What Life Is Really Like with a Third Baby

by Faye NagyMarch 22, 2023

For all the parents who have ever wondered, “should I have a third child?” this is for you

Triple your pleasure; triple your fun. When you have a third child, you’ll need a bigger car and a lot more snacks, and you’ll be rewarded with more love and wild adventures. Read on to find out what life is like when you add a third baby to the family.

Pregnancy? What Pregnancy?
With your first, you have time to read baby books and take childbirth classes. Pregnancy with your second is a bit more hectic as you have to coordinate hospital tours and baby-registry shopping trips around nap time. But by the time you’re pregnant with baby 3, you’re lucky if you can even remember to take your prenatal vitamin each morning. Between taking care of two other children and driving around to all their activities, your third learns to go with the flow from the time they're in the womb.

Delivery Is Orchestrated with the Precision of a Space Shuttle Launch
For the delivery of your third baby, you will need to begin preparations weeks in advance to ensure your other two children are accounted for. Schedules, locations, contact numbers and contingency plans should be documented and emailed to your entire circle so your kids can be picked up, dropped off and cared for while number three is making its arrival.

Practical > Cute in the Clothing Department
With your first, you buy all the adorable baby outfits and don't worry about the number of buttons and snaps. Your second wears some hand-me-downs along with simple sleepers added to the rotation. By the time your third baby comes along, they're living in secondhand onesies and pajamas that provide easy diaper-changing access.

Someone Is Always Hungry or Thirsty
With three kids, you learn to always be prepared with snacks and drinks. Whether you're nursing an infant, peeling oranges for a toddler or fetching crackers for a preschooler, someone always needs something. Usually when you’re using the restroom or are on the phone because #momlife.

Nature Never Stops Calling
Have three children and maybe a pet, and you'll be constantly changing a diaper, taking someone to the potty or taking a fur baby out for a walk. No longer will anyone in the household be squeamish about poop—talking about it or cleaning it up.

Everyone Adjusts to the Chaos
With three young children, you become accustomed to a minimum threshold of background noise. You accept that it will always be there and learn to tune it out. Fortunately, so do the children. Just wait to be amazed at how quickly baby number three will fall asleep despite older siblings' shouts, laughs and musical toys.

It’s an Instant Party
With three kids, the party never ends. Scheduling playdates isn't as necessary because every single day is a playdate right at home. Bring three kids to a park or an event, and suddenly it’s a party. All the neighborhood kids come calling to play with one, two or all three of your children.

Cuddles Galore
With three, you will never want for love. Eager arms are always outstretched and waiting to hug you, and you will constantly find a child or three snuggling into your side. Someone always wants to play with you, giggle with you or be held by you. It’s as heartwarming as it sounds and does wonders for the ego.

Maximum Return on Investment
With three kids, you ensure you get your money's worth on all the gear you've purchased. Clothes, strollers and toys all get passed down, eliminating the need to purchase much of anything for baby number three but diapers and new car seats when your current ones expire.

Built-in Teachers
With your first, you are the model for everything your child learns to do. You teach and instruct and celebrate each milestone. But once you have two and three children, older siblings step in to help teach their younger siblings. Potty training a third? Leave it to the older kids and watch them pass on your wisdom.

You No Longer Sweat the Small Stuff
Firstborn children tend to have every step carefully monitored for their safety. Second children get away with more as you're learning to divide your attention between two kids running in opposite directions. But by the time number three is born, you’ve realized kids are pretty resilient. Besides, you no longer have time to obsess over minor details. So all three children are given more latitude as you save your energy for what's truly important.

The Love Is Overwhelming
This is really what it’s all about. Triple the love. Three times the hugs. Your heart bursts every time you look at all of your children together. You realize they'll always have each other, and you can't imagine your life without them and their amazing bond.

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Walmart Announces Partnership with thredUP

by Jennifer SwartvagherMay 29, 2020

Scoring a great deal from one of our favorite brands can be such a thrill. thredUP has become the leading re-commerce platform for fashion and accessories at mass market prices. Now, Walmart is entering the popular fashion resale market for the first time through a strategic partnership with this popular resale brand.

