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This maternity dress would be an essential in my closet and would probably be on a weekly rotation. I like how it is full coverage with long sleeves, a high round neck, and generous length. It is hard to tell on the polka dot version, but there is a cute pleat detail on the right side of the dress. The stretchy material is the best for comfort, and I like the way it drapes with the pleat. This dress was originally $39.99 but is currently on sale for $24.97 at Old Navy. It’s available in sizes XS–XXL. Pleated-Front Jersey Dress
Building a maternity wardrobe for work? Check out our page with more suggestions along both classic and trendy/seasonal lines.
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Sales of note for 5.5.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase (ends 5/12); $50 off your $200+ purchase (ends 5/5)
- Banana Republic Factory – Spend your StyleCash with 40-60% off everything, or take an extra 20% off purchase (ends 5/6)
- Eloquii – $19 & up 300+ styles and up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Shirts & tees starting at $24.50; extra 30% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – 40% off full-price styles & extra 15% off; extra 55% off sale styles
- Nordstrom: Nordy Club members earn 3X the points on beauty; 30% off selected shoes
- Talbots – 40% off one item & and 30% off everything else; $50 off $200 (all end 5/5)
- Zappos – 27,000+ 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 20% off select styles with code
- Hanna Andersson – Friends & Family Sale: 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Crewcuts – tk; extra 30% off sale styles; kids’ styles starting at $14.50
- Old Navy – Up to 75% off clearance
- Target – 20% off women’s clothing & shoes; up to 50% off kitchen & dining; 20% off jewelry & hair accessories; up to $100 off select Apple products; up to 40% off home & patio; BOGO 50% off adult & YA books
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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?
Patty Mayonnaise says
After months of looking, I think I’m finally ready to order a pair of Rothys. Anyone have a code I could use please? Also any feedback on sizing for the loafers?
Anon says
https://share.rothys.com/x/IDeHi4 My mom sizes up a half size in the loafers (same as the points).
Patty Mayonnaise says
Thank you!!
Anonymous says
I am ordinarily between a 7.5 and an 8, with narrow feet. In the loafer, the 8 fits perfectly.
CPA Lady says
I ordered a half size up in the loafer and it fits great.
anon. says
I’m the voice of dissent here – I had to size up almost a full size. Usually a 7.5, sometimes an 8 if I size up, I was an 8.5 in both loafers and the point in Rothy’s. I had to do a return/ exchange to figure that out.
Code: https://share.rothys.com/x/Xhjld9
Cb says
Thanks everyone for your sympathies and funeral advise. Spoke to my husband in more detail feels strongly that he’s better off at home with my mum so he can grieve without worrying about toddler logistics and emotions, and have me there for support. For geographical / cultural clarification, I’m american, husband english, we live in Scotland.
anon says
Anything different you need to include in a contract or think through if you are doing an in-home nanny where you drop off your kid at their house? The nanny will be watching her child in addition to my child (but no one else). Otherwise I was planning on just editing a basic nanny contract (a la park slope nanny). It’s in Canada if that matters.
Thanks!
anon says
I’d consider something about visitors. I’d be uncomfortable with random people I don’t know being in the home.
Anonymous says
Childproofing? In my own house I know that I’ve put medicines/cleaning supplies/etc away but in someone else’s house it’s a different story. Same for guns – I would spell that out in the contract.
Anon says
Think about pets…what you’re comfortable with, would you want advance notice before they got a new one, how would you feel if they all of a sudden get a new puppy? Do your feelings on this depend on the breed? Spell out which. (Quite possible none of this is a concern to you at all, which is also fair).
anon says
I would consult Canadian employment counsel to either a) get an employment contract that protects you in your province or b) get confirmation that that this isn’t employment under my province’s laws.
It’s pretty easy to mess this up in Canada if you don’t have relevant expertise.
Anonanonanon says
Wrapping up my application to a part-time evening graduate-level program in my area. The cost of tuition is about $14,000 a year. Our combined income is around $215K/year and we have two children. Is it even worth filling out FAFSA?
Anonymous says
Lolz no you’re rich
Anonymous says
The FAFSA is really not much work if your financial records are reasonably organized. The standard advice for parents of undergrads is to fill it out no matter what. I always did it during grad school, despite having an employed spouse, a part-time job, and merit-based awards.
Anon says
It’s pretty simple to fill out, so I don’t see what the downside is. My parents had $1M+ in non-retirement cash when I went to college and they still filled out financial aid forms because, why not? There was no downside. I didn’t get any aid, unsurprisingly.
Anonymous says
Are you applying for loans? If so, you will need to pull the information together. Also, for some schools if you submit the FAFSA you are eligible for grants or scholarships. Congratulations on going back to school
FP says
Part-time graduate program financial aid is not based on your income. You will need to do a FAFSA to get any kind of government loan. If you are planning on paying cash, you don’t need to do a FAFSA. If your program gives out scholarship support, they may require the FAFSA – check with them. Source: I work in grad admissions.
Anonymous says
Any advice on moving from purees to finger foods? We tried toast and scrambled egg this weekend, and both of them were not successes. Baby (7.5 mos) will pick food up and put it in his mouth, but does not like having a lump far back on his tongue so he’ll spit it out as soon as it moves back. Should we just keep practicing?
