October is spooky season, and while many people love to decorate their houses accordingly, they might only embrace spooky decor for about a month. Others might opt for Halloween decorations that are subtle and cute rather than scary.
But one mom loves spooky decor so much that she used it to decorate her baby’s nursery. When thinking of how to decorate a baby’s nursery, you might not gravitate toward black, gothic decor — but some people can’t get over how amazing this “gothic baby” nursery looks.
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In a series of videos, the mom showed off the gothic nursery and documented a day in the life of her 'gothic baby.'
In one video, the mom, Reby Hardy, 38, compared some people’s expectations to her reality. She showed some images of how people expect moms to decorate their homes and dress their babies — a white and beige nursery, pastel clothing, and a generally soft aesthetic. But this is far from Reby’s reality.
In the video, she showcased her baby’s “gothic nursery,” which features a crib from 1864, candles, pumpkins, and a variety of dark, spooky decor. On TikTok, Reby has shared several videos about her daughter, calling the series “a day in the life of a gothic baby.”
Many people love the decor.
While many people choose softer colors to decorate their babies’ nurseries, a lot of TikTok users didn’t see anything wrong with the baby’s “gothic nursery.” In fact, a lot of people praised the mom’s aesthetic and the decor she used to decorate the nursery.
“Way better than the sad beige aesthetic!” one TikTok user commented on one of the videos.
“I love the Addams families vibes 🖤🖤🖤,” another person wrote.
Others could only dream of being as cool as the gothic baby.
“Gothic baby is so iconic,” one person commented on a video.
Another person added, “Gothic baby’s bedroom is cooler than mine.”
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The mom has definitely dealt with her share of critics.
Though many people love the gothic decor, others are critical of it, with one person writing, “that poor baby needs color.”
Reby, who is married to pro wrestler Matt Hardy, has made several videos responding to negative comments. In one video, she showed how the “gothic baby” nursery is really not all that “scary” once you get rid of the spooky music she usually adds to her videos.
In another video, she cut to a clip of her children playing in a colorful playroom full of toys. She responded to a comment that read: “who would do that to their child?! OMG you need [serious] help! That baby needs to be taken from you.”
She showed a video of her “poor baby” playing in the colorful room with her siblings and captioned the video with, “the poor, deprived Gothic Baby.”
In a comment on the video, a TikTok user defended the mom with: “Gothic Baby is living a BETTER life than most of us. Leave her alone.”
Gothic baby is now a gothic toddler, and the mom is sad that she has outgrown her nursery.
Reby has been grieving her gothic baby’s crib, as her gothic baby is now a gothic toddler and has transitioned to sleeping in her “big girl bed.” On social media, many parents could relate to the emotions Reby experienced when her daughter got into her crib one last time.
“Mama don’t cry,” her daughter told her in a video that documented the emotional moment. “Build my bed. And be happy, okay?”
The mom admitted that it felt “a little silly” to cry about furniture, but because it might be her “last baby” and “last crib,” it felt like an even more significant milestone. “It’s really hard letting this chapter of motherhood go,” Reby said in the video before going to get a “big girl bed” for her daughter.
On Instagram, one parent recalled the moment when their child started playing on the “big kid” playground instead of the “little kid” playground. “I was so choked up in the moment and I still think of that singular moment as an abrupt Before and After in my parenting journey with him,” the parent wrote.
“It’s hard to let go of these things when it’s your last child 💔,” another Instagram user commented.
Reby has written a children's book about her gothic baby to address stereotypes and misconceptions.
“A Day in the Life of a Gothic Baby” is a popular series on TikTok — but some people still don’t understand the family’s unconventional decor and style. In a children’s book she wrote titled Life of a Gothic Baby, Reby “tackles common misconceptions about goth culture and all things spooky, celebrating alternative families of ALL kinds,” per the book’s description.
Reby told Newsweek that her book “celebrates different families of all types, which is something I think the world needs more of.”
Speaking of her own family, Reby told the publication that she can relate to the Addams Family because in spite of “being dark and different,” they are “still wholesome and fiercely dedicated to family,” which is how she is raising her kids as well.
