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This highly-rated blazer comes in a bunch of colors over at Kohl’s — port (pictured), black, gray, and navy. I like that it’s soft and stretchy, and lined in satin — huzzah. The blazer is $44 (was $64), available in sizes 0 to 16. LC Lauren Conrad Ponte BlazerSales of note for 3.26.24
(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 all workwear
- J.Crew – Annual Spring Event: 40% off sitewide; extra 40% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – 10% off your order
- Loft – 50% off Lou & Grey; 30% off new arrivals
- Nordstrom: Spring Sale: Up to 50% off
- Talbots – 25% off your purchase, including markdowns
- 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 – 40% off everything; extra 10% off your purchase with code
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 30% off swim; up to 30% off HannaJams
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; extra 40% off sale; 50% off kids’ styles
- Old Navy – 50% off Easter deals
- Target – 20% off Easter styles for all; up to 30% kitchen & dining; up to 25% off TVs; BOGO 50% off shoes & slippers for the family; $100 off select Apple products
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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?
Swim Suit says
Anyone have a recommendation for a great maternity tankini? I already have black bottoms. It needs to have straps (not a halter), coordinate with black, and have full coverage on the sides (none of that ruching nonsense that allows my love handles to peek out). TIA!
Meg Murry says
Have you looked at Land’s End? I know they aren’t technically maternity, but you can get a lot of the tankinis in a tall/long torso option. I found sizing up in Land’s End worked better for me for swimwear than buying crapping maternity suits. Most of their suits have real underwire or cups, not a crappy shelf bra like most of the maternity suits I tried.
I was going to suggest this swimkini, but it is a halter. However, you have the option to get it in D, DD or DDD size which is an X back instead of halter.
Tunnel says
I own and like this one:
http://www.destinationmaternity.com/Product.asp?Product_Id=962040083&MasterCategory_Id=MC9
Swim Suit OP says
I just bought this one before seeing your post! It’s good to know someone else liked it :)
meme says
I’ve had great luck with Old Navy maternity tankinis.
AEK says
Me too.
HSAL says
It may be worth checking out athletic tanks that have blousier bottoms. My breasts outgrew my swimsuit top and I didn’t want to pay for another suit I’d only wear a few times (due to the bosoms, my suits are pretty expensive). So I just matched up my bottoms with workout tanks with a built-in bra that were loose through the waist (empire-style), and they worked perfectly. Mine came from Target a couple years ago but I imagine they still have similar ones. No floating issues for the looser part, but I think it helped that it was pretty snug over my belly.
Meg Murry says
Along these same lines, my water aerobics instructor just gave up on finding maternity suits she could work out in and just wore cheap sports bras under regular sized up suits. Didn’t look great, but beat having sore boobs for the next 24 hours.
Lkl says
I like this cut, but not the color, and sadly don’t need another black or grey blazer.
Sippy cup thoughts/recommendations? Ideally I’d rather skip the kind that’s more like a bottle and move to a training cup or straight to a real cup, but in practice, who knows what will work best? Recommendations?
mascot says
We started introducing straw cups of water (Playtex, then Munchkin) around 4-5 months. Took a little while to catch on, but eventually he could handle straws. This made like a little easier when we were out and about with no kids cup.
EB0220 says
My kiddo went straight to regular cups, because that’s what they use at her school. It’s a bit messy – sometimes she decides she’d rather play than drink – but at 13 months she drinks very well out of the cup. It’s so great to be able to use any cup when we go out, if I don’t happen to have a sippy with me. I did get her a kid’s Camelbak bottle for travel and she likes it.
ELL says
Agree with all this. It’s so convenient.
Lkl says
what age did you start? At this point, he can usually but not always hold his own bottle; we’ve tried water out of a cup with us holding it, but it’s not that successful yet (6 months).
EB0220 says
I think they started helping her with it around 8-9 months. She could hold it herself by 1, but still made a mess while drinking. Now (almost 14 months) she is a pro.
JK says
A little late to the party, but DS also went straight from bottle to regular cup (he was in a Montessori school, and they had a no-sippy policy – we kept things as consistent as possible at home.) We started off with a shot glass! We had a few of the heavier-bottom ones and just put small amounts of water in at a time. We could easily carry them with us to restaurants, if they spilled it was only an ounce or two of water, and if they fell on the floor, they are thick enough that they don’t easily break. But the size was perfect for little 8mo hands.
