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This is the diaper pail that we used for my son’s nursery, and now we’re just using it as a regular trash can for his bathroom. This pail uses a specialized roll of bags that’s basically one continuous open bag. You tie the bottom end off (we use little zip ties), pull the bag down, and when it is full you use the cutter on the inside of the can and tie off the top end.
I think it did a really good job of containing smells, and it holds a ton of diapers. The best part is that it’s hands-free, with a step on the bottom to open the lid.
We still have leftover rolls of bags, so we are using it as a regular can now and probably will use it for the foreseeable future, unless someone in the family wants a hand-me-down.
It is $39.99 in gray and $29.99 in white (which is unfortunately sold out online) at Buybuybaby.com. Dékor Classic Hands-Free Diaper Pail
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Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Zappos – 26,000+ 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 – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Ifiknew says
Shoukd I have my housekeeper comeback once a month or so to scrub toilets etc that I can’t do? None of us will be home. We are in a hot spot though and Ive made it five months without a cleaner but ugh. Losing my mind. I know there’s no risk free actvitity but if we’re not home, chances seem to be very low?
Cb says
Our cleaner came back a few weeks ago, at her own request. One of us takes our son out and the other one camps out in whatever room doesn’t need cleaning and works. It’s made a huge difference in my wellbeing. We wipe down the handles / doorknobs before and after.
anon says
We have a deep cleaning whenever we’re going to be out of the house for at least 36 hours post-cleaning. So far we’ve gone camping or done a post-quarantine visit to grandparents every 6 weeks or so. So far that’s been enough.
Anon says
While it’s ultimately up to your comfort level, I say yes for the sake of your well-being. Even if she does happen to come while someone is there, you could agree to wear masks, or occupy different levels in the home. Chances are they are employing safe practices – but have the conversation and decide from there.
Anokha says
We are in a hot spot and had our cleaners come back last month. We leave our apartment while they are here, ask them to wear masks, and leave all windows open during/after they are here.
Anonanonanon says
^This would be my advice.
I mean, obviously, the “official” advice would be not to do it. But I would tell a friend to do exactly this. Leave or sequester in a separate room, have the cleaner wear a mask, and ask them to open the windows before they leave so air is circulating before you come back. I, personally, would wipe down door knobs and light switches as I went about my business when I got home, but that might make it feel like it’s not worth it?
Anon says
We’re not in a huge hotspot but we had ours come back as soon as it was legal (early May). We stay in the basement and she wears a mask, but we don’t open windows (the heat and humidity here make that very difficult) and we don’t bother to wipe anything down after.It’s been fine. I think cleaners are low risk, particularly if they’re masked and you’re not in the room with them.
Spirograph says
We had our biweekly housecleaner come back a couple months ago once our county was out of lockdown. She wears a mask the whole time. The first few times we opened the windows and stayed outside, but it’s been close to 100 degrees all month so now it’s AC and fans. When she’s here, I close the door to my office and the kids stay outside or on a different floor from where she is working.
It’s not zero risk, but I’m comfortable with it, and with everyone home all the time I really appreciate outsourcing some of the cleaning, which is never-ending these days.
Pogo says
We had ours back last month. Husband and I both stayed in our offices with the doors shut (we don’t normally have her clean those rooms anyway). She wore a mask and gloves and we only interacted outside from a safe distance. I generally feel the risk of surface transmission is pretty low anyway, so I’m ok with it.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Same as everyone else, we had our cleaners come back when our state started opening up more. Cleaners wear a mask and gloves, we wear a mask around them, and initially tried to keep the kids away/outside, and now the kids are back in daycare, so we just stay out of their way.
Anon says
Yes. We are in NYC burbs, I am 7 months pregnant, and we had our cleaners come back last week for the first time since March (we’d been paying them all along). They wore masks and gloves, I wore a mask, we supplied all equipment so they weren’t bringing anything into the house beyond themselves, and I kept the windows open while they were cleaning (and stayed in a different room except when I was talking to them at the beginning/end of the clean).
