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I go back and forth on whether a maternity blazer is actually necessary, since in my most recent pregnancy I wore my regular blazers just fine up until week 38 or so. (Admittedly, I only gained 20 lbs, and then had a 10 lb baby, so there is that.) But I definitely have gotten a lot of wear out of the two maternity blazers I bought for my first pregnancy, and sometimes knowing that everything fits the way it’s supposed to (and buttons can button, etc) is a priceless boost of confidence. This stretchy knit version from Tart looks great, and is available in five colors at Nordstrom — gray, ikat, black, navy, and denim blue. They’re all around $128. Tart Essential Blazer (L-all) Building a maternity wardrobe for work? Check out our page with more suggestions along both classic and trendy/seasonal lines.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;
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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?
Toddler gift ideas? says
Going to a birthday for a 2 year old who’s into planes and Elmo. No idea what gift to get. Any ideas for that age group?
Mrs. Jones says
Planes movie Duplos.
POSITA says
Bristle blocks
Lulu says
Duplos. Or, if you want to spend a little more and there’s one in your area, family pass to museum of flight.
Meg Murry says
One of the books off this list, and if you feel like that isn’t enough, add a gift card to Target, Toy R Us or Amazon. http://www.joyfulabode.com/a-b-c-10-great-kids-books-about-airplanes-2/
Book + giftcard has become my “nothing strikes me as the perfect gift so I’m not going to bother with something that will just become another piece of clutter” go-to. Although Duplos are a pretty great gift that will last forever – my 8 year old and almost 4 year old spent most of the weekend playing with our collection (I got a crap ton from a garage sale one year, one of my very best finds in dollars spent vs play time).
CHJ says
This is a huge, huge hit with my 2 year old:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Little-People-Movers-Airplane/dp/B00F5NC2YY/ref=dp_ob_title_toy
If he also likes buses, this airport shuttle is also such a wild hit that he takes it to bed with him:
http://www.amazon.com/PLAYMOBIL-1-2-3-Airport-Shuttle-Bus/dp/B004LLVVTS/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1442253855&sr=1-1-fkmr2&keywords=playskool+airport+bus
Jen says
I have one. Likes: soccer/sports balls, books, play doh, markers, stickers, paints/pads of paper, play food, puzzles, kid sized things (my daughter has her Very Own set of garden tools, kitchen equipment, fishing pole, etc). Also, a balloon is probably the best gift she’s gotten in the past 2 months :)
Anon S says
Hi ladies, I posted last week re talking to the head of my group about going to a 70% schedule (background: I’m on maternity leave, due to return next month. I’m a mid level associate and I want to ask for 70% schedule. The head of my group is a friendly, family man in his early 40’s, and we have a good, but not close relationship). Well, I emailed the head of my group last week and asked if he had time to chat to discuss my transition back to the office. We scheduled a call. I called him at the scheduled time, and he didn’t answer (ugh), so I left a voicemail and said I’m around for the next half hour if you’re free to chat. He called me after the half hour and I didn’t answer (I truly wasn’t available – was driving with my daughter to a play date). So then I emailed him later that day and said, hey sorry we missed each other, etc., and I asked if he wanted to reschedule for Monday (today). I have yet to hear back from him. I don’t know why I’m so nervous and feeling weird about all of this, but do you think I should (a) wait for him to email me back, (b) send another email (and if so, what would I say?) or (c) call him sometime today when I’m free even though we don’t have a scheduled call.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
MSJ says
Not in law, but I would just call seeing as he didn’t stick to your first agreed upon time slot. If he answers, you can ask if now is a good time and if not set something else up. If his assistant answers you could try to set an appointment.
Nerves says
I had the same issue when calling a partner to extend my maternity leave. I was nervous b/c of the nature of the request and was totally prepared to discuss/get the conversation over at our pre-arranged time; the partner (rightfully) knew he could bump our call for other, more pressing client issues. I ended up calling his secretary, and asking her to nudge him to call me when he had a few minutes. She sent me an email giving me a heads up that he would be calling shortly.
