17 Diapers: TikTok’s Latest Trend is Surprisingly Striking a Chord with Moms – New York Family

We all have our own 17 diapers story.

TikTok can be full of surprises, and you never know which videos will go viral. One mom, juggling a newborn and a two-year-old, innocently shared a video of her home at the end of the day and now that video is making the rounds across the TikTok universe — and drawing in quite intense feelings from moms all over.

Hannah, who is a nurse and a mom of two, mentioned that she had a few diapers lying around and planned to count them as she tidied up the house. To her surprise, she found 17 diapers scattered throughout her home.

The number was partly a result of her solo parenting journey over the past 24 hours from when the video was filmed, during which she hadn’t had a moment to clean up amidst the chaos of caring for a newborn and a toddler. And, she had just given birth to her second child less than one month prior!

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The internet trolls came out almost immediately, criticizing her for leaving dirty diapers around. Comments ranged from “Ew, gross” to accusations of child neglect. However, one user pointed out, “Neglect would be if the dirty diaper was left on the baby!”

In response, countless moms of all ages, quickly came to her defense, discussing the challenges of caring for a newborn, especially one less than a month old. One person wrote, “She has a toddler and a newborn. She had a C-section. She deserves a medal, not criticism.”

As many have pointed out, the baby and toddler were changed and cared for 17 different times in the course of the day. One commenter said, “17 dirty diapers means that baby is clean and fed and loved.”

Another said, “If you’ve never been so exhausted that you left a diaper where you changed it, consider yourself lucky.”

Moms didn’t just show up in the comments—they started making their own videos about how exhausting it can be to care for a newborn, especially with a toddler in the mix. Remember, your body is still recovering from pregnancy and birth while also experiencing huge hormonal shifts.

This is also when postpartum depression can kick in, which is a type of depression that often follows childbirth. It can leave new moms feeling sad, anxious, or overwhelmed, making it hard to handle everyday tasks. The last thing a new mom needs is to be bullied or criticized during such a sensitive time. And of course, mom-shaming is never okay, no matter the situation.

Moms quickly recognized that we all have our own 17 diapers moments when raising children. Many shared their stories from their most vulnerable days of motherhood.

One said, “My 17 diapers was the sink filling up and laundry overflowing. We’re all just trying to survive.”

Another shared, “My 17 diapers is being so exhausted and not taking a shower for over a week, dishes and laundry piled up and neglecting my own personal care, but making sure my child was always fed, safe and clean.”

An older woman recalled how back when she was a younger mom, she had 17 diaper moments, too. “My 17 diapers was being at home with a newborn, a toddler, and a Kindergartener, and crying myself to sleep at night while rocking my newborn.”

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The original poster made a follow-up video and instead of feeling attacked, she said she felt supported, “Scrolling through everyone’s 17 diapers videos at 1 am is making me see that I’m not alone. 10K+ negative judgemental comments on 1 video and countless shaming videos doesn’t compare to the support I feel watching 17 diapers trend.”

Danielle Ramos is the Deputy Editor of New York Family. She is also a mom of three, essayist, and proud Brooklyn native. An award-winning writer, her specialties include parenting, pregnancy, health, and pets. Growing up in the best city in the world, she loves nothing more than sharing the magic of raising kids in New York City. Danielle is also an animal lover, music fan, and always, always a dreamer.