New Mom Scared To Return to Work, Then She Checks Baby Cam

Leaving a baby for the first time would make any parent anxious, but one mom soon realized she had nothing to fear.

Alyssa Kennedy, a 24-year-old nurse from North Carolina, was worried about returning to work while her 10-month-old daughter stayed at home.

In the U.S., the lack of mandated paid maternity leave often forces nurses back to work sooner than they'd like. According to a 2023 survey by the American Nurses Foundation, healthcare workers are among the professions most likely to experience burnout, which may be compounded by new moms trying to juggle their career and parenting.

Alyssa and Austin Kennedy's 10-month-old was being looked after by her grandparents Ron and Joanne. The mom of one acknowledged how fortunate she was to have help with childcare. @alyssahobbkenn

"I was scared to go back to work because she had a complicated birth injury and I never wanted to leave her side," Kennedy explained, adding that her daughter (with husband Austin Kennedy) had spent the first six months of her life seeing specialists and physical therapists multiple times a week.

Leaving her baby with her parents Ron and Joanne Hobbins, Kennedy checked the baby cam and she wasn't prepared for what she saw next.

Sharing the footage on TikTok (@alyssahobbkenn), Ron comes into granddaughter's room. Seeing him from the cot, she grins and moves her little arms and legs in delight. Smiling back, Ron picks her up and walks out of the room.

"When I saw the baby cam, my heart was warmed to say the least. My parents do such a good job at caring for our baby," she told Newsweek.

According to the comments, Kennedy watches the baby cam all morning until her baby wakes up, allowing her to capture this special moment.

Kennedy's clip has been viewed over 5 million times and received 810,000 likes. Many other parents commented, sharing how special grandparents are to their children's lives.

"Grandpa is the main character for my baby girl too," one user wrote. "This makes me miss my dad so much. When I had my first, I wasn't ready for her to be with a stranger, so my dad took two weeks off work," said another.

"Looking on her monitor and seeing moments like these are priceless," Kennedy wrote on the text overlay.

The mom of one did not expect the video to receive such an outpouring of love from other TikTok users. "I've always known my dad is amazing, so it's 'normal' for me. I forget how lucky we are sometimes and how not everyone gets to experience this," Kennedy said.

"The video was very reassuring that our little girl is happy with grammy and papa," she added.