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I’ve often heard this shoe come up in discussions of comfortable flats over at Corporette, and it’s one of Zappos’ best sellers, so I thought I’d post a link. Mamas, do you prefer flats or low heels to other shoes? Did your preferences change after having kids? Zappos has the shoe in 7 colors for $90; 6pm has it in an additional three colors for $56. Happy weekend, ladies! Born JulianneSales 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?
anon eagle says
I love the look of heels, but I prefer to wear flats. Pregnancy transformed my feet from size 10 to a true size 10.5- Wide with a narrow heel. What a bummer. I sold all my old shoes on Tradesy and I am on the hunt for some replacements. I have purchased and returned well over $2K worth of shoes in my search for shoes that merely FIT. All hopes of cute shoes are out the window. I’m also that guy that wears sneakers with a dress for daycare drop off and commute. I carry the bucket car seat thing and 2 bags on one side and my 18 month old on my other hip from the car to the daycare center. I rolled my ankle once when I was wearing sensible dress flats and juggling babies so I have demoted myself to sneakers for the time being.
Does anyone have a recommendation for 10.5W dressy flats? I’d prefer a stylish pointy toe, but will take what I can get.
KJ says
I like Cole Haan for wide widths.
JJ says
I have fairly wide feet, size 11, and I’ve fallen in love with the BP Moreover flats at Nordstrom. I bought the black patent and snakeskin. The snakeskin is more flexible (I’m wearing them today with skinny jeans, a black top, and white cardi), but after wearing them twice, I’ve broken in the black patent ones. I’m tempted to buy every color they offer.
Also, I wear business casual almost every day, which consists mostly of sheath dresses, pencil skirts, etc. And I wear the ugly, brown suede, traditional two strap Birkinstocks every morning and afternoon for daycare pickup and drop off. Life is too short to try and hold both kids and two tote bags in heels. In the winter, I unapologetically wear fuzzy slippers (with a rubber outsole) over my tights when I’m doing daycare.
ELL says
Nordstrom often has cute shoes in larger or unusual sizes. (Also could you ever do size 11 in regular widths? Might be something to try, at least with sandals. I also find Clark’s run slightly wide.) I have slightly wide size 12 feet, and Nordstrom is my shoe salvation.
anon eagle says
Unfortunately, the Moreover flats in size 11 reg didn’t work for me. Most size 11’s are too long and not wide enough. I do have some success with European sizes. I’ll check out Nord’s again. Thanks everyone.
KJ says
CPA Lady, I added a C-section story to yesterday’s thread. Good luck!
CPA Lady says
Thank you! And thanks to everyone else who posted too!
Something I’m seeing in the stories I’ve read is that C-sections are a lot worse when they are in-the-moment emergencies or after a long and terrible labor… they don’t seem to be nearly so bad if you can plan for them ahead of time. Obviously, it’s still surgery, and there can be complications, but I feel pretty good about it at this point, if that’s what ends up happening.
I think I’m just so impatient, one way or the other. Oh well. I’ve waited 37 weeks, I can wait a few more.
shoes says
This seems to be the case among everybody I know who had a C-section – the planned ones went smoothly, the emergency ones, well, vary. I hope your little one has a last minute change of heart!
mascot says
I like the look of a heel and don’t mind the boost in height (at barely 5’2″ anything helps) I’ve discovered wedges to be a great compromise. Stable enough to chase after and tote a small child but still gives me the right heel height for my work pants.
hoola hoopa says
I wear primarily flats (I had changed over before having kids, actually) but I agree that wedges make for a nice playground friendly option. I have started buying them when I want a heel on everyday shoes.
Mamma Mia says
Will you guys let me vent about my crazy reproductive issues? I’ve been on the pill basically forever. When I first went off it to TTC a few years ago, my periods just stopped. After 100 days of nothing, I went to the doctor – she gave me progesterone, which was to start a period, and Clomid to take after that to induce ovulation. I never even got to the Clomid; I got pregnant immediately and never even had a period. Exciting stuff.
Anticipating that I would have this issue again, I went off the pill last April, with the intent to start TTC in June. Same deal happened, one period after a 50 day cycle, then nothing. I went back to the doc, but this time saw a nurse practitioner. I explained what had gone on last time, so she gave me just the progesterone and said hopefully the same thing will happen again, and if not, come back. She didn’t suggest the Clomid. I took the progesterone, and, this time, it just did what it was supposed to and induced a period. And then, big fat nothing. I started temping to track ovulation, then, after 30 days of no temp changes, called the doctor again. I’ve always been able to get into that office right away, but for some reason, this time my appointment was a month away. And pretty much right then, I did ovulate (just as I was getting over a terrible sickness – so not many attempts made during the fertile window), and had a period 2 weeks later, just as you would expect (making the last cycle another almost 50 days long).
