This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
For Everyone Thursday (appropriate for pregnant, postpartum, and beyond), yes, I’ve chosen a non-maternity blazer — because, at least for my pregnancies, I could wear regular blazers (unbuttoned, sure) pretty much until I was ready to pop. I’m curious to hear what others think — are maternity blazers a waste of money? In any event: I looove this dark blue jacket, which is a dark yet vibrant enough blue that it can be worn with black without that “did she get dressed in the dark” fear that sometimes accompanies pairing black with navy. The blazer is on a great sale, too — was $548, but is currently under $200 at Neiman Marcus Last Call. Lafayette 148 New York Tweed One-Button Jacket (Here are a couple of plus-size options.)Sales of note for 3.28.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything plus extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off 2+ items; 40% off 1
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- Lands’ End – 10% off your order
- Loft – 50% off everything
- Nordstrom: Give $150 in gift cards, earn a $25 promo card (ends 3/31)
- Talbots – 40% off 1 item; 25% off everything else
- Zappos – 37,000+ 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 – 50% off entire site
- Hanna Andersson – 30% off all swim; up to 30% off HannaJams
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; 50% off select swim; 50% off kids’ styles
- Old Navy – 50% off Easter deals
- Target – 20% off Easter styles for all; up to 30% off kitchen & dining; BOGO 50% off shoes & slippers for the family;
See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:
Click here to see our top posts!
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?
KJ says
I never needed a maternity blazer, and I was gi.gan.tic. For suit-required situations (for me: depositions, job interviews, and first day at a new job) I just wore a regular black suit blazer with a maternity pencil skirt. With a lot of my blazers I could even button the top button until the very end. It didn’t match perfectly, but it was good enough for me, and I don’t think anyone held it against me.
ETA: I love this blazer, and I’m very tempted to get it. Can anyone comment on sizing?
KJ says
Ok, I just ordered it because they only had one left in what I think is my size. PSA: Ebates is doing 5% cash back for Last Call today too.
pockets says
Lafayette 148 runs big. I order 1 size down from my normal Elie Tahari/J Crew/BR size
sfg says
+1
Spirograph says
I never needed one either. I actually tried to buy a maternity blazer/suit once, and upon trying them on, I instantly concluded that pregnant bodies (or at least mine) just can’t look good in a buttoned jacket.
My normal blazers got a little tight across the back by the end, but they looked fine unbottoned. Or at least no worse than the maternity ones, so why spend the money on something with such limited use?
Vaccines says
I hesitate to post this, but here’s hoping this corner of the internets can stay as civil as it has so far.
Neither of my SIL’s school-age children have been vaccinated for anything, and she lives in an area where that’s very common and childhood diseases are making a comeback. They want to come visit us around the holidays, and I am really uncomfortable with the idea of her unvaccinated kids staying in my house when my youngest will still be too young to have had many of her vaccinations. They live far away, and would come for several days. Am I being irrational? I hate to avoid family, and I do like SIL and her kids, but I don’t want to increase the risk my infant will catch something either. My husband (and the rest of his family, for that matter) agrees with me about vaccines, but it gets more complicated when you follow it to an I-don’t-want-your-sister-to-visit-us-this-year conclusion.
KJ says
I would say no extended visits, at least until the baby is up to date on vaccines. It might be awkward, but for me it would not be a risk worth taking.
Carrie M says
+1.
Just curious: are her children in school, and the school does not require vaccination records? Or are the kids in another educational setting (e.g., home schooling)?
Vaccines says
They supposedly have a “religious exemption.” They follow a mainstream religion that, to my knowledge (having been brought up in the same faith), does not include teachings about immunizations, but their clergyperson was happy to vouch for their beliefs. Don’t get me started on this…
hoola hoopa says
In my state, it’s *very* easy to enroll your children in public schools without any or incomplete vaccination history. Essentially, you just check a box that says you elect not to do them. You don’t even need to call it a religious or philosophical objection.
Needless to say, I live in an area where vaccination rates are low and cases are relatively high.
I think the idea to ask your pediatrician is a good one, even if it only helps back up with family. I suspect it will mostly make you feel better about hosting them. Theoretically, if there are no active cases in her kids school or network at the time of her visit, the risk is very low. Similar to them being vaccinated and low enough to not be concerned.