Anonymous says
While pretty nutritionally void, puffs are the classic first finger food. They are easier to pincer grab than eggs, IMO.
Anonymous says
+1 to puffs! They start to dissolve pretty quickly so there’s not much chewing required.
Anon says
Yeah, I would just keep practicing and try other foods. Even a small piece of toast can feel big and lumpy when it gets soggy, at least to me. What about some fruits and veggies? Those are slippery and won’t expand when they get inside a wet mouth, so they tend to go down more easily. We started with peas. Picking them up is also good practice at that age.
Anonymous says
Just keep offering! Have you tried wedges of cooked sweet potatoes? A banana with some of the peel still on (so baby can grab). Orange slices with the peel on are a favorite for baby to gnaw on. Babyledweanteam on Instagram has good guidance on this.
anne-on says
Sweet potato roasted in coconut oil and dusted with a teeny tiny bit of cinnamon was my son’s absolute favorite finger food aside from puffs. Very easy to grasp and as someone mentioned above it won’t expand or get soggy.
Anon says
We loved grated cheese – more nutritious than puffs but still an “activity” to keep baby occupied and practicing pincer grasp (not the kind in a bag – an actual block of cheese that you can grate into long, wide strips at home). Also probably less likely to feel like a big lump in his mouth. That said, we didn’t really move to table food until closer to 8/9 months, so let baby keep practicing if he wants to, but feel free to back off a bit if it seems stressful for him.
Anon says
My then 7 month old LOVED shredded cheese (the kind in a bag). And also shredded meats (pulled pork (no sauce), shredded chicken or turkey, etc.). And black beans – I would half smoosh them between my fingers before giving them to her. And little pasta (orzo, mini shells, cut up cheese tortellini, etc.). She also loved puffs and yogurt melts. She’s now 2.5 – still loves shredded cheese and yogurt melts but wouldn’t touch the other stuff if her life depended on it.
NYCer says
+1 to grated cheese.
2 Cents says
If you need the in the bag convenience, Sargento has “off the block” cheese strips that are thicker and easier for LOs to pick up.
Anonymous says
Just keep practicing. Learning to eat is about exploring new textures, tastes and learning to use their mouth/tongue to chew and swallow stuff other than milk. Just chop up whatever you are eating into small pieces (add salt after cooking, avoid honey).
For snack foods, Cheerios, quartered grapes, grated cheese, very thin slices of fruits and veggie like apples, cucumber etc.
Anonymous says
No to quartered grapes, apples, and cucumbers when just starting out. All of the babies in my family will hoard these things in their mouths until they gag, then spit them out. You need soft foods that the baby can mash up with his tongue and swallow, or really small things like shreds of cheese that are easily swallowed whole. Puffs, cheerios, and tiny bits of banana or sweet potato are great. IME, offering harder foods and larger pieces too early discourages swallowing and actually seems to slow down the development of eating skills.
Anonymous says
I agree I would def not give Grapes/apples/cucumbers yet. Apples and grapes are def choking hazards
Anonymous says
Thin apple slices and quartered grapes (not halved) are not choking hazards. I don’t know how they ‘hoard stuff’ in their mouths – likely clearly you have to make sure they are done with the first bit before giving more.
Anonymous says
They act like they have swallowed and there’s no way to know they haven’t without sticking your fingers in their mouth. Then they shove in more food and act like they’ve swallowed again. Eventually they start to look like a chipmunk and you tell them to spit it out, or they gag and spit it all out.
Anon says
There’s no reason the foods can’t be seasoned. We gave soft stewed veggies from our curries and casseroles early on, including carrots, squash, zucchini, etc. Spices are fine, just limit salt content.
Anon says
Yeah, just keep trying. Also check out feeding littles on Instagram, they offer a lot of advice and suggestions. I learned about it from this board.
Anonymous says
That’s still on the early side. You might be surprised what happens if you try again in a week or two. But something like Cheerios that dissolves may be easier to start. My oldest had a terrible gag reflex and I really despaired about getting him to learn how to eat real food – and yet there he was at 9 or 10 months eating just fine. Cottage cheese was a good gateway solid for him too.
Anonymous says
I’m recently back to work and am just not getting enough from pumping during the day. Is there an adjustment period or is that just how it is?
AwayEmily says
Could be either. My supply varied a lot with pumping. My unsolicited advice is to bring some formula and leave it at daycare. Then, send whatever milk you pumped the day before, tell daycare to give the baby formula if they run out of milk, and (this is the most important part) try to stop worrying about it.
I spent so much mental energy doing “milk math” the first few months after going back to work with my first. Figuring out how to add more pumping sessions, get daycare to space out bottles properly so as not to waste milk, increase my supply with supplements, etc etc etc. It was driving me nuts. A friend gave me the same advice I just spelled out above and it was seriously life-changing.
And again, this might be totally not applicable to your situation but I wanted to throw it out just in case. Good luck!
Anon says
+1
Deciding that it’s not the end of the world if baby gets one formula bottle a day is life-changing in terms of not stressing about pumping output (and not having to add extra pumping sessions into your workday to get enough). All the research shows that it’s the presence of bm, not the absence of formula, that confers all the EBF benefits.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
+1. I wish I had done this with DS. If I’m fortunate enough to have Kiddo #2, will definitely do this. The “milk math” is a joy-killer.
