Woman gifts baby mementos to best friend who didn't have any to pass down
"When I opened the gift, I just started to sob."
When Felicia Fisher was getting ready to welcome her first child earlier this summer, she celebrated with a baby shower.
Among the thoughtful gifts the Rapid City, South Dakota, resident received was one from her best friend, Tayler Livengood, that Fisher said brought her to tears and inspired her to share in a Sept. 3 TikTok post.
"[Point of view]: You were adopted and didn't have any items from when you were a baby to pass down … until you opened up the gift from your best friend at your baby shower," Fisher wrote in text that introduced several photos of the baby mementos Livengood had gifted her.
Fisher's TikTok post quickly went viral with over 443,000 views and over 1,200 comments, with many calling Livengood's caring present "the sweetest thing ever" and "the most kind and thoughtful gift."
"I didn't expect it at all," Fisher, 27, recalled to "Good Morning America." "When I opened the gift, I just started to sob. It was pretty emotional at first."
Both Fisher and Livengood, 26, said after they met in 2017, they quickly forged a close bond. The two now describe each other not only as best friends but also as each other's "sister." They also said they love talking and spending time with one another, so it seemed only natural when Fisher -- who told "GMA" she was adopted when she was about 4 years old -- opened up to Livengood about not having mementos to pass down to her baby.
"When Felicia first found out she was pregnant, her mother-in-law had brought over some of her husband's baby items and she called me and she was excited about them, but she was telling me how she was bummed out that she didn't have any of those same things to pass down," Livengood recalled.
So when Livengood was sorting through old items in storage ahead of Fisher's bridal shower, she pulled together some of her favorite childhood keepsakes to surprise Fisher.
There was a handmade, crocheted blanket, her favorite books, her most-loved stuffed animals, and, of course, multiple adorable onesies.
"We've always called each other sisters. We've always called each other family. And I just really felt like those things that I had, if I could create some sort of familiarity or something that she could keep, that I wanted to share that feeling with her," Livengood said.
Now, Fisher's daughter Sequoia, who is about 1 month old, gets to enjoy the beloved items Livengood grew up with.
"It just really touched my heart," Fisher said of the treasured gifts.