If you do decide to ask her to not stay at your house for an extended period, I’d be clear that it’s until your child is vaccinated for the sake of family politics and feelings. Technically, if her kids are exposed and contagious, your children are still at risk even if vaccinated, but the risk is certainly lower not only in their chance of contraction but also the likely severity of illness. I would avoid sending the message “I don’t want your kids to ever be near my kids.” I know that’s not what you are saying, but you don’t want it to be what she *hears*.
Is there another family member nearby who can host her for now? If so, you could simply say that you’re not feeling up to having company with the new baby, and leave the vaccination out of it. Having them around your baby for less time reduces the chance of exposure if by stroke of bad luck her children are contagious and asymptomatic, which again, is overall unlikely.
pockets says
there was something just like this on Dear Prudie recently…
pockets says
OK not exactly the same but apparently anti-vax SILs are more common than one would think:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2013/12/dear_prudence_my_family_is_using_nicknames_my_nephew_made_up_and_it_s_awful.html
Spirograph says
Yup, I have an anti-vax SIL, too. When my son was about 4 months old, my 7-yo niece came to visit with MIL for a week. Even though I knew before that about SIL’s anti-vax position, I somehow I didn’t make the connection until later and was a little miffed about it when I realized. No one got sick, thankfully, but I understand the concern.
I agree with Lyssa to ask the pediatrician. I know mine was especially concerned about contact with possibly-unvaccinated people before the first 3-month shots, but I don’t remember hearing much about it after that.
Lyssa says
I would ask your pediatrician to give an idea of what the actual risks are. I definitely don’t have sympathy for the anti-vax folks on this, but, at the same time, I think that some of the pushback against them seems over the top, too. I doubt that the risks of having her kids around your kids is really dangerously high, but I’m sure that it’s still higher than normal, so I think that it would help to quantify it. And if the pedi says that it’s no big deal, you can put your fears to rest, and if s/he says that it is a problem, at least you have an expert to support your objections.
And regardless, ensure that the kids are washing hands, not touching the baby on his/her face, etc.
Pogo says
I think asking your is ped a great idea. If the ped says “Yes, it’s too dangerous” (which I don’t think he/she will) you can use that to explain to your family why you don’t want the un-vaccinated kids staying with you.
My guess is unless your baby is high-risk (known autoimmune disorder, asthma, etc) your doctor will probably say it’s OK. But I’m not a doctor – there may be risks associated with infant measles, for example, that are really super dangerous and maybe it’s not worth it. Asking the doc sounds like the best bet.
Meg Murry says
I agree 100% with asking the pediatrician. It also depends on how young your baby is and which vaccinations they haven’t had yet or haven’t had the whole series of. Baby under 2 months old to me = absolutely not, baby under 1 year = depends on what the pediatrician says.
Also FYI, our pediatrician recommended all the adults in our family get a booster shot for whooping cough (tdap or dtap – not sure which) since there is evidence that the effectiveness wears off. Something else to think about if you have a tiny baby and lots of grandparent interaction.
For me also, I think there is a big difference between the family coming over for 1 meal vs. coming over to stay in your house for multiple days. It seems like it would be a lot easier to keep the baby close to you and then scrub down the house after 1 meal – but multiple days would be hard.
Meg Murry says
Although now that I think about it, there is a good chance she will still be mad, because the pediatrician is part of the “establishment” or whatever (I’ve heard this from non-vaxers). But at least maybe it will go over well enough with the rest of the family so they won’t try to take her side?
anonmama says
I have a family member who doesn’t vaccinate and I was told that it’s no more dangerous to have them visit than to take my baby to church or the grocery store (which I obviously did). My doctor told me that vaccinated kids can carry germs around just like un-vaccinated… kids are generally pretty germy little things. :) My baby was around the unvaccinated children in our family for multiple extended visits and all is well. That’s my experience.
Anon says
I would be cautious about making generalizations based on that advice. In OP’s situation a key concern for me is “she lives in an area where that’s very common and childhood diseases are making a comeback” This means that her kids are less likely to be benefitting from herd immunity and the risk is higher.
YMMV but I would not be allowing her unvaccinated kids around my kids at all. I would make an exception for pertussis if you had the shot while pregnant. Similarly, I never allow my baby in a car without a proper car sear – never had so much as a fender bender but the risk of what could happen if something went wrong is just too high for me to stomach. Same with how I think about whooping cough/measles/rubella etc. it’s not just about it being annoying that the baby is sick for a few weeks – babies die from these diseases.
