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I like the idea of this “maternity starter pack” — and I know I’ve seen similar but I’m blanking on where. For $76.15, this pack includes a maternity mini dress (probably more useful for work as a tunic top), jegging, legging, t-shirt, long-line camisole, and over-the-bump band (super helpful for those early weeks of pregnancy when your regular pants may stop fitting but you don’t want to give in to maternity clothes just yet). Each one of these pieces could cost $20 elsewhere, so to get all six pieces for $75 seems like a good deal. Readers, have you bought similar “starter packs” anywhere else? What would your starter pack for new moms look like? New Look Maternity Essentials Pack As always, don’t forget that you can get The CorporetteMoms Guide to Looking Professional During Your Pregnancy (an 18-page PDF) for free if you sign up for our newsletter!Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
CPA Lady says
PSA– Rosie Pope Maternity is on zulily this week.
Marina says
One thing I wore throughout both my pregnancies was a long drapey cardigan. Great for disguise during the first few months, and fit when nothing else would during the last few. It’s all about the layering, right?
Slip-on relatively flat shoes are also a must, but since it’s pretty common to change shoe size during pregnancy I guess that’s harder to get in advance.
(former) preg 3L says
For no apparent reason, I am totally freaking out about leaving my daughter today. As most readers know, I work full time and I usually don’t have any issues saying goodbye to her in the morning! But today was hard and now (an hour and a half into my work day), I’m still incredibly anxious. Any advice/sympathy? :(
mascot says
Is she going through separation anxiety? Lingering makes is worse for both of you. Once he was peeled off of me, my son stopped crying within minutes of my leaving. So I got trained early kiss him goodbye and get out of there. My friends who tried to stay and soothe had a much harder time.
(former) preg 3L says
She doesn’t seem to have separation anxiety about my leaving, but she did pitch a fit about half an hour before we left the house (for no apparent reason)!
Spirograph says
My son sometimes does this when he’s not feeling well… last week he “inexplicably” threw a fit right as we were about to leave (which basically never happens), and a few hours later I got a fever call from daycare. Other times it’s been teething. Sorry, I know that probably doesn’t make you feel better about leaving her, just offering a possible explanation!
In any case, I second JJ’s advice. A cookie with my coffee while clicking through my Google+ pictures usually cheers me up a little.
Unfortunately, I am having the opposite problem today. My LO has woken up around 3am every night for the last few and refuses to go back to sleep for at least a half hour (either of screaming or of cuddling, doesn’t matter which). And then has the nerve to be cranky in the morning because *he’s* tired. I’m tentatively planning to nap in my car until the last possible minute for daycare pickup. One day at a time…
Nonny says
Oh my goodness, Spirograph, my LO has done something similar the last two nights….she wakes up for her 2:30ish feed, and then won’t go back to sleep for over an hour. Last night and the night before I ended up bringing her to bed with me in the end. Not a good long-term solution, I know, but I just couldn’t deal with it anymore…
Spirograph says
That used to be my solution, too, and I even tried it last night… but now my son sleep-scratches, sleep-honks my nose, sleep-pinches, and sleep-pats my face. I tried turning my back to him, and he sleep-flopped himself accross the top of my body. So he’s quiet, and kind of sleeping, but I’m definitely not! It’s kind of funny now that I’m thinking about it after some coffee, but I was NOT entertained in the wee hours of the morning. At least all that snuggling time counted toward whatever magical requirement for him to go back to sleep, so he only cried for a couple more minutes once I gave up and put him back in his crib.
Here’s hoping both of our kids do better tonight!
JJ says
If I have particularly fun or relaxing weekends with my kiddos, it sometimes makes Monday a little bit harder than usual to leave them. I accept and love my job and the choices I’ve made regarding working, but good weekends always give me a little extra guilt and make me (irrationally) think “Life could be like that all the time if I just stayed home!” It’s not the healthiest, but I usually treat myself to whatever I want for lunch or a snack on days like that.
Usually, everything is back to normal by Monday night when the witching hours hit and both boys are pitching fits at the same time.
(former) preg 3L says
This is really helpful – we did have a really fun weekend!
CHJ says
So much sympathy! Like JJ, I always find Monday mornings to be the hardest, especially if we have a great weekend together. Even if you are confident in the big picture life choices, it’s natural to miss your baby when you’re apart! Just be good to yourself, get a nice lunch, and treat yourself to extra cuddles this evening when you get home.
Also, I find that my son tends to get more anxious and sad about saying goodbye when I’m anxious and sad about it! I think they absorb our emotions a bit and reflect them, even if they are not actually having separation anxiety themselves.
