Keep Busy on Bed rest
Mamas on Bedrest: Create A Gratitude Tree With Your Kids For Thanksgiving
November 23rd, 2011Mamas on Bedrest, your kids are off from school, you’re sidelined and everyone is trying to figure out just what to do to make this a festive Thanksgiving. Why not create a Gratitude Tree? It’s easy to do and something that you can do while in bed with your kids. See how I did this with my kids here.
Mamas on Bedrest: What Do You Expect?
October 31st, 2011
Mamas, what do you expect? I know that many of you are on bedrest, so it’s safe to say that you are expecting to have a healthy baby. But what are you expecting beyond that?
I have been pondering this question a lot lately as I have met with a few minor parenting challenges. (Listen to podcasts on raising compassion in my son.) When I was pregnant with both of my children, I often wondered what they’d look like, what types of personalities they’d have and when people asked me what I wanted, I always answered with the oh so politically correct, “I just want a healthy baby”.
What a load of crap! I want so much more for my children. It’s only now that they are school aged and going out into the world that I realize this and have begun to really contemplate what I want for them.
As I stated in the podcasts, I want for my son and daughter to be compassionate people. No, I don’t want them to be gullible or to bring home every stray. But I want them to be compassionate towards their classmates, their teammates and other people with whom they live, work and play. I have been so proud of my daughter who has a little friend who has Down’s Syndrome. She said to me one day,
“Yeah, Claire has Down’s Syndrome so somethings are hard for her. But we (She and another friend) don’t mention it because we don’t want her to feel badly. Besides, we like her just like she is.”
Moments like that make me stand back and go, “Yes!”
I want my children to be critical thinkers. There is so much flotsom and jetsom in our world these days. Mass media has gone overboard in my opinion when it comes to “reality” entertainment. I don’t think that I need to know ever little facet of Kim Kardashian’s life, yet there it is for the world to see. I have noticed my daughter reading the magazines at check out lines and I asked her, “What do you think of that?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s so bad,” she began. “But I wouldn’t want to end up like that.”
“Yes!!”
I am proud to say that my children care about their world. No two little people “remind” their parents more about recycling then those two. And it was heartening to see them so appalled and motivated to buy shoes for children in Africa as part of my church’s program, Shoes for Orphaned Souls. They just couldn’t believe that children their age had no shoes. They were shocked that their parents didn’t have the means to buy shoes and were insistent that we buy a pair of shoes for a boy and a girl to donate.
I love that my children love learning. They both love books. They love to run and play outside. They both love music. My son seems to love to cook. My daughter loves to draw. And most of all, they still believe that anything that they want to do is well within their grasp. That by far is one of the things that I cherish most.
These attributes of my children are all things that I am so pleased that they possess, but I have to say, I in no way planned for them or even contemplated them while I was pregnant. I believe that pregnancy is a golden opportunity-whether on bed rest or not-to begin planning the lessons and customs that you want to impart to your children. What family legacies do you want to pass on? Which ones do you want to break? While your children will come here to this realm with gifts, talents and a divinely inspired plan for their lives, I still believe that we as parents can also instill in them some wisdom, some expectations and some attributes that we hold dear and hope that they will adopt.
So Mamas on Bedrest, What do you Expect?
Thanks to the wonderfully kind folks at WhattoExpect.com, we have 6 copies of the best selling pregnancy book, What to Expect When You’re Expecting to give away. Share in our comments section a well thought out expectation, hope or aspiration that you have for your baby and we’ll send gift 6 lucky comments a book. You can also share your thoughts on our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter, @mamasonbedrest.
Mo’ Money for Mamas on Bedrest!
September 16th, 2011Mamas on Bedrest, Do you need more money??
Yeah, I thought I’d get your attention with that. Bed rest is seldom in anyone’s plans, so when it comes to pass, mamas and papas usually aren’t prepared-physically, emotionally or financially. Some mamas are lucky enough to have jobs that provide some paid maternity leave. Others receive some disability benefits. Sadly, many mamas face the prospect of being without their income for the duration of their bed rest experience along with any necessary post partum recuperation, and some mamas even lose their jobs because of their prolonged absence.
But this is a happy post. Happy because I am happy to share with you 2 potential ways for Mamas on Bedrest to have “Mo’ Money!”
Looking to make extra money?
Mamas on Bedrest & Beyond has partnered with Charity Voice Online, a consumer research panel that has been conducting research for leading corporations worldwide for 10+years and is a trusted name in the market research world.
It’s easy to participate. You can join to participate in online surveys to earn rewards for you and/or a designated charity. Just fill out basic demographic information so that you can be matched with available surveys. Tell Charity Voice how often you want to be invited when you sign up or you can log in to your personal dashboard at any time where other available surveys will be waiting for you. You will receive $5 just for joining. Each time you qualify and complete a survey you will receive a cash incentive credited towards your account (If invited via a charity – your charity will receive a donation as well). If you join on your own you can keep the incentive or donate once you hit your threshold of $25. It’s a great way to support the many not-for-profit organizations that assist us in our local and global communities. (Note: Although Mamas on Bedrest and Beyond is not a charitable organization, when you join Charity Voices from this website, we will receive 30% of the survey fee which will be used to continue to bring Mamas on Bedrest the best information, support and resources.)
By signing up as a Charity Voice Online Panel member, you’ll be invited via email to participate in paid online surveys. These surveys ask you to share your honest thoughts and opinions on a range of consumer goods and services. This information is then used to help improve products and services, the way they are delivered or to even add a new product or service to the growing consumer market. All in all, it means greater choice and better products and services that will closer meet consumer desires. By completing a survey you can help to earn charitable donations as well as earn rewards for yourself. Each survey is just a few questions and payments range from $1 on up. Once you reach $25 in payments, you will receive payout from PayPal. You also have the option to donate the money you’ve made to your favorite charity.
It’s easy to join, simply visit click this link and enter your demographic information. There is no cost to join and you’ll immediately earn $5 simply for signing up. And rest assured, you private information will never be shared with any third parties.
Our next partner is Free Stuff for Baby. This website is an extension of the book, Free Stuff for Baby! written by mama Sue Hannah. When Sue found out that she was having twins 8 years ago (in addition to a toddler she already had!), she searched for ways to help finance her growing family. Her research led to extensive information on corporate giveaways on everything from diapers to baby food and more! Sue shares all her knowledge in the book. By her own words,
Free Stuff For Baby Offers Valuable Free Baby Stuff From Well-Known Companies including: Pampers, Huggies, Similac, Gerber, Earth’s Best, Enfamil, and many more. You can sign up for as many of these free offers as you like. Be sure to bookmark these websites! These companies offer some terrific free baby offers that you definitely won’t want to miss out on.
It’s easy to join and begin reaping the benefits of free baby stuff. Simply go to the website and sign up. From there, you’ll receive information on how you can receive free baby stuff!
Calling All Expectant Mamas!!
Socialmoms is an online community of moms from all walks of life. They currently have opportunities for expecting mamas to comment on their blogs for compensation. Socialmoms allows mamas to earn points which they can use towards purchases on Amazon.com, Paypal and other with other merchants. To learn more visit the ExpectingMoms page on Social Moms.com.
We are in talks with more companies who want to work with and support Mamas on Bedrest. We need to hear from you! What are you interested in? What products or services would you like to know more about or have an opportunity to test/try? Send us an e-mail at info@mamasonbedrest.com. We are being actively solicited for your input. Companies want to hear from you and are willing to offer compensation and/or donate products!
Share the word about this with other Mamas on Bedrest! “Like us” and share your experiences on our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter, @mamasonbedrest.
