What to Know
If you’ve ever handed your baby off to Grandma like you’re passing a baton in the Olympics (sweaty, shaky, and spiritually hanging on by a thread), you’re going to feel seen by this viral TikTok. In the video, a mom is talking to her baby in that sweet, sing-song voice that somehow still contains just a hint of desperation, and she’s cracking up because he wouldn’t stop crying all day, and now he’s gurgly and cute and dimply on a whim like only a baby can be.
Mom needs a break the way plants need sunlight.
It’s funny because it’s true — and because every parent knows the emotional whiplash of loving your baby so much while also dreaming of five uninterrupted minutes to stare into space.
“So here’s the thing,” @mamamallorie tells her insanely cute son who is staring at her adoringly, not a tear in sight. “You can’t be doing this there, or she’s never gonna believe us. Focus.”
“You have to raise hell. Give her hell,” Mom tells her baby. “I told her I need a break, which means you have to be just as crazy as you were this morning.”
Honestly, his reactions are so funny and sweet, you’d think he was a trained actor if you didn’t know any better.
But there’s no way Mom is lying, because we’ve all been there.
Grandmas think moms are fibbers, because for whatever inexplicable reason, babies love to behave like perfectly content creatures for anyone else but Mom. If you’ve ever sent your kid to someone else’s house only for them to return with suspiciously clean hair, a full belly, and the audacity to smile? You know exactly what she means. There is nothing like the betrayal of a baby who acts like a tiny tyrant at home but turns into a cherub the second there’s fresh meat around.
Commenters agree and are loving this mother/son duo.
“Grandma here. She had a similar talk with him. She told him to raise hell for you so he could come over. They totally planned this,” one joked.
“’I put him to bed at 7 and he slept straight til 8, no fussing or anything.” – Grandma, tomorrow, probably,'” says another.
But underneath the humor is something most moms don’t say out loud enough: sometimes you really do need to tap out. Not because you don’t adore your child, but because caregiving all day — especially when your baby is clingy, fussy, or in a nonstop “I ONLY WANT MOM” phase — can absolutely drain you. So yes, ma’am: send that baby to Grandma’s. Hand him over like a hot potato. Let her be the magical baby whisperer for a couple hours while you drink something that’s either caffeinated or alcoholic.
“So you’re gonna go to Grandma’s house, bear down, and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Mom says. “Ready? Break.”
