Video of Dad’s Motivational Message for Laboring Wife Goes Viral

While his wife was in the middle of a two-day labor with their daughter, one Atlanta dad decided to pull a Love Actually move by sharing motivational messages for her that he’d made into a flipbook. The video, which he posted to Facebook, has since gone viral, racking up millions of views and thousands of likes and comments.

Kendall Carver and his wife Jasmine Carver have been married for two years. When she went into labor earlier this month, Kendall decided to do something nice for her. In the end he made a flipbook that detailed the story of when they met and fell in love, then encouraged her to breathe through the pain before commenting on what a great mother he knew she was going to be.

“You are my best friend,” he wrote. “Soulmate. And in just a few pushes, you’ll be the most amazing mother our daughter could ever ask for. I love you!”

“So sweet, encouraging, and thoughtful when she really needed to know all that,” wrote one woman.

“This truly beautiful man,” said another. “Blessings to you two and your new addition. Thank you for showing that there are men still out there who truly love and support their significant other.”

One woman even tagged her partner and wrote, “I’m not by any means saying I’m pregnant, but you always say you need romantic ideas.”

But not everyone thought it was a selfless gesture. In the video, Kendall is holding the sign facing the camera, and all that can be seen of Jasmine are her hands and pregnant stomach. Some people took issue with this, accusing Kendall of making the video for selfish reasons in the comments section.

“It’s obvious he’s doing this to look good and make a vial video,” one person wrote. “He can easily just say these things but he has to make it all about himself instead of the person actually having the baby.”

The video was picked up by local and national media outlets across the world. Luckily, those interviews gave the new dad a little more time to explain what motivated him to make the flipbook. Turns out, Jasmine actually asked him to share some words of encouragement leading up to her due date.

In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Kendall explained that a few days before labor his wife expressed that she was feeling nervous. The couple had previously gone through a miscarriage, and Jasmine told him she was worried about giving birth for the first time. He admits he didn’t know what to say at the time, and instead encouraged her to reach out to some of her friends who’d given birth for advice. Still, their conversation got him thinking.

“At that moment, I started working on something,” he explained. “And it’s crazy because my wife is the type that climbs mountains, skydives, climbs trees. She has no fear. So when she said it to me I was like ‘I’ve got to do something.’ That’s what started it.”

“I loved the book,” Jasmine told the news anchors, while feeding a bottle to their new daughter. “It reminded me of how far we’ve come in our journey and it took my mind off everything that was going on. So I really appreciate that he took time out to do something like that for me.” The best part, as Jasmine pointed out, is that the day ended with them welcoming a healthy baby girl: Sofia Isabel Carver.

“Our hearts are full and we’re humbled that God chose us to be your parents,” Kendall wrote alongside pictures of the newborn when he took to—where else?—Facebook to announce the news.

Congrats to the happy family!

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