This Facebook Group Jumped into Action & Helped One Mom in Need––With Coffee

by Erica LoopJuly 16, 2019

When Jaiden Cowley posted a question on the Mom Squad Facebook page, she didn’t expect the response she got. The mom was in Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children with her 18-month-old daughter Amira and was in desperate need of—a coffee.

Cowley’s daughter is waiting for a heart transplant and the mama spends plenty of time at Sick Kids. When she posted, “Is anyone at sickkids right now? I have a huge havor to ask. I’m in the er and I can’t leave my daughter alone, but I really need a coffee,” she thought someone else in the hospital might read her words and help. But instead, she got a sweet surprise!

Half an hour after Cowley posted on Facebook a woman named Elizabeth showed up in the ER with a Starbucks Venti iced coffee. Cowley told TODAY, “I never expected someone to get in their car and drive to me.” She also added, “As Elizabeth was leaving, she said, ‘I’m so glad I could do this for you and let me know if you need anything else.'”

Elizabeth wasn’t the only mama who rushed to help. Another generous Mom Squad-er asked for Cowley’s email, sending her $50 to buy coffee. Cowley said of this kind act, “It was such a nice gesture that I started crying.”

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Jeshoots via Pixabay

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Reclaiming the Joy of Childhood as an Adult

By Clarise Pedersen

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

May 2, 2019

Photo: Jonas Mohamadi via Pexels

Years ago I read an article about a young mom going through a horrific divorce. To mentally combat the abuse she suffered, her therapist recommended she focus on what made her happy as a child.

As children, we are blessed with innocence and freedom. As a Southern girl, a day of raking pine straw from the tall trees that stood as pillars in our vast front yard, could easily turn from chore to play. That same pine straw allowed my sisters and I to become birds with personalities all our own, intent on building the finest nest in all of Georgia.

As a mom, do I let the same creative joy envelop me? I can say for a fact that the last time I mowed the lawn, washed the dishes, or did the laundry, those actions felt like chores—necessary, but still something to trudge through. Yet, I often reflect on that once-familiar article, not because I’m going through a divorce (I’m not), but because sometimes I look at my children and yearn for the joy that envelops them.

My remedy came one day during a familiar mom task . . . waiting. Between preschool carpool and speech therapy, I found myself waiting in a parked car on a sunny day for ten minutes to pass so I could trade one waiting area for another. I opened the car door and helped my son out. The green grassy field ahead of us was too inviting for him to pass up. His little feet hit the pavement and ran, desperate to feel like Frauline Maria in an open field, without ever knowing The Sound of Music himself. Seeing him exuberant flipped a switch in me.

My parental boredom gave way to an opportunity long forgotten. Several long branches lay at the base of a nearby shady tree. “Wanna sword fight?” I proposed with a smirk to my eager son. As we swung branches around like Jack Sparrow, I realized the joy was there. It had always been there. And I was ready to reclaim it.

Clarise Pedersen

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

I'm a southern momma learning everything boys. My kids make me happy and crazy all at the same time and I wouldn't have it any other way.

SNOO Smart Bassinets for RENT? Yes, It’s True—& a Fraction of the Cost

by Shahrzad WarkentinJanuary 23, 2019

If you’re the exhausted parent of a sleepless baby, you’ve likely had your eye on the Tesla of baby sleep aids, a.k.a., the SNOO smart bassinet. If hefty price tag probably pumped the breaks on that idea, but you’re desperate for some shuteye, here’s how to rent a SNOO smart bassinet.

Created by Dr. Harvey Karp, author of the best-selling book The Happiest Baby on the Block, the SNOO smart bassinet promises to soothe your baby to sleep using the same tried and true methods in Karp’s book—minus the need for your aching arms. The bassinet will respond to a baby’s cries with motion and white noise to help them get the back to sleep without the need for parents to get out of bed.

This miracle device also comes at the rather steep price of nearly $1,300 dollars. While many new parents will do just about anything to get some sleep, not everyone can afford it. Luckily, you can now rent a SNOO smart bassinet so you can catch some zzz’s without sacrificing their college fund in the process!

For just $4.90 per day, your whole family can finally get some much needed sleep when you rent a SNOO. A one-month minimum rental is required, but with free shipping both ways it’s a pretty good deal to help save you from becoming a complete mombie.