I know you want it to be over (I sure did!), but it is in your best interest to let him call at his convenience. More receptive to the request, and not irritated that a client/urgent request has to wait for what amounts to a personnel issue from his perspective.
I also will urge you to try to take the call whenever it occurs. I’ll be honest – I put my guy in his crib and walked out of the house to take the call. He was safe, but screamed the entire time I was on the phone. I figured 10-15 minutes of sadness was worth an extra 4 weeks of leave together.
Finally! back to the fact that this isn’t as much on the partner’s radar – this isn’t a huge deal for him, like it is for you. Be calm – try to center yourself before the call, and/or have the call while looking in a mirror to slow down and relax.
Anon S says
You know what, that’s really good advice re taking the call whenever I can. I’ve been thinking we have to schedule it so I can make sure baby is napping or doing something that won’t require my attention, but you’re totally right about that. So given that I’ve already reached out to him via email on Friday to try to reschedule and I haven’t heard from him yet, you think I should wait a few days to ping him again?
AIMS says
Question about ASOS maternity clothes. I’ve never gotten anything from ASOS before. Would you say that their maternity stuff runs large, small, “true to size” – if the latter, what brand would you say is TTS because I always find that really varies.
Anon S says
I really loved the maternity clothes that I got from ASOS. I think ASOS in general tends to run a little small. That is, I’m normally a 0-2, but most of the stuff that fit me right from ASOS is a size 4. You could order both your regular size and then go up one size and get that too and see what fits better (they have free return shipping)
sfg says
I found ASOS to be inconsistent, so I ordered up a size as well and returned what didn’t work.
HSAL says
I ordered two dresses early in my pregnancy and thought they ran a little big. I was hovering between 12 and 14 in almost every brand I wear (Limited, Loft/Ann Taylor, Target, Old Navy, BR) and ordered a 14. I could have done the 12 pretty easily, but kept the 14s. In retrospect I should have taken advantage of the free return shipping and just bought both.
B says
I wear a lot of Loft for non-maternity. So with that as my baseline, I found that Loft Maternity and Gap Maternity were true-to-size, although Gap construction was less forgiving as I got bigger in the belly. Target, especially Liz Lange, runs big. Stuff from Nordstrom varied: a lot of the dresses I tried (various brands) were small-ish but the Japanese Weekend pants I ordered were perfect. Never tried ASOS.
When in doubt, I don’t think you’re going to go wrong ordering up a size. For dresses, order some skinny belts too, and use them to adjust. You will always find a way to use the extra room later :)
AEK says
The maternity shirts I ordered from ASOS were HUGE. As in, too big to wear at 9 months. Can’t speak to dresses / pants.
Anglophile says
I had this Tart maternity blazer in black and loved it – unbelievably soft with a really nice fit that didn’t scream maternity. I would love to find a non-maternity version…
NewMomAnon says
Now that it’s fall, I’m starting think about how to cope with toddler energy this winter. We live in a condo; I can clear some space for active play but we don’t have a giant rec room or unfinished basement to use. Any tips on how to make a space for winter active play and/or equipment that can be used indoors?
rakma says
We have a Little Tikes slide that dissembles for storage, and we use it indoors only on days when the weather isn’t great for going outside. The climbing and running from slide to ladder tires out DD, and it’s just thrilling enough to keep her occupied long enough to use up some of that energy.
http://www.littletikes.com/slides+teeters/little-tikes-first-slide/invt/624605
KJ says
I have a small house and am thinking about the same thing. I picked up a pop-up tunnel and a parachute that have very small storage footprints. Hopefully they will be good for burning off energy indoors this winter. Links to follow.
KJ says
Tunnel
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ECEJ9XE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
Parachute
http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Play-Tents-Playchute-Parachute/dp/B00000IURU/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1442256391&sr=1-1&keywords=parachute
I’ve also considered a balance beam like this, but I’m not sure my daughter would be into it at this point. http://www.amazon.com/Economy-Foam-Balance-Beam/dp/B007G4UPS0/ref=pd_sim_200_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TFGCBM60F1Z8ZJ1ESQS
Jen says
Do you mean after work hours / weekends or are you at home with the kiddo or have a nanny that comes to your house and you need entertainment?