Walmart’s partnership with thredUP will allow customers shopping on Walmart’s website to shop items that have been carefully evaluated and hand-selected by thredUP’s professional buyers across women’s and children’s clothing, accessories, footwear and handbags from popular national brands not previously available at Walmart.

“thredUP’s Resale-as-a-Service platform was built to meet consumers where they are and make it easy for retailers to offer customizable resale experiences. After spending the past decade becoming the world’s largest resale marketplace, we are thrilled to join forces with the world’s largest retailer to deliver a digital secondhand shopping experience to Walmart’s troves of shoppers nationwide. More than ever, consumers are seeking value without sacrificing quality and style, and this partnership is yet another step toward a brighter, more circular fashion future,” said James Reinhart, CEO & co-founder of thredUP.

This partnership is a unique way for shoppers looking for sustainable fashion to find the upcycled items they are looking for as part of their everyday shopping experience. According to thredUP’s upcoming 2020 Annual Resale Report, 70% of consumers have bought or are now willing to buy second hand.

Items have been carefully evaluated and selected by thredUP for sale based on their overall quality and condition. Only pre-owned garments and shoes deemed “new” or “like new” by thredUP are available on Walmart.com. “Gently used” accessories and handbags are also be available.

Starting today, customers can shop online to find nearly 750,000 pre-owned items across women’s and children’s clothing, accessories, footwear and handbags.

Customers will have the added benefit of Walmart’s free shipping on orders of $35 or more and free returns to Walmart stores or thredUP. These exclusive perks have not been available to thredUP customers before.

“We are excited to join forces with Walmart to power a sustainable, secondhand shopping experience unlike any other. From Calvin Klein and Nike to Coach and Michael Kors, this digital partnership enhances Walmart’s fashion offering with fresh brands at amazing prices that their customers will love,” said Jenn Volk, Director of Product Management, thredUP.

—Jennifer Swartvagher

All photos courtesy of Walmart

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Say Hello to Transformational Parenting

By Sarah Daren

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

September 23, 2019

Photo: Daniela Dimitrova via Pixabay

Every parent wants the best for their child. Because you want them to succeed and probably never want them to feel sad, frustrated, embarrassed, or anxious, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of trying to control every experience your child has. Not only is this impossible, however, but it’s also not going to set your child up for success in life.

An overbearing parenting st‌yle doesn’t usually yield the best results. So what can you do instead to raise confident, resilient kids? Take your cues from modern leadership theory and learn how to be a transformational parent.

The Power of Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is one of the most successful leadership styles in the modern workplace because it focuses on motivating and encouraging employees instead of relying on micromanagement or authoritarian tactics. This leadership style is respectful, encourages creativity and innovation, and empowers people in the workplace to grow and thrive. Successful transformational leaders are good role models and provide inspiration, support, and guidance, but ultimately trust their employees to make good decisions and to do things their own way.

Leadership skills that you can develop from an MBA aren’t just useful for your career, but also in navigating your family and personal relationships. Transformational parenting helps kids learn strong values and become their own people. Children thrive under the power of transformational leadership and learn to become more self-sufficient, confident, and feel motivated to push themselves to greater heights.

How Kids and Teens Respond to Transformational Parenting

Today, parents must protect their children from a host of threats. Vaping, the latest danger threatening adolescents, is especially troublesome. Statistics show that 18% of eighth-graders have tried e-cigarettes, which is enough to make any parent want to watch their child 24/7. Unfortunately, you can’t protect your kids from these kinds of dangers by trying to force them to do your bidding.

Instead of using an authoritarian approach and telling your kids they’re forbidden from doing something, it’s better to use a transformational approach and encourage individual decision-making while establishing rational boundaries. This involves not only modeling the correct behavior but also explaining why limits are placed and listening carefully and responding thoughtfully to your child’s feelings and opinions on the subject.

