Arkansas mom goes viral for launching TikTok’s ‘Ugly Baby Challenge’

TikTok’s “Ugly Baby Challenge” is a real thing, and the Arkansas woman who launched the latest social media trend isn’t the least bit concerned what people think of her parenting skills.

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“This trend started where people were saying, ‘We thought our newborn was going to be so cute, and they were not.’ I was like, ‘I win! I win! I win this!’” Lucy Baehr told KARK, laughing.

Baehr, who struggled with miscarriages over the years, told the TV station that she had given up on growing her family that includes stepson Cole and daughter Harper, and then Reese arrived in late 2020.

“I’m pretty sure I looked at my husband and was like, ‘She’s healthy?’” Baehr told KARK, noting that Harper noticed her baby sister’s unique look immediately.

“Even Harper, when she held (Reese) for the first time, she looked up at me and said, ‘She kind of looks weird, doesn’t she?’ and I was like, ‘Um, you’re not wrong?’” Baehr said.

And so, a trend was born when Baehr made Reese TikTok famous, amassing more than 22 million views to her “Ugly Baby Challenge” in only a matter of days.

“People have commented saying (Reese) looks like Dobby from Harry Potter and Mr. Bean,” Baehr told the TV station, scoffing at her online haters and reminding other mothers that imperfections are “perfectly OK.”

“She just needed a minute,” Baehr said of Reese, whom she knows perfectly well is not ugly and intends to fill in fully on her early-life stardom. “She is going to have a great sense of humor.”

Click below to see the full interview.

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