My Toddler’s Midnight Baby Monitor Moment Went Viral… and Ended Up in Newsweek!
As Featured In: Newsweek
Like most mums, my nights are a mix of half-sleep, baby monitors, and hoping everyone stays in bed until morning.
One night recently, my toddler woke up and started stirring on the baby monitor. I did what every mum does… got up, slightly disoriented, and went in to check what was going on.
I assumed she’d want a cuddle, maybe some water, or just reassurance before going back to sleep.
Instead, she looked at me and very clearly made it known that I was not the person she wanted.
She wanted her dad.
Still black and white image captured from a Nanit baby monitor camera of a toddler standing up in her crib. | @tracy.jane.girlmom
Not in a subtle way either. In the very direct, brutally honest way only a toddler can manage.
After carrying them, feeding them, losing sleep for years, and basically being their entire world… it turns out sometimes you’re still not the preferred parent at 2am.
Parenthood is humbling like that.
I shared the moment on TikTok because it felt like one of those painfully relatable mum experiences; the kind that’s slightly funny, slightly insulting, and very real.
What I didn’t expect was how many parents would relate to it.
Within a short time, the video started gaining traction. Thousands of people began commenting with their own stories about toddler parent preferences and middle-of-the-night rejections.
Apparently I’m not the only mum who has been dismissed in favour of Dad.
Then something even more unexpected happened.
A journalist from Newsweek reached out asking if they could feature the video and the story behind it.
Seeing such an ordinary parenting moment… one that probably happens in homes everywhere every night… end up in an international publication felt incredibly surreal.
You can read the article here:
https://www.newsweek.com/toddler-wakes-in-night-what-she-says-on-baby-cam-leaves-mom-humbled-11120176
If there’s one thing the whole experience reminded me, it’s that parenting is full of these small, humbling moments.
The internet often shows the polished highlights of family life, but the reality is usually much more chaotic; and much more honest.
Sometimes that honesty looks like a toddler rejecting you at 2am and demanding the other parent instead.
And sometimes, apparently, that moment ends up being shared with millions of people.
Motherhood keeps you humble.
Especially in the middle of the night.