My appointment’s on Monday. If I were running an average schedule, you’d expect me to ovulate around then, but with my schedule, who knows? Maybe I just naturally have a super-long one? Maybe I’ll ovulate next week, or next month, or who knows? I guess I should keep this appointment (I’m sure that if I don’t, I’ll just have to make another one because of another big fat nothing happening). I have no idea what they’ll want to do, or if they’ll just tell me to let things go and see what happens. I’m fast approaching that big 3-5, so I’d really like to get this moving. Grr – body, just work right!
H&M sizing says
If anyone cares— I said I’d report back on the maternity tops I ordered from H&M, where I couldn’t decide whether to go with M or L. I’m keeping a couple synthetic silk blouses in size M, but returning one style because it was tight across the shoulders and another M because it was too big overall. The others are relaxed but fit nicely. I am returning the cotton/poly tees in L. They were a bit big but probably just fine for late-pregnancy belly, but the neckline was more open than I wanted so I decided not to keep them.
The upshot is that for tops, I didn’t think overall it was necessary to size up, but the sizing seemed to vary a bit by style.
Caution: I am at 5.5 months, and my b**bs are as small as they ever were (small B), although my band size is quite a bit larger. Can’t speak to how sizing would work for the more-endowed.
just Karen says
Expanding Feet – I am 33 weeks pregnant, and suddenly, my shoes aren’t fitting. I knew this might happen, but it seems very sudden, and I don’t know how much of it is swelling/water retention (temporary) and how much is permanent spreading/growth. I have one pair of black flats that are comfortable, but only because they are so old and stretched out that they basically fall off my feet. They were good quality to start with, so they still have a little support, but I know I need to do some quick shopping to make it through this pregnancy. Ideally I would like some support, but I am tempted to just get some flats at Payless to get me through until I know for sure what size I will be long term. Any suggestions? If the solution is to suck it up and buy a pair or two of decent shoes for the next two months, suggestions as to the absolute most versatile shoes would be great (I’m thinking black flats and black oxfords? Somewhat boring but go with everything? I am unfortunately having to swear off heels, even wedges, for this last bit, as they seem to make the swelling worse.
(former) preg 3L says
Swearing off heels at this point in your pregnancy is smart, not “unfortunate” — falling on a 6+ month pregnant belly would be terrible. I swore off heels at 20 weeks because I didn’t want to take the risk (and I ended up with a sprained ankle 5 weeks postpartum, when I was wearing sneakers!).
I would check out Easy Spirit and Aerosoles for supportive flats. They’re not the most stylish ones out there, but I have some nice flats from Easy Spirit that definitely are not grandma shoes. You can get them for about $60 a pair, which is totally worth it for the comfort and support IMHO.
Clumsy says
I sprained my ankle (while wearing flats) when I was 8 months pregnant. Luckily I fell mostly sideways/backward and not in a way that hurt the baby at all, but I could hardly walk. Ugh. On the plus side, it gave me an “excuse” to wear tennis shoes with my work clothes for the rest of the pregnancy, which was the best thing ever.
I would not go with cheap Payless flats. Your feet will probably hurt no matter what, but they’ll hurt a lot less if you have shoes with some support. In addition to Easy Spirit and Aerosoles, I find Clarks really comfortable. Depending on what the most common neutrals in your wardrobe are, I would get some black or brown flats and just plan on wearing them into the ground for the next couple months. I didn’t realize it until I was back to my normal size, but all the shoes I wore often when I was pregnant got very stretched out. Especially the ones that were more of a ballet flat style were almost unwearably wide once my feet were back to normal.
Famouscait says
No advice, just commiseration! I was literally just oogling shoes on 6pm. com because I have a wedding to go to next weekend and feel like I have no appropriate footwear. In reality, I do – just not what I would normally choose (aka heels or wedges).
Hold on – I do actually have advice. I bought a pair of d’orsay flats that I’ve been wearing a lot because my feet can sort of expand out the sides.