Anon says
As a follow up to yesterday’s post on daycare, I’m curious about childcare ratios and how much they differ. I’m in eastern Canada and it’s no more than 4 kids in a day home with no more than 2 under 2. It’s also no more than 6 kids total when including the daychome provider’s own children. Being home with twins I can’t imagine more than two under two! I think centres have 1:2 or 1:3 under 2 and 1:4 for age 2 and 1:8 for 3 plus.
anon says
Our state is 1:3 up to age 2, then 1:6 for older toddlers. Ours has 2 providers and 8 kids, 3 of whom are babies under age 2. The rest are ages 2-4.
NewMomAnon says
It varies by state in the U.S., and home daycares usually have lower ratios than centers. In our state, daycare centers have to have 1 teacher for every 4 infants, 1 teacher for every 6 toddlers (I think that starts at 16 months), and I don’t know what comes after that. Our center had a float system so they usually had 1 teacher for every 3 infants, and they have a team toddler system so it’s usually closer to 1:4 or 1:5. Home daycares can pick from a menu of options in my state – if you have more infants, you can’t have as many older kids, and I think you are limited to 2 infants no matter what. But yes, I think daycare providers have to be ready for a certain level of chaos!
Meg Murry says
I just googled and apparently our state is legally 1:5 or 2:12 for infants under 1 for daycare centers, which is insane, and maybe I’m finding out of date references. However, our daycare operates under our state “Step Up to Quality” daycare ratios, which I believe are 1:4 for infants, and I believe the daycare staffs at 1:3 for under 1 and 1:4 for under 2.
For in home care, the rules are:
Type A Homes -7 to 12 children (or 4 to 12 children if 4 children are under 2 years of age) cared for in the provider’s home. The provider’s own children under 6 years of age must be included in the total count.
Type B homes serving children through the publicly funded child care program -1 to 6 children cared for in the provider’s personal home. No more than three children may be under the age of two. The provider’s own children under six years of age must be included in the total count. Type B Homes are only licensed by ODJFS if they serve, or intend to serve, children through the publicly funded child care program. Please note: anyone can operate a Type B Home without a license.
Meg Murry says
Here’s the full “Step Up to Quality rules” for Ohio for the 2 highest ratings, which most of the centers in our area follow (even if they don’t meet the rest of the 4 or 5 star ratings, because those require things like Bachelors degrees in ECE for every single teacher).
Staff/Child Ratios and Group Size
Infants
• Birth to < 18 months 1:4 / 2:8 / 3:10 (3 points) or 1:5 / 2:10 (2 points)
Toddlers
• 18 to 30 months 1:5 / 2:10 30 to 36 months 1:6 / 2:12 (3 points); or
• 18 to 30 months 1:6 / 2:12 30 to 36 months 1:7 / 2:14 (2 points)
Mixed Age Groups follow the ratio for the youngest child in the group
Preschool
• 36 to < 48 months 1:10 / 2:20 and 48 months to < school age 1:12 / 2:24 (2 points); or
• 36 months to < 48 months 1:11 / 2:22 and 48 months to < school age 1:13/2:26 (1 point)
Mixed Age Groups follow the ratio for the youngest child in the group
School age
• K to age 14 1:15 (2 points); or 1:16 (1 point)
Note that those ratios are for the number of staff in the classroom at any given time So our daycare has 4.5 full time staff for the 14 infants, and 3 staff for the preschool class of 15-20, but they are usually only staffed for 3 adults in the classroom at a time if 12 kids are there (and float in a 4th if all 14 are actually there on a given day), and 2 adults at any time in the preschool class.
NewMomAnon says
I am attending a funeral in the South for a family member (my grandma) and my family asked me to bring my toddler daughter. I’m a northerner and not familiar with southern funerals; do the typical black/dark clothes rules apply? For both me and my kiddo? Or is this a “floral dress” activity like going to the church my grandma attended?
mascot says
You’ll see a lot of adults in darker/more muted “church dress” clothes, although head to toe black isn’t really needed. Is there a separate visitation? Families usually dress in business casual while visitors come as they are since many are dropping in. For kids, church clothes/ nice clothes are fine in whatever color you have. No one expects that a kid has a funeral outfit in their closet. I’m sorry about your grandmother.