Babies are particularly vulnerable to diseases and kids/adults can be carriers even when they are not sick so any reassurances that her kids are not sick are not helpful.
anonmama says
I didn’t make any generalizations. I shared what my doctor told me, and what my experience was.
Katherine K says
I was just discussing this with my best friend yesterday! Even if her kids were vaccinated, kids (especially those in daycare, like my two dudes) are little germ disseminators, so I think an abundance of caution for a tiny baby isn’t overreacting.
My advice was to leave the other party’s unvaccinated children out of it, and simply say “Sorry, it’s cold and flu season, my baby will be so young, she won’t have had her shots yet, and you know how kids pick up every little thing!” You could even leave the reference to your child’s shots out, if you totally wanted to avoid the topic.
My youngest got a fever at precisely 29 days (which is right on the cusp of the “automatic admittance to hospital due to fever” rule for newborns). It turned out fine, all was well, but I was a nervous wreck for a few nights … anything you can do to avoid that!
Good luck!
Embarrassed says
I am so embarrassed….I thought my water was breaking last night, went to the hospital and nope…apparently I was just intermittently and involuntarily peeing on myself? I feel like such an idiot and I am so disappointed because I thought we were finally going to get to meet our baby girl. Help, I’m getting so close to the end and driving myself crazy!
Carrie M says
I’m sure this happens all.the.time. Don’t be embarrassed.
Are you still working? I found diving into a project right before having the baby (yay appellate briefing) kept my mind off how uncomfortable I was.
Maddie Ross says
I peed myself like that. Two days before my water DID break in the middle of the night. I didn’t go to the hospital, as I ended up laying around after the wetting incident and never had contractions and no more ever leaked out. The test I read is that if you lay down and are leaking or leak when you change positions, it’s probably your water. And it won’t stop – it’s intermittent, but it keeps going. While standing, it might stop because the baby’s head plugs it up.
greenie says
Don’t be embarassed, this seems pretty common! The anticipation to meet baby is SO hard at the end, but do your best to take care of yourself in the meantime!
pockets says
i can appreciate the embarrassment but this is a hilarious end-of-pregnancy story.
I had the opposite problem: my water broke and I thought I’d peed myself. I sat very very still for several minutes planning how I was going to go to the bathroom to fix myself up. Then I stood up and realized what was going on.
Katie says
The nice thing about the hospital is that unless you walk in with something really outrageous or rare, you’re probably not their first case. And with all the stuff the front desk sees, you’re probably a 2/10 on their Interesting Stories for the Day scale :)
anon eagle says
I used to work on a small maternity ward and I assure you that this happened at least once a day or once every other day. Hug.
pockets says
Question about stroller blankets: which one do you have? I am in NYC so it is usually not SUPER cold (last year notwithstanding) and I’m not taking baby (or myself) on cold-weather expeditions, but I do need warmth for early morning, 15-minute walks. I really want the 7AM Enfant one but it is almost triple the price of the JJ Cole one. Is the 7AM Enfant one really that much better, or does it just look cooler? I have an uppababy cruz & a citi mini stroller, if that matters.
(former) preg 3L says
(Also in NYC.) I got the JJ Cole urban bundle me, in the weather-resistant fabric. I loved it, but felt like it should have had a heater inside! The inside of the zipper got pretty chilly, and I had to have my daughter pretty well bundled. We used it pretty much until late May. I don’t know anything about the 7am enfant one.
KJ says
Can I piggyback on this and ask for recommendations for a cover to use with a front-facing carrier? (I use Becco.) The 7AM Pookie Poncho looks great, but some on the Amazon reviews make it sound difficult to use with a front-facing carrier.
Sarabeth says
I used the jolly jumper snuggle cover last winter, and it worked fine over a front-facing bjorn. And it was $25, so way way cheaper.
Anon says
Also in NYC. I LOVE our 7 AM Enfant. We have the toddler version. It seems warmer than everything else on the market. Granted, my enthusiasm may not have been so great but for that ridiculous winter we had last year. I got it used off a moms listserve for my neighborhood – maybe you have a similar one? I think I would have paid full price for it though. If you’re taking your kid to daycare, it is so much easier to just pop him out of his little cocoon without having to bundle him (and unbundle him) up too much. I was tempted to get the 7 AM stroller mittens as well, but I never pulled the trigger.
