Preparing for the arrival of a new baby differs from one parent to another.
But this expectant mom’s somewhat naive list of postpartum rules has sent TikTok into meltdown.
Isabella is planning to take her recovery after childbirth seriously, determined to ignore the expectations society sets.
“This is my controversial, unpopular opinions about how I’m planning to raise my own baby,” she proudly begins in the video.
“No nappy changes for about three weeks”
Her boundaries range from skipping the children’s music to forgoing diaper changes for the first three weeks.
“You can call me crazy if you want, but I literally don’t care,” she continues.
Here’s her full list of rules:
- Not calling family right away
- Beauty bootcamp (acids, retinol, saunas, etc.)
- 5/5/5 rule at home
- No diaper changes for about 3 weeks
- No light up toys
- No baby music / media on
- No American formula, fruit blends, puffs, etc.
- Travel plan: South of France, NY, Switzerland
The most unconventional rules attracted the most comments.
For the first 15 days, Isabella plans to remain in bed, which she believes is pivotal for her recovery. She acknowledges that will require her husband to pick up any extra slack.
“When the baby cries you don’t get up to go pick up the baby to figure out what’s going on. No, the baby gets brought to you so that you can fully, fully recover,” she says.
“Absolutely no diaper changes for the first three weeks. I don’t care if it’s night or day I will not be changing a single diaper.”
She says her body and hormonal system will be in recovery mode during this time.
“There is no way I’m going to be adding anything to my plate. I need to feed the baby, I need to feed myself and I need to sleep.”
“Borderline rage bait”
Isabella anticipated that one rule, in particular, would be the least popular.
“I will be taking my baby traveling,” she insists, adding she can’t understand why people wait so long to take their infants abroad.
Her baby’s itinerary is already packed with more destinations than many people visit in a lifetime.
“At five months we’re planning to go to the south of France for a few weeks. Shopping, we’re hanging out,” she says.
They also plan to visit Austria, Switzerland, and New York.
“This baby is going to come with me everywhere I go.”
Her expectations have drawn both praise and criticism from parents who’ve been in the newborn trenches.
“Imma hold your hand when I tell you this …” wrote one commenter.
“This is borderline rage bait,” said another.
“I’m dying because the minute you have the baby I can almost guarantee half of these are thrown right out the window,” warned one comment.
This viewer put it bluntly: “You don’t know what is coming.”
Others suggested she save the video and revisit it when she’s 12 months postpartum to see how many rules she stuck to.
