'I didn't bring the most important thing to my own baby shower'

“Everyone’s jaws dropped. Absolutely everyone." 

Before leaving to go to her baby shower, Neomai made sure she had the essentials.

Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check.

However, there was one key thing the Brisbane mum didn’t take along to the party celebrating her introduction to motherhood: The baby. 

“I walked in and everyone was like kind of like, ‘What the hell is with that belly?’” she told Kidspot

Neomai had already given birth. Two days earlier.

Neomai's guests couldn't believe their eyes! Image: supplied

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A baby shower like no other

Only a select few knew the truth. Everyone else at the baby shower? Completely in the dark.

But Neomai didn’t just show up quietly after giving birth. She arrived in style… with a balloon stuffed under her dress.

“I was just going to rock up with no belly originally, but then I was like, you know what? No. It’d be so messed up, even funny,” she laughed.

In the carpark of the restaurant, she grabbed a balloon, wrapped it in a lava-lava (a traditional Islander wrap skirt), and transformed it into a makeshift bump.

She walked into the room to greet her guests before her friend finally popped the decoy belly to reveal her surprise.

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“Everyone’s jaws dropped. Absolutely everyone,” she said. 

She shared the adorable moment to TikTok, with the clip now going viral.

But while the guests were reeling, one question quickly followed: “Everyone was like, ‘Where is she? Where is she?’”

As it turns out, little Mila May was already earthside. Healthy, safe, and just a little too young to enjoy the party prepared in her honour - so Neomai left her home with Dad. 

Mila arrived three weeks ahead of schedule.

“My waters broke on the 30th of April and I really wanted her to be born in May, because her middle name is May,” she said. 

Despite arriving early, the bub was in perfect health.

“She didn’t have anything wrong with her so they still let me go,” Neomai said. 

“I really needed to get out of there. I had my baby shower. I had to make it.”

Mila May arrived early, but the baby shower still went ahead, balloon bump and all. Image: Supplied.

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The mum behind the mum

Many mums are probably wondering the same thing by now: how was she up and about two days after delivering a baby?

“I'm pretty young, so I think I bounced back. I think that had a lot to do with the reason I was okay to attend my baby shower.”

Neomai had another beautiful motivation: her mum.

“My mum put so much effort in… I’m not canceling on my mum. I’ve got to do it for her. It was more for my mum if anything, to be completely honest,” she said. 

It might not have been the baby shower anyone expected, but thanks to a balloon, a little mischief, and a lot of love, Neomai made it unforgettable.

And just like her surprise arrival, Mila May has already made quite the entrance.

As Neomai puts it: “Honestly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

Originally published as 'I didn't bring the most important thing to my own baby shower'