VKJ says
I am in the southern Midwest and I’ve noticed a trend more to bright colors, though most of the services I’ve been to recently have been considered “celebrations of life”. I would suggest wearing what you think your grandmother would like. Was she prim and proper? Then go neutrals or darks. Was she fun and carefree? Go brights. Also, I wouldn’t worry about what color your toddler is wearing, regardless.
And condolences on the loss of your grandmother.
NewMomAnon says
Thanks. My grandmother loved the color blue and she loved floral patterns, so I wanted to wear something like that. I might do that in a shirt with a dark skirt and sweater and put my kiddo in a dress and cardigan. I can’t imagine it’s going to be a somber ceremony; she would be ticked if everyone showed up wearing black and weeping.
Anon says
I think that sounds perfectly acceptable (I’m in the Midwest FWIW). I recently wore black pants and a colored top to a funeral that was during the work day and it seemed to be consistent with what everyone else was wearing. I think VKJ/s advice that the deceased’s personality makes a difference is a good one. But generally if you skirt is dark, I think a colored top is fine.
SC says
My condolences for your loss. I live in a traditional city in the South, and here people tend to wear more muted colors for funerals and visitations. I’ve worn a navy or black dress to funerals recently. If the visitation is during the work week, people might be in more “normal” business or business casual clothes, but I don’t remember bright colors or florals at the last funeral I went to (in March). That said, I love the idea of wearing something your grandmother would have loved in her honor. Can you call your family members and ask them if they want to join you in this in honor of your grandmother? I think it would be lovely if all of her grandchildren wore something blue or something floral. Otherwise, could you incorporate blue or floral patterns in a scarf or another accessory or a sweater? That way, you can remove it if you feel out of place.
Your daughter will be just fine in regular dress-up clothes.
E says
I’m sorry about your grandmother. We attended the funeral of my husband’s grandmother a few weeks ago in a Southern city. I wasn’t sure what was appropriate to wear, so I’m glad to pass what I learned onto you. For the church service (Episcopal), most people wore dark muted colors (navy, gray, black, brown). Her visitation was after work and the majority of people were in business casual. There was a more color at the visitation and the atmosphere was definitely a celebration of life. The kids were in slightly nicer clothes at both events and I’m sure whatever your daughter wears will be perfect.
RDC says
Another daycare question. How do yours handle naps? DS is 9.5 months and does not nap at daycare. At all. I’m beyond frustrated by this since he clearly needs naps – he’s a zombie when we pick him up, and on weekends he will take two naps ranging from 1-2hrs. At home, we just put him in his crib, he fusses for a few minutes (<5) and then falls asleep. At daycare, they have a new "policy" that they can't leave awake children unattended in cribs, so they must rock the babies to sleep and then put them down. I have a philosophical issue with his, since I'd rather him learn to fall asleep on his own, and also a practical one, since it's not working for him. How do your daycares handle naps in the infant room? Any suggestions for getting baby to nap there?
RDC says
Eta – he’s in a large center, with 8 infants and two teachers in his room.
anon says
With our child, I think that policy would be enough to make me find a new daycare, since our 6 month old has refused to be rocked to sleep for several months. He just wants to be put down and settle himself out. Like yours, at home we just plunk him in his crib and he falls asleep 5-15 minutes later, with some amount of talking and/or fussing first. We told that to the (home) daycare, and that seems to be what they do, although I think they don’t let him fuss as long as we do. Once in a while they’ll give him an extra few ounces if he’s really crying, or otherwise just get him up for a while. He doesn’t nap *quite* as well at daycare as at home (SO MANY THINGS TO LOOK AT), but still gets his 3 naps in even if they’re a little shorter.
RDC says
Yeah. I’m not thrilled. Planning to talk to someone higher up than the teachers to find out what prompted this new policy and ask them to reconsider.
Meg Murry says
Rather than leave him unattended, could they stand next to the crib and pat his back, or even just stand there? Is the issue that him fussing wakes the other babies?
Is this supposed to be a no cry-it-out policy, and could you ask to waive it with your signature?
Is it possible that he’s just too stimulated by all the things to look at and too excited to sleep at daycare? Can you ask if he can be moved to the crib in the corner or away from the other kids?
I think this calls for a conference with the teacher (and possibly director) because not napping at all for multiple days is not ok.
I get your frustration – WTF daycare, you are trying to teach my kid to only be rocked to sleep????
