Keep Busy on Bed rest
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.
Certified Miracles: Guaranteeing Baby Products and Services for Mamas on Bedrest.
September 2nd, 2011
Hey Mamas! Knowing that many of you are at home, trolling the web for ideas, inspiration and baby gear, I thought that you should know about Certified Miracles.
Miracle Industries™ LLC created Certified Miracles, which is a review organization that was started to be able to recommend the best, safest, most useful baby and children’s products to parents. The organization has created a group of parents and experts who review products for safety, efficacy, durability and for whether or not the product lives up the the marketing put out about it. They also review the products’ manufacturers, checking to see customer service policies and whether or not manufacturers are fair and reliable businesses. Companies and products that meet their rigorous standards are then awarded a “Certified Miracle Seal” which the company may proudly display on their products, websites and company marketing information.
Now many of you, as I was, may be asking, “So what makes this company a reliable resource and why should I trust what they say about products?” It’s a great question and here is the story:
“The company was started by Michael Gatten, a concerned father of three young children, one of which was a sleepless, colicky baby. He knew immediately he was on to something big when he wrapped his previously inconsolable son up in his then hand-stitched swaddling creation. Founded in 2002, Miracle Industries™ flagship product Miracle Blanket® has gone on to become an international sensation comforting well over a million babies and parents alike into a peaceful nights rest. Miracle Blanket’s unique patented design has won countless awards, been written about by hundreds of newspapers and television news shows, lauded as the “Cadillac” of swaddlers, hailed as a “Nobel Peace Prize” worthy product and said to be “as necessary as diapers”. In fact, the name Miracle Blanket, while seemingly lofty to some, was actually coined – and insisted upon – by several of its earliest customers and product testers.”
The mission and vision of Miracle Industries™ is:
It’s our mission to significantly improve the quality of parenthood by becoming the world’s preeminent parent-centric awards program ever created. With integrity at the very core of all we do, we are dedicated to hand-picking and exalting only the latest, greatest, innovative products on the market through an honest, stringent, credible and objective evaluation process that is not based on money being paid for evaluation or the use of the seal once approved.
The Certified Miracle® Seal is priceless. Unlike others, it can’t be bought. And to keep the seal, all products must remain “above the bar”. Through our collaborative process, it’s the customer that will ultimately decide.
While there are but a few products to date that have earned the Certified Miracle Seal, it is up to parents to notify organizations like Miracle Industries™ about products we love and even more importantly, products that were terrible-not at all as they were marketed to be- and companies that accepted responsibility or those that tried to make it seem like your situation was an anomaly and the problem is your fault.
I invite you to take a look at the Certified Miracle Seal website and decide for yourself. To me, it seems like a good resource (not the only one, but a good place to start) for checking out products and services that you are going to be using anyway. And since you can’t do it yourself, why not let someone else do some evaluation legwork for you?
Post Comments below. Follow us on Twitter, @mamasonbedrest and like our Facebook Page. IF there is anything else, shoot us an e-mail at info@mamasonbedrest.com.
Mamas on Bedrest: Congratulations Cora and Welcome Ravi!
July 24th, 2011
After 11 weeks on bed rest (8 of which were strict) and 30 hours of labor Cora Jeyadame gave birth to her son Ravi Ixtel Jeyadame at 39 weeks and 3 days on July 16, 2011. Cora is my parent’s next door neighbor. I met her while I was home visiting for the summer.
For Cora, the road to motherhood was not an easy one. Cora has a long history of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCO) and seldom ovulated. When she and her partner Suriya married last August, she immediately started taking Lupron in order to stimulate ovulation. While on her honeymoon, she and Suriya prayed to the Mexican fertility goddess Ixtel so Cora would ovulate and promised that if she became pregnant on her first attempt she would name her child after the goddess. Cora ovulated for the first time the day after praying to this goddess and became pregnant on her first insemination in October.
Unfortunately, Cora’s joy was short-lived. She had significant morning sickness through her first trimester. She developed Gestational Diabetes and low blood pressure complicated by fainting during her second trimester. Additionally, an abnormal heart beat was detected and she had to wear a holter monitor for a month. At 26 weeks she began experiencing preterm labor. However, because of her heart problems, her obstetrician was very cautious using drugs to halt labor. At 28 weeks she was placed on modified bed rest which meant that Cora, a first grade teacher, reduced her work schedule to 3 days a week. When the episodes of preterm labor intensified, she went on full bed rest at 32 weeks.
“The decision to go on bedrest was really hard,” Cora says. “My OB left the decision totally up to me and as a teacher, it was really hard for me to leave the classroom. But the thought of having my baby early was frightening. I knew all of the problems that he could have and that terrified me. So I opted to do all that I could and went on bed rest.”
“Bedrest is so much more difficult than I could have ever anticipated” Cora adds. “I was very lonely and although I thought I would stay at home and finish the nursery, read books and prepare, I found that I wasn’t physically able to do anything to prepare. My attention span was really short so I found that I didn’t want to read and spent much of my time watching reality TV shows. My saving grace was the Bedrest forum on BabyCenter.com. Having those other women on bed rest to correspond with really kept me sane.”
Cora was really lucky because she had a lot of help and support.” My partner Suriya is extremely supportive and my parents live close by so my mother came by often and ran errands and did the grocery shopping.” Cora and Suriya already had a housekeeper and dog walker and hired a helper to do other jobs around the house such as tend their garden.
“It’s impossible to do this without support. I never would have made it without all these people”. (Cora also had a labor doula.)
At approximately 35 weeks, Cora developed Pubic Symphysis diastasis. While it is common for the pubic bone to begin to relax in preparation for labor and delivery, in some women, the relaxation becomes a more pronounced, painful separation. Because she was so uncomfortable, Cora was prescribed oxycodone for the pain and crutches for her limited ambulation.
In the end, Cora had to be induced at 39 weeks and 1 day. Ravi was born after 30 hrs of labor at 7lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long, a perfectly healthy baby boy.
“I loved being pregnant,” says Cora. “I loved that feeling of having life inside of me.”
Admittedly, Cora didn’t like all the complications and probably won’t have any other pregnancies. But she is very glad to have had this incredible experience.