Anonymous says
Thanks, I think that’s what I need to hear. All of a sudden I feel like I’m back in the cluster feeding days where I can’t figure out what is coming out of me… what a joy.
Coach Laura says
Another +1 but add in any other stress relief you can think of – massage, yoga, meditation. And lactation cookies for snacks.
Anon says
For me it took about a week for me to settle into pumping. I did notice fluctuations if I wasn’t drinking enough water, but other than that, mine didn’t change much.
Anne says
Probably just the way it is. I combo fed from the beginning with both my kids getting 1 formula bottle or so a day at daycare. It was nbd to me. YMMV but the only three things that helped my output were drinking an absurdly large amount of water, watching videos of my baby while pumping when I had time (often worked through pumping), and getting plenty of sleep (rarely happened – see baby).
Anonymous says
You need less than formula. I have normal sized kids and provided 12 Oz per day the entire time they were getting pumped milk. Parced into 3 4-Oz bottles, with slow flow nipples. I pumped about 15-16 Oz per day, over the course of 3 pumping times each day (10:30 12:30 and 3). When I got a cold I got less than that. When I got pneumonia, it was significantly less and I rented a hospital grade pump. A very few times I got up in the middle of the night to add to the stash.
It’s up to you on the formula. In hindsight, not sure i should have fought through pneumonia and pumping. If it was kid 2, I likely would have supplemented
Anonymous says
That’s a good point… I also may be sending too much (3 6oz bottles), though baby does drink it all.
Katarina says
3 6 oz bottles is a lot if you are also nursing. I know there is some variation, but my kids never took more than 3 4 ounce bottles (plus 3 nursing sessions). At least some of mine would have drank more if it were available.
Katarina says
That is a ton of milk. My three never took more than 3 4-ounce bottles (plus three nursing sessions). If your baby is nursing less he may need more milk while you are away.
Beth @ Parent Lightly says
Agreed, I usually did 3 4 oz bottles. I nursed twice in the morning and probably 2 times in the evening before bed when baby was small.
SF says
It depends how many times baby is feeding overnight. They need to get between 24-32 ounces. Some take more during the day. The less you give during the day, the more you need to make up for at night.
Anonymous says
huh, maybe I will try having them give him less and send in a couple smaller bottles! He definitely drank at least 6 (or more…) in the evening when my husband would feed him and we would often try to feed him less. He’s a large baby. I was kind of assuming that he wanted that much during the day but maybe not!
Anon says
I had a hard time pumping enough. I tried “power pumping” and a few other methods for increasing my supply and none of it helped much. I eventually supplemented with formula and that was a huge relief. Formula is perfectly fine and it can save your sanity too.
After further reading, I realized breastfeeding is great if it works for you (some women pump 2x the amount in half the time than I did) but a lot of the research is overblown propaganda, just making life difficult for women. Don’t let pumping take over your life.
anon says
+1. Also if you nurse, it helps to do that a lot on the weekends, like stay home and nurse on demand for 2 days straight. It really gets the “demand” side of the supply and demand of BF up, in preparation for the next week. I’d see my production peak like Tuesday/Wednesday and then start to fall by Friday.
So Anon says
I had a work trip scheduled for later this week. It was just one night and would have been intense on the negotiating front, but I was really looking forward to the time on the plane to do quiet work and some personal reading and a night to myself in the hotel. Trip has been cancelled, and I am relieved and bummed all at the same time. Just looking for a bit of commiseration.
Anon says
Laying in bed last night with DH taking up 1/3 of the bed, my starfish-like toddler taking up half the bed, and me squashed in the middle, I was thinking maybe I do want to go on a work trip soon (my colleague is going and my presence was optional so I declined because I really hate travel and it wasn’t going to be a value-add for me). But then I start thinking about the hassle of travel, all of the germs out there (flu, corona, etc.) on top of our current barrage of preschool germs and the fact that I’m fundamentally a home-body and am instead enjoying a (hot!) quiet cup of coffee at my desk and ignoring my emails for 15 minutes, which might be just as good.
anonforthis says
My FIL got his 4th DUI this weekend (His 3rd was over 10 years ago). He’s been a successful biglaw attorney for 30 years, but in the past year, started going downhill again and amassed significant amounts of debt. My MIL has never worked and they currently have about $80k of debt and not a penny to their name other than $150k in home equity.
I think it’s clear she can’t rely on him and we’re not sure if he will be able to retain a job / is facing sigificant jail time / can stay healthy.
We are looking at supporting her for the next 20+ years and it’s making me sick to my stomach, because I don’t know how we will manage to pay for her living, health insurance while supporting our young family etc. She will get a job, but short of working retail, we’re stuck as to where to start. She’s amazing with kids and I was thinking of talking to my daughters preschool. She got a masters degree in speech pathology back in the day, but again has never worked.
Any thoughts? Advice? Thanks in advance so much.
As a side note, I know this is why so many of us feel so strongly about holding onto something in our careers. I hate the position she’s in for her.