NewMomAnon says
No advice, just commiseration – when my kiddo was in the infant program, two “naps” of a half hour each were a good day. There were so many rules; couldn’t stay asleep on a staff person’s chest, couldn’t be left alone in a crib if awake, couldn’t be left sleeping in a swing (although I think they did sometimes and I was perfectly fine with that). I’ve come to learn that it’s really common for babies to sleep badly in infant rooms at daycare centers. Now that my kiddo is in the toddler room, she usually gets a nap of 1.5-2 hours a day on her cot and is so much happier.
You might ask if that is policy or state law; if it’s state law, there is nothing you can do other than switch to an in-home daycare. If it’s center policy, express your concerns to the head of the center. In my state, they can leave a baby unattended in a crib if they can both see and hear the baby, and a baby monitor is sufficient for that. My center started using a baby monitor app on an iphone and the naps got better.
RDC says
Thank you – this at least makes me feel better that he’s not the only baby out there not napping. Great suggestions for our conversation with the teachers and director.
TBK says
THERE’S A BABY MONITOR APP FOR THE IPHONE?!?! My world has changed. (We have a cheap “travel” monitor but often lose/forget it and have resorted to bootleg iPhone monitor — my husband calls my phone from his and we leave one phone in the room with the kids and keep the other and just keep the “call” going with both phones on speaker.)
AEK says
I feel your pain. My DS was all over the place with naps at his first day care, and would frequently be fried at the end of a day without sleep. They just didn’t prioritize sleep, and didn’t do much to work with me on trying different things. They wouldn’t let babies cry in the crib but they also wouldn’t soothe, rock etc. So unless DS just passed out on the floor and got dumped in his crib, he didn’t sleep. I changed day cares. If your conversations about this don’t bear fruit, then that might be your fate, too. Sleep is so important and even though this is a pretty common issue, there are places that at least make good naps and sleeping skills a priority.
RDC says
Thanks. I’m loathe to change since otherwise our situation is pretty good (and we already changed once, in part for the same issue). So far our workaround has been that DH (who has a flexible schedule) keeps baby home a couple mornings a week to at least get a nap in before he goes to daycare. Not ideal but it’s something.
CHJ says
Just to add another perspective that might weigh in favor of switching centers, at our center (independently-owned, only one branch), the infant teachers will do whatever the parents want to get the babies to sleep. For my son, that was being rocked to sleep. For other kids, that’s sleeping in the swing. For others, they need darkness and white noise and space. And they turn down the lights and play quiet, gentle music across the entire center (except the preschoolers) from 1-3 so everyone can nap.
All this to say, you don’t need to accept that your baby doesn’t nap at daycare. Your concern is completely normal. I can see that they might have a “no cry it out” rule, but then I’d think they’d be even more focused on setting up a good sleep environment for the babies.
Batgirl says
Very newly pregnant but moving down to the Northern VA area in a month and am hoping to line up an OB asap so I can start out with the same doctor. Does anyone know any good resources for looking into this in the NOVA area? Or better yet, any good OB recommendations? I was hoping to find a doctor working out of Inova Fair Oaks. Thanks in advance!
RDC says
Not at Inova, but I used Arlington Women’s Center and delivered at Virginia Hospital Center and would recommend them both. AWC has midwives and OBs, so you can pick which you prefer. I had a great experience at VHC.
Batgirl says
Thanks, I should have said that VHC was another option we were looking at. I’m just not as familiar with it as I am Inova Fair Oaks (from growing up near there). Thanks for the recommendation!
Carrie M says
I also LOVED AWC and VHC. I know a lot of people rave about Inova Fairfax too. I would pick a practice and hospital that are convenient for you (in addition to being high quality, etc.). No one wants to be stuck in traffic on 66 and in labor! :)
TBK says
I was on hospital bedrest with my twins at VHC and AWC and am a huge huge huge fan. Highly recommend them! The hospital is smaller than most of the Inova hospitals, which is really nice. The rooms on the whole are large (there are some slightly smaller ones they use if it’s crowded) and all are private rooms. They have pull-out beds for partners and partners are welcome to stay overnight with you. The nurses are AMAZING. I loved all of them. I was there over the holidays and we now make it a holiday tradition to stop by with the kids on Christmas day to drop off treats for the nursing staff. LOVE LOVE LOVE. (Also Dr. Rohn at AWC did the most amazing job on my c-section. You can really barely see the scar and it healed up so quickly I was off heavy meds by the time I left the hospital. AND AWC has I think two midwives now and were totally down with me trying a v@ginal birth even though one of my twins was breech. After 22 hrs of labor, my boys decided they were going to stay put which is why we went the c-section route, but the AWC folks are terrific about giving you the information you need to make the decisions you want to make and then providing the support to help you carry those through.)
