Super Beans - Emma's Story

I was only 6 months pregnant on Thursday August 13^th, 2009 when I went for my regular doctor check-up.  I told my husband not to come as it was a routine check-up so he didn't need to leave work, I was wrong.  The doctor found that I had Protein Induced Hypertension and our little girl was underweight, I needed to go to the hospital right away and be admitted for close monitoring. I called my husband and he came immediately.

I saw the specialist, Dr. Butt, a few days later (she had been on vacation) for a special ultrasound and it was discovered that along with the high protein and our little girl being underweight, there were times of absent flow in the umbilical cord.  Dr. Butt was very blunt and said that I had to stay on strict bed rest and see her everyday because once she saw "reverse flow' as she called it, I would need an emergency section as the baby would go still born very quickly.  That had to be one of the scariest moments I thought in my life.  I made my husband stay with me every night, I was so scared and wanted him by my side.  For the next month I was closely monitored and I was even transferred to a different hospital for a few days when Dr. Butt went on vacation.

On the morning of September 9th, 2009 I was wheeled to Dr. Butt's office for my usual ultrasound, but during the ultrasound Dr. Butt was sure she saw a slight period of "reverse flow". She sent me back to my room and said be prepared.  Two hours later she checked again and sure enough she saw the "reverse flow" and had me immediately taken to the OR. My husband and I had a hard time grasping everything that was happening.  All I could think was I am only 27 weeks and she is underweight. Everything was a blur. We were so scared. Then at 3:53 pm we heard the most beautiful sound, our 1 lb 7 oz baby girl crying. Everyone was shocked because they did not expect her to come out so alert. The first 24 hours she did great, she was only on CPAP and doing well.

However, after about 24 hours everything took a turn for the worse and she quickly had to learn to be a fighter.  She developed double pneumonia and double pneumothorax and needed to be put on life support with a chest tube.  We couldn't see her for hours while the nurses and doctors worked on her.  Once we were finally able to see her, it was very scary seeing all the tubes connected to her, helping to keep our baby girl alive.  The next 9 days were rough as we watched the machines keep her alive.  The hardest part was having to go home every night and not being able to take her home.  On September 19th they removed the life support, but still required CPAP but she was showing improvements.  We had to be very careful with her and sterile as an infection could kill her.  She spent 3 months in the NICU gaining weight and strength and not being dependent on oxygen.  On the day of discharge we were so happy but nervous and scared, as she wasn't a typical baby going home.  We were told to keep her out of public places because if she caught anything in her lungs she would probably not survive it.  So we sheltered her a lot, but were happy to have our baby home.  It was rough though.  For the first 2 months, anytime she had a bottle (breast milk never came in) she would choke at times and stop breathing and start to turn blue - so we would have to pat her on the back and stimulate her to snap out of it.

Just when we thought things were good.  We discovered through appointments that she needed physio therapy as she was very stiff.  Over a two year span she responded well to it and eventually was discharged.  However, she required extensive work with OT and Speech.  At the age of 2 all she said was mom and dad and we were concerned along with the doctor.  She spent 2 1/2 years with extensive OT and Speech combined visits working on language and vocabulary skills. She was finally discharged earlier this year.  Her paediatrician calls her a miracle baby and I truly believe she is.

This year, our little girl, who started out at 1 lb & 7 oz and has had to fight to get where she is, started Kindergarten.  She is on par with all children her age and you would never know that she struggled so much for the first 4 years of her life.  She is a very happy child and as parents we are thrilled with the little girl she has turned out to be!

Behind the Scenes of our Fall 2015 Collection

Our new Fall 2015 Collection takes you back to core ingredients from our earth. The foundation that we are all built upon.... Gems and Geology....

Unearth the treasures discovered through the exploration of curious minds. This collection accentuates the beauty of precious stones that are believed to possess unique properties; much like our children, celebrating their special traits and individual personalities.