Anon says
I currently support my 62 year old mother financially. Here is what we do:
– She just has no health insurance. This is a disastrous choice if you have assets to protect, but she does not. We are currently paying her healthcare costs (medications, doctor visits, etc), but if she needed $$$$ care we would just let them try to collect from her. She will be on Medicare and Social Security when she’s old enough.
– She lives with us. We live in the midwest so we made the basement into MIL suite. There are additional costs in utilities and groceries, but not nearly the same as supporting an entire other household.
– She babysits and cleans our house. We still pick up after our selves and do dishes, etc. But she does laundry and cleans the bathrooms, etc. Sometimes she has plans so I hire another sitter, but usually she is free when we want/need to go out.
Hopefully some of this is something you can do.
AnotherAnon says
No advice but I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. This sounds incredibly stressful.
rakma says
Talk with your DH, and think about what reasonable things you’d be willing to do to support her. Would you be ok if she moved in with you? Would you be willing to help her rent something nearby? Would you be willing to give her a set monthly amount? Would these answers change if it was MIL and FIL together, not just MIL?
She needs to take some agency in this. I would not talk to your kid’s preschool. If she needs to work, let her figure out where she wants to be/want kind of job she can find.
We’re supplementing my MIL’s income from a retail job right now. She’s with our kids a few days a week, but we’ve been clear than this supplement is not based on how often she watches the kids, and will continue when we don’t need someone to watch them. We also pay for some larger things (we leased a car for her, and helped replace a washing machine) as we can. It’s hard, and makes some things feel more transactional than a normal family favor, but it’s also what works for us.
Anon says
So sorry you’re dealing with this. I think asking the preschool about jobs is a great idea. Our school will hire anyone with a bachelor’s degree (that is good with kids and can pass a background check, of course) – they don’t need an ECE degree.
Anonymous says
I would not encourage MIL to work with children if she doesn’t have health insurance.
Anon says
OP didn’t say she doesn’t have health insurance? Anyway, my kids’ preschool gives employees the option to buy affordable health insurance, so it could be a way for her to get both money and insurance. And if they pay for a few relatively affordable vaccines (flu and pneumonia) that will go a long way towards preventing serious health complications from working with kids.
OP says
She has health insurance through his current biglaw job, which we aren’t sure if he can retain, particularly because of the recent DUI, more so if he’s convicted and goes to jail.
Anonymous says
She’s not destitute. She has 70k In home equity and social security. You aren’t going to pay for her insurance she will get Medicare.
OP says
well, she and my FIL have that together. She’s 55, so she’s got 10 years before Medicare kicks in right? Does she get any social security if she’s never worked?
Anonymous says
It depends. In Connecticut, my parents got divorced after being married for 22 years. My mom never worked. Because of the length of time they’d been married, she was entitled to some % of his social security draw. Interestingly, it did not impact HIS social security draw. So they are actually drawing more as a divorced couple than they would have if they’d stayed married. I don’t know if that has to do with CT specifically and the marriage/divorce laws or if it’s federal because of the SS component, but it’s worth checking into.
Anonymous says
I believe that is a federal SS rule.
XStitcher says
She will get half of his Social Security benefit. No money out of his pocket. A spouse (or ex-spouse under certain circumstances) can collect up to half of his or her spouse’s Social Security retirement benefit if that half amount is not more than what they could get on their own record. My parents are still together, mom never worked, and she just started to collect Social Security based on his record (half of his monthly amount but he still gets his full amount as well).
Anon says
i am so so sorry you are dealing with this. i would likely feel so much anger and resentment in your shoes. Is your DH an only child? Is she planning on staying married to FIL? what is this debt from?
regarding the job, she might start out as some kind of administrative assistant/front desk person at a preschool or church or something and go from there. or if she needs to work retail, she might try to volunteer on the side so she can have something about working with kids to talk about.
Op says
Thank you so much. He has a brother who can hardly make ends meet.
We’re not sure if they should divorce,maybe they should for Finacial reasons. my FIL isn’t a bad person, just horribly sick and they’ve been together since high school, so I’m not sure what they’ll do or what’s practical.
It’s irs debt, about 50k and the rest is cc debt. I’m not sure if they can declare bankruptcy and keep their home
Anon says
i would potentially consult an in person bankruptcy attorney, but you might try posting on the main site first thing tomorrow morning to see if anyone has some advice/insight
Spring Water says
Could be worth looking into whether she could be a nanny, there were several retired stay-at-home mothers when we were interviewing nannies. I’m sorry you are in this situation, these situations are hard and you may work through several scenarios before you find the thing that works for your family.
Anon says
The usual answer is to cast a broad net. She can look at daycares, temp agencies, administrative positions, roles at non-profits or a church, etc. Help her get a resume together (include any sort of volunteer work she’s ever done), teach her how to search for and apply for jobs online, and get her enrolled with every temp agency in her area.
She should be eligible for Social Security through her husband, as they were married for at least ten years. But consult an expert.
FP says
If you live near a large university or medical center, check to see if they have on campus preschools that you might not have known about. Ours is fantastic and the teachers all have access to our amazing and cheap childcare if they work more than 32 hours a week.
Anonymous says
OP, I saw an article in AARP magazine about similar issues that might be useful to you, more from an emotional perspective – see https://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-2020/giving-parents-financial-support.html
Good luck to you and your family; this sounds really hard.