Carrie M says
Same – my d’orsay flats (black patent from Banana) lasted me until week 41 and I still wear them now, though they are a little big. I also bought another nice pair of flats from Banana (tan and black with a gold chain near toe – no longer sold) in a half size up that I basically wore every day to work through week 40. They are a little stretched out now width-wise, but still wearable (and still comfortable). So I agree with your idea to buy decent shoes now in versatile colors.
I echo what Meg Murry says below – I am a larger shoe size (by half a size) now, but I attribute some of that to no longer squeezing into a smaller size because it’s the only one available/on sale. My feet do seem a bit wider.
I don’t know if this is your first pregnancy, but be prepared for major swelling post birth. My sister warned me of this, but I had no idea just how bad it would get. I wore Uggs into the hospital (in a snowstorm) and could barely get them on when I was checking out. It took several days for the swelling in my feet and lower legs to go down, and then weeks for the rest of my body (also be prepared for night sweating!).
(former) preg 3L says
+100 on the post birth swelling. Especially in my feet.
just Karen says
Yikes! This is my first, and I didn’t know about post-birth swelling (though some friends did recently warn me about the sweating – time to finally buy another set of sheets). Thank you!
Katarina says
Not everyone gets post birth swelling. Even though I had an iv, I was much less swollen almost immediately after birth. While in the hospital, my ob commented on how “skinny” my ankles were, at least compared to when pregnant. I was pretty swollen while pregnant, though. I didn’t have crazy sweating either.
Meg Murry says
Yes, I also didn’t really have much swelling during my first pregnancy, so I was pretty surprised when I couldn’t get my shoes on to go home from the hospital – they were sneakers and I wound up taking out the laces entirely. I had an IV for a long time, and for whatever reason whenever something wasn’t going well the first response was “turn up the IV” so I think I had way way more IV fluids than normal.
CPA Lady says
I gave up heels pretty early in my pregnancy, not because of swelling, but because of back pain. I’ve worn black Bandolino flats I got for about $25 from T J Maxx most of the time, and they’ve been perfectly sufficient. Also, this is slightly horrifying/embarrassing by some standards, but I have occasionally worn crocs ballet flats with casual clothes, and they are very comfortable.
anon eagle says
I wore Croc flats in my 3rd trimester. The cutest ones I could find. http://www.zappos.com/crocs-cap-toe-tortoise-flat-mahogany-mahogany?ef_id=UsWdLQAAAJ2pJx39:20140912173423:s
I predict your feet will be aching terribly in the upcoming weeks. If you can get past the whole Crocs thing, they will feel like pillows on your feet. I tried to avoid anything mary-jane style or strappy because my feet would swallow the strap by 3pm.
hoola hoopa says
No personal experience (yet) with these exact shoes, but Payless has flats that even the shoe snobs in my life rave about. I know they’ve been talked about on the main site multiple times, too. It’s “Claire” with “dexflex comfort.”
Another vote for Clarks. More expensive than payless but reasonable and so comfortable (I prefer them over sneakers). And leather is an option if that’s important to you.
just Karen says
Thank you for all of the great advice! I ran to a couple of stores at lunch and got a better idea of where I am on sizing, but think I’ll be better off buying wide online.
msj says
I wore colorful Cole haan Oxfords for the majority of my pregnancy. They worked for the office, yet were nearly as comfortable and supportive as sneakers. Not cheap, but a good value for near daily use for months.
Flora says
Do you have any video of that? I’d love to find out more details.
shoes says
I know it’s normal for feet to grow during pregnancy (swelling, ligament stretching, etc.) – but I am curious to know how many of you had a permanently changed size? Eagle up top got me thinking – there are some wedges I’ve been eyeing and in my gut I know it’s not a good idea to get them during pregnancy but if my feet didn’t grow permanently they would be so great for a few months now and then post-partum…
Meg Murry says
I”m not sure how much mine is a permanently changed size and how much of it is me finally being a grown-up and admitting that the shoes that I tried to convince myself were only a little snug were actually too small all along and I shouldn’t have got them on clearance when the next size up wasn’t available. But either way, I wound up donating a bunch of shoes that I just couldn’t bring myself to torture squeezing my feet in to, and I consistently start the trying-on process half or one size up from where I was pre-first kid. For me its probably more that I’m now closer to needing a wide than I was pre-kid – my feet aren’t necessarily longer, just a touch wider, so sometimes I can get away with a slightly larger size in regular, sometimes I absolutely have to have a wide, depending on the style.
mascot says
My feet are more or less the same as they were immediately pre-pregnancy. Really old shoes feel a bit snug in spots, but I think that some of that is related to age and weight (sadly, both have increased), not pregnancy .
