Three kind grandmas become a “village” for single mum of triplets
When Hayley Arsenault brought home not one but three beautiful babies, the single mum knew she couldn’t do it alone. She put a call out on Facebook saying as much, and was connected to three lovely and helpful grannies!
3 P.E.I. grandmothers help exhausted mom care for triplets
"It takes a village to raise a child and we're willing to help out."These grandmothers barely knew the family, but when the single mom in Tignish, P.E.I., asked for help with her triplets, the women heeded the call. Read more: www.cbc.ca/1.4531885
Posted by CBC Prince Edward Island on Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Sister act
It truly does take a village, especially if you live on a beautiful island in Canada AND have the courage to send out a distress signal to the tight-knit community.
Jenny MacDougall and her sisters, Alice Mokler and Anita Arsenault (who is not related to Hayley, despite the matching name), are all residents of the same Prince Edward Island (PEI) made famous by Anne of Green Gables. This makes perfect sense when you think about it, because these capable sisters are mirroring Anne’s chipper attitude beautifully.
Jenny, Alice and Anita apparently already sort of knew Hayley in passing, but not very well. When she bravely admitted she could do with some help, they were delighted to step up and it didn’t matter that they were almost strangers.
“I always said when I retired, the only thing I wanted to do was rock babies,” Jenny told CBC News.
“Knowing what it’s like to have one baby, it’s a lot of work. When I heard that she had three, I could really understand how exhausting it must be.”
250 nappies a week
Exhausting it truly is, with Hayley’s parents – Wendy and Billy – and the three grannies all chipping in to lend a hand with newborns Hogan, Rylan and Finn.
Billy says their help has been invaluable, especially since apart from the usual cuddling, jiggling, walking and feeding, the babies go through around 250 nappies every week!
“It’s tiresome as it is, but it would be very tiresome. Everybody’s been great.”
“I don’t see this as a chore in any way,” Jenny beamed. “For me, it’s a gift to come here. We chat, we compare the babies. Love every minute of it.”
“I feel I’m bonding to them and this is the part I like the best,” Alice confirmed. “Being with babies, just to smell them and to hold them.”
Making a connection
Not only do the grannies help with the babies, they bring Hayley meals and even do chores around the house.
“To have strangers come in and actually make a connection with your babies is pretty amazing,” new mum Hayley said. “They become people that you know and trust and that’s the big thing.”
Apparently lots of other POI residents have offered to help this cute family too, and we simply do not know what could be more heartening – or faith-restoring! We’re wishing we lived on Anne of Green Gables island too, so that we could have a rock of Hogan, Rylan and Finn!
