Alex Cooper sparked a baby registry pay-it-forward trend online
Alex Cooper sparked a baby registry gifting chain across social media after the Call Her Daddy host began clearing Babylist registries for expectant parents she had never met. What started as a celebrity thank-you to her pregnancy-advice community grew into a viral pay-it-forward movement, with strangers, creators, and brands buying car seats, cribs, and diapers for families worldwide.
Expectant parents are sharing their stories online — and the internet is responding with gifts. The trend sits at an interesting crossroads between celebrity culture and old-fashioned community support, which is why it fits naturally in our Nostalgia: Then & Now coverage: a modern platform reviving a timeless instinct to help new parents.
Key Takeaways
- Alex Cooper began purchasing items from strangers' Babylist registries as a way to thank her audience for pregnancy and parenting advice.
- More than 15,000 expectant parents replied to the launch post in less than an hour, and the gesture spread to creators, brands, and everyday viewers.
- Recipients posted emotional unboxing videos as cribs, car seats, mattresses, and swaddles arrived at their homes.
- Babylist recorded 3,279 gifts from its team as of Aug. 31, and multiple baby brands pledged registry support of their own.
- One TikTok example — an active-duty service member whose registry was fully cleared — shows how far the chain reached beyond celebrity accounts.
Why did Alex Cooper start clearing baby registries?
Cooper, who announced in May that she is expecting her first child with husband film producer and Unwell co-founder Matt Kaplan, had been turning to her audience for pregnancy and parenting advice. Clearing registries became a way to return some of that support.
"Clearing out registries was a way to thank the community for all their incredible support and advice," Cooper said in a release, according to Mashable. "Reading their stories and seeing what that meant to them made me want to find a way for Unwell to keep paying that forward."
Recipients definitely felt the love. Parents posted emotional reactions and unboxing videos as cribs, car seats, mattresses, and swaddles arrived at their homes — tangible proof that a viral moment could translate into real help during an expensive life stage.
How big did the baby registry gifting chain get?
The best part of the story, though, is that other people began doing the same thing. Strangers opened strangers' registries and bought whatever they could afford. For some, that meant a pack of bottles or a box of diapers. Others helped clear entire lists. What began as a celebrity giveaway grew into a much larger chain of people paying the gesture forward.
The response suggests the idea touched a nerve. According to figures shared with Mashable, more than 15,000 expectant parents replied to the launch post in less than an hour. Many left their own registry links. Others nominated a friend, sibling, co-worker, or partner.
Between the requests, parents started discussing which products they had actually used, what first-time parents could skip, and where less expensive alternatives might work just as well. Babylist's campaign page recorded 3,279 gifts from the company's team as of Aug. 31.
Online generosity is hardly new. Crowdfunding links have become fixtures beneath viral videos, while kindness creators have built enormous audiences around giving cash, houses, or cars to strangers and inviting viewers to contribute. This trend, however, felt especially personal because it targeted a specific, well-understood need: preparing for a baby.
Which brands and creators joined the trend?
Brands of different sizes got involved, too. Los Angeles diaper bag company Mina Baie promised to purchase gifts from five parents' registries and award diaper bags to 20 others. UPPAbaby offered to clear five full registries and purchase one of its strollers from 50 additional lists.
Cozy Crew Club invited parents to share their stories for a chance to receive registry gifts and store gift cards. Mom-founded baby brand Kiplie offered portable changing mats while acknowledging that it could not clear entire lists. Itzy Ritzy offered to purchase up to $300 worth of its products from each selected registry.
Other creators and reality stars, including Colton Underwood, Harry Jowsey, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Anneliese van der Pol, also invited parents to leave their registries in the comments of their own posts. Meanwhile, viewers without large platforms continued the effort by buying individual items for families whose stories appeared in their feeds.
For Babylist, the response also demonstrated that parents were looking for more than products. Jennifer Hyman, the company's incoming CEO, told Mashable the partnership was intended to reach parents when they need "answers, reassurance, and connection." Cooper, Babylist, and Unwell also plan to crowdsource parenting advice and product recommendations, spotlight families' stories, and support charitable organizations working with parents during pregnancy and early parenthood.
What made the unboxing videos so heartwarming?
Examples of this trend in action are heartwarming. Wyatt Morris, an active-duty service member, is expecting a daughter with his wife, Breanna. Morris posted their Babylist registry on TikTok and later returned with a follow-up video after viewers reportedly purchased every last item.
That kind of story — a military family fully supported by strangers — captures why the videos resonated so widely. The clips are not just product reveals. They are moments of relief, surprise, and gratitude from people facing one of life's most financially demanding transitions.
The internet's attention is notoriously unpredictable, but it is always heartening to see a viral moment turn into tangible support for people who truly need it. The trend may disappear from feeds, but the items arriving at families' doorsteps — and the difference they make — will not.