FWIW, Fauci’s housecleaners are back, too.
Anonymous says
I would. We haven’t had cleaners previously, but I’m starting to look to hire someone.
At this point, my family is working to transition from something that is an all out lockdown to something that is sustainable longterm. Are we going to concerts, bars, indoor restaurants to dine-in? No. But we have occasionally eaten on a restaurant patio, made infrequent trips to outdoor parks, and bought new furniture in person. It doesn’t look like our previous life, but is something we could keep up for a pretty long time.
Anonymous says
My elderly parents are extremely cautious (they don’t even go grocery shopping) and they have biweekly cleaners. It doesn’t worry me at all. I think it’s an extremely low risk activity based on what we know about how the virus spreads.
Anonymous says
even Fauci has his cleaners back now.
Pogo says
this comment wins
Boston Legal Eagle says
#whatwouldfaucido
Anon says
Facui went to a baseball game, and has said he would be comfortable going to restaurants if he weren’t high-risk due to his age. (Not judging people who want to do those things, just saying I don’t actually think Facui is that risk-averse, so I’m not sure “even Facui does X…” is the most compelling argument.)
Anon says
*Fauci. Gah, I know how to spell is name, I swear. Not sure how I made that same typo three times.
Anonymous says
He went to a baseball game that had no one in the stands, so I don’t think that was a high-risk event. And I believe the interview I read (one where he and various other public health or medical experts also talked about having cleaners come to their houses) said that he would be comfortable eating outdoors at a restaurant, not indoor dining.
Also, whether it’s a good idea to allow indoor dining, and whether any individual is comfortable with it once it’s allowed are two very different questions.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
+1 – We were living in short term rentals and had cleaners 1x/month as part of our rent since the year started. We’d leave while they cleaned, and they were masked/gloved. I’d wipe down knobs, faucet, etc. once we came back. Now in our house, even in a hotspot, as long as we distance/mask and/or stay out of the house I don’t see a worrisome risk, especially since they’ll be ostensibly cleaning with many of the items that kill the virus on surfaces.
anon says
My 3 year old would love love love a skateboard. Sounds like a bad idea to me, I just picture broken bones. Does anyone have experience with a toddler on a skateboard? Any tips or recommendations? He already has a scooter and a pedal bike.
anon says
We got my pretty athletic 6 yo a skateboard off of Amazon. She’s enjoyed it, but it’s certainly challenging for her. We make her wear full pads, including wrist guards. My 4 yo isn’t even close to having sufficient coordination to use it. She gave up even trying after a couple of minutes. Can he ride a 2 wheeled bike? That is easier than a skateboard.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GYW2C1H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
anon says
Thank you! Yes, we can ride a two-wheeled pedal bike (after learning on a balance bike). This kid loves wheels.
anon says
For reference, my 6 yo has been riding a bike since she was 4 yo. The skateboard is still challenging.
She does love her roller blades, as well, and they seem a bit safer.
AnotherAnon says
I think Kids Eat in Color has skateboards for her kids. I’m pretty sure they’re older than 3, but if yours can handle a pedal bike, I think a skateboard would be fine, with knee/elbow pads and a helmet. May I ask what pedal bike you got for your 3 y/o? Mine has a balance bike, but we’re almost ready to make the switch.
anon says
Not OP, but we love the Byk 250 and Byk 350. Both our kids find them easy to ride. My 6 yo often rides 10+ miles on the Byk 350. We purchased on Amazon.
anon says
Here’s the one we got (without training wheels): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085Y7FZJ9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Anonymous says
What about a skateboard with a scooter handle? It would look and feel more like a skateboard but would not be overly frustrating. Some of them allow you to remove the handle to convert it to a skateboard when the kid is ready.
Highly recommend wristguards.
farrleybear says
I got my 5-year-old kiddo a morf board that converts from scooter to skateboard, and it’s pretty cool. He really only wants skateboard so has resisted the scooter setup somewhat, but the skateboard is much harder to balance and maneuver.