Carrie M says
No advice, but so much sympathy! At drop off this morning, 3 other kids in the class were crying and it threw me for a loop a little bit to open the door to all that chaos. When I plopped her down to play, I felt like she gave me a look like, are you going to leave me in this craziness? She was totally fine, but it tugged at my heart anyway. (CHJ, I think you’re right about absorbing/reflecting emotions!)
Anon S says
I’m 8 weeks pregnant so would be interested to hear what you ladies have to say about this maternity starter pack and whether it’s worth it.
ANP says
I had all similar items in my maternity wardrobe but did not get much use out of a belly band. I’d say it might be worth it if each of those pieces works for you — ex: you like the fit of the leggings, tunic, etc.
JJ says
I probably wore something similar to all of the pieces in this set while pregnant. I didn’t use the Belly Band piece as much with jeans (mine would just roll down under the band…not a good look), but I did use it to extend the life of my pencil skirts until the third trimester.
Anon S says
Can anyone comment on how Asos items fit? I’ve never ordered from there before.
(former) preg 3L says
I think they run pretty small — I found them to be similar to H&M sizing, if I remember correctly.
AEK says
I’ve found it to be all over the map, unfortunately. I have a giant black blouse that I was on the fence about; hoping that it comes in handy at the end. It was clearly generously cut but even so it feels 2 sizes bigger. At the same time, I know I returned pants in my normal size that were too tight in the hips.
Spirograph says
I have items similar to all of these except the “mini-dress,” which I’m not sure I see the point of. I actually didn’t wear my leggings much for my first pregnancy because of the weather, but I plan to get some mileage out of them this time around. I love/d the belly band and even bought a second one.
Basically, you don’t really know what’s going to work for you until you try it… I’m not sure I’d commit to a whole package of stuff without being able to try it on or return individual pieces that didn’t fit well, but I do like the idea that it’s just done and you don’t have to think about it.
Katarina says
I did not have many of these pieces. I never used a belly band, because it seemed like it would be uncomfortable, and I just went straight to maternity bottoms. I did buy some underbelly bottoms, which were great early in pregnancy, and again postpartum. I never wore leggings because of the weather, but I probably would not anyway, because I don’t wear leggings normally.
(former) preg 3L says
I never wear leggings, but I bought over-bump maternity leggings and wore them around the house all.the.time. (I was pregnant in the winter though — my LO was born in Feb.)
Erin says
I never was a leggings-wearer before but I wore them a ton in pregnancy and still do postpartum.
Carrie M says
I think this seems like a good deal, but I agree that ASOS sizing could be tough (i.e., the jeggings might run small but the shirt might run big, so sizing up might not work). I bought a couple dresses from the ASOS maternity line and I sized up, and they all worked. But a pair of black pants I bought from there were huge in my “regular” size. Maybe just get your “regular” size, but know that some things might not last the whole pregnancy while other things might not really fit until you’re bigger?
I had all of these pieces, but bought them individually. I used a belly band for a while (maybe until I was about 16 weeks?) before breaking into maternity pants. I wore leggings the most at the end (it was the winter, and it was so easy and comfy to throw on thick leggings, a tunic, and knee high flat boots on the weekends). I had never worn leggings before in my life and didn’t really like the look…until I was huge and it was so comfortable but I could still sort of fake looking put together. Long tanks are definite musts – I got a bunch from old navy (non maternity) that worked well until week 41 and I still wear now.
NewMomAnon says
I wore all of these pieces except the minidress (although if it works as a tunic, that would be good), but I would hesitate to buy them in a pack. I found that the Bellaband belly band really WAS much better than generic knock offs because it had this sticky part on one side that kept it from sliding or rolling, and I found that some brands of leggings rolled down less than others (Old Navy was good, Pea in a Pod was not, Motherhood Maternity faded and ripped immediately). So some of these pieces might be good for you, but you may find that you wish you had spent more to get nicer versions.
hoola hoopa says
“So some of these pieces might be good for you, but you may find that you wish you had spent more to get nicer versions.”
+1
I also don’t love black enough for this set. I’m not sure why I’d want a black tank, tee, and tunic/mini-dress. I’d recommend owning all those pieces; I personally just wouldn’t want them all in black.
I also never used a belly band in three pregnancies, but I had office dress code flexibility to wear knit skirts and managed to dodge (by sheer luck) conferences etc where I would have needed to wear pre-preg suit separates.
Forrest says
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