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It’s hard to beat BaubleBar right now for personalized gifts — from prices to selection, they have a TON of great stuff. I constantly wear my Maya Brenner initial necklaces (I have a G in gold and silver, for our last name), but I kind of like the idea of wearing a few of these pendant necklaces, stacked, in different colors with an initial for J and H (for my sons Jack and Harrison). The pendant can be on a gold or silver chain, 16-18″, uppercase or lowercase, comes in 24 colors of acrylics, and each bar can hold up to 3 initials. Nice. Prices start at $44. Asymmetric Acrylic Bar Pendant Asymmetric Acrylic Bar Pendant (If you’re more on the hunt for a wide selection of birthstone jewelry, check out Gemvara.) (Click here if you’re new to BaubleBar and need an invite!)Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
(former) preg 3L says
I got served with divorce papers last night.
!! says
Oh, goodness — big hugs to you!
JJ says
I’ll be thinking of you! At least now, you know exactly where you stand.
MomAnon4This says
Oh, geez. You seem ahead of the game on this one.
Many years ago, I heard a friend’s parents were getting divorced. We saw the Mom/Wife at synagogue, and my mom said to her, I hope everything work out for the best.
And that woman got the biggest, meanest, revenge-filled grin on her face and said, You bet it will!
I hope it works out for the best. You’re OK and you’re among friends.
Newly pregnant says
Hugs. I hope you’re okay.
And as a personal anecdote, my parents divorced when the kids were grown up and out of the house, but they should have divorced much earlier in life. As an adult I now understand that there were multiple reasons why they didn’t divorce when I was a kid, but I never really saw what it was like for my parents to be happy in a relationship. Here’s hoping that your daughter will grow up with a better example.
(former) preg 3L says
Thank you. This is the main reason I kicked him out to begin with – I never wanted my daughter to think that the way he treated me was the way a man should treat a woman.
Mommy Monster says
I wish you the best for what comes next. You’re a courageous woman and an awesome role model for your daughter for taking this step.
ml says
+1 to all the positive thoughts!
greenie says
Same scenario growing up here… and it took me a LOT of pain and struggling to learn how I should be treated, how real communication looks, and how to stand up for myself. I’m so glad we’re now giving my girls an example of a loving, safe relationship. Keep your head up high!
NewMomAnon says
Hugs. I read statistics somewhere that women who get divorced tend to be much happier some period of time after the fact, and men who get divorced tend to be less happy until they get remarried. So here’s to future happiness for all of us in transition right now…
(former) preg 3L says
Hahaha I love this! Thanks for sharing!
!! says
edited.
MomAnon4This says
On Monday, I got promoted. I knew it was coming but I was pushing for it to be sooner so that I can announce my pregnancy – I’m at 13 weeks. Due in May. I still haven’t announced yet.
Another woman on my team, who’d returned from maternity leave in July, was terminated/laid off. It seemed like a surprise. We were friendly but not friends – I have her cell phone # but had never used it.
My manager’s boss is a pretty hands-on Dad with 3 kids under 5. I am kind of worried about this situation. A colleague I have confided in said that I seem more sure than Laid Off Colleague because my 1st kid is older, I have family in the area, I’ve shown that I like my job (I do) and want to push ahead (I do).
How do I find out – either from my former colleague or from my female, married, child-free-by-choice manager who is generally supportive of me – if there were, ah, work-life balance parenting/mommy issues that led to my colleague’s lay off? You know, like time management issues that come along with any newborn?
Thoughts?
oil in houston says
first thing – don’t freak out, it might have nothing to do with the mommy thing and everything to do with her overall performance.
second – just ask you manager, say you were surprised, ask what was the reason for it. Worst case scenario he tells you it’s none of your business
Spirograph says
Your former colleague may not be able to talk about that, depending on the legal terms of her termination. Your manager definitely should not be talking about it. If you really want to feel this out, you need to approach it more like “hey working mom, can you share your wisdom borne of experience with me since I’m about to be in the same situation?” rather than inquiring directly about the dynamic in your office. That may come up – especially if you can meet for coffee or do something that feels more off-the-record, but definitely don’t lead with it.
ETA: I definitely recommend you reach out to her. I had a similar conversation with a former coworker who resigned a few months after coming back from maternity leave. Some of her reasons for leaving had nothing to do with work-life balance (and I knew about most of those before our conversation), but it turns out a lot of them were very related. It was a really enlightening conversation. Everyone is different, but getting a scoop from someone who has been there and done that in your same work environment is invaluable.
mascot says
Although if you already have a child, perhaps you have a better sense of how to navigate work-life balance in this company?
Slip Recommendation says
Any suggestions for a maternity half slip? Most everything I see is some sort of shorts-shape wear, but I am specifically looking for a long (so it can go over the bump) silky half-slip so maternity dresses won’t stick to my hose/tights. Thanks!
eh230 says
I bought a larger size Gap half slip when prego. It worked great.
Mommy Monster says
Anyone have recommendations for a baby/kid shampoo they like? I’d prefer a cruelty-free product without a bunch of nasty additives. Everything I’ve tried so far has been too harsh for kiddo’s scalp.
shampoo says
Yes to Carrots, available at Target. Or the Honest Company. We’ve used both for shampoo and body wash.
