WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Baylor University has created a new home team advantage that extends beyond the football field at McLane Stadium. The university has opened fully equipped Baby Bear Family Lounges designed specifically for parents attending games with infants.
Hear more about the lounges here:
"I just want new parents to know, you don't have to be locked at home. You can get out and thrive with your family," Cara Dumaplin said.
The Baby Bear Family Lounges provide climate-controlled spaces where both mothers and fathers can feed, change and spend time with their babies during games. Each lounge features televisions so parents can continue watching the action while caring for their children.
"The Baby Bear family lounges are for parents, both moms and dads, to come in to have a climate-controlled space to feed their baby, change their baby, hang out with their baby during a football game. There's a TV playing, so you can still watch the game," Dumaplin said.
The project was spearheaded by Dumaplin, a Baylor parent and neonatal nurse who also serves as CEO and founder of Taking Cara Babies, the company that brought the family rooms to life. Dumaplin understands firsthand the challenges parents face when trying to attend athletic events with small children.
"Athletics is something that's always been really special to our family. Like we enjoy going to football games and basketball games. It's such a bonding experience for the family. I have to tell you, I didn't do it when my kids were young. And I think a lot of it is like, yeah, what if they cried? What if they got too hot? What if I needed to feed them? And it just felt like there was never a space," Dumaplin said.
The initiative addresses the isolation many new parents could experience by creating welcoming spaces within the athletic venues.
"Being a new parent can be hard, right? There's a lot to learn. It can also feel very isolating. And so if we can just make our community a place that says, new parent, you are welcome here," Dumaplin said.
McLane Stadium now houses three Baby Bear Family Lounges in total – one on each suite level and one on the main concourse level. Baylor's Foster Pavilion basketball arena also features a lounge.
The lounges debuted during Baylor's first home game this season, making the university one of the few major athletic programs in the country to offer dedicated spaces for parents with infants.
Dumaplin hopes the initiative will inspire other universities to follow suit.
"For other colleges, I just want this to set a spark to say, hey, we want to do that for our young families because the young families raise the babies who eventually become your next college students," Dumaplin said.
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