Anon says
We got my kids a 22″ skateboard from Amazon, along with a set of knee/elbow/wrist pads. And they wear their bike helmets. There are lots of videos on YouTube to help them learn, but I really like the one called “How to Teach a Kid to Skateboard” from Braille Skateboarding. You just need the first 3 minutes or so and then have them practice that over and over until it becomes natural. It took my kids a full summer of regular practice to get to that point. Once they were good at skateboarding up and down the sidewalk with both feet on the board, then I felt good letting them continue on.
You can also look up Sky Brown. She’s a kid skateboarder who is really awesome, and her little brother Ocean is also really good. My kids are obsessed with them and that helped motivate them to keep trying to get those fundamentals down.
Clementine says
I’ve been interested to read about what other schools are doing, so I thought I would go ahead and share mine:
Northeast, in a state that was hit hard early but has done a lot of really data driven response actions to turn things around. Schools can only open in person if the regional transmission metrics stay low. If things start to spike, there’s a shut off point, defined through data.
– All kids have the option to be 100% remote, particularly for medically fragile kids or families who just aren’t comfortable.
– K-6 are in person full time. Kids are split into cohorts of max 15 kids and so homerooms have the main teacher with them half the time while the other half of the class does specials/outdoor time/etc. To make this work, they’re taking over space in the elementary and middle schools so that there’s lots of room.
– 7-12 are hybrid with 2 days in person, 2 days remote.
– Special Ed kids are prioritized for in person.
– Masks and social distancing for everyone. Schools have already sent notes asking parents to help train kids in proper mask wearing.
Is it perfect? No. Our positive rate is less than 1% and testing is easily accessible with a 3-40 hour turnaround time. I still don’t know that I feel ‘awesome’ about sending my kid back to school, but this seems to be about as sane as I could expect.
Anon says
This makes so much sense. How I wish we were doing that (Fairfax County outside DC).
Anon FCPS says
Same (on both counts)
Anonymous says
Another FCPS resident. Agreed.
Virginia standards allow special needs and early elementary to return in Phase 2. We are currently in Phase 3, but I believe all the Northern Virginia school districts are virtual for all grades. I am selfishly interested in my kindergartener having an opportunity to meet her teacher and have a chance to learn in person (even 2 days a week) rather than 100% online. I have a hard time believing that early elementary lessons can translate to online learning. I really hate that I keep receiving advice to redshirt when she is ready for kindergarten. It feels like people have given up on this school year before it has even started.
Anon says
People who are like “oh just write off this school year!” are so naive. It’s not just this year. This is going to be a loooong term situation, and we have to figure out how to make it work. We can’t just keep writing off year after year.
anon says
I have an incoming kindergartener and agree with everything you’ve said here. She turns 6 in September and will already be one of the older kids in her class — no, I am not redshirting her, for crying out loud. I don’t see how kindergarten translates to an online environment.
Anonymous says
MoCo, but same. We just enrolled our K and 2nd grader in a private Montessori school (3 years old through 3rd grade) that plans on full time in person. If public school were prioritizing elementary in person, I’d be thrilled to send my kids to public schools, but they are doing one size fits all for K-12 and therefore virtual for everyone. I doubt they’ll open at all this school year.
anon says
We’re in the mid-Atlantic. Never a hot spot. Middling cases with some testing shortages and delays.
Full distance learning for all. The district has stated they’re planning for “vulnerable” students (e.g., ELL, IED, K-2 students) to go back 2 days a week “when safe” but no criteria has been set for when that might be. Most parents anticipate full DL all year, absent a vaccine or other game changer.
Anon says
Also, our DL is only 4 days per week so teachers can have an extra planning day. K-5 synchronous learning is supposed to be 5.5 hours per day and parents are supposed to be there to support. I am expecting a huge failure for any kids under 8 yo, as it’s just too much.