We did a lot of trips over weekends- to museums, indoor play areas, even a trampoline park that has toddler time. I also bundled the heck out of her and threw her into the 12 foot snow drifts we had. Bring some snow inside in tupperware and let the kid make a giant mess (on a blanket or in the sink) scooping it all. We also do “crazy dancing”, make lots of couch cushion forts/tunnels, and, i’ll admit, she is allowed to jump on our bed. Only during certain supervised times, and not on her bed, but it does help.
anne-on says
Do you have toddler gyms or a Y near you? This is the age to sign them up for as many kiddie sport/gym things you like/can afford. I also invest in high quality snow gear/base layers and try to go outside and play in the snow as much as possible. I’m also not above games of Simon says (jumping jacks!), jumping on the bed (supervised) and tag/chase.
eh230 says
There are some small trampolines that fold up when not in use. Both my 2 year old and 5 year old love jumping on it!
mascot says
One of my son’s reading teachers swore by a trampoline (mini or full) as a study tool. Something about letting the kids move while they worked on flash cards, spelling words, etc. I used to pace while studying so I can see the kinetic benefit.
Anon says
Second the Y / indoor sports! We belong to a fancy gym where the LO takes swim lessons. They also have daily family swim time and family basketball court time. It seems like snowy days would be the WORST for swimming, but she burns off tons of energy!
Hollis says
Anyone have any recommendations for a swimsuit (2 piece or 1 piece for a long torso) for someone who is small on top (A cup) and a pear-shape? A suit with some kind of padding would be great. I am a mom, but don’t necessary want to wear a mom-suit if you know what I mean. Thanks.
MSJ says
Sadly my twins did a number on my stomach so my bikini days are behind me j crew makes really great one pieces including long torsoed ones (which I need). I got a deep v-neck ed ruched one I love. It’s not padded but the neck line really only works with a small bust.
KJ says
Even if you like your job and want to be WOHM, do you ever go through periods where you really just miss your kid? I always thought it would be hardest when she was a tiny baby, but I’m finding that as she grows into a real little person and is more interactive, I’m missing her more. Any advice on how to deal?
Meg Murry says
Can you take a day off (or even just a morning, or afternoon, or leave work a few hours early) to have some special mommy + kid time? It doesn’t have to be anything super special, but a morning of running around at a playground or doing some other favorite activity (in my kids case, watching trains or construction equipment do their thing) helps me feel more connected to them. If you plan something now for a few weeks from now, that could give you something to look forward to as well.
Pigpen's Mama says
No advice, but I’m feeling the same way. She just moved into the toddler room at daycare and it was harder to leave her there than it was to leave her in the infant room after maternity leave!
That's odd... says
So I’ve been back to work for about a month post maternity leave. Someone has been keeping their lunch in the fridge in the pumping room at work (it is not locked/secured so it could be anyone). While that was weird I decided not to make a fuss about it as no one was walking in on me. Obviously this someone went grocery shopping over lunch because when I pumped this afternoon there was garlic bread, cheese and tomatoes in there right next to my breast milk. I actually laughed out loud but am kind of weirded out as well. As an aside, there are four full sized fridges in the break rooms less than 200 feet away.
Momata says
I would first be judging that person for putting bread and tomatoes in the refrigerator. And I would also be annoyed!
(former) preg 3L says
IMO, that’s hilarious. Can you make a sign and tape it to the front of the fridge that says “BR3AST MILK ONLY”?
Anonymous says
As long as there’s room for your milk, I wouldn’t make a fuss. Its the same way at my office even though its right next to the breakroom
Anonymous says
Any chance the person doing it also uses the room to pump? And eats?
I don’ t know that you need to make signs, but if you are having a space issue perhaps you do.
Fwiw I kept my breast milk in a lunch bag in my office’s fridge, unlabeled.
Mrs Q says
Hi all – this is my first time posting on the Mom’s site. We’re TTC (just starting) and I’m trying to find reasonable blogs/websites to read and the best ovulation tracker. Any recs?