Gen Zer's wildly unrealistic fantasy about maternity leave has moms rolling with laughter

Young women often have this idea that being pregnant, having a big belly and then having a cute baby to caress is a beautiful dream full of tiny fingers and adorable toothless smiles. While they are correct on some counts, there are several challenges that pregnancy and motherhood bring. As much as it is about the baby clothes, first sonography and so on, it’s also about the contractions, stress, symptoms, hormonal changes and more. However, several young women out there aspire to be moms one day without a clear idea about these challenges. A young woman, Olivia Talmage–who goes by @otalmage–voiced these fantasies about pregnancy in her recent TikTok video. Her unrealistic yet admirable expectations soon went viral, leaving the internet amused.

The young girl went with the trend of revealing what her “Roman Empire” was. As the trend suggests, the term is used to describe something one often thinks or dreams about. “My Roman Empire is my future maternity leave,” she said. While she confessed that she is nowhere close to having a partner or managing a baby, she would love to someday enjoy the perks of maternity leave. She also explained what her idea of maternity leave was. “I cannot wait to be waited on hand and foot by my husband, eat as much as I want and not have to move or work all day, every day,” she said. 

Her unrealistic expectations amused women, fellow moms and other viewers. Amassing over 642k views, 39k likes and 1.5k comments, social media users had a lot to say to the young woman about her wish. While many agreed that it was adorable to see how youngsters aspire to be mums, others couldn’t help but laugh, having faced the realities motherhood brings. @gabbyland said, “And then all the moms laughed and laughed.” @mariea53706 said, “The most relaxing part of maternity leave: I got to leave the house alone in milk-soaked pajamas and stand in the pharmacy line for 45 minutes.” 

Many women deemed the young woman’s fantasy as a “canon event” and revealed that it is quite common to develop such dreams and wishes before experiencing the actual thing. @xandersmummy said, “Keep this video up and check back in 5-10 years. We all thought like this at some point.” @sophie88825 got real and hilariously contradicted the fantasy and said, “Currently on maternity leave, realizing that going to work is 100 times easier than being on maternity leave with a baby 24/7.” Others “ran to the comments,” knowing this fairytale of thought would be combated with a hysterical dose of reality. @em_ _sarah_ _ said, “Even with a helpful husband, this is nowhere near the experience.” 

Once women were done ranting and sharing their experiences of what maternity leave feels like, they moved on to the mixed bag of emotions postpartum brings. @sheeree_nicole_ said, “I can’t think of a lower moment in my life than postpartum.” However, others came to the rescue with hope, assuring that the painstaking efforts are surely rewarding with having a new addition to the family and becoming a mom. @hammms_murphy said, “Don’t let these comments scare you. I loved postpartum!” @oliviaaleisa said, “I loved maternity leave. It’s a different hardship but so much better!”