Boston Legal Eagle says
This sounds pretty good to me. Are you in MA by any chance? My kids are not in public school yet but I’ve been following what my district is doing – so far I don’t see anything on the website, but parents may have gotten communications outside of this. I hope they adopt a similar approach, with priority for in-person for the younger ones.
Clementine says
Not in MA and the general outline is public with more details coming out regularly.
Pogo says
I agree, this sounds like the best you could hope for.
Also not in school yet in MA, but I think our district is going to go full remote. Most others nearby just announced the other day.
anonanon says
This sounds really reasonable and I’m kind of jealous.
We’re 100% remote through January, then maybe switching to a hybrid option (2 days in person, 3 days remote), but even for young elem kids the max will ever be 2 days in-person. This is the correct choice, given that we have a positivity rate hovering around 6%, but still unfortunate.
Quail says
That makes so much sense. I think prioritizing in-person for K-6 is the right move by far.
For comparison – Chicago here. Public school has announced a plan with 2 days per week for in person K-10 (either M-T or Th-F) with virtual learning the other three days. Fully remote option available as well. Wednesdays are live remote teaching for 3 hours while school is deep cleaned; other two off days are “independent,” i.e., not live, learning. 11 and 12 are fully remote, though apparently this is being reconsidered. ELL and special education kids are being prioritized for in person, but though I have a kid in one of those categories I haven’t heard anything specific. However, CPS has been having town hall meetings this week and it seems the “plan” might move to be fully remote (not officially announced, just based on ta shift to more conditional language by the district). Almost all Chicagoland suburbs have announced fully remote, and the teachers’ union is pushing for remote.
Our rates never went as low (or as high) as the NE and are slowly starting to climb, so I am not optimistic. Our schools are overcrowded and the physical facilities are old, so I’m primarily concerned about proper ventilation. (I am not concerned about disinfecting and think the Wednesday deep cleaning is not necessary, see https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hygiene-theater/614599/) .
CPS has said that the final decision won’t come until the last week of August (we start September 8.) Heaven help us all.
Anon says
Midwest college town, not a lot of cases here currently, although I’m sure that will change in late August (although hopefully the cases will stay somewhat confined to the college student population). For now anyway, our schools have given families the option of fully remote or fully in-person. No hybrid option. They didn’t initially require masks for children, but then our governor made a mask order so now kids over a certain age have to wear masks, but still not the youngest kids, which is crazy to me (my 2 year old has to wear a mask all day at daycare, so I’m not sure why a kindergartner can’t wear a mask). They’re not differentiating K-6 and 7-12 which is disappointing because in-person learning seems both much safer and much more essential for elementary school students. They’ve said the threshold for shutting the school is a 5% positivity rate, which I don’t fully understand. I think (?) what they mean is that if one person tests positive, they might test a bunch of people in close contact with that person and if over 5% of the tests come back positive, then they would shut? But maybe I’m totally misunderstanding that.
Apparently 25% of families opted for virtual learning and I heard from a teacher that it’s actually higher at the elementary school level and lower at the high school level, which is the opposite of what I would have expected. Maybe the high school kids whined about not seeing their friends and their parents caved? Personally, I would be way more inclined to send an elementary schooler than a high schooler.
A says
Midwest here. We had a tough April and May, then the numbers got a lot better but are trending up again. Statewide, I think our positive rate is 3-4%. Schools districts are all over the map in terms of reopening. Our K-5 charter is doing fully virtual or a hybrid (2 days in person, 3 days virtual). The biggest local public school district is fully virtual to start the year, but many other (wealthier) districts are offering fully in person options. It’s confusing, quite honestly, and we are still awaiting final word from our governor about whether schools will open at all based on the data.
We’re currently planning on the hybrid option for my first grader, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up starting the year virtually based on local or statewide data. There are a lot of universities in our region, and I am not optimistic about the number trends with the influx of college students in a few weeks.
anon says
Midwest, in a spot where cases are unfortunately rising. School starts the second week of August, so here’s hoping we turn it around.
