See a 4-year-old boy say ‘I love you, Mommy’ for the first time after years of speech delays

Content creator Jayla Henry was filming a baking video with her 4-year-old son, Braylon, when she unexpectedly captured the sweetest moment.

“Every time I watch the clip I start crying again,” Henry tells TODAY.com.

In the footage, which has been seen nearly 6 million times on TikTok, Henry, 27, and Braylon are making Christmas cookies when the little boy is suddenly overcome with gratitude.

“Thank you, Mom,” Braylon says as he wraps his arms around his mother’s neck and plants a kiss on her cheek.

“I love you, Mommy,” he adds.

That’s when Henry begins to cry. It’s the first time that Braylon, who turned 4 in October, has ever uttered those words without being prompted.

“At first I was like, ‘Did that just happen?’ I was shocked,” Henry reveals. “He completely caught me off guard.”

Henry says Braylon was diagnosed with a speech delay at around 18 months old.

“He wasn’t even babbling at that point. He would just point at things," Henry says. “That’s when we realized something wasn’t right.”

Braylon qualified for early intervention services and began working with a speech-language pathologist in Michigan. But Henry says she and her husband, Anthony, “took on the job” when they relocated to Dallas, Texas in September.

“Braylon is so determined,” Henry reveals. “He never gets frustrated. He’ll just keep repeating a word until he gets it right. He's an avid learner."

Henry says that other people are now able to understand Braylon. Until recently, she had to translate for him. Henry recalls how less than a year ago, a little girl asked her, "Why does he talk so funny?"

"I went through a period where I wondered if it was my fault. Did I not do enough? I had a lot of guilt. And I know there are other moms who feel that way too," she says. "That's why I'm so open about his speech delay. We need to normalize talking about the things in our life that aren't perfect."

Since posting the clip on Dec. 14, Henry has been inundated with comments from her more than 665,000 followers.

“My heart! My daughter has been in speech therapy for 3 years now. The 1st time she said ‘mommy’ I was a mess,” one person wrote.

Added another, “I pray for the day my 3 year old son can say ‘momma’ and ‘I love you.’ He has Apraxia so he says very few words.”

Henry has been reading all the messages. She says many of them have brought her to tears.

“When I hear that I’ve given someone hope … that’s the best feeling,” Henry says.

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This article was originally published on TODAY.com