Ovulation Calculator says
Dumb question.
Got off BC in January, had period January 23rd.
Was 3 days “late” (that was fun…) in February – period came February 24th.
Is it safe to say I have a 31-day-cycle now, or do I have to wait another cycle? FWIW I’m 36 and dipping-toe-in-the-water to try for #2, but in a new job and would ideally want to get pregnant no earlier than April for FMLA purposes.
anon says
One month of data really isn’t long enough to tell how long your cycle might be.
Anon says
The length of your cycle doesn’t necessarily tell you when you ovulate (my cycle is 28 days but I ovulate around days 19-20), and I don’t think one cycle gives you enough data about your cycle length anyway. If you don’t want to get pregnant before April you should use barrier methods until then when you’re not on your period.
Anonymous says
Nope. If you don’t want to get pregnant until April use condoms this month. You don’t know your cycle well enough yet.
Anon says
Some people are super regular, by my cycle often varied by 5+ days. You need more data.
GCA says
Agree with others. I have a consistently long cycle (30-31 days) and therefore ovulate ‘late’, but it took 4-5 months of cycles off BC when trying for kid 1 to see the pattern (I wasn’t taking my temp or using ovulation predictor strips, just marking dates in my app). I’d say April is only a month away, just use barrier methods for a bit.
Anon says
Stress, illness, travel, etc can all impact the length of your cycle, even after months of being regular. Coming off birth control it can also take many months to fall into your new normal pattern. If you’re curious to learn more, try using Wondfo OPK sticks starting at day six or so after your period starts.
Extra anon for this says
Asking out of professional interest- has anyone here done anything to prepare themselves for COVID-19 hitting their area, or to prepare for the possibility of increased public panic causing issues? I’m a regular poster but have edited my name so I don’t out myself, but I work in pandemic preparedness and am curious how people are feeling about this.
Fwiw, my professional recommendation is to grab a couple of extra things when you go to the store, particularly non-perishable or frozen food and essentials like laundry detergent and dish soap. I also grabbed some adult and children’s advil and tylenol and some nyquil and dayquil, just in case we get the regular seasonal cruds and those things are hard to come by. I don’t think it’s the apocalypse or anything, but there could come a time when you would rather not go to the store for a couple of weeks to avoid germs. Also, so many people are panicking and stocking up that it could be challenging to get things soon (demonstrated by the fact hand sanitizer is already almost impossible to find).
Anon says
I take anti-thyroid drugs daily and it could be life-threatening if I stopped them suddenly and I was getting a little worried about drug shortages, so I had my endo call in a 12 month prescription for me. Otherwise, basically just what you said, buying a few extra non-perishable goods at the grocery store in case we’re not supposed to leave the house for a week or two.
I’m relieved it doesn’t seem to hit kids very hard. We get every bug imaginable from daycare, so at this point I’m basically assuming my nuclear family will all get it, and I don’t think I’d be so calm if there was a 2% chance of each of my kids dying.
Extra anon for this says
Excellent point about prescription medication. My children and I have asthma, so I did refill our albuterol for our nebulizers in case that becomes difficult to get.
AwayEmily says
Interesting question! I actually just made a list of exactly the types of things you talked about so that we can pick them up the next time we’re at the store (basically, non-perishables that we will use regardless). That will be the limit of our preparedness, at this point. Oh, I also forbid my husband from taking his phone into public bathrooms. Most of the news articles I’ve read are advising something similar. In terms of childcare, i’m lucky that my kids’ daycare is run by my employer (a university) so if one closes, they both close. Overall I am actually marginally less worried than I was a few days ago,I think because a few days ago it was a question of “will it get to the US?” and now’s more an inevitability. The uncertainty was more stressful.
Anonymous says
Based on some expert interviews I’ve read, I am anticipating that schools will need to be closed for 8 weeks to have much impact on the spread of the virus. I’m also looking at how long Hubei province has been shut down. Based on that information, I’m preparing to stay home for 8 weeks. I have been stocking up on household necessities, pet supplies, frozen and nonperishable food, and prescription and nonprescription medications to last that long. By the end of this week, I plan to be mostly done with the exception of a last-minute punch list of things to buy when it’s apparent that a shutdown is about a week off.
agh says
Could someone post an actual shopping type list? I keep seeing non-perishables and I’m like… ahh some extra peanut butter? We have some medicine? I think I’m just not so great at predicting what my family will need for two weeks even though I do all the shopping – our fridge and freezer are standard size so I don’t see loading up on extra frozen food for example.
Anon at 1:29 says
I just made a list of meals that could be made entirely from ingredients that would last in the pantry, fridge, or freezer for a few months. E.g., pasta with jarred sauce and frozen spinach, pizza from jarred sauce and homemade dough, pancakes from Kodiak Cakes mix. Then I determined what quantities of each ingredient I’d need. We have very little storage, so I prioritized things that don’t take up a ton of space relative to their caloric content: e.g., frozen meat > frozen bread.
For toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc., I went through all of our cupboards and asked myself re. each item, “Will that last 8 weeks?”
Anon says
We purchased pasta and sauce, canned food, cereal and freezer food to last us about two extra weeks.Personally, eight weeks seems excessive to me and it would take over our limited basement storage area to store that much food.
