A mom of two is getting real and showing what feeling overwhelmed while postpartum really looks like. And a lot of moms can relate.
In a video shared on Oct. 5, Hannah, who goes by @nursehannahbh on TikTok, searches for dirty diapers lying around her house.
She said that she doesn't own any sort of diaper pail. Instead, diapers "kind of just get thrown around my house, and we just collect them in a bag at the end of the day and take them out to the dumpster."
In all, she found 17 of them. The TikTok has been viewed more than 5 million times to date.
On this particular occasion, Hannah walked through her house to collect diapers that had been accumulating while she parented solo for 24 hours. Her husband went hunting while she stayed home with her toddler and 3-week-old baby.
Comments on the original post varied widely between those who valued her honesty and those who were ... not as supportive.
- “I could never! You joking?!”
- “I feel like it's not that hard to take an extra, like, five seconds to put the nappies into a bin.”
- “Oh, I felt this. I felt this so much!!! Thank you for sharing this! I struggled just terribly when I first had my son. And this happened a lot!”
- “I think instead of hating on this momma, we need to ask if she's doing OK. Like really take a look beyond the surface.”
She posted a follow-up video, saying that she felt like she had “the flu or some sort of bug” on the 17 diaper day, so she was in “survival mode.”
In addition to those quick comments, some women have been posting more thoughtful, nuanced responses to Hannah's “17 diaper” situation.
Isabella, who goes by @justisabellaj on Tiktok said that having 17 diapers scattered throughout the house “is probably a symptom of a much bigger issue.” She added, “Postpartum depression and anxiety is so real, and it can be crippling for many moms and make them not do normal activities that other moms can do easily.”
She said that instead of criticizing another mom, we should reach out to help her.
Some moms are chiming into the conversation with their own “17 diapers” struggles; over 2,000 videos have already been posted using “#17diapers.” Not every parent literally had diapers scattered on coffee tables but they had piles of unfolded laundry, ate Lunchables for weeks or kept Christmas decorations up in August. Here are a few examples:
- @abnk1997 shared that her “17 diapers” was “sleeping on crusty sheets that smelled like spoiled milk.”
- @nickysharestoomuch wrote that her “17 diapers” was “throwing an empty car seat across the room at my husband's head because my postpartum rage had become so unmanageable that I couldn't contain it.”
- @alivily.y wrote that her “17 diapers” moment is happening in real time: “My '17 diapers' are currently locking myself in the bathroom to cry and just try to breathe.”
The memory of postpartum overwhelm can linger for years. One seasoned mom, who goes by @ispywithmylittlee14, posted a TikTok video with text that read: “My ‘17 diapers’ was being home alone with a newborn, a toddler and a kindergartener, and crying at night while rocking my newborn. I never felt so alone.”
KC Davis, a licensed counselor and author of “How to Keep House While Drowning,” posted a video titled, “A love letter to ‘17 diaper mom.’”
Showing a still image from one of her own TikToks with dirty diapers piled in a corner, Davis said, “If you’re ‘17 diaper mom’ and you see this, you’re fine. I did this too.” She added, “I wrote a bestselling book and had a TED Talk. And they roasted me for my diapers on the floor too.”
Though she’s received a lot of criticism, Hannah wrote on a video she shared today that the “negative judgmental comments” and “countless shaming videos” are nothing compared to the support and solidarity she feels when other moms come clean about their own “17 diapers” tendencies.