Kids whose parents approach tough subjects like vaping with communication and respect for their views and ability to make decisions often respond by making healthy decisions, rather than rebelling against authority.

Mutually Realized Growth Through Transformational Parenting

One of the most interesting and powerful aspects of transformational parenting is that it helps both children and their parents grow, evolve, and heal. Because the transformational approach requires you to assess your own feelings and reactions when making parenting decisions, you’re likely to learn a lot about yourself and feel motivated to take responsibility for your behavior. After all, one of the essentials of transformational parenting is being a good role model.

We all have wounds from earlier in our lives, which are often acquired during childhood. It’s all too easy to pass those wounds on to our own children if we don’t consciously acknowledge them and actively rewrite the narrative for the next generation. Through transformational parenting, you will grow and heal while helping to prevent secondhand trauma in your children’s lives.

Tempering Your Expectations

At its core, transformational parenting is all about letting go of your own expectations and trusting your child to build an identity that makes them happy, fulfilled, and productive. You will guide them along the way, but good transformational parenting involves knowing when to step back.

Your child is an individual. While they may look just like you, in reality, they’re their own person with their own needs and desires. Your ambitions and visions for their life have no place in transformational parenting. If they want to become a doctor, they will. But if they want to make art and live in a commune, that’s okay too.

A lot of parenting is tempering your expectations. Your kids will do best when you encourage and support them without forcing them down a particular path. The best part? By practicing transformation parenting, you’ll probably find yourself feeling happier and more relaxed because you won’t be on edge (as much) about test scores, future athletic prospects, or college applications.

Instead, you’ll get to enjoy the ride—and see what an incredible person your child becomes.

Sarah Daren

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Sarah Daren has been a consultant for startups in industries including health and wellness, wearable technology, and education. She implements her health knowledge into every aspect of her life, including her position as a yoga instructor and raising her children. Sarah enjoys watching baseball and reading on the beach.

Parents Spend More On Back-to-School Shopping Than the Holidays, According to Study

by Shahrzad WarkentinAugust 20, 2019

Back-to-school season is in full swing which means tons of shopping for clothing and supplies. How much will you spend?

According to a new survey conducted by thredUP, the online fashion resale marketplace, 62 percent of parents said they spend more on their kids during the back-to-school season than they do during the holidays––including Black Friday, or even birthday presents! The survey, which included hundreds of parents across the country, also found that, on average, parents say they buy 19 items per child and spend $24 per item for a total of $866 spent by an average family.

photo: threadUP

Parents said that saving money was the most important factor when shopping for back-to-school, followed by “quality”, “convenience” and “eco impact.” Fifty-three percent said they have not historically made eco-conscious shopping decisions for back-to-school, but 71 percent now think it’s important.

Shopping secondhand can not only save families money, but it can also have a positive impact on the environment. According to thredUP, if every family bought just one used item we could save 5.7 billion pounds of CO2 emissions and 449M pounds of waste.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: Element5 Digital via Unsplash

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How Laundry Balls Changed Our Cleaning Routine & More Household Chore Hacks

By Maggie McComb

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

January 28, 2019

Photo: Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash

We’re generally pretty good about keeping things tidy, but it’s the actually cleaning part of cleaning that does me in.

I’m all for saving the planet and being eco-responsible, but I haven’t quite taken the step toward making my own detergent and line drying my clothes yet. I did, however, purchase a set of six wool laundry dryer balls for 8 bucks, and immediately saw the benefits of doing away with single use dryer sheets.

Yes, I’m still hoping to save the planet, but the immediate benefit that was revealed to me was: my tween daughter suddenly ran to the dryer every time she heard it ding. Just like that, she was doing the chore on her own without being asked to do it.

Why, you ask? Because her humor still revolves around boobs and farts (so does my husband’s, now that I think of it) and those wool dryer balls became affectionately known as “booby balls” in our household. She does the same thing every time: 1) Pulls all the clothes out of the dryer. 2) Starts the scavenger hunt for the six balls. 3) Proceeds to stuff them into shirt. 4) Prances around laughing like a maniac. 5) Repeats with the next load.