KJ says
We use California Baby for our eczema-prone baby.
Meg Murry says
We also use California Baby, and also do a lot of just water washing, or washing body but not hair. I have boys with short, thin hair though.
Anonymous says
I also use California baby. We only shampoo 2 or 3 times a week. I also have a boy with fairly short hair.
CHJ says
I like Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash. I use it as both shampoo and body wash on DS. It washes out really nicely, doesn’t sting his eyes, leaves his skin smooth, and makes him smell deliciously like baby soap.
RR says
We like California Baby Super Sensitive.
OCAssociate says
I like Mustela, it’s supposedly great for treating cradle cap, which is why I switched from the basic No More Tears. Also it’s scent is very mild, which I prefer.
greenie says
I second Mustela (for cradle cap and for excema prone skin)
Liz says
I live in a smaller city but we have a few “health” stores that carry quite a few gentle cosmetic lines that have worked well for my own eczema and sensitive skin. In the winter I find I need to eat or slather on more coconut oil than the rest of the year to keep from feeling itchy. Also, double rinsing (bonus points for hang vinegar in the rinse) when washing all clothes and hats and mitts and jackets helps a lot. Somehow having less to bother about on my limbs and torso makes anything on my head more bearable. Might be the same for a baby?
Midwest Mom says
DH and I are planning to start TTC this month. We have a toddler and got pregnant with her our first month trying without doing any sort of tracking, monitoring temps, etc. This time I feel like we need to be a bit more strategic because we won’t have the opportunity to have s*x as often with busier schedules, a toddler who hates sleeping/sleeping alone, etc. I started using My Fertility Friend last month although I was still taking birth control pills. Now, I was supposed to start my period last weekend and still haven’t. I’m not pregnant so I’m not sure what’s going on. I guess I’m looking for tips on tracking ovulation with an inconsistent period (this month), timing of TTC, etc. Any advice? Should I buy a basal thermometer and start taking my temps? Should I buy ovulation predictor kits to try to predict ovulation? Should I just wait for my period and estimate timing from that?
ml says
I did the charting stuff the first time around, but with a toddler there was no way I could have been consistent enough to get good data from temps. We just winged it, and I got pregnant more quickly with the second than I did with the first (probably partly because I did not go back on hormonal BC in between). Especially since you had no difficulty the first time, I’d make a note in my calendar when periods start and end, but I wouldn’t mess with anything requiring precision for at least a few months. If you’re not having success at that point, reevaluate.
CHJ says
I have an irregular cycle, I really liked the Clear Blue Fertility Monitor. It is expensive (~$150), but it gives you a runway of 4-5 days before ovulation, rather than 1-2 days with ovulation predictor kits. It’s great if you have a busy schedule and just need to know when the zone is coming up, and forget about it for the rest of the month. (I also hated temping and found it to be inconsistent and too much work, plus you don’t even know that you’ve ovulated until after the fact.)
Pogo says
If you were charting while on BCP, I don’t expect it to work/make any sense (you’re taking artificial hormones). Plus, when your period “should” come doesn’t really mean anything. You can have irregular periods and still have no fertility problems (I don’t mean it will be easy, since it’s harder to know when you’re ovulating, but your period not showing up right now doesn’t mean anything).
I started quasi-charting my first month off BCP and found it helpful just to get an idea of the lengths of different parts of my cycle (I noted when I stopped the pills, when I thought I ovulated, and then when my period came – it was a long cycle, but it made sense so I figured everything was working ok). This month I’m temping too, just see if that works. I agree it’s a huge pain and not sure it’s really worth it.
It comes down to whether you need to get pregnant right away (for life-event-timing reasons or whatever), or if you can afford to just wing it for up to a year (statistically, this would be the max it would take to get pregnant if you had no problems).
JBJD says
I have a toddler at home and am 12 weeks along with our second right now. When I got off BCP to start trying for #2, my cycles went nuts. To the point where I went to the doctor to talk about it – she explained that because I already had a kid and because I was older now, it was likely that my cycles would be completely different than they would have ever been. I used the Wondfo OPKs and started temping and got pregnant the first month of doing that. If nothing else, it made me feel better to have the data so that if a fertility doc had to be consulted, I would have all the relevant info saved.
Tunnel says
I also recommend the Wondfo OPKs from Amazon. They are way cheaper. Test 2x per day (morning and night) starting about 10 days after your period. When you get a positive OPK (you will know it when you see it), keep testing and have s*x for a few days until the OPK turns negative. Temping along with OPKs is best, but hard to maintain. Good luck!
MomAnon4This says
I just read the book Expecting Better, and it covers a lot of pre-conception and conception stuff. A quick read with a lot of data – basically the first 5 days before you O are what’s important, day of is ok, day after through your next period it ain’t gonna happen.
I used an app to track my cycles – I just used a free one, MC or My Cycle. It was helpful. You have to enter the data, of course, but I didn’t do temp or mucous stuff (too much) and the app still helped.