What is the perfect present for a mom who just welcomed her sixth child? Rather than choosing the usual gift ideas of self-care products, comfy clothes or even jewelry, one husband decided to get his wife another kid instead.
Two months after welcoming her youngest son, Brooks, on January 28, 2024, Emily Betancur celebrated her 30th birthday on April 12. However, it wasn’t quite the relaxing day she had in mind. When her husband, Justin, 38, told her to come outside and collect her gift, she thought it could be something for the garden, but what she certainly wasn’t expecting was a live goat to be standing in front of her.
Needless to say, that was not on Betancur’s wish list. She told Newsweek that she “had literally never mentioned wanting a goat” before. As their home in Lubbock, Texas, has a lot of land outside, the couple had briefly discussed getting some animals one day, but this was quite the surprise for Betancur.
Emily Betancur / @magnoliabirthlbk
“My husband came home on his lunch break and told me to come outside to get my birthday gift. I was thinking maybe it was a plant for our flower beds, or some patio furniture or something that we’ve talked about, but, no, it was a goat,” she said.
“When I asked my husband what his thought process was, he said that he was trying to be spontaneous and creative. He thought Molly would be good to snuggle. So, I picked her up, and she was so soft and sweet. My older sons adored her right away, and we took her in the backyard to get her settled before my husband went back to work.”
However, the fun had barely started at that point, because once Betancur was alone with her youngest son and the goat, that’s when things “got a bit chaotic” to put it mildly. As she didn’t want to leave Molly the goat outside alone, she was brought into the house while Betancur changed her son’s diaper, and the two youngest members of the family started bouncing off each other’s energy.
“My newborn hates diaper changes, so he started crying, and then Molly immediately started crying, too. At first, I was really stressed and about to join in with them,” Betancur added.
She captured a video of Molly and Brooks screaming and initially sent it to her husband, hoping that he would reconsider and “take the goat back.” But, after watching the footage back later, she couldn’t help but laugh at the unusual scenario and shared it on TikTok (@magnoliabirthlbk). The video has amused plenty of social media users and gained more than 6.6 million views and over 1 million likes.
A goat definitely isn’t a conventional birthday present at the best of times, let alone with a newborn baby, five older children, and two dogs at home already. But Betancur has taken it in her stride and now hopes to get some goat friends for Molly, and she will continue posting about the new kid on social media.
She said: “Both of these adorable babies taking turns crying was just total chaos, so I gave up and embraced it. Social media has loved the duo, and it’s so fun to see everyone’s reactions.
“We’re planning to keep her so that Molly and Brooks can grow up together. As long as we do, we will get a second goat to keep her company and, no matter what, we will always make sure that she is very well loved,” Betancur said.
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Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.