Rich shades of Burgundy, Orange, Brown, and Blue are inspired by nature's colour palette, creating an earthy aesthetic to this collection. Jewel tones are used in colour blocked, mix and match styles, adding to the brilliance of our signature Peekaboo Beans look.

Let your imagination take you back to prehistoric times, where creatures stomp over the land in their 'Dino Dynamite Hoodie', with terrorific dinosaur screens and funky hood placements. Imagine yourself travelling back to a place of cave drawings and Jurassic creatures.

Along your journey through this collection, you will see features of old vintage favourites designed with reflective piping and versatile styles such as our 'Rock Bed Coat' that becomes a vest in a zip! Perfect for the active Boy Bean on the go!

Glitter, ruffles and crystalline screen prints provide flouncy styles that girls will love, while also allowing them to play and explore with ease and comfort. Let her splatter herself in gold with the 'Rockslide Leggings' or 'Shine Bright Skirt' to add a dash of playfulness to her fall wardrobe.

No matter what the day or your little ones imagination brings this fall, you can feel great knowing they'll be comfortable and ready to take on the day with styles from this play perfect collection!

 

View the full Fall 2015 collection HERE.

Fall 2015 Collection | Available Now!

The Fall 2015 Collection takes you back to core ingredients from our earth. The foundation that we are all built upon... Gems and Geology!

Rich shades of Burgundy, Orange, Brown, and Blue are inspired by nature's palette, creating an earthy aesthetic to this collection. Jewel tones are used in colour blocked, mix and match styles, adding to the brilliance of our signature Peekaboo Beans look.

Let your imagination take you back to prehistoric times, where creatures stomp over the land in their 'Dino Dynamite Hoodie', with terrorific dinosaur screens and funky hood placements. Imagine yourself traveling back to a place of cave drawings and Jurassic creatures.

Along your journey through this collection, you will see features of old vintage favourites designed with reflective piping and versatile styles such as our 'Rock Bed Coat' that becomes a vest in a zip! Perfect for the active Boy Bean on the go!

Glitter, ruffles and crystalline screen prints provide flouncy styles that girls will love, while also allowing them to play and explore with ease and comfort. Let her splatter herself in gold with the 'Rockslide Leggings' or 'Shine Bright Skirt' to add a dash of playfulness to her fall wardrobe.

No matter what the day or your little ones imagination brings this fall, you can feel great knowing they'll be comfortable and ready to take on the day with styles from this play perfect collection!

Click HERE to view our Fall 2015 Catalogue

 

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Mission Accomplished!

We would like to thank and acknowledge your support of our 'Mommies on a Mission' campaign - it was a huge success! 

We are beyond thrilled to share that we are officially building a playground in Afghanistan for 1,000 children! Our friends at Playground Builders boarded their flight to Afghanistan late last night and will immediately start construction on our newly funded playground as early as next week. 

  

With your help, we were able to sell 700 Mommy Beans 'Reminder To Play' sets in just 23 days! In order to raise the required $8,000 in funds to build the playground, our goal was to sell 1,000 'Reminder to Play' sets.  While we fell just short of our goal, Peekaboo Beans is pleased to announce that we will cover the remaining cost required to build this much-needed playground!

  

We are so excited to make a positive change in the lives of hundreds of children and we could not have done it without your help.  It's incredible to see what can happen when 'Mommies Are On a Mission! ' 

Thank you again for all of your love and support.

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BUILDING HOPE FROM THE GROUND UP. 

ONE PLAYGROUND AT A TIME.  

There is often no safe place for children to play in many war-torn communities. Most have never experienced the joy of a swing or the thrill of a slide. Playground Builders is dedicated to building hope and peace through the gift of play. The need for safe play areas around the world is overwhelming. Often the hardest part of what they do is selecting which projects to support.

