Mom Returns Home With Crying Baby, Finds Unexpected Note From Neighbor

Support found in unlikely places makes it all the sweeter.

A TikTok video posted by Clara (@claras_home) has gone viral for revealing a sweet offer of support from her neighbor. After seeing her leave the house with her crying baby, her neighbor left her a note offering to watch the child anytime she needs to "decompress". Clara, 28, who did not want to give her surname, told Newsweek about what the note meant to her as a new mother. Since it was posted in February, her video has received over 324,000 views and more than 21,000 likes.

"POV [point of view]: You leave the house with a screaming baby and come home to this," Clara captioned the video. "It's the smallest gestures."

In the note, her neighbor wrote: "Honey, if you ever need a break—a minute or five, or an hour—I'll sit with Louie...even if he's crying. I'll take him round the block so you can decompress. Anytime."

Clara told Newsweek she found the note in her mailbox when she came back from her walk: "It had been written and posted pretty much straight after she saw me leave the house with a crying baby," she said. "I felt less alone and like a little bit of the weight has been taken off my shoulders."

While she knew the neighbor already—they have had conversations when running into each other on the street—their relationship hadn't yet moved beyond the usual neighborly chat, she said. They both moved into their homes four years ago.

"I feel a lot more relaxed in terms of being able to chat with her honestly," Clara said after receiving the note. "I did take her up on it; however, she had COVID-19, so I baked a banana bread and dropped that off instead."

Clara said in the comments that she will definitely take her up on the offer in the future. Viewers offered many words of support in the comments, too, urging Clara to accept the help and sharing their own stories of unlikely support during motherhood.

"One day I actually did have to call my neighbor. My baby wasn't going to sleep, and I had a tired 2-year-old," @attismom469 wrote. "I called her and within a minute she came and grabbed the baby while I put my toddler to sleep! It's so nice to have people you can go to."

Some even posted that the video inspired them to help new parents who are acquaintances in their own lives: "I recently wanted to offer to babysit for my neighbors so they could have date night, but I've held back cause I'm shy. This is my sign!" @grizz143 commented.

Mostly, though, people were touched by Clara finding her "village" while raising her child, and wishing other mothers the same.

"Oh stop," @vikki_ruffle wrote. "That's how you make amazing friends while finding your village. It's all about the ones you find along the way."