— Schools are open in person but families have the option of choosing virtual learning if they aren’t comfortable sending kids back. The virtual option is synchronous learning but will NOT be recorded, which effectively means virtual is not a viable option for working families unless they have very very flexible work schedules.
— Kids in grades K-5 will have a cohort and will not mix with other classes at their grade level. “Specials” teachers for art, music, library, etc. will come to them to minimize transitions in the hallways.
— PE will be held outdoors for as long as possible.
— Masks required for all students and teachers.
— If the “risk dial” keeps getting worse, they’ll move to a 2 days on, 2 days off schedule for grades 6-12. If we move into the red area of the four-color risk dial, everyone will move to remote learning.
It’s not perfect but we are sending our K-5 kids back to school. I don’t see virtual being a good option for us.
Anonymous says
I assume the virtual option is live so that the kids can interact with the teacher and other virtual kids?
anon says
Yes, and they aren’t recording it because of privacy concerns. Which I get, but it does limit accessibility.
FVNC says
I’m very envious. Our school district in the PNW announced full time remote learning with no target date for an in-person option. This is a revision of their previous plan to send K-2nd graders to school 4 days / week. I would be more inclined to give the district a chance if I hadn’t heard from a teacher friend that the teachers have received no guidance whatsoever from the district on how online learning will work, what tools will be provided, etc. I’m in an area that was an early hotspot (late Feb/early March) and yet there’s apparently been no planning in the last five months. So disappointing. We’re hoping to send our 2nd grader to private school where at least if they go remote full time, all the teachers are already Google classroom certified, laptops will be provided, and the priority will be returning safely to the classroom. My son is in a hospital-affiliated daycare with no reported cases, so I feel confident that with the right protocols there’s a way to open (at least elementary) schools safely.
Walnut says
Seattle, I assume? I feel like the district is just straight up writing off the entire school year.
Anonymous says
Texas suburb. Texas in general is on the downward slope of a peak. My county never really had a high rate or a peak, and has plateaued after gradually rising, but my school district extends into an adjacent county with a much higher rate.
It is 100% at home learning until after labor day, which is a month into the school year. I think there is a significant chance that this will be extended. After that there is a choice between 100% at home learning or 100% in person. Based on initial selections, about half of the families have selected at home learning, but it varies significantly by school, and it is a big district. My elementary has almost 70% of families selecting at home, so those attending should easily be able to spread out, by some schools have a much lower rate, some as low as 20%.
Masks all the time for grades 3 up, and masks when outside the regular classroom for grades PK-2. Elementary students are allowed to interact during outdoor recess with masks, but otherwise must social distance.
No Face says
In the Midwest. No restrictions statewide, cases increasing. My populous county is taking an evidence-based approach. (The county head happens to be a MD, thank goodness). The county just increased restrictions in hopes that the cases go down before school starts.
– any one can go full virtual if they want
– teachers, staff, and older students must wear masks
– There are three tiers. Tier 1 is all in-person with people cohorted as much as possible. Tier 2 is two days in person, three virtual. In-person days are alternating A/B groups. Tier 3 is all virtual.
– for the preschool (including my kid), Tier 1 and 2 are the same. All activities done with the classroom with only your classmates. (e.g. music teacher remotes into the classrooms, before/after care in your class with your teacher, etc). As much as possible will be done outside. No cohorts will mix.
The plan seems reasonable. I just hope we can get cases down overall before the year starts.
Realist says
This is very helpful, thank you so much for posting. Still waiting on plans and options from our district. To be fair, this is normal timing in my area due to how the state has handled things.
AnonATL says
I’m 39 weeks today and I’m ready for kiddo to get here. Just for fun, anyone have success with old wives tales to induce labor? At my last appointment about a week ago, I was a little dilated so there’s some progress.
I’m staying away from Castor oil, but I’ve been eating dates, walking, bouncing on an exercise ball. I’ve tried a couple exercise routines that involve deep squats, etc that are supposed to be helpful. Penetrative s*x is kind of out of the question at this point, because it’s too uncomfortable for me.
