What went viral this week: A laundry Christmas tree + refreshingly honest birth plan

This judge went viral for supporting a new mom + new lawyer in the most wonderful way

Y’all. Judge Dinkins of the Tennessee Court of Appeals swore in my law school colleague with her baby on his hip, and I’ve honestly never loved him more. pic.twitter.com/kn0L5DakHO

— Sarah Martin (@sarahfor5) November 9, 2019

Juliana Lamar just accomplished something major: She graduated law school and was sworn into the Tennessee bar…and she did it all while raising her 1-year-old son. Doing all of this at the same had to have been incredibly difficult, but oh so rewarding. She celebrated her incredible achievements as a working mother in the most special way, thanks to a wonderful judge. Judge Richard Jinkins encouraged the mama to bring her son along when she was sworn into the state bar, and he even held on the little boy while his mother recited her oath. Not surprisingly, the incredibly sweet video of the judge carrying the 1-year-old as he watched his mother officially become a lawyer has gone viral. “On the day of my swearing-in, right before we began, Judge said he wanted Beckham to take part in the moment,” Lamar, who counts the judge as a major inspiration and supporter, tells Buzzfeed . “And I am so glad he did because to have my son take part in one of the greatest moments of my life was truly a blessing.” Lamar’s colleague shared footage of the incredibly sweet incident. “Y’all. Judge Dinkins of the Tennessee Court of Appeals swore in my law school colleague with her baby on his hip, and I’ve honestly never loved him more,” a tweet from the colleague reads. “She’s one of four women in our class who became moms while in law school. Women are amazing.”

Why this refreshingly honest birth plan from Reddit is going viral

Pregnant people talk a lot about birth plans. You might even type out a few different versions before settling on the one you want to show your medical team. But the thing is, even if you spend months planning out the perfect birth plan, things can change so quickly. That’s why the internet is loving this birth plan that was uploaded to Reddit. The person who typed this up is so realistic, so honest and so authentically advocating for herself. “I don’t have a plan,” reads the first bullet point. “I’ve never done this before,” she notes in the second. “I have no idea what I am doing,” she explains in the third bullet. So many first time mamas can relate to this feeling, and also to a passage that is highlighted. It reads: “I am not trying to be a hero! Please assume that I want every option available to me for pain management and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know in real and update time if any of the pain management options are nearing the point where they are no longer available to me as I progress through labor.” This is a mama who knows herself and also knows that birth plans can change so quickly.

Mom’s photo of laundry Christmas tree goes viral on Instagram

sincerelymumsy

Australian mom and Instagrammer Jessi Roberts (aka @sincerelymumsy ) is going viral this week thanks to her hilarious Christmas tree hack. Instead of dealing with her laundry, this genius mama made it into festive decor. It actually happened last year, when Roberts family was about to go on a trip. “Last years Christmas tree ? We where going away for 2 weeks and I couldn’t and didn’t have time to do the washing… so Like any creative person… I improvise ??♀️ I left it up for 2 weeks… @thebaysidedentist [Roberts’ partner] wasn’t impressed,” she writes on Instagram. Roberts’ original caption back in 2018 was equally hilarious: “The best way to avoid doing the washing – turn it into a Christmas tree,” she wrote. “It’s free. I’ll wash this after Christmas or maybe the ‘elf on the shelf’ can help me.” This is a Christmas decor hack we can totally see catching on.

A FB moms group help this baby get a liver—and went viral for it

Moms groups on the internet sometimes get an unfair reputation. You say “Facebook moms group” and people often imagine an online space where mom shaming is common, and while that may be true in some instances, these communities are more often sources of support, not shame. No story highlights this better than Robin Bliven’s. When she posted about how her private group ended up connecting mamas and getting a liver for a baby boy who needed one, the story made national headlines and proved how supportive these groups can be. Internet communities are real communities, and some are amazing places to be. “You can talk smack about mom groups on Facebook all you want… but don’t talk smack about mine, because we crowd sourced a freaking organ,” Bliven wrote on Facebook. When one member of the Facebook group, Beth Rescsanski, learned her baby, Cal, needed a liver transplant over 100 moms in the group were screened to see if they were potential donors. That’s 100 fellow parents who were willing to have surgery for someone else’s baby. That’s the definition of a supportive community! In the end, single mom Andrea Alberto was a match and donated part of her own liver to baby Cal. The mom of two says it wasn’t hard choice. “I knew organ donation was something I would be willing to do, so when I found out Cal was being listed for transplant, it was a very easy decision,” Alberto told TODAY Parents . “If there is someone in need and there is something you can reasonably do to help them, why wouldn’t you do it? I like to think that if it was one of my kids in need, someone from my extended network would step in to help.”

American Girl celebrates diversity by including model with Down syndrome

The American Girl dolls taught a generation about history and showed children reflections of themselves in an era where diverse dolls were hard to come by. Now, in 2019, the company continues to highlight diversity and give children the representation they crave. This can be seen in the new holiday catalog where 4-year-old Ivy Kimble is among the young models. “There’s not a lot of print or media with a lot of kids with Down syndrome,” her mom Kristin Kimble told WLS-TV . Kimble told Today she’s so proud of Ivy, and so happy that American Girl is celebrating all girls. “I’m so proud of Ivy,” Kimble says. “She’s showing the world, ‘Look at me, I’m here. I’m doing it. I’m an American Girl.'”

Gal Gadot perfectly captures our feelings about motherhood in this viral Instagram post

You never really understand the meaning of the phrase “time flies” until you become a parent. Another thing you don’t quite understand until you welcome your children? How deep your capacity to love really is. Actress Gal Gadot just nailed both of those ideas in a single social media post. The famous mama shared a note to her daughter, Alma, on her eighth birthday. “I’m so lucky to be your mother. Thank you for teaching me so much about life without even knowing you are and for giving me the most precious title I could ever ask for. I promise I’ll do anything for you, love and protect you forever,” she wrote in the Instagram post. The mama continued: “Just please, don’t grow up so fast,” she writes. “Take your time. I can’t believe you’re 8 already . Love you to the moon through all galaxies double the number of grain of sand in the universe.” ALL. THE. FEELS. Hasn’t she just perfectly captured what it feels like to watch your children grow?