At any given time, Playground Builders has numerous proposals for play areas in need of funding. Unfortunately, without the necessary resources, they can't address them all. At this time, they are focusing their efforts on the war-torn areas of the Middle East, specifically Iraq, the Palestinian Territories and Afghanistan. The need in these areas is great. As an example, in the eastern province of Afghanistan, Herat, there are approximately 780 schools in need of playgrounds.  Imagine.... children living their daily lives without a safe place to simply play

Playground Builders has established an innovative, cost effective, time efficient and safe model for building and installing their playgrounds. They use a generic playground design and local construction, based on a competitive value bid system.  The building process commonly takes 6 to 10 weeks from site determination to installation depending on the time of year, level of conflict in the surrounding areas and material availability. 

With our 'Mommies On A Mission' campaign, we are thrilled to have raised enough funds to build a playground, and support Playground Builders' mission to bring PLAY back into the lives of children who need it the most

High fives all around.... WE DID IT!!  Below is the actual site that our much needed playground will be built. We will provide you all with periodic updates on the building and completion of YOUR playground!

"We know it's not about the number. It's about the value of just 1 child experiencing joy. We are quickly closing in on 500, 000 kids playing on the 194 playground we've built to date. Can you imagine how many laughs and friendships and... well, wow. Just wow." - Playground Builders

6 Days Left

Our Mommies on a Mission campaign has been a great success so far! 

To date, we have sold over 300 ‘Reminder to Play’ sets and have raised $2,731 toward building a playground in Afghanistan. Our campaign finishes on June 17^th, so you still have time to help build a playground for children in need of a safe place to play.

The ‘Reminder to Play’ set is a special limited-edition design from Peekaboo Beans made just for women. The design team worked hard to come with a universally flattering design that fits all unique body types. The ‘Reminder to Play’ jacket features toggles on the inside that enable you to cinch in the waist, or leave loose. The back of the jacket covers your bottom and the front sits perfectly at the bottom of your hips. Also featured are deep pockets and thumbholes to provide comfort and warmth. 

The ‘Reminder to Play’ leggings are made to have you feel controlled and comfortable at the waist without digging in. The unique cuff at the bottom of the ankle lets you change up your style.

Our fit models loved trying on the garments, commenting on comfort and unique features such as the polka dot details inside the hood of the jacket. A favourite aspect of the jacket is the quote inside that will remind you every day that play nourishes your mind and body – both children and parents.

Let us help you choose your size! 

Click HERE to view all the sizing details and order your Mommy Beans!

Mommies on a Mission - 21 Days to Build a Playground!

Our Mommy Beans 'Reminder to Play' Set Is Finally Here!

You've shouted loud and clear! You want Beans too! 

We've listened and now we're going to deliver! We are so excited to announce our limited edition Mommy Beans 'Reminder to Play' set which is available for pre-order starting today at 2pm CT! Our new Mommy Beans set consists of a stylish charcoal jacket and cozy jersey black leggings that are made from our signature Peekaboo Beans custom fabrics. The fit and style is perfect for every shape and size.

But there's more!

In true Peekaboo Beans fashion it's important that we align the launch of our Mommy Beans 'Reminder to Play' set with our core values. Play is our passion and we must spread our message globally and preserve play in the world. That is why we have partnered with Playground Builders to build a much-needed playground for a school in Afghanistan with over 1000 children.

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'Mommies on a Mission'  
 

   

We are on a mission! When you pre-order your LIMITED EDITION Mommy Beans 'Reminder to Play' set $8 of the proceeds will go towards building a shiny new playground. Our goal is to sell 1000 'Reminder to Play' sets in order to fund the building of an entire playground. The empty land you see in our 'Mommies on a Mission' video above is the exact land we are hoping to build this playground.

 

We are giving ourselves 21 days to make this mission of building a new playground - a reality!

As an extra bonus, when you pre-order a 'Reminder to Play' set, you will receive $25 in Play Money to use at a future Soiree! 

To order your Mommy Beans 'Reminder to Play' set, shop on-vine at www.peekaboobeans.com under 'Really Neat Things' or contact your local Play Stylist! For more information on Mommy Beans and 'Mommies on a Mission', check out our website HERE.