For a limited time you can even secure the a special offer of just $3.50 per day for the first month. In other words, skip your daily latte and you’ll earn the sweet reward of sleep instead. The offer is good on orders from now until Jan. 31, but you can order now and delay delivery until you need it, if your future fussy sleeper is still on the way.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

All photos: Courtesy of SNOO

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Science Proves “Sleep Like a Baby” Really Is a Lie

by Shahrzad WarkentinNovember 16, 2018

When you’re exhausted and desperate for just one night of uninterrupted sleep, getting your baby to sleep through the night can become your number one priority. If this seems impossible, you’re not wrong: according to a new study, most babies don’t sleep through the night.

A new Canadian study published in the journal Pediatrics found that only 57 percent of babies sleep for eight hours straight by the age of one. The researchers looked at surveys of parents of nearly 400 infants starting at six months old, and then checked in again with 360 of them when they were 12 months old.

Photo: Tim Bish via Unsplash

“At 6 months of age, according to mothers’ reports, 38 percent of typically developing infants were not yet sleeping at least 6 consecutive hours at night; more than half (57 percent) weren’t sleeping 8 hours,” the study authors wrote. “At 12 months old, 28 percent of infants weren’t yet sleeping six hours straight at night, and 43 percent weren’t staying asleep 8 hours.”

As the study explains, sleeping through the night by six months is often considered the norm, but it’s pretty far from what is really happening. The researchers hope that these findings will help parents feel less stressed about trying to get their babies to sleep through the night.

“If there was only one thing I could tell parents, it would be do not worry if your infant does not sleep through the night at six months of age,” Marie-Hélène Pennestri of McGill University, who led the study team, told NBC News.

The study followed the babies until they were three years old and found that there was no difference in development in the babies who slept through the night by an early age versus those who didn’t. The study also found that babies who were breastfed were more likely to wake up at least once a night.

“New mothers appear to be greatly surprised about the degree of sleep disturbance and exhaustion that they experience. As a potential protective strategy, mothers could be more informed about the normal development of the sleep-wake cycle instead of only focusing on methods and interventions,” the study’s authors concluded.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay

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Hilarious Hangry Kid Memes Every Parent Can Relate To

by Keiko ZollJuly 21, 2018

We’ve all been there: you’re stuck in a line somewhere and you realize that kiddo is overdue for lunch or dinner. You start to frantically search for something—anything—in your purse or bag to tide them over (a decent snack, for one). You watch as they go from the happy-go-lucky angel you adore to just pure, unadulterated hanger because food is just a millisecond too late for them. We see you, parents of hangry kids—and here are the memes to prove it.

Every parent makes this mistake once—and only once.

Guaranteed to happen not only when they're beyond hangry, but when you made them their favorite thing to eat for lunch, no less.

Stay strong, mama.

The table's not going to set itself, right?

It's inevitable, really.

There's never a gentle way to break the news, especially when they're already hangry.

Classic toddler logic.

Can you tag someone too young to have an IG account?

So much for going to bed early tonight... BRB, makin' the kid a sandwich at 9 p.m.

A sure sign that yes, it's time to stop what you're doing and feed them pronto.

Please just eat the flippin' raisins already.

A solid "A" for effort, Michelle. Not every kiddo can think this clearly when in the throes of hanger.

Look, sometimes we get a little hangry, too—and desperate times call for desperate measures.

In all fairness, it was never going to be the "right" spoon—not to your hangry kiddo, that is.

Or, what always happens at "insert your child's sport of choice here."

They literally had multiple opportunities to eat today.

It's all about those little victories—better take 'em where you can get 'em.

Yes, to winning with snacks like these.

—Keiko Zoll

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This Doll Will Help Your Child Sleep (Really)

by Shahrzad WarkentinApril 17, 2017

photo: Lulla Doll/ Facebook

When you’re a sleep-deprived mombie you’ll try pretty much anything to get your tot to stop bouncing off the walls and just go to sleep. If that describes your current situation to a “T”, then you’re definitely going to want to check out this new doll that promises to help your kids (and you) get a good night’s sleep. Read on to find out more about how you can get your exhausted hands on one immediately.