I know kid will stay in there until he’s good and ready, but I love hearing stories about what worked for other people.
TheElms says
A big meal worked for me at 40 weeks, but lunges or climbing steps 2 at a time can also help get things going (more than a walk).
Anonymous says
I had success with my first but not my second. I got my membranes stripped past 40 weeks with my second and my water broke an hour later
Quail says
Same here. A lot of walking and my favorite sandwich with spicy honey mustard did the trick for my first (not intentionally, actually, it was two weeks before his due date) but none of the tricks worked with my second and I had days of false labor. I did have my membranes stripped two days before labor started and a prenatal massage one day before. But the second kid just wanted to be right on time, I guess.
Anonymous says
+1, membrane sweep at 41+6 and I went into labor pretty much immediately. I had read many times that the procedure leads to false contractions and was in denial that my labor was real and ended up barely making it back into the hospital in time, 12 hours later.
Anonymous says
I should add – I was 40+4 and baby was born at 9.5lbs so they wanted him to come out. I never had a sweep before but I would say she was pretty aggressive with it. It is very uncomfortable but I had a baby in my arms 6 hours later, so I’m a big fan of the sweep if you are past 39 weeks
Anon says
I tried a lot of the old wives tales. Nothing worked and I had to be induced (but I had zero dilation/effacement…the doctor called my cervix “Fort Knox” at my induction). Fwiw, I think the point of the s*x one is not the penetration, it’s the chemicals released during climax. So if you can climax some other way, it should have the same effect.
Cb says
I had a sweep, spend 2 weeks doing squats and bouncing around and weeding the garden, drank the tea, but honestly, nothing really helped and I went 13 days over due. Went in for my induction already in labour but still ended up on Pitocin.
strollerstrike says
I ate a lot of dates and drank cups and cups of raspberry leaf tea. Not sure if it helped but my water broke one day before my due date. However, actual labor didnt start within 24h after the water broke so I had to be induced anyways :/
Boston Legal Eagle says
I did a lot of walks with my first but nothing really worked and I was induced. He was born exactly 2 weeks after due date. With my second, the doc swept my membranes and I went into labor that night and he was born the next day (on his due date!) Your doc might offer the sweeps if your dilation is progressing, so I’d suggest that.
drpepperesq says
i didn’t bounce on the exercise ball, i sat on it with my legs apart and rocked side to side (put my weight on one leg then the other). my ob said that simulates walking, and opens your pelvis.
Mm says
Try the miles circuit, if you haven’t (can find on google). My doula recommended it more for positioning purposes, and even if it didn’t actually induce, it killed some time and got my body/mind in a good place.
Pogo says
I had a sweep at 39 and did acupuncture that week, and went into labor right at 39w6d. But I don’t think it was anything I did. I would focus on relaxing and resting if you can!
Anon says
I drank raspberry leaf tea and gave birth on my due date, though I doubt the tea made a difference. Doing yoga squats was also nice to help open my your hips for labor – put a block under your butt. I think it was in the Alo yoga routine I used to follow on youtube but I wasn’t doing any full yoga routine at 39 weeks. I was pretty nervous about giving birth but looking back it was so fun waiting for baby to arrive! Maybe I’m suffering from amnesia though. :) Congrats!
Anonymous says
Nothing worked for me but the one I enjoyed most was eating a whole pineapple . It’s the core that is supposedly effective.
Anne says
With a huge grain of salt, I do think the TON of red raspberry leaf tea that I drunk with my first may have done something, but honestly, I was induced with my second and it was a better experience overall so I’m not sure that “natural” methods to move things along are better than the artificial kind.
OP says
Thanks for all the fun anecdotes. Y’all have some stubborn babies! I’m going to wait to see if I make it to 40w to get a membrane sweep, since it isn’t without risk but probably less risky than other induction methods.