Together we can bring joy to children who deserve a safe play to play.

Happy Mommy Bean Shopping!

Making Changes to Help us Grow Stronger

Here at Peekaboo Beans we are constantly learning and growing and today we have an important message to share with you about our tween line CiCi Bean.

CiCi Bean was born out of the idea that tweens need to be confident in their bodies and in what they wear; that size shouldn’t be what matters. While this idea was full of love and purpose, the tween market is extremely broad and quite hard to break in to. We’ve learned so much along the way, and we now realize that what we do best in the world is Peekaboo Beans. 

Knowing this, we have decided to tuck CiCi Bean away for now and focus all of our attention and resources into making Peekaboo Beans a stronger and more thriving brand. By focusing all of our resources into Peekaboo Beans we can put more into our baby collection and add more styles up to size 10 for both boys and girls.

This may seem like a sad day, but CiCi Bean is just taking a break; it may not be gone forever! 

In order to clear out our current CiCi stock we have put everything CiCi on sale! 

Place your order now because all CiCi Bean will be removed from our website on Tuesday, May 26^th.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me, I value each and every one of you!

In love and play,

Peekaboo Beans Pop Up Shop!

In order to make room in our warehouse for new, exciting PB styles to come, we are so excited to announce that we are opening our first-ever Peekaboo Beans Factory Outlet for a limited time only tomorrow, Saturday, May 16th, 2015 in South Surrey, British Columbia.

There are some amazing deals to be found with up to 75% off on baby, girls, boys, and tween styles that you won't want to pass up on! So, gather your Beans into the car (we've got an awesome play area with cozy spots for moms, dads, and grandparents to sit!) and come visit us at The Shops at Morgan Crossing, we're open daily!

Imaginative & Creative Play

Earlier this week we wrapped up our Earth Day inspired contest. From telescopes, to robots and treasure maps, we loved seeing how creative your Beans were with just a plain old cardboard box!

 

Creative and imaginative play such as this is so beneficial for our children. Through this type of play, our Beans are able to practice social and emotional skills, problem solving, skills in cooperation if playing with another, learn self-reliance, and so much more!

Getting creative with a plain old cardboard box proves that encouraging our children to practice this type of play doesn't have to be complicated. Try putting together a play area or prop trunk filled with old things you have laying around the house! Old shoes, hats, costumes, fabric/blankets, boxes/crates, stuffed animals or dolls are all perfect role-play toys and make for great imaginative play!

This weekend we hope you continue encouraging creative or imaginative play with your Beans! We love seeing what type of play you and your Beans are up to, so don't forget to post pictures to our Facebook page or tag us on Instagram.

For more imaginative play inspiration, click HERE.

Happy Playing!

Peekaboo Beans' Summer 2015 Collection | Now Available

Close your eyes and escape to a tropical paradise! Dried sand on your knees, toes and hands. Salty, sun-kissed skin. Creating sand castles with moats for sea creatures. Surfing and floating amongst the waves. The Paradiso collection sums up the feeling of long beautiful days and spending time doing what you love. Even after the saltiness has been rinsed out of your hair and the smell of sunscreen is dwindling, you can still hold on to the feeling of an adventure in paradise with this Peekaboo Beans collection. 

A luscious palm print and vibrant shades are inspired by the colours of the tropics and radiate the wonderment of island life. Shades of hibiscus, palm green and cantaloupe together with playful screen prints will have your little ones ready for endless adventure, because when the sun shines and the palm trees sway to and fro, so does our children's energy and playfulness!

Click to view our Summer 2015 Catalogue

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Check out all the action behind the scenes of our Summer 2015 photo shoot in the YouTube video below!

Shop On-Vine » www.peekaboobeans.com
Find your local Play Stylist » http://bit.ly/17KXVIJ

CONTEST ALERT | Earth Day - WIN $150 in Beans!

Creating a sustainable product/brand is an important value of Peekaboo Beans. That means no harsh chemicals in our fabrics, no extra unnecessary tissue or cellophane in our packaging, and an ethically manufactured product that you can feel good about dressing your Beans in!

