Thank you to Pampers for generously donating a gift card to provide the gift of sleep! MomStart is a Pampers Baby Board member, and all opinions are our own.
The holiday season is a time of good cheer, sharing, and giving; a time to tell people what their presence means to us. That’s why every year, Pampers enlists the members of its Baby Board to become “Pampers Elves”, providing a gift card to pay it forward to a deserving family. I’ve participated in this project once before, and I was privileged to have the opportunity to do it again this year.
Did you know that in Oregon alone, 11,238 children spent at least one day in some kind of foster care in 2015? Although there are a variety of complex factors as to why this happens, the top reasons for entering foster care include neglect and parental drug abuse. For kids in stable homes, the Christmas season means getting excited for gifts, Santa, and family fun; but sadly, there are many children in our community who do not even have their basic needs provided to them.
To answer this need, Shelby and Luke became foster parents and started providing emergency respite care. When children are removed from a situation that is immediately dangerous – for example, abuse is occurring, or a parent is arrested – emergency respite care is arranged for a day or two while the state assesses the situation and determines placement. Respite care is also used as babysitting for families who need a break. There is an extreme lack of respite care options in Oregon at the moment, which has resulted in children spending the night in DHS offices or even in hotels. Shelby’s family is doing what they can to help these kids and provide some sense of safety and comfort in an unfathomably tumultuous situation.
In addition to providing a temporary safe haven for children through respite care, Shelby’s family also takes in longer-term placements. Earlier this summer, they took care of a child for many months who was then successfully reunited with their mother. 56.1% of children leaving foster care were reunited with their families in 2015, so the idea is to show compassion and give hope to, ideally, fix the issues in the home to make it safe for the child to return.
When I reached out to Shelby to tell her about my project, she told me that it was perfect timing because they had just gotten a new foster baby the day before – talk about serendipity! Their family had just moved into a new home over the summer, so I told her to make a list of some things they might need around the house to rest easier, and we made a date to go shopping together so she could pick out exactly what she needed.
We had a fun family day out planned to grab lunch, hang out, and do some shopping. I piled in the car with Shelby, Judah, and her newborn foster baby, a sweet little girl. We were joined by Shelby’s stepmom, brother, and his girlfriend, and it was so much fun! This was the first time I’d seen Shelby’s new home, so we took a look around and brainstormed some ideas for what to get at the store.
Shopping with Shelby! Photo by Kim.
Judah helps us shop!
Another item we picked up to help with those nighttime feedings was an adjustable lamp to put by their bed. We picked out a lamp with three bulbs that can be aimed to provide soft, unobtrusive light. This way, they can see what they’re doing in the night without blasting everyone with the overhead light and making it harder to go to sleep. Shelby also mentioned that many of the foster children that have come to her home actually prefer to sleep with lights on, so a soft lamp can provide some peace of mind and make it easier to rest.
Picking out lamps in Target
Photo by Chara Renee Photography
Cozy new bedroom with soft lamp, mattress topper and jammies!
Judah’s room – the crates will be replaced now that he has a new nightstand!
Judah puts away the diapers
Shelby and the kids
I LOVE the way you guys gave back to those who really needed it. That was such a wonderful, special idea. That’s the spirit of Christmas.
THIS! This is what the season is all about. Christmas is a time to spread joy to everyone, especially those who are less fortunate or struggling in some way.
I have heard awesome things about the Baby Brezza Pro. How great that you were able to help such a deserving family. You can never have too many Pampers.
This is so great and it is so nice to see that Pampers is helping out. How awesome that you are able to help other especially this time of year.
What an wonderful article, made me cry. Beeb and Pampers are the best.
What an amazing way to give back to someone deserving!
Oh this is so nice! It’s great that these gifts will help the kids so much! The light was a good pick!
Tis the season for giving back! This is awesome, and really amazing way to give to back. This will be so helpful!
Can I just say that the first photo is absolutely adorable? It’s definitely the time of year to give back!!
Giving back is the greatest feeling! This is really nice! Pampers are the best!
I’m glad that Pampers is giving out back to the community! This was really helpful.
Yes! This is beautiful. I adore what Pampers does for families every single day.
What a sweet thing to do! The holidays are the best because of the spirit of giving! Way to go Pampers!
It sounds like you chose the perfect family to get this! What a wonderful Christmas for them.
This is absolutely wonderful that you AND Pampers took the time to do this. The season of giving!
How sweet is that! Waking up in the middle of the night with an unhappy baby is no fun. We always relied on Pampers.
This is really amazing! Love that Pampers supports this project!
Pampers is an amazing company. I would have loved the Baby Brezza Formula Pro when my kids were little. I have a friend that is expecting. It would be a fantastic baby shower gift.
I really like your pictures.
You look so natural in them.
This is incredible and heartwarming and so lovely to see. Thanks for giving back to our community!
This is so great
What a sweet idea. We actually did this a few years ago and it is one of my fondest memories.
I love that you donated to your cousin. And kudos to her and her husband for opeing up their home.
What a great way to give back and help others!
Thanks for giving back to those in need.
This is so sweet and amazing. Helping someone in need is always fulfilling especially during the holidays.
This is such a good way to give back to this Mom and she deserves it for taking in foster kids. I think it is so sad that there are not enough foster families to help these kids. Keep up the good work and Pampers is incredible to help this family out!
What a nice post to read on Christmas Eve. Fostering is such a special way of giving back. I am glad you and Pampers are together on this.
What a great story. It’s so great that through Pampers that you were able to help this family put.
What a worthy cause … hope you helped a ton of people this year!
Wow, such a great thing to do! That Baby Brezza Formula Pro is such a wonderful gift too.
I think it is wonderful when good people open their homes to foster children. It is so hard on these children and having a good home makes things a little less stressful.