because no matter what, everyone will hurt.

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childbirth

Family

A woman was ready to attend her college graduation, but her baby had other plans

What's better than a diploma? Her newborn baby.

Jada Sayles/Twitter

Jada Sayles got both a newborn baby and her college degree.

You know what they say about the best laid plans? Well, it's true. And no one knows that better than Jada Sayles. On May 15, Sayles was all set to graduate from Dillard University, a historically Black university in New Orleans. Around 4:30 a.m., she realized that her plans were about to change in a big way. Instead of getting ready for her graduation, she was in labor and being admitted to the hospital.

"I thought I was gonna walk across the stage to get my degree, instead I got my baby," Sayles tweeted, along with a series of photos. "My sweet face decided to make his way on MY big day (now his). Shoutout to my university for still bringing my graduation and degree to me."

That's right, even though her sweet baby kept her from walking the stage at her graduation, all was not lost. Her college stepped up and made sure that she was still able to experience her graduation to the fullest.

"Jada went into labor on Friday evening. Texted me around 4:30 am Saturday saying she was being admitted, & the baby was born on her graduation day, May 14th. So we rolled up to the hospital so I could finish my tenure in the most special way," Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Dillard University tweeted.

I did something today I have never done before in 18 years as a college president. I conferred a degree in a hospital… pic.twitter.com/Ro7TR2gtYC
— Walter M. Kimbrough (@HipHopPrez) May 15, 2022

"I did something today I have never done before in 18 years as a college president. I conferred a degree in a hospital…" Kimbrough stated in another tweet. It's clear that he is a very involved and caring administrator.

He shared a video of his bedside speech, captioning the tweet: "I even did the tassel part of commencement! This really was a very sweet moment. I’ll never forget it."

Jada Sayles swapped her hospital gown for her graduation gown (and cap!) and stood in her hospital room to be officially declared a graduate. On Twitter, she shared a snapshot of her decorated graduation cap, which included balanced scales (she graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice), the phrase "Black girl magic" and a square for her sweet baby boy.

"I was scheduled to get induced Saturday at 5 p.m.," Sayles told New Orleans news outlet WDSU. "So after graduation, I was planning on heading to the hospital." Obviously, the baby, a boy she named Easton, had other plans.

"It happened so fast. I didn't even realize I was missing graduation because it was just such a fast labor."

Clearly, Sayles will have a story to tell her son many times for years to come. The special bond between a mother and her child is only made stronger by something like sharing this momentous occasion for them both.

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Dogwood Forest, a senior living community in Georgia, wanted to lend a helping hand to local families who needed it.

Nearby Northside Hospital Atlanta needed caps for premature babies staying in its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Oftentimes, premature babies struggle to stay warm, so they're kept in incubators with a comfy hat fitted on their heads. These caps are important.

The residents at Dogwood had been happy to help fill the little hat void, knitting dozens of hats for the NICU. And Ed Moseley, an 86-year-old who thought the initiative would keep "the old people out of trouble" was one of them.

But there was just one problem when the project started: Ed couldn't knit.

Photo courtesy of Northside Hospital Atlanta.

"I told my daughter about it, and I said, ‘How can I knit? What do I need to do?’" Moseley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "And bless her heart, she went to Jo-Anns [Fabrics] and got a kit, yarn, and instruction kit for me. So I started slowly and learned it just takes patience."

Slowly but surely, Ed got the hang of it. His first cap took several hours to make. But after he got into a groove, he could churn one out in no time.

"I followed the instructions, and after two or three attempts, I started making fairly good caps," he told Inside Edition. "We started filling up my couch with caps, and then all of a sudden, caps started coming from various places."

Photo courtesy of Dogwood Forest.

Ed became unstoppable. He's crafted more than 55 colorful caps since July.

His creations contributed to the more than 350 caps the senior center dropped off at Northside Hospital in Atlanta on Nov. 17, 2016, on National Preemie Awareness Day.

So. Many. Caps. Photo courtesy of Northside Hospital Atlanta.

For the parents of little ones at Northside, it's a wonderful feeling to know those on the outside of the hospital are thinking about your family.

"It means a lot to us, because this is our second stint in the NICU," Doug Bunt, whose son, Matthew, was born on Nov. 12, 2016, told Good Morning America. "The fact this man is taking time out of his day to help the kids really means a lot to us."

Doug Bunt and his family. Photo courtesy of Northside Hospital Atlanta.

Ed's story proves you can learn a new skill at any age — and make a big difference along the way.

"When someone appreciates something you do, that makes you feel good, naturally," said Ed, who plans on making about 30 hats a month moving forward to help fill the need. "I got a lot of enjoyment doing this, and now I’ve graduated to large caps. I’m doing caps for all my grandkids."

The seniors who lent a helping hand. Photo courtesy of Northside Hospital Atlanta.

newborn

New mom shares list of 'icks' and other new parents are nodding hard in agreement

"The 'I've raised kids, I think I know better than you' speech."

Couple secretly name their first child after his uncle. His reaction is priceless.

“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Mom sparks passionate debate after saying she would choose her own life over child’s during birth

Having an older child to come home to really changes your perspective.

A woman was ready to attend her college graduation, but her baby had other plans

What's better than a diploma? Her newborn baby.

This 86-year-old learned how to knit so he could make caps for premature babies.

Dogwood Forest, a senior living community in Georgia, wanted to lend a helping hand to local families who needed it.

Slowly but surely, Ed got the hang of it. His first cap took several hours to make. But after he got into a groove, he could churn one out in no time.

Ed became unstoppable. He's crafted more than 55 colorful caps since July.

For the parents of little ones at Northside, it's a wonderful feeling to know those on the outside of the hospital are thinking about your family.

Ed's story proves you can learn a new skill at any age — and make a big difference along the way.

Watch Ed's inspiring story from "Inside Edition" below:

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