Anon says
Here’s what I’ve picked up
Toilet paper, paper towels, ibuprofen (we were low), diapers, baby wipes, formula, 1 case water, lysol wipes, pasta and sauce, peanutbutter, jelly, bread (freezer), protein bars, bars for kiddo, cereal (life and oatmeal squares), trail mix, coffee, frozen meat – salmon, ground beef, chicken, granola, popcorn, garbonzo beans, black beans, assorted trader Joe’s sauces that we can cook chicken breast in the crockpot (salsa Verde, hot sauce, salad dressings)
rakma says
Yup. Added some extra pasta and frozen meals to my grocery delivery order. We’ll eat them one way or another. We stay pretty stocked on household essentials with scheduled deliveries, so I’m figuring we can ride out supply chain issues or panic buying for a while on most things.
Also stepping up my hand washing technique. I saw a video (not even sure where, maybe on twitter?) were someone was demonstrating proper hand washing technique using paint. Made me realize I wasn’t doing as good a job as I should be.
Anonymous says
We always have 3-4 days of water on hand, plus a box of 12 MREs, and I’ve been buying some canned fruit/vegg. Also bought an extra 5lb bag of rice and a huge thing of oatmeal. I’m slowing amassing things but not going full on prepper. I do need to get some extra children’s pain/fever reducer. In an ideal world I should also get some powdered milk.
For anyone who formula feeds I would def. recommend sticking up on that and water.
TheElms says
I”m genuinely curious, what do we think the likelihood the water supply will be compromised is? If folks are stocking freezers that assumes we have power. Isn’t it more likely you lose power than water? I really am asking because I don’t know and I do formula feed. I’d need 30 ounces of water a day for just the baby to drink, so that would be a lot of water.
Anonymous says
I don’t think it’s likely we’ll lose either, but that is based on no actual expertise in power or water delivery. There ARE likely to be some localized spotty cell service and/or internet outages if a ton of people start working from home and the last-mile delivery to your neighborhood isn’t prepared to scale. It’s already happening in parts of Asia.
Anon says
Several members of my family have asthma, so we just restocked on the asthma meds that we typically use to deal with colds and the flu (i.e., albuterol and budesonide). Both would be essential if any of us got sick and there could be shortages.
Anonymous says
I haven’t done anything and am not planning to. Honest question – why would we need water on hand? Are people thinking that tap water would no longer be available?!
Anon says
as someone who lives in Houston and was unable to drink tap water for 3 days last week, i will now always try to keep water on hand
ElisaR says
agree!?
Jeffiner says
I had planned to go through the pantry and cabinets this weekend to double check expiration dates and quantities of food and OTC meds…but I got the flu instead. We tend to keep extra non-perishables, so its just a matter of double checking for us. My workplace recommended setting up WFH with your manager, but that’s sadly not an option for my job.
Anon says
I have not done anything special to prepare. We have emergency supplies of food on hand, just a general in-case-the-apocalypse comes type of planning, not specific to the coronavirus.
SC says
I have not done anything to prepare. The only prescriptions in my household are for ADHD medication, which you can’t stock up on and which is already experiencing a nationwide shortage (sigh). We tend to keep a lot of food in our pantry and freezer, except during hurricane season, so we should be fine there. We have emergency supplies in the house to prepare for a hurricane, although I’m not sure any of that would be helpful for a virus–this doesn’t seem like the kind of thing where utilities will be affected.
Anonymous says
Me, DH, ES and PreK kids. We have moderately prepped, but I would emphasize this is mostly stuff we should have / usually have anyway.
– restocked adult and kid medicines incl ibuprofen, dayquil/nyquil, etc. I realized that we must be disgustingly healthy bc just about everything we had, which was not much, was 2-3 years expired. No face masks! None of us have any Rx.
– nonperishables that we regularly eat anyway such as one extra jar of peanut butter, extra pasta, couple of canned soups, some frozen veg which are always our desperation veg. Some of this was not so much “the end of the world” but “what if mom is sick and not cooking” in which case we may need some dad-friendly meals. DH is super involved, a true 50% parent, but not much help in the kitchen :-). Sick people food like saltines.
– we were low on clothes detergent so DH got some extra. And some clorox wipes (like a three pack) and some TP. Nothing crazy.
– uhhh, i made sure we are stocked up on chocolate and ice cream. BC if we all end up isolated, or even one person winds up sick, we will need comfort lol
– we’re going to the liquor megastore this week. Not bc we think we’ll need to trade whiskey for food or pour vodka on our hands, but see point about staying cooped up with sick people. Also, we have turned it into a day double date with friends. And we haven’t been to this store in years.
– highly likely that public schools will close at some point, i figure. I could easily WFH and if schools in the area close, so many ppl will be affected that my absence will not be a big deal. DH primarily WFH but travels regularly. He has some contingency plans for domestic travel later this month. I keep pointing out that either our county, or the county he is traveling to, could easily take the decision out of our hands.
– i figure the preKer is our weak link and he’s already got a cough :-(. If it starts to ramp up in our area, he’ll be the first one to stay home.