The magical sleep-promising Lulla Doll was developed by an Icelandic mom and psychologist, Eyrún Eggertsdóttir. When the soft doll’s chest is pressed it plays the sounds of breathing and a heart beating, recorded from a real mom. The idea is based on research involving kangaroo care in which infants and small children are soothed by the sounds and smells that mimic a mother. A baby’s own breathing and heartbeat will stabilize in rhythm with the mother’s allowing them to sleep more peacefully (aka much longer).

But does it actually work? According to the rave reviews it’s been getting across the internet, all signs point to yes. The doll, which started as an Indiegogo funded project, exploded onto the mainstream marketplace. While it was sold out for quite a while, and even managed to cause an eBay commotion, with dolls selling for as much as $350 (desperate times), it’s finally back in stock. You can find it on Amazon, where it retails for around $89, or buy it directly from the Lulla website, where there are currently less than 1,000 dolls available, selling for $71 each.

Do you have one of the Lulla dolls and has it helped? Share your experience in the comments!

How It Feels to Finally Have A Baby After A Long Struggle With Infertility

by Red TricycleJuly 6, 2016

This post from Sarah James originally appeared on Quora as an answer to the question “How does it feel to finally have a baby after a long struggle with fertility related issues?“

After 3 years of trying to get pregnant, we had our beautiful daughter through IVF two years ago. You spend all that time becoming increasingly desperate and afraid that, actually, it might never happen for you and you’ll have to come to terms with having no children. You lie awake at night imagining how that will feel and wondering if you’ll ever be able to get over it.

You smile tightly every time someone else gets pregnant – you so want to feel fully joyful for them and you really try. You make excuses for your friends children’s birthday parties that you just can’t face, and you endure idiot relatives shouting across the room at you at Christenings that “it’ll be you next!”

You listen to friends who’ve ‘accidentally’ fallen pregnant moan about how it’ll ruin their career and how it doesn’t fit into their financial plan, and you try hard not to wish bad things on them. You wonder if you’re broken and just don’t function normally.

You blame yourself. You feel that other people are discussing why you aren’t pregnant yet and you wonder when that will ever end. You try not to let it consume you and fill your life with noise, but you can never plan more than nine months ahead ‘just in case’. Every month you hope and every month when your period comes you try not to break down.

And then you are pregnant, and it feels like a miracle. I remember the day we got the positive test so clearly as one of the most joyful of my life. I couldn’t believe it so I tested again and again and again – we just laughed all day long.

The pregnancy was an absolute joy, constant happiness coupled with disbelief – you feel that you’re joining a club that you’ve previously been excluded from, and you can’t wait to meet your child. The labour was long and arduous and I began to doubt there was actually a baby there, and then suddenly there she was! We are so happy.

Even now I have periods where I can’t believe she exists, and I just feel grateful every day.

Here’s What 2017 Looks Like at Red Tricycle

by Christal Y.January 6, 2016

Red Tricycle is powered by a small, dedicated staff many of whom are busy parents who know all about the pressures of balancing career, children and self-care. We asked our team to tell us their resolutions for 2017. Scroll down to read them and see if they match your own!

photo: Wikimedia Commons

Stop saying, “I don’t have enough time.” Because, really, I have the exact same amount of time as Coco Chanel, Mother Teresa and Oprah–and look at how they’ve changed the world.
—Ayren Jackson-Cannady, D.C. Editor

More family weekend adventures—both in the city and the forest!
—Mandy Hale, VP of Operations

photo: Allison Sutcliffe

In 2016, I resolved to write quite a bit of my novel. While I have the first and last chapter, I still have a long way to go. So the resolution to work on my novel begins again in 2017.
—Leah Singer, Managing Editor, Contributor Network

2017 is a milestone birthday year, so I am pushing myself beyond my comfort zone in a few areas, including a mother/son trip to Tokyo.
—Jacqui Boland, CEO

photo: Owen and Aoki via flickr

Read out loud to my kids every day! We did when they were littler, but now that they’re such great readers on their own (and we’ve gone the Little League route, and the sleepovers have exploded) it seems the we get home too late or they want to finish the book they’re immersed in. I re-read this article and am inspired to make our family reading happen every night this year, no matter what!
—Meghan Rose, L.A. Editor

