Should I talk to my friend about feeling taken for granted, or let the friendship fade?

I’ve been feeling uncomfortable in a friendship that used to feel close. My friend has a young child, and I’ve tried to be supportive by bringing food, offering to pick things up, and making an effort to be there for her.
Recently, she was talking about passing along a lot of baby gifts that didn’t fit her preferences. I’d given her something thoughtful, and she said mine was probably okay, but I left the conversation feeling embarrassed and a bit foolish for having gone out of my way. I understand that people can do what they want with gifts; it was more the way the conversation landed, especially alongside other times I’ve felt my effort wasn’t really noticed.
I’m not expecting everything to be perfectly equal, especially when someone has a child. But I’m starting to feel like I’m doing most of the reaching out and helping, while also feeling judged or brushed off. I’ve tried to keep giving the friendship the benefit of the doubt, and now I’m wondering if I’m making excuses for a dynamic that doesn’t feel good.
Would you bring it up directly and see how she responds, or pull back and let the friendship settle into whatever it becomes? If you have raised something like this, what did you say?

Posted Sep 30, 2026, 3:49 AM UTC

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