So, any misogyny aside, we found the trick to making a boring chore fun. What else could we do?

In the kitchen, we bought matching $5 chefs hats, and we address each other as “chef” and “sous chef” while cooking. I also bought a pair of $9 kid-size cut-resistant gloves so my daughter could do her chopping with confidence.

For gardening, we bought a few pairs of cute kids’ gloves and gathered a basket of small tools from second hand stores. You can also find small versions of rakes and spades, often in bright colors.

Repairs around the house? Nearly every hand tool comes in a small, mini, or stubby version. You can put together a real toolkit with extras you have around the house or from secondhand stores, or buy a 32-piece set for $25.

And finally, we picked up a used sewing basket and I tossed in a few spools of thread and various sewing supplies. Now when we sit down to do a quick mending project, my daughter practices on scrap pieces of fabric.

So move over, Marie Kondo—Mary Poppins has it goin’ on over on Cherry Tree Lane: “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap! The job’s a game.”

Maggie McComb

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Maggie and her family roost in the Pacific Northwest and share their travels, homeschool field trips, curriculum ideas and lifest‌yle tips from a city-based homestead. Maggie is a cooking enthusiast and avid student of history and science. She's also mother to an "old soul" tween daughter.

8 Nifty Thrift Stores to Score Sweet Kids Duds

by alina adamsFebruary 12, 2012

With the holidays – ranging from Thanksgiving to Christmas – looming ominously in the not too far off distance, the race is on to make sure your kids look at least presentable for the inevitable celebrations to come. Though looking absolutely fabulous would be nice, too. In this tight economic climate, however, it seems a shame to overspend on an outfit, no matter how adorable, that your child will inevitably outgrow (or spill juice on) prior to the next big occasion coming around. Especially not when you can take advantage of others who’ve already made the same mistake.

This is where Thrift Shops come in. New York City is an absolute gold mine for the thrifty parent eager to make the whole family look good without breaking the bank. If you’re willing to put in the legwork and hunting time, NYC overflows with gorgeous, designer, expensive clothes for all ages (though, when it comes to adults, the sizes definitely run towards slender) that were often worn only once (if at all) before finding their way into a network of second-hand stores sequestered within the five boroughs.

Some of our favorites include:

Clementine
39 ½ Washington Sq. Street
Greenwich Villag
A consignment store that was specifically created to feel like a high-end boutique, Clementine’s offers maternity clothes and children’s outfits up through size 4T. They offer a super simple Frequent Shopper Program: For every $200 you spend in the store, you get $10 off your next visit! Favorite maternity brands to resell include Liz Lange Collection, Cadeau, Chiarakruza, Isabella Oliver, Olian, and Formes, while choices for kids encompass Catimini, Cakewalk, Marese, Oilily, Bonpoint, Jacadi, Clayeux, and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada (with a sprinkling of Gap, H & M, and Uniqlo thrown in and sold at an even deeper discount).

Jane’s Exchange
191 East 3rd Street
East Village
NYC’s biggest maternity and children’s consignment store, Jane’s Exchange will not only outfit your child from, technically, well before birth, they will also give them an indoor place to play while you browse for bargains. Items on sale currently range from fluffy pink tutus to somber navy blazers, plus a custom tote bag to carry them out in. Children’s furniture is also available, as well as breast pumps, strollers, and car seats.

St. Luke’s Thrift Shop
487 Hudson Street – Lower Level
Greenwich Village
Sponsored by the church and initially set up to provide the neighborhood’s homeless population with clothing, job interview attire, and other needed essentials, St. Luke’s also offers a great selection for bargain hunters when it comes to baby goods and extremely marked down designer clothes. Their handbag sales in March and September are extremely popular with moms.

Angel Street Thrift Shop
118 West 17th Street
Chelsea
This “Bargain Hunter’s Dream,” according to New York Magazine, receives donations not only from the fashionable denizens of Chelsea and surrounding areas, but directly from designers and home furnishing companies, making their merchandise not only nearly new, but on the cutting edge of the latest styles, as well. Keep your calendar open especially for their pre-Thanksgiving and Christmas sales.

