This Sleepy Dad Comforting His Imaginary Baby Is a Mood We All Know

home insemination Kit

We’ve all been there, folks! Anyone who’s welcomed a newborn into their lives knows that they can be a bit demanding—okay, more than a bit. The exhaustion is real, and when you’re running on fumes, your body will do anything for just a few more moments of sleep. Babies are sharp, and they know how to take advantage of that!

In a heartwarming YouTube clip shared by America’s Funniest Home Videos, a dad hears his little one crying and instinctively goes into “pat pat pat” mode—while still fast asleep! This adorable scene fills us with joy, not just because it’s absolutely precious, but because we’ve all had our moments of sleep-deprived parenting. Who among us hasn’t whispered “Shhh shhh shhh” to silence a loud coworker? Or how many times have you jolted awake from a nap, only to murmur, “I’ll take care of the baby…” after hearing a distant bark? Even now, with my kids being nine, I still catch myself doing the side-to-side sway in the grocery line as if I’m soothing an infant.

This dad’s sweet slumber shows just how deeply these little ones get under our skin. You can tell that his body has reached that level of exhaustion where it’s saying, “No worries, buddy! Just keep snoozing. I’ll handle this with a few gentle pats.” I can’t help but recall a time when I woke up to find a burp cloth on my nightstand and thought it was one of my kids. “Huh, that’s odd. Seems pretty balanced…” Zzzzz…

Your mind might want to jump into action, checking on the baby, but when you’re that tired, sometimes your body pulls a fast one on your brain, giving it a metaphorical shot of whiskey to knock it out while it tries to manage things solo.

The Huffington Post shared this delightful video, and parents chimed in with their own tales of unconscious parenting in the comments:

• “I once kissed my baby’s head in the middle of the night, and it turned out to be my pillow! She wasn’t even in bed with me!”
• “When our twins were tiny, my husband sat up in his sleep, cuddling our comforter and shushing it instead of the baby. The struggle is so real!”
• “I remember rocking an empty stroller for ten minutes until someone pointed out my baby was being held by my husband!”

Honestly, we think “Imaginary Baby” deserves its own sitcom. How about this for a theme song?

“When you want to leave the house but suddenly you can’t,
Is it a ghost? The dog? Or are you not wearing pants?
Or maybe it’s the baby that you can’t see or hear,
The Imaginary Baby threw up in your brassiere.”

Just a little work in progress! We’d love to hear your hilarious stories of sleep-deprived parenting in the comments—they always bring a smile. (With you, of course, not at you. Well, maybe occasionally at you. No judgment here!)

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In summary, this video of a sleeping dad soothing his imaginary baby captures the essence of parenthood’s sleep-deprived humor. We’ve all experienced those moments of confusion and hilarity during the exhausting early days of parenting, and it’s a reminder that we are all in this together.