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Anyone who has ever birthed a baby knows how intense it is. Amazing, yes. Really, really, really exhausting? YES.
Postpartum recovery is no joke. A mother's body has been stretched to the limit, literally. There's all sorts of pain and walking feels like torture by a thousand daggers with each step.
But that didn't stop one new mom from taking the stage for her college graduation less than 24 HOURS after giving birth and only 3 HOURS after being discharged from the hospital.
I am woman. Hear me roar.
It was a busy week for doctorate of nursing student Abby Bailiff, 28, of Thomasville, North Carolina.
“I passed my boards on Monday, induced Tuesday, had baby Wednesday, graduated Thursday,” Bailiff told CBS-17.
For the past three years, Bailiff has been attending the UNC Greensboro School of Nursing while simultaneously working full-time as a registered nurse. Oftentimes, she working the overnight shifts so she could attend school during the day, according to Good Morning America.
As if that wasn't grueling enough, she also completed the last part of the doctor of nursing practice program WHILE pregnant. Whew.
Bailiff knew her due date and graduation date were going to be close, but she had no idea they were going to be THAT close.
The plan was to have her baby a week before the ceremony, giving her a chance to recuperate before donning her cap and gown. But apparently, Bodie had other plans.
As her due date came and went with no sign of baby Bodie, Bailiff got increasingly more and more nervous.
"Every day past 40 weeks I was like, 'Oh gosh. This is getting closer and closer,'" Bailiff told GMA.
So close, that just 2 days before she was supposed to walk the stage to receive her PhD, doctors finally induced her, concerned about Bodie's lung development.
On May 3, at 3:08 p.m, Bodie James Bailiff said hello to the world, and Bailiff said hello to a new title, mom. Born 8lbs 11oz and 21.5 inches long, Bodie arrived safely, without any complications.
After spending one night in the hospital, Bailiff and Bodie were discharged the following day — graduation day.
"I was still debating on whether I was going [to graduation] or not, because I didn't want to be, like, a bad mom and just up and leave him right when I got home," Bailiff said. "But around 1:30, I was like, 'I think I should really do this.' My sister and mom were here, and they were like, 'Well, let's get you ready.'"
Just three hours after leaving the hospital, Bailiff crossed the stage at her graduation ceremony, gaining her second title, "Doctor," in less than 24 hours.
Super.Woman.
Bailiff's sister, Hannah Allison, posted a video of the incredible accomplishment on TikTok, where it quickly went viral. She captioned it: "POV: you become a mom & doctor in the same 24 hours."
The 9-second clip shows Bailiff's journey from the hospital to the stage, with a cameo from a very special guest of honor.
The video garnered over 1.3 million views, nearly 170K likes, and 1300 comments. Bailiff was "blown away" by all of the support.
"This is the most bada$$ thing I’ve ever seen. 😍" One commenter wrote.
Another wrote, "I don’t think Ive ever been so proud of someone I don’t know."
"no one except women will understand how unreal amazing this is…. YOU GO GIRL."
Commenter after commenter praised the new mom (and doctor!) and for good reason.
"At the moment, I was just like, I'll just go and do it, and then when my sister made the video, it just kind of put everything in perspective," Bailiff said.
“I just felt like a superhero,” she added.
Bailiff hopes that one day, Bodie will be inspired by his mom's story. And in the meantime, she hopes she can serve as an inspiration to other women out there, who are questioning if they really can do it all.
"Women are just so capable of doing whatever we can to accomplish our goals and still be a mom and still have career goals as well," Bailiff said.
Her husband, Ben, agrees. He adds that this is just "a small sampling of how inspiring his wife truly is."
Parenthood and pursuing one's dreams are not mutually exclusive. Women don't have to lose themselves in motherhood.
“We as women can do whatever we set our minds to,” she concluded.
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