In the meantime more naps, snacks, and walks :)
Anonymous says
Nipple stimulation and orgasms. Idk if they worked but I sure did enjoy it.
AwayEmily says
I went past 40 weeks both times. Both times my water broke before labor actually started, so I ended up being induced…and if I were to have a third kid (which I am not going to do) I think I would just go ahead and schedule the induction for 39 or 40 weeks once the baby is fully cooked.
LadyNFS says
I was 39 and 4 with baby #1. I ate spicy food the night before, walked, walked, and walked, and got a pedicure with a foot massage (and walked some more) the day I went into labor. 39 and 6 with baby #2 – I did none of those things, but it was peak COVID in NYC and I was limited in where I could go and do . For both, though, I mentally was ready and “told” baby as much. I finished big projects at work and was just “done” being pregnant. I had internal conversations with both babies and told them I was “ready” for them to arrive and visualized them arriving. Sounds hokey, but I think that this mental acceptance and preparation is what did the trick because for both I literally began labor within a day of letting babies know.
strollerstrike says
Since someone mentioned the blog upthreat… Has anyone here bought the “kids eat in color” meal plan? It looks tempting but 37 dollars is not that cheap for what essentially seems like an ebook?
My one year old was diagnosed with egg and dairy allergies. Any other good resources for allergy (baby) meal plans?
anon says
Yes, but I bought it for under $20 back when it was first rolled out. It is just a pdf, but if you want to majorly decrease the emotional labor involved in planning meals/snacks for your kids and go with something that you know someone has planned to have the right balance of fat/protein/carbs/veggies/fruit, it’s great. There are also directions for how to alter the original plans for egg and dairy allergies.
Honestly, $37 is probably over-priced for the actual meal plan itself, but I think of it as also supporting all the free resources Jennifer posts every day.
Ashley says
+ 1 to full price is overpriced for the meal plan itself, but worth it to support the daily resources
Knope says
I did. To start, I’ll say I really love her instagram and have gotten a lot out of it. But I didn’t find the meal planning guide to be that helpful. It does have a lot of recipes, but a lot of them either 1) didn’t work for my son’s allergies or 2) just weren’t that appetizing. There is an allergy supplement to the guide that you can separately purchase but I haven’t. I’ve had better luck with just getting individual recipes off of other kid-focused healthy eating sites, like Natural Nurturer.
Mathy says
Hi, I bought Real Easy Weekdays. It is an ebook but it does have an interesting structure. I bought it on sale for $29 back in May as a Mother’s Day present for myself with an intention to improve veggie consumption for our family. You’re paying for part meal plan, part recipes. She does encourage a make-ahead-and-freeze method for snacks to minimize day-of cooking. You could probably pull this plan together on your own if you go through blogs to find veggie-heavy recipes, and set them up on a rotating schedule.
While I haven’t been implementing the meal plan perfectly since then, it’s provided some good structure for us. The idea is that you have 12 days that you rotate through and that the plan is basically set with three meals and two snacks per day. Note that the recipes are pretty “healthified” — i.e., lentil banana muffins, oatmeal recipes with cauliflower or carrots. My 5yo son is not exactly into these, but I suppose I could give it more time. I noticed that many of the recipes are similar to others I’ve found on healthy mom RD blogs (nearly exact lentil banana muffins are on Lean Green Bean, for example).
Mathy says
Ack, inappropriate use of i.e. versus e.g. Blah, sorry.
anne-on says
I think the easiest way to think about cooking at that age was ‘megan’ meals – vegan plus add in a meat main. I did a LOT of plain raw fruit/veggies, or veggies roasted in coconut oil. Coconut oil was my go to sub for butter (if you refrigerate it it, you can cream it sort of), applesauce works pretty well as well.
