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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Gifts, cards, and flowers are all sweet offerings for a friend going through postpartum, while a text is common courtesy.
Lifestyle creator Cameron Rogers recently mentioned how she’d overlooked the simple gesture of reaching out to her fellow mom friends after they’d had their babies. Though she’d given all of them a material gift, Rogers said she’d shown a lack of real support by not texting anyone.
To make up for her error, she recently sat down and sent out a slew of messages to her close friends. On Instagram, Rogers revealed her model message, encouraging her viewers to follow suit.
In a July 9 video, the Conversations With Cam podcast host said: “I get asked a lot what is the best gift that you can give someone postpartum... the number one thing is always food. But this is my number two.
“If you are geographically close to this person, this is my favorite thing to gift a friend,” she continued. “I would have never in a million years known to send this type of text, or offer this type of thing, before I had kids.”
Rogers went on to acknowledge how easy it is to get caught up in your own life without considering the struggle another new parent may be going through. That said, her text message is meant to remedy this and show how much you care about them.
A screenshot of Rogers’ conversation with a friend who had just had a baby popped up on the screen. Her message read: “Good morning love! I am yours from the hours of 12 to 3 tomorrow so please let me know how you would like to use me. Here are some options.”
“1. I come while you hang with the baby and I do laundry, bottles, cooking, buy and put away groceries.”
“2. I come and take care of the baby while you sleep in your room alone or you go do something by yourself or you guys go out to lunch the two of you without the baby.”
Rogers then offered to take her friend to lunch, “with or without the baby.” Lastly, she suggested having a calm conversation on the couch and TV time. Anything her friend needed or wanted; Rogers made it clear she was willing to help her get it.
Speaking to Today, Rogers opened up about her motivation to help. “I realized I hadn’t properly supported my postpartum friends,” she told the outlet. “I gave them baby gifts, but what they needed was for me to show up for them.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t understand until you’re in it yourself. You have no idea what they’re going through,” Rogers remarked.
A follower asked Rogers when she should send her friend a similar text, a few days or a few weeks after giving birth. According to Rogers, the timeline depends on the friend. In her case, she’d sent the text four weeks into their postpartum, after she’d been over to their house.
Other commenters praised Rogers’ method and made a few suggestions of their own. “Loooooove this,” one woman wrote. “One other option that I would have loved postpartum is a friend to come over and watch the baby while I shower/get ready and then take cute pics of me and baby together.”