JEB says
I saw Dr. Tabbarah at one of the Inova practices. He delivers at Inova Fairfax…not sure about Fair Oaks. He was excellent. I felt like he got to know me personally and genuinely cared about my questions and concerns. He had a calm, friendly demeanor, respected my wishes along the way, and struck a good balance in terms of interventions/testing. I saw other members of the practice as well, and they were all fine.
Passing the time says
Any advice on what to do to pass the time while I wait for baby? I’m 35 weeks, and I’m counting down the days! Fortunately, work hasn’t been very busy lately, so I find myself with quite a bit of free time (both during office hours and after word). I think we’re mostly ready for baby, so I’m looking for advice on what you would do in those final few weeks of pregnancy (with all associated aches and pains and movement issues that come with it!) if you found yourself with extra free time.
Famouscait says
Enroll all your bills in automatic bill pay.
HSAL says
I’m 37 weeks and in the same boat, so I’d love to see some suggestions as well. I already had all my utilities on autopay, but I went ahead earlier today and scheduled my next few student loan payments (I pay every four weeks instead of monthly to save a bit on interest throughout the year).
I’m trying to sleep a lot, but still do some “fun” things with my husband while we still can, without wearing myself out. I don’t want to spend all our free time watching Netflix (though let’s be honest, I like that too).
RDC says
Lots of walks? Send all the thank you notes for baby gifts since you won’t want to do it later (and buy extra cards and stamps for gifts you get later). Research local moms groups, bf’ing support (if you want to be), mommy-baby yoga, storytimes, etc so you know what your options are to get out of the house over maternity leave. Better yet, join said groups and start making mom friends. Did you do an infant care an breastfeeding class? Go out to eat. Go to the movies. Find a housekeeper and dog walker (if necessary) to help you out with chores after the birth.
RDC says
One more if you’re planning to breastfeed – sort out insurance and order your pump. Sterilize parts and assemble.
anon says
Our (very very good) insurance wouldn’t let me order until the baby was born. So annoying! Delivery was very quick, though. And we rented a hospital pump anyway for the first month.
LC says
38.5 and time has suddenly started moving SO slowly! Following this as well.
Meg Murry says
Does you gym have a pool, or is there a community pool with reasonable day passes? Spending some time in the water on weekends just walking made me feel less like a beached whale, and gave me some relief from all the back and joint aches for the hour or two I was in the pool. Plus, then when I went home I would have a really solid nap.
At work during downtime – look for recipes you could make and freeze. Make up grocery lists for them.
Make a “just in case” file for your husband of all the things he might need if you wind up having to stay in the hospital? If you are the bill paying primary person (I am in our family): bank account numbers, list of what bills get paid or auto deducted on which date, etc. I put all our passwords and account numbers into LastPass and then put the master password in our fire safe with our passports and marriage license.
Make a really long Netflix queue for all the hours you’ll spend watching it while BF or up walking in the middle of the night with baby.
TK says
Free time, what’s that?
– Cook and freeze meals
– Set up regular delivery service for diapers / wipes / diaper pail refills / etc. on Amazon Subscribe and Save
– Confirm address / write address on baby card announcements
anon says
Cook and freeze!
JEB says
See a movie! And ditto to the auto pay, baby announcement addresses, and freezer cooking suggestions.
Katarina says
Read for fun.
Go to the movies.
Go to a nice restaurant with your husband.
I personally feel like I overprepared for the baby, and wish I had done more fun things that I would not get to do later. I found I could still do chores pretty well after the baby was born, but it was (is) really hard to sit down and read a novel. I would also try not to watch too much television, because I spent way too much time watching television after the baby was born.
mascot says
Stock the house with non-baby things that you need and that require trips to multiple stores. Paper goods, snacks that you like (some days proper meals just don’t happen), holiday gifts/decor, etc.
