Viral TikTok Shows How Friends Can Support New Parents

New parents have plenty to deal with those first few days after bringing home baby. From healing after birth to caring for baby with little sleep, they are bound to need some help along the way. If you are hoping to support a close friend or family member during those first few days but are a little lost as to how, you aren’t alone.

In a now-viral TikTok, first-time mom Lily Chapman shares how her village assembled to support her without her even having to rack her sleep-deprived brain to think of what she needed. “If there’s one thing that having a baby will do for you, it makes you realize how inadequately you have shown up for the other women in your life that have had a baby,” she says at the start of her video. “I was induced, so I thought I had my home prepared to bring my baby home, but then I had an emergency c-section, spent four days in the hospital, and realized that, in fact, I didn’t have my home ready at all.”

That’s when Chapman’s friends came to the rescue in a big way. Some of the things her friends did to make her welcome home a little brighter, better and easier include:

• Hung a welcome baby banner and left a sweet note and favorite snacks
• Stocked her fridge with an assortment of her favorite drinks and healthy snacks
• Stashed paper plates, paper towels and more snacks throughout the house
• Left recommended c-section recovery supplies by the door
• Adjusted the set up of her home to create a “c-section corner” where she could easily access everything she might need for herself and baby.

Above all, Chapman emphasized how valuable it was when her friends offered specific help versus broad help. Instead of, “Hey, is there anything I can do to help” try, “Hey, can I do this for you” instead. One friend, for example, saw a social media post of hers indicating she might be in need of slippers and sent a text asking “Can I overnight you some slides?” The next day slides and hydration packets magically appeared at her door. “My brain is so busy, so I couldn’t tell you exactly what I need. So showing up for women in specific ways postpartum is so amazing,” Chapman added.

If you are looking for more ways to support the new parents in your life, consider this advice from real parents on what was and wasn’t helpful during those first few days.