I did see a number of preppers at the grocery store this weekend. Most appeared to be families with young kids. Lots of carts filled with diet coke underneath and applesauce and cheerios up top. One older couple had like 12 boxes of popsicles. Our local CVS has been totally out of hand sanitizer for about a week.
Anonymous says
I am stymied about where I am supposed to put all this stuff in a NYC apartment. It’s not like I have a pantry or anything. Anyway, I’ve done nothing to prepare but am meaning to. I also have trouble with how much of anything we will need – I really don’t know how often we use up a jar of peanut butter, for example, despite being the primary grocery shopper.
anon says
I’m the poster who asked for a list above! I have the same issue!
Anon says
We’ve been slowly stocking up over the last two weeks. My husband is much more concerned about global supply chain issues versus the actual sickness itself and started building out our supplies of toilet paper, hand soap, canned goods, pasta, etc. I’m also pregnant with our second and due in about 8 weeks, so I’m buying diapers and basic essentials for the new baby now versus waiting until closer to my due date, just in case there are logistics issues or product shortages. I also picked up a few new toys and coloring books for our toddler in case we end up stuck inside more than we’d originally planned.
IHeartBacon says
Not to be a Doomsdayer, but I am so incredibly stressed out about it reaching my city, the stress is starting to affect me physically. I have never been this way before. I think it’s because I have a child now. I keep staring at him, afraid something might happen to him. My heart races every time he sneezes, or coughs, or seems unusually sleepy when he wakes up. I drive home distracted by the thought of him getting sick. I’ve been tossing and turning at night because of it. My hands are dry and cracking because of how much I wash my hands with super hot water.
No one ever warned me that the love of my child would drive me to madness.
Anon says
Stop stressing so much. I read in the WSJ that the coronavirus doesn’t sicken kids badly. Only 2% of those infected have been kids and no child fatalities so far.
anon says
+1 it’s the thing that’s keeping me sane actually! I’m not worried for my kids – much more worried for my parents.
That being said, they don’t know how kids factor into transmission, so I am worried about my kids passing it to their grandparents, for example
IHeartBacon says
Thanks. I know it’s a somewhat irrational anxiety. Every time anxious thoughts creep into my mind, I remind myself that no children have died. I also try to remind myself that I can’t control what I can’t control. All I can do is what the CDC is recommending: cover coughs, wash hands, stay away from sick people, etc. I’m also trying to limit how much time my family and I spend in public places.
We haven’t started any emergency preparedness buying, but I should. It might help me feel like I’m doing something other than just sitting around waiting for the virus to hit.
Anon says
Your child will be fine. Literally no children have died from coronavirus and very few have even gotten sick. Not all diseases affect all populations equally, and this disease is known to disproportionately affect older people. The death rate for people under 50 is 0.2%, which is the same as the seasonal flu.
Anonymous says
I appreciate the professional recommendation!
I’m not doing anything special to prepare, although I guess we might as well move up our normal Costco run before it ramps up in our area. We all had bad colds recently, so medicine cabinet is all up-to-date to address symptoms. My family is healthy and not in any high-risk populations for this virus, based on the preliminary data I’ve seen. I am most worried that my kids’ school will close and I’ll need to manage working from home with them around, and that my Spring Break trip will be derailed by disruptions to air travel and other tourism industry issues. (I know that sounds obnoxious, and I don’t mean to minimize anyone’s anxiety about actual health… I just haven’t seen anything alarming for my particular situation.)
Coach Laura says
I live in Kirkland – where Costco was founded – and there were 6 deaths in or near Kirkland as of noon today. SIX. On Sunday the local Costco was totally out of paper towels, TP and Kleenex. Costco’s website is also out of all those things. There was no rubbing alcohol at the local drugstore. It’s past time to stock up in my neighborhood. I ordered from Amazon and hope the items arrive.
Anon says
I’m 7 months pregnant and scheduled to fly to a major Midwest city for a conference later this week. The rest of my law department is going but it’s not mandatory (although paid for). It’s a 1 hour flight and I’ll stay one night in a downtown hotel. I also have a toddler. My family is encouraging me to cancel but the OB said there’s no CDC advisory not to travel so he approved it. Would you go?
Anon says
I personally wouldn’t have traveled (except to visit family) at 7 months pregnant in general. But I don’t think the coronavirus is a reason to cancel.
Anon says
I would go if I wanted to go otherwise, personally. I think the regular flu is a bigger threat right now.
Anonymous says
I would not go at 7 months pregnant because of the regular flu.
Anon says
+1. Flu activity is still very high in much of the country, including my part of the Midwest. We just got notice from daycare today that my kids were exposed :( Crossing our fingers that the shots worked… And flu is especially bad during pregnancy. I could be wrong, but I think there’s no evidence that coronavirus is more serious or deadly in pregnant women than non-pregnant women of the same age.
Extra anon for this says
Everything is changing so so rapidly with this, but I personally wouldn’t cancel yet. I would definitely take disinfecting wipes to wipe down the tray table, arm rests, etc. on the plane and plenty of hand sanitizer or antibacterial hand wipes. However, I would recommend those things because of the heavy-hitting influenza season we’re currently having anyway. If you’re really worried, I’d give the remote etc. a good swipe with a disinfecting wipe at the hotel.
Extra anon for this says
Caveat being unless you anticpate a lot of international attendees. I wouldn’t go if that is the case.