B says
Add me to the list of impatient, bored, and super pregnant @ 39 weeks. You all are coming up with great productive ideas but the problem is I don’t always feel well enough to be truly productive. I’m too restless and spacey to read very much. Hubs and I have been playing a lot of Yahtzee. I’m thinking about doing my Christmas shopping ahead of time, online of course, and buying my Halloween candy now. Besides all that, on Monday, I sent myself the following to-do list. I’m hoping these are fun projecty things that will help me get through the next 1-2 weeks.
Flag favorite recipes or put in book (ie, for hubs and other people coming in to ‘help’ after the baby)
Make baby announcement labels
Finish (list of various crochet projects)
Housewarming gift for (friend who just moved, whose party I missed due to travel restrictions)
Find photographer
Meg Murry says
Oh, along those lines – Christmas wrapping paper (or generic, all occasion wrapping paper). Scotch tape. If not actual Christmas shopping, making a list of who you will need to buy for, and starting a list of ideas. Crap like that that used to be easy to run out and get that all used to be easy to run out and get, and now involves doing so with a screaming infant and forgetting half the stuff on your list.
Take a long bath. Put on a face mask. Do a long, slow, thorough shave of your legs, if you can reach enough to care. Take a nap. Take a walk, take another nap.
Spending time with your husband playing Yahtzee can be a great way to hang out with him, and have some “just the two of us time”. Along the same line, jigsaw puzzles can be good for that too.
I took 2 weeks off before my oldest was born (that turned into 3, because he was late), and I spent the time swimming/water walking, napping and watching whole seasons of tv shows. I was bored, but not – it was the first and last time I’ve really had “off” like that since college winter breaks.
MDMom says
To keep your mind off waiting: read novels and go to the movies. Also go out to dinner with friends- it might be a while before you can make it to a lot of social events again.
Lorelai Gilmore says
Put together your will, life insurance, and guardianship documents.
See All The Movies.
Clean the heck out of your house.
Go out to the most kid-unfriendly restaurants you can find.
Get a pedicure.
Get a prenatal massage.
shortperson says
buy a baby book (i liked this one: http://www.amazon.com/My-Baby-Book-Keepsake-Journal/dp/030746542X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_text_y) and fill out as much as you can.
Pregnancy back pain says
Any recommendations for dealing with pregnancy back pain? Have those support belts worked for anyone?
I’m 25 weeks (didn’t think it would be an issue this early) and am having mild but pretty regular lower back pain. I don’t exercise a ton, but do usually walk at least 5 miles a day for my commute. Trying to work on posture….
shortperson says
chiropracter (i normally equate chiropractery with quackery, but it worked for specific pregnancy problems), massage, pilates. all with people experienced with pregnancy.
rakma says
The pregnancy support belt worked wonders for me, and was recommended by my midwife. I used the ‘It’s You Babe” Mini Cradle, and it was just enough to prevent the pain with out squishing me. It’s available on Amazon for under $20, so I figured it wasn’t a loss if it didn’t work.
CPA Lady says
I had that same one and found it helpful as well. I got it in two sizes. I think its usefulness varies depending on how you carry. I basically grew a giant tummy that looked like I had shoved a basketball under my shirt. I had constant back pain and felt stretched to the point of breathlessness. The belt takes a little getting used to, but was great with both my back and with the stretched feeling.
B says
Search your local area for a PT trained in pregnancy physical therapy. I did that and it helped.
Also helped:
massage
water aerobics and swimming instead of walking
yoga (but only when not having a lot of pain)
getting up from desk and moving around every 30 min
I tried the Gabrialla support belt but didn’t think it helped. Other people love them. I just felt like it moved pressure from my back to my front, which was not an improvement.
And finally, don’t assume just because you have something going on at 25 weeks that it is going to keep happening or get worse — I felt like in this pregnancy, baby would have a growth spurt and my body would take a big adjustment for a week or two, then I’d feel better for a while, then something else would ‘break’. So it’s not necessarily all a downward spiral from here. :)
Pregnancy back pain says
Thanks, all. I’ll implement some of these suggestions (and upon thinking about it further, I should probably give up heels, too, though I hate to do it). And B, thanks for letting me know that things don’t always get progressively worse–I keep worrying about things happening to me now because I’m only 5 months along!
Katarina says
Giving up heels worked amazingly well for me. Also, I have found that, for me, the second and third trimester discomforts tend to come and go, they don’t necessarily keep getting worse.
