Motherhood means sharing it all with your children—especially your life victories, one woman says.
A video posted to TikTok by Megan McWhinney (@m_28_lm) went viral for sharing the heartwarming moment she carried her daughter across the finish line at a 10k race. McWhinney, 28, spoke to Newsweek about what the moment meant for her amid her postpartum journey. Since the video was posted on May 13, it has received 1.7 million views and over 100,000 likes.
"Proud moment to share with my girl," she captioned the video, which shows McWhinney running toward a friend holding her baby on the sidelines of the race to pick her up.
"The decision to carry Fern over the line was completely spontaneous," she told Newsweek. "I was hoping to see her at the end, but as I came to the finish line, my friend mouthed, 'Do you want to take her?' So, it was ... a really precious moment, and something I think will be a tradition now."
McWhinney said that many advised her not to do the run—which she signed up for when six months pregnant, thinking it would help her on her journey back to physical fitness after giving birth. She was not able to get around to training and planned to ditch the race until two days before, when she realized she felt "fit enough."
"I know my body best and knew I'd be able to do it," she said.
While her grandfather passed away at the hospice that organized the race in 2018, she said the finish was what really gave the effort meaning.
"The race now has lots of meaning because of the way it ended for me," she said. "I'll be forever grateful for my friends organizing to be there at the end with [my daughter] and filming the whole thing."
Moms everywhere are doing an 'amazing job'
While McWhinney's experience of her first baby has been "a dream" so far—something facilitated by a "straightforward" birthing experience and a generally content and sleepy baby, she said—she is cautious to apply this standard to other mothers.
She said is aware that her video shows a motherhood victory that might not be everyone's reality.
"In the least patronizing way, I wouldn't want other moms to feel like they're not exactly where they need to be in terms of doing an amazing job for their babies," she said. "We often compare ourselves to others on social media, and I would genuinely hate for any mom to look at the video and feel as though they're doing anything less than an amazing job already."
There are challenges to new motherhood too, McWhinney acknowledged: The emotional and physical adjustments of pregnancy don't necessarily end with childbirth. She said finding time to go to the gym and look after her physical fitness is difficult—and she wishes more gyms "trusted parents" to bring their children to the gym and look after them.
Despite this, though, she said her daughter has made her life—and her victories—all the richer.
"I've had so many comments [about] how me and my fiancée, Matt, are still living our best lives despite Fern," she said. "She's truly enhanced everything."
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