After having almost completely FAILED in my implementation of a mindfulness practice in 2016, I am upping the ante to committing to a full-on meditation practice. (Desperate times…) I’m also resolving this year to keeping my friends closer, and put my money and political mojo where my mouth is.
—Mimi O’Connor, NYC Editor

photo: Wendy Altschuler

My goals in 2017 are to volunteer for more silliness with my kids than for committees, to listen more intently to the news being broadcast from my backseat than from the radio, and to accept help when it is so graciously offered. I also want to clean my closet at least once (just keeping it real…).
—Shelley Massey, Atlanta Editor

My resolutions for 2017 are (hopefully) to travel more and to (again, hopefully) convince my husband he has no need for the hundreds of CD jewel cases stashed away in the office closet!
—Gabby Cullen, National Editor

2016 was full of massive change for my family (new state, new city, new house, new job responsibilities, son starting kindergarten, adopting a dog…) and along with that came lots of details to oversee and naturally, lots of stress. So in 2017, I vow to take some pressure off myself by embracing the messes, fears and silliness that life offers and not sweat the small stuff. Unless by small, you mean Smurfs. Then I am absolutely going to obsess.
—Amber Guetebier, Daily Editor

2017 is a year of life changes for our family, from moving to welcoming a new baby, so my resolution is to take it in stride and don’t sweat the small stuff! Oh and get organized, lists will be my new best friend.
—Caitlin Dowling, NYC Calendar Editor

What’s your 2017 resolution for this year? Share it with our community in a comment below!

Today Is National Public Sleeping Day

by Tinybeans TeamDecember 28, 2015

Today Is National Public Sleeping Day

When nothing else matters.

1

Sure, they’ll pass out in broad daylight with traffic roaring by, but what about at night? Rest easy: we’ve got baby sleep tips every desperate parent should ~~read~~ memorize.

2

There’s tired and then there’s parenting tired, so in honor of this day we want you to caption this photo of a sleeping mom and child.

3

Hey, if they’re asleep that’s a good thing. See some funny pics that make #publicsleeping a family event.

{ Today’s ideas brought to you by Your Pillow }

Hot Topic: My Kid Has Separation Anxiety

by Erin LemJanuary 15, 2012

Editor’s Note: The launch of our new community forums has been delayed for a few weeks, but that hasn’t stopped readers, who are eager for feedback from other moms, from submitting their pressing questions. We’ll be posting submissions in this format every week until our forums launch. You can offer your feedback in the comment section, or ask your own question to our audience here.

Heidi from Seattle writes, “I think my four year old has developed separation anxiety and I have no idea what to do. For the last two weeks he’s thrown a tantrum every time I dop him off at preschool (it was never an issue before!) and I feel like such a bad mom driving away while he’s crying and stomping around. I’ve done everything from creating a “goodbye” ritual to talking with him about his feelings but nothing is working. Please help me — I’m desperate for advice (and a happy kid)!”

A little one with separation anxiety — sound familiar Red Tricycle moms and dads? Many of us have been in Heidi’s position and have our own methods for coping with separation anxiety. Help out a mom in need by leaving your advice in the comment section below.

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Every parent makes this mistake once—and only once.

Guaranteed to happen not only when they're beyond hangry, but when you made them their favorite thing to eat for lunch, no less.

Stay strong, mama.

The table's not going to set itself, right?

It's inevitable, really.

There's never a gentle way to break the news, especially when they're already hangry.

Classic toddler logic.

Can you tag someone too young to have an IG account?

So much for going to bed early tonight... BRB, makin' the kid a sandwich at 9 p.m.

A sure sign that yes, it's time to stop what you're doing and feed them pronto.

Please just eat the flippin' raisins already.

A solid "A" for effort, Michelle. Not every kiddo can think this clearly when in the throes of hanger.

Look, sometimes *we* get a little hangry, too—and desperate times call for desperate measures.

In all fairness, it was never going to be the "right" spoon—not to your hangry kiddo, that is.

Or, what always happens at "insert your child's sport of choice here."

They literally had *multiple* opportunities to eat today.

It's all about those little victories—better take 'em where you can get 'em.

Related reads

Related reads

Related reads

Related reads

Today Is National Public Sleeping Day

When nothing else matters.

1

2

3

Related reads

Related reads

Look, sometimes we get a little hangry, too—and desperate times call for desperate measures.

They literally had multiple opportunities to eat today.