New Mom in Paris Breaks Down During Postpartum. Her Mom and Sister Fly in from the U.S. to Surprise Her (Exclusive)

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6 days ago

'I knew I needed the village…not just to recover physically, but to be mentally well. To feel whole,' Janet tells PEOPLE
Janet remembers the exact moment she broke. Alone in her Paris apartment, exhausted and holding her newborn, she turned to her husband through tears and said, 'I need my mom.'
'I literally broke down in tears, begging my husband for help,' she tells PEOPLE. 'I cried out for my mom.'
In that moment, Janet didn't know that help was already on the way. Her mother, Miss Kay, and sister, Jessica, were in the air, flying from the United States to Paris to be by her side.
The emotional moment when they arrived, caught on camera by Jessica and shared on TikTok, quickly struck a chord online. The text over the now-viral video reads: 'POV: Postpartum. Alone. Struggling. Then your mom and sister show up at your door. Flew across the world just to hold you. This is what love looks like.'
'I didn't feel like myself. I didn't feel like I belonged,' Janet says of her early postpartum days. 'You're home with another human, and you're like, 'What am I doing?''
Her husband, she says, was supportive and present. But there was something deeper she needed. 'Even though he was there, I needed them,' she says of her mom and sister. 'I needed that maternal, guided support.'
The plan had always been for them to be there. But standby travel and flight delays meant Miss Kay and Jessica couldn't make it in time for the baby's arrival.
'I just expected them to be there,' Janet says. 'But they weren't, and that Friday, I broke down.'
One week later, Janet opened the door to see her mom and sister standing there, unannounced and arms wide open. It was exactly what she had been praying for. 'So when I saw them, it was relief,' she says. 'Whatever was heavy on my shoulders just dropped.'
Jessica had started filming the moment on instinct, not expecting it to go viral. 'I didn't expect the reaction we received,' she says. 'I started recording not because I knew it would go viral, but because something told me to capture it.'
The surprise had been difficult to pull off. 'We talk every day, we even share location,' Jessica says, laughing. 'So trying to keep the secret was hard.'
As soon as they stepped inside, they jumped into action. Janet remembers them saying, 'Okay, take a shower, go to sleep. We got it for the night.' She hadn't realized how much she needed that kind of care.
That moment, she says, was about more than just help. It was about being held. 'It's that love that shows up,' Janet says. 'From having a baby to battling sickness, Black women know how to carry each other.'
Miss Kay, who grew up as one of 15 siblings, says she learned early what it means to show up. 'I thought I didn't need anyone when I had my first child either,' she says. 'But once that baby comes, everything changes. You do need your mother. You do need help.'
Janet says she always prided herself on being independent. But becoming a mother changed that. 'I've always been independent. I never really asked for help,' she says. 'But when I got pregnant, everyone said, 'You'll need us,' and I was like, 'No, I've got this.' But I didn't.'
Motherhood, she says, shifted her understanding of strength. 'The dynamic of the strong Black woman has shifted for me in the transition to motherhood,' she says. 'You can still be strong and ask for help.'
Shortly after their visit, Janet made the decision to temporarily move back to the United States. She wanted to be close to her village. 'I knew I needed the village,' she says. 'Not just to recover physically, but to be mentally well. To feel whole.'
And she wasn't alone. After the video circulated, Janet began receiving messages from women around the world. 'Women reached out from Paris, other Americans living abroad, saying, 'I've been there. I know,' ' she says. 'One woman even came and did my hair at my apartment.'
Jessica says her goal was simple. She wanted to help. 'When we got there, it was all about how I could help,' she says. 'Cleaning, the fridge stocked, meals prepped. Just whatever we could do in the short time we had.'
She says that instinct came from her own story. 'When I had my first baby at 21, I had no idea what to do,' Jessica says. 'My aunt came and stayed for a month. What I did for Janet is exactly what they did for me.'
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Thousands of women responded to Janet's post, sharing their own stories of being overwhelmed during postpartum. 'Women kept saying, 'I wish someone had told me how hard this is,' ' Janet says. 'Others said, 'I needed my mom too.' It was almost like a collective sigh.'
Miss Kay believes the video helped give women permission to admit they need help. 'It's okay to ask for help,' she says. 'They don't always know what they need. Sometimes you just have to show up and hold the baby.'
Jessica agrees. 'Just listen. They'll tell you what they need without even meaning to,' she says. 'And if you don't know, just do.'
Janet says she is still in the middle of it. Still learning. Still tired. 'I'm still in it,' she says. 'I'm still crying, still breastfeeding, still figuring out motherhood. It's overwhelming, even with help.'
There are days when she feels like she's falling short. When feedings are frustrating and sleep is scarce. 'But I'm doing my best,' she says. 'And I've realized that has to be enough.'
Now, when she watches the video, she sees more than a memory. She sees a message. 'It's a sacred circle,' she says. 'That moment between women, it's vulnerability, love and legacy. It's motherhood in motion.'
She hopes other mothers can see themselves in it too. 'That moment changed everything,' Janet says. 'It taught me I don't have to carry it all alone. And I don't want other women to think they have to either.'
Read the original article on People
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