TBK says
My kids are 18 months and I’m getting deluged with emails about potty training (from those sites that you somehow wind up signed up for without realizing it — baby center etc.). Do any kids really potty train this young? I’m thinking we’ll try next summer. The boys will be a little over 2 and in the fall, we hope to have them start preschool plus we’ll be switching to a new au pair, so it seems like it would be best to do it a few months before all that chaos. But 18 months? Seriously?
Meg Murry says
My mother started almost that young with my son (a few months before 2), and I thought she was crazy, but he took right to it, and was fully trained by 2.5. As opposed to my oldest, who refused to even consider it before 3 when he went cold turkey, and still had issues until almost 4.
At that young age, it’s less about potty training, and more about potty readiness. So maybe having them sit on it before bathtime, etc. But even when my son was “trained” at 2.5, it was really more of a “doesn’t pee his pants as long as someone makes him go every 2 hours” not “can be relied on to stop playing and tell you need needs to go” – even at almost 4 he needs some prompting on that front sometimes.
So I’d say some parents and caregivers can be trained to put the kids on the pot at the right intervals, and some kids can be trained to go on the pot, but at 18 months the parents are trained, not kids.
Anonymous says
On the opposite end of this – we started potty training at 19 months when my son started talking about the potty. It went really well for two weeks, then he refused to potty for just over two weeks. Then he LITERALLY woke up one morning and told me “no diaper” and has been potty trained, with a total of only two daytime accidents, ever since.
We were not prepared, didn’t have undies, didn’t have anything really but one pack of pull-ups.
(Don’t worry, I’ve got other issues to make up for this bout of good luck).
But it can happen for some kids. Mine surprised me.
anon says
Totally agree on the parents being trained, not the kids. I have twin boys who are just over 2. At the advice of another mom of multiples and relatives who share my general parenting philosophy, my plan is to wait until they’re almost 3. I am told (and want to believe, if foolishly) that if you wait longer, they can train all together in a shorter period of time (like a week). Day and night, home and away. That appeals to me, rather than a gradual process.
Spirograph says
This has been my experience. We got a potty when DS (now 2.5) was 20ish months or so and showed interest, and he liked to sit on it to pee before bathtime. We didn’t push the issue at all until daycare did potty training with all the kids in his 2/3 year olds class starting last month. The weekend before, we went all underwear all the time. He had several accidents and some poop anxiety for about 4 days, but he’s been great since then. We still put him in a pullup at night, but it’s consistently dry. I’m amazed it was so easy (knock on wood) and really glad daycare had this cold turkey system, because I probably would have procrastinated and dragged it out endlessly.
Anonymous says
My second potty trained herself and was 100% out of diapers during waking hours by her second birthday. I can’t remember exactly, but she was probably ~18 mo when she started using a little potty.. She’s now 3 years old and uses the bathroom completely independently. No reminders from us. No assistance unless we’re away from home and the toilet is too tall.
So it is possible, although I wouldn’t anticipate that any child will. (My first certainly didn’t).
Anon says
Back when people used cloth diapers about 50% of kids were potty trained at age 18 months (according to surveys from the early 20th Century through the 1950s). And almost all were potty trained by 2.5.
You’ll find doctors who argue that this increases the likelihood of constipation. But it seems to have been the norm for most of European / American history. (Because who wants to keep HANDWASHING those cloth diapers?) People mocking this are basically ignoring the reality of how most human beings lived before disposable diapers.
Nobody will mock you either way as long as your not smug about it.
anne-on says
Bwahahahaha, 18 months? Not likely. Among moms of boys that I know, the ‘early’ ones started to show interest around 2.5. My son trained right around 3 on the dot, and at just about 3.5 is now night trained (though that can take much much longer depending on the child). Among his 3’s class, I’d say about 60-70% of the boys are fully trained, and closer to 80% of the girls. And they’re 3, so you know, accidents happen, especially when they don’t tell you they have to go until its URGENT.
TBK says
Glad to know I’m not alone in thinking “what?!” I guess I’ll think about getting a couple of potties next summer and see what the boys think of them, but not worry about really working on it until maybe next winter after they’ve settled in with new preschool and new au pair.
anne-on says
Personally, I don’t consider a child ‘trained’ if all that means is that the parents is trained to take them to the bathroom every 2 hours. By ‘trained’ I mean my child (and other kids in his class) will either alert a caregiver they need to go, or go to the potty themselves (its common to have the little kid potties in the room at my daycare).