So, in honour of Earth Day tomorrow as well as the launch of our Summer 2015 collection today, we want to celebrate with a playful Peekaboo Beans contest! Here's how you can WIN $150 in SPRING/SUMMER BEANS!

Contest Details:

It's time to get creative! If Pinterest has taught us anything, it is that you can DIY just about anything into something pretty creative with just a little bit of imagination! As mother's, I bet you have all encountered your Beans endlessly playing with a plain old cardboard box that was originally part of a package that you had brought home and unwrapped. So, why not encourage that amazing imagination of your Beans' & get creating! Having your wee ones involved in creative activities like this is extremely beneficial for your Bean and help to develop important characteristics such as concentration, collaboration, problem solving skills, and so much more! Plus, let's not forget, getting creative is just plain FUN!

Check out a few cardboard creations for ideas on what you can create on our Cardboard Creativity board HERE.

How To Enter:

Once you & your Bean have finished your cardboard creation, snap a photo and post it on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest) and tag @peekaboobeans with the hashtag #earthfriendlyplay. There is no limit to how many creations you can create to enter, so get creating and don't forget to have FUN!

Tiny Print: 

Contest ends sunday, April 26th, 2015 at 10pm PST. The winner will receive $150 in Peekaboo Beans Play Money. No limit for entry. One post per creation. Winner will be drawn at random and announced via Peekaboo Beans social media on Monday, April 27th. Peekaboo Beans Play Stylists and staff are excluded from this contest.

1,025 Magic Beans!

As of today, more than 1,025 Magic Beans have been donated to charities across Canada!  That is an average of 54 Magic Beans donated to charities, friends and families in need, every day this month! We cannot thank our amazing Play Stylist's and Hostesses enough!

Here are a few more stories we received this past week that are truly inspiring!

Michelle Campbell - 25 pieces

"I donated to a woman who is inspirational.  She is a 33 year old wife and mother of three amazing kids.  Right before her daughters 5th birthday, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  August 2014 was when my life changed forever.  The first thing I remember thinking is "I'm not ready to leave my kids."  A terrifying moment.  She is about to undergo a double mastectomy. She is over halfway through her treatment,   8 rounds of chemotherapy down.  She said she got through those challenging months with a lot of help from family and friends and is forever grateful for the support!  Breast Cancer, although difficult, has really shown her blessings in my life.

Her friend, Erinn, specifically had a Peekaboo Beans Soiree so that my family would be the recipient of the March Magic Beans.  She was very touched and grateful for the support! Whenever she sees her kids in their adorable clothes, she thinks of the kindness of her friends and of the Peekaboo Beans organization :-)"

 

Jennifer Kettlewell - 10 pieces

"My Beans will be donated to an auction in support if Children's Hospital Foundation. This was a self-hosted Soirée, and this is a charity close to my family's heart.

A few years ago, our 3 year old niece was diagnosed with Leukemia. After a gruelling 2.5 yr. treatment plan, she has now been cancer free for a year. Had it not been for the amazing team of doctors, nurses and researchers at BCCH, our niece and many other kids like her might not be here today. Our family supports this cause in a few ways, and these items to auction will be a great help!"

There is still plenty of time to host a Magic Bean Soiree this month. Contact your local Play Stylist for more information or to book your Soiree!

Find your local Play Stylist » http://bit.ly/17KXVIJ

PLAY-ducation - Making Sense of Anxiety

PLAY-ducation is BACK!

Anxiety for children is on a staggering rise. Help make sense of anxiety and learn how to support your child. We are honoured to work with the amazing Deborah MacNamara of the Neufeld Institute. She is a renowned speaker and educator. She is passionate and knowledgable and you will leave feeling empowered. Come learn, grow, and play with us this April 1st!

Entry is by donation. Proceeds will help us and Playground Builders build a playground in war torn countries.

RSVP today to play@peekaboobeans.com!