Monk’s Trunk
23 Hawthorne Street (near Flatbush) in Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Brooklyn
Shop from the comfort of your own home at Monk’s, as he posts pictures of his best new items when they come in. (However, if you want to buy, hurry on down to Brooklyn via the Q, B, or 2 train; the good stuff won’t last long.) Children’s clothes range from sizes 0 to 6 and often go for an average 75% off retail price. Monk’s also has a selection of toys and books, and, this month, is soliciting Halloween costumes. So either bring in your old ones and pick up some extra cash upfront, or dig around and find a hidden treasure of your own!

Flying Squirrel
96 N 6th Street
Brooklyn
Though primarily a store that sells new clothing, shoes and toys for infants and toddlers, Flying Squirrel does a brisk trade in secondhand baby carriers, diaper bags, furniture, equipment, and walkers. Since all those above can be quite pricey, it makes sense to check out gently used versions, especially as a way to decide whether you actually like it before buying a new one.

Unique Thrift Stores
218 West 234th Street
Bronx
&
408 Fulton Street
Brooklyn
&
161-20 Jamaica Avenue
Queens
Operating 30 stores across the United States (including three in NYC), Unique’s mission is to serve the community by providing quality secondhand merchandise in a pleasant shopping environment. They offer a VIP Program with discounts and exclusive offers. But be warned before you set off: The sheer quantity of items on sale has been known to turn a quick trip into an all-day bargain hunting extravaganza.

Housing Works
Assorted NYC locations
With so many options to choose from, if the Housing Works Thrift Shop on the Upper West Side doesn’t have what you’re looking for, try Gramercy. Or Hell’s Kitchen. Or Park Slope. Or Yorkville. All funds raised go to help fight homelessness and AIDS.

Do you have a favorite place to get great deals? Let us know! (We won’t tell a soul…)

–Alina Adams

Photos courtesy of Alina Adams and Allison Ellis.

Explore: Solano Ave, Part Two

by Jacqui BolandSeptember 24, 2009

Explore

Solano Ave, Part Two
The perfect antidote to the mall–the Albany end of Solano Avenue, bordered on the west by San Pablo Avenue, is known as the Kids’ Block and is packed with child-friendly (not to mention wallet-friendly) stores. Gently worn, super-stylish secondhand goods can be picked up at Hannah’s Children’s Resale and Solano Kids Resale, and new togs (some at ridiculously low sample prices) fill the racks at Sweet Potatoes. The crave-worthy toys and gifts at Five Little Monkeys will be finding their way onto many a holiday wish list. But our favorite idea is putting together a private yoga class for your little one and some friends at Yoga for Life; classes start at $45 for up to four kids, $10 a child after that. Any good retail stretch worth its salt has tea houses, coffee shops, and places to grab a bite lining its sidewalks. Solano’s no exception–we like to steer our broods into the family-run Walker’s Pie Shop where all the baked goodies are made fresh in-house each day. The seasonal flavor to try this month is eggnog pie, of course! If you’re in the neighborhood this weekend, don’t miss the holiday park lighting at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the corner of Solano and Key Route. And next month, Dec. 6-7 and 13-14, Santa will be visiting the Albany Chamber of Commerce. Stop by for a free photo with Santa, plus popcorn and treats! www.solanoavenueassn.org

P.S. Fallen in love with the neighborhood and want to spread the word? There are Solano Ave. gift certificates available at Five Little Monkeys-perfect stocking stuffers for friends and family.

More to Explore (with kiddies in tow):

Solano, Part 1

Hyde Street Pier and Aquatic Park

the Presidio and Crissy Field

Farmer’s Market & China Camp State Park

Marin Organic, U-Pick

Elmwood

Presidio Heights

Lakeshore

Larkspur’s Magnolia Street

Mt Tam and the West Point Inn

San Francisco’s Bernal Heights

Berkeley’s Fourth Street