Giving birth is arguably one of the most terrifying experiences a person can have. Having a child may be excruciatingly painful, stressful, and physically and mentally draining. But after it’s finished, the only emotion left is happiness.

Thaise De Mari gave birth to a baby girl she named Carmel. She shared a selfie to Instagram with her newborn kid and spouse while still on the operating table following her C-section. This genuine, lovely moment frozen in time serves as a reminder that nothing beats meeting your child for the first time. The family is full of smiles and it’s totally adorable.

The new mom looked at her seconds-old baby girl and saw what appeared to be a smile on the newborn’s face. At that moment, De Mari mimicked the expression of her daughter, and that is when the picture was taken. It was a priceless moment captured forever.

Writing on Instagram in Portuguese, De Mari recalled, “And suddenly the picture of my life is without production, without resolution, without worry about hair, makeup or angle! My face is swollen and crying, dad with a face of baboon and Carmel already showing in the first seconds why she’s here… to make a family happy!”

De Mari told Brazilian television network 𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑜 in March 2017, “My husband was registering the moment with the cell phone, they put her next to me, and he approached us to do a selfie. He said it looked like she was smiling! I looked at her and also saw the same thing. We looked at the phone and smile, ‘imitating’ her face.”

Newborns don’t grin as a response to stimuli until they’re at least a month and a half old, according to research. Given the infant’s age, De Mari’s expression was most likely a “reaction grin,” a reflex comparable to sucking or rooting. It’s a theory that the new mother agrees with.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t until three months after the  C-section that the photo went viral. However, many people have responded positively to the photograph, with De Mari telling Brazilian news site ZH in March 2017, “It’s nice to have so much affection from people we don’t know.” However, not all of the attention has been favorable.

“Unfortunately people have preconceptions every time,” De Mari told Brazilian news outlet ZH. “We get comments about the C-section, about the selfie, saying it’s a fake photograph.” She added, “People even mock my daughter’s name. I was annoyed, so I stopped reading.” Instead, De Mari encourages well-wishers to visit her on social media.

De Mari said: “It’s wonderful to see that everything came out alright. It’s a new life. It’s tiring but very pleasurable. Even at dawn when we’re exhausted, it opens up a smile that makes up for anything.”

A photo is worth viewing because of the grin, but three smiles make THE PICTURE worth a thousand times more… So adorable… Congratulations to the mother and father.

What a lovely image! May Carmel bring much more light into your life, and may he bless the entire family.