JJ says
Same situation here. My feet swelled a LOT towards the end of both pregnancies, but they eventuall returned to normal(ish).
hoola hoopa says
Exactly the same here.
I had some swelling near the end – but swelling that had me wearing my wider, more comfortable/flexible regular shoes, not swelling to the extent that I needed to buy new shoes.
Katarina says
My shoe size permanently changed. When the swelling went down, my foot was still longer, but not significantly wider, they are still on the narrow side. I was an 8.5/9 pre-pregnancy. When I went shoe shopping, I was a 10-10.5, although 10.5 is a hard to find size, so all my new shoes are 10s. I think my feet have possibly gone down a little with time (and weight loss), maybe to 9.5-10, because some of my shoes feel loose now.
KJ says
Blerg.
I’m doing an off-site training all week next week, and when I signed up I confirmed that they had accommodations for pumping moms. I’ve been stressing about when during the day I will be able to pump because I usually do 3 pumping sessions for 30 minutes each, but this course only has 10 minute breaks in the am and pm plus lunch. Now I just found out that the “pumping accommodation” is “the lockable women’s restroom.” This is going to be terrible, isn’t it?
(former) preg 3L says
In some states, it’s illegal for the “pumping accommodation” to be the restroom. I know it’s illegal in NY. But during the NY bar exam, I had to stand in a bathroom stall and use the battery I purchased for my pump during the lunch break. Check out the Places I Have Pumped tumblr to feel less alone!
(former) preg 3L says
Also, it might not be terrible. I had to travel for work and be away from my baby for 4 days. I thought pumping exclusively for 4 days was going to be terrible, but I ended up shocked by how much milk I was able to get. I know off-site training is different, but just wanted to share a story of a time I was incredibly apprehensive and it ended up working out just fine. The first day will probably be rough, but then you’ll get it figured out. Good luck!
Spirograph says
Good luck. 2nd what (former) preg 3L about a women’s restroom not fitting the legal definition of a pumping accomodation, though I don’t think you’re going to make much headway between now and Monday… or even now and next Friday. But it won’t hurt to ask once you get there if there’s an unused office or conference room you can borrow to pump a little more comfortably.
Most training I’ve been to has longer breaks and a more flexibility in the schedule than the syllabus advertises, so here’s hoping that’s the case with yours!
In House Lobbyist says
I have pumped in many airport bathrooms across the country so I feel your pain. Can you pump in your car? I did that many times as well and never had any problems. Also, don’t feel bad skipping parts of the training to pump. Sometimes when I had days like this, I would try to pump an extra session right before going in – usually in the car- which made me feel a little better if I had to wait 30 minutes or so from my normal pump time because of scheduling.
PinkKeyboard says
LeftCoaster- from Monday-
I just wanted to answer… my husband was mildly against (and didn’t want to hear about) our fertility treatment stuff for Clomid and Follistim (injectables) which was a total of 10 cycles. We then were waiting a year (because obviously in his male mind that would help) but at about 9 months I cried uncle on being very sad about delaying and the fact that I am demonstrably a cactus who repels babies. He was VERY VERY against IVF but after several talks he has somewhat come around. I think their lack of general knowledge about fertility etc makes them envision all sorts of side effects and creepy genetic engineering. I’d frame it as a medical issue you are having treated, just like a low thyroid or migraines or anything else. It might help him to accept it better.
mascot says
vent- my four year old is acting out at school. We told him that if his bad behavior continued that we would not being having the fun family activity that we planned. He had another bad day so we have called off the activity. Boo.
Parenting and discipline are hard, yo.
(former) preg 3L says
Oh that’s rotten. As not-the-parent-of-a-4-year-old, I wonder why he’s acting out? Is there something going on? Or is this normal 4-year-old behavior? (You totally don’t have to answer.)
mascot says
It’s a fair question and one we are asking too! It’s all within the realm of “normal” four year old behavior from everything we’ve seen and from talking to his teacher. He changed schools a few weeks ago so there is definitely some lingering transition going on, as well as his testing the boundaries of this new place. (We all love his new school). Hopefully he settles down soon. Otherwise it’s going to be a long weekend.
AEK says
I’m about 24 weeks and so, so tired today. Like first-trimester sleepy. With a headache. Waaah.
That’s all.
KJ says
Hang in there and then nap like a champ this weekend!