Anonymous says
+1
Anon says
I’m 6 months pregnant and flying to the UK tomorrow for work, so yes, I’d go.
Anon OP says
Thanks all. I’m leaning toward going. No international attendees as this is an internal conference from my US employer (basically a meeting of a bunch of departments from 6 offices across the US). It seems like a good way to internally network before being on leave for 6 months. Yes, the regular flu is a concern too especially since this is a major international airport. I had the flu shot and flew in January for vacation so I’m a little less worried about it than about COVID-19, but maybe that’s wrong.
Anonymous says
I got the flu while pregnant last year and it was literally the worst I’ve felt in my life. Had the flu shot. Was completely bedridden I could not even go to urgent care. I had to take a bath instead of a shower because I couldn’t stand. So I would definitely worry about the flu more – carry wet wipes and disinfect everything.
Anonymous says
I am currently 7 mos pregnant, had the flu shot, and got the flu after a recent trip in January, and I am certain it was at the airport that I caught it. It wasn’t awful (apparently the flu shot can make it less mild even if you do catch the flu), but I have completely stopped any airport travel at this point. I got the “rarer” strain (the one that the shot seems to be working on for most people, at least in my heavy flu activity state), and the shot seems to not work so well against one of the other strains–I was likely more susceptible because I am pregnant. All that to say is–do not rely on the shot to prevent you from getting the flu, especially pregnant since your immune system is suppressed somewhat. You’re probably fine to go, but I would absolutely recommend frequent hand washing, hand wipes, and wipe down things like the tray table.
MomAnon says
I will add to this because I was having this discussion with my husband this AM (albeit for his own work-related travel, though I am 7.5 months pregnant). He runs his own company so the decision as to whether he and his employees travel is up to him, but we are leaning towards canceling all upcoming travel for the foreseeable future, primarily because so much is unknown AND the larger companies have all declared travel moratoriums. (For him, this would be domestic travel to conferences, clients and the like). As a smaller company, we really do not want to take any chances with anyone’s health. I think you can justify declining to travel by being pregnant but also just due to all of the uncertainty and the fact that even the largest companies are grounding their employees (if that was the route you wanted to go).
Anon says
When I was slated to travel for work around my 8th month of pregnancy, I looked up hospitals in the area that were in-network for my insurance and had good NICUs. This isn’t related to COVID-19, but, if you’re traveling at that stage of pregnancy, consider that if something goes downhill, you aren’t going to want to figure out which hospital to go to. You’ll want to just know.
Anon says
I’m almost 8 months and just flew this past week for work. Here are my tips:
– Wear medical gloves the entire time, from the moment you leave your house to when you get to your hotel room. They help decrease the need to get every single corner of the seatbelt, tray, etc clean (to be clear, still wipe down everything around you). Additionally and personally, the gloves are most helpful for reminding me not to touch my face.
-Don’t eat anything on the plane, and only drink from your own water bottle.
-I like to sit in the first or second row, window seat. Bulkhead window is the least germiest seat on the plane, but window is always the best, regardless of where you are on the plane. (I know you’re supposed to get up and walk around on the flight when you’re pregnant, but my last flight was only 90 minutes and I did not feel it was necessary.)
-If you’re flying Southwest, take advantage of pregnancy getting you preboarding status. Get your seat at the front of the plane and hunker down.
Otherwise, enjoy!
Anon Lawyer says
I had an extremely similar maternity dress from Ann Taylor Loft that I loved.
Anonymous says
check me for a faux pas. My older daughter is invited to a bday party at a roller rink. The way parties work at this rink (we’ve been to several) is that they happen during open/public free skate. The b’day party invitees get their skate time and skates paid for, then are called at a certain time to do cake/pizza and they get some arcade tokens. There are usually 3-4 b’day parties happening at the same time, in addition to the public/open skate.
Would it be wrong to bring my younger daughter to the roller rink and have her skate (with me) during the party? I would of course pay for her and myself, and she would go to the snack bar for snacks vs have anything to do with the bday party. My older daughter would be skating around with her friends and doing party stuff, and I can play around skating with my older kiddo.
Thoughts? I would email the parents hosting the party but I think that would make it weirder, like I was angling for my younger daughter to be invited to the party.
DH said it’s not weird at all. If we hosted the party this would not be weird to me at all (nor would I even notice, probably!). Just looking for a double check.
Anonymous says
Nope, not weird at all.
Anonymous says
Adding: It would be weird if you spent a lot of time with your older child, though. I’d encourage her to socialize with the party group instead of hanging with you and her sister.
Anonymous says
OP here. I agree, with the slight caveat that she’s 6 and in a group of Kindergarteners where half the parents won’t drop off yet, so we wouldn’t be the only ones up in our kid’s business. But she is fine without me and I am fine leaving her (and would do a drop off) so we won’t annoy her ;). I did want to respond in case anyone else had a similar situation.
anne-on says
For a younger kid this is absolutely not weird! Honestly we try to invite the younger siblings to our son’s birthday parties when we can because it’s really hard to tell a 4 year old they can’t come to the super fun party venue they see their mom dropping their big sibling off at.
Anon says
Agree, not weird.
IHeartBacon says
Agree, not weird.