Carrie M says
We just used a normal blanket wrapped around / on top of baby. We didn’t even use the bunting that came with the car seat a neighbor gave us. We usually used a Pottery Barn blanket that was a gift; it is thick and fuzzy and kept her plenty warm. That plus a hat seemed to do the trick. We weren’t out long either – about 15 min to walk the dog.
But now that I see what 7AM Enfant has, those look amazing!
Nonny says
Update on my sleep training story….
So the first night, my daughter fell asleep nursing. The first time she woke up it took her 1 1/2 hours to go to sleep. The second time, it took 1 hour.
Last night was the second night. She fell asleep on her own, in 12 minutes. When she woke up in the middle of the night, it only took her 4 minutes to go back to sleep. (Then she woke up at 4:30 and didn’t sleep again for an hour, but that is a tough time of the night anyway.)
I can’t believe how much better the second night was, already. We will soldier on, but so far it seems my little girl is learning quickly and I am so glad I started this process….
mascot says
Yay for progress! Having a good sleeper makes it all so much more bearable!
JJ says
Congrats on your progress! We finally did sleep training (in a method very similar to yours) when the baby was 9 months old. We were at our wits’ end with the nighttime wakings. Baby now routinely sleeps 13 hours (at least) every night and begs to get in his crib at night. Life is so much better with a good sleeper.
hoola hoopa says
whoohoo!
(former) preg 3L says
What sleep training method are you using? We tried CIO and let me tell you: it didn’t work. My LO seems to want to nurse 3x/night, no matter what.
Nonny says
We are using The Sleep Lady. It isn’t CIO though initially there was some crying. The Sleep Lady advocates sitting with your baby while she learns how to put herself to sleep, and then gradually moving further away over the course of a few weeks. So far (3 nights in), it’s working beautifully for us. My daughter didn’t wake up at all last night until almost 5am – this, when only 4 or 5 nights ago she was waking up 5 or 6 times a night and unable to put herself back to sleep. I just about feel confident enough to start night weaning now…
Mgm says
I absolutely needed a maternity blazer! My regular ones started to look like little ridiculous boleros and I was so uncomfortable wearing them. I felt like they made me look bigger than I was. I bought one maternity blazer made out of some wonderful stretchy material and felt so much better. It was a one button style and flattered the bump.
Nonny says
I agree. I resisted buying a maternity blazer for ages until finally my mom convinced me to buy one we found in a consignment store, on the basis that it was cheap and I had nothing to lose. To my great surprise, I ended up wearing it about twice a week. It fit me so much better than any other blazer I had at that point and may have been the single most useful maternity purchase I made.
Mine was Pea in the Pod and had a ribbon tie in front rather than a button.
Tunnel says
I agree. My regular blazers don’t fit right anymore – tight in the boobs and belly and even starting to get tight around the back – and sizing up makes them too big in my shoulders. If only nice maternity blazers were easier to find. Sigh.
JJ says
(Former) preg 3L – I’ve been thinking of you!
anonmama says
Seconded.
anon says
Thirded
(former) preg 3L says
Thanks all. Keep thinking of me – no progress to report yet. Just yelling. So much yelling.
Anonymous says
I bought a discounted size 14 blazer and wore it often throughout my pregnancy. Didn’t live anywhere that sold maternity blazers and I find I need to try on anything with sleeves. If I lived in a bigger center or planned on more kids I would definitely have invested in one.
Katherine K says
I wore my regular blazers (unbuttoned, holla!) through both my pregnancies, but my mom found a Pea in the Pod suit coat for like $10 in my size. It had some weird buttons on it so I took it and had a tailor replace them, and then wore it to court with black pants. I don’t think it was absolutely crucial, but it was really nice to have the option to wear a suit … f you’re in court a lot, it helps to have at least one jacket you know you’ll be comfortable in :)
CHL says
I splurged on an Isabella Oliver maternity blazer (on sale, but still) and I LOVE it and got compliments every time I wore it. I wore it probably twice a week but always felt professional and nice looking (and not “nice looking for maternity” when I wore it).
Nonny says
Speaking of Isabella Oliver, has anyone tried their non-maternity sister brand, Baukjen? Some of their things look nice and knowing how much I enjoyed my IO maternity pieces, I’m tempted to try ordering something…
pockets says
I was actually thinking the same thing last night and I’m glad you reminded me. Some of the non-mat dresses seem nice, and I loved my IO mat wear.