The thing that was hard was finding pre-made food you could eat – if you look for things labelled vegan (vegan bread, etc.) it made things mentally on me. The bread aisle in particular drove me nuts, WHY did milk powder need to be in so many things?!? Tortillas, pillsbury crescent rolls, and box cake mixes were my friends for a LONG time ;)
layered bob says
I bought it, but when it was a little cheaper. First, I love Kids Eat in Color and find Jennifer’s instagram super helpful. However the Real Easy Weekdays recipes range from medium helpful to downright terrible (the lentil banana muffins are just not good, you guys), and for our family they are a little bland/repetitive/uninteresting.
I do feel like I got my money’s worth in terms of the structure and ideas – for example, we started adding lentils to our pasta sauce all the time, and it gave me a good kick in the pants to set up my own meal rotation (basically using the REW structure but slotting in my own recipes for pasta sauce, tacos, applesauce muffins, etc.). The visuals of the meals were also helpful and sparked a lot of additions of vegetables – e.g. I now always serve cucumbers with bagels, cabbage with tacos and mini peppers and miscellaneous other veggies with breakfasts and snacks, and I wouldn’t have been in the habit of doing that without cooking through REW once or twice.
We don’t have allergies but I looked through the allergy supplement to REW and it was pretty thorough, so maybe it is helpful? But can’t say from personal experience.
Knope says
Agree with this – in general, the recipes skewed VERY bland for me, and I outright just did not like some of them (and neither did the kid). But I agree, it gave us inspiration – for instance, I might not use Jennifer’s muffin and taco recipes, but it inspired me to make a veggie-focused muffin for breakfast and taco recipe for dinner that day. There are also some good healthy snack ideas in there too.
strollerstrike says
Thank you all, the opinion on here are always so very helpful! Guess it is not the magical toddler meal plan tool I was hoping for… I will keep looking!
Redux says
Re: Diverse books for kids from yesterday– I added my recommendations late in the day!
OP says
Thanks! I am putting them in my TBR list!
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
I didn’t know the author of the (awesome) Sonia Sotomayor book had others. Loved these reccos – thank you!
TheElms says
Anyone have a personal finance blog they like that focuses on upper middle income families? Looking for thoughts on how much of our budget to allocate to groceries / day to day expenses, childcare, college fund, retirement, emergency fund, fun savings (vacation etc)?
Anon says
I don’t have a rec but I can tell you what we do on a ~$150k income in a LCOL area with one child. We each do $19,500 in a retirement account, we contribute to a 529 to the point of getting the full tax break (which means we contribute $5k/year), we aim to maintain a $25k emergency fund in a checking account, we spend ~$1500/month on daycare (in non-covid times), we have been paying $3k/month towards our mortgage and the rest goes to day-to-day expenses and fun stuff. We don’t strictly budget for routine expenses, but we try to keep it balanced. Sometimes a big expense like a home repair or a vacation will cause our checking account balance to dip a little so then we will try to cut back on day-to-day spending for a few months to rebuild. We are actually paying off our mortgage next month, due to major savings during Covid (we were fortunate to keep our full salaries and had no daycare or vacation costs, plus we got government stimulus money) and then we will redirect most of our mortgage budget to additional retirement savings. Our retirement savings are going to be our financial focus for the next decade. They’re not terrible but aren’t great, considering our ages (35), income:cost of living ratio and the fact that we have a fully paid off house. I know a lot of people our age have $1M+ in retirement at this point and we are….nowhere near that.
Anon says
You think a lot of people have 1 million in retirement at age 35?! What affluent little bubble do you live in, and why do you assume that is normal? And stop the humble brag about paying off your mortgage during COVID, a time when millions of other people have lost jobs and face great uncertainty.
Anon says
OP said she was curious about other people’s budget breakdowns so I was sharing. I said we are fortunate that the Covid situation did not hurt us financially, although it has certainly hurt us in other ways. I would very gladly give up the almost $10k we saved in daycare tuition in exchange for having school open the last six months, because, like many others here, we have found it extremely difficult to work full-time without any childcare and our mental health and careers have suffered. I phrased the retirement savings thing poorly, I should have said we feel behind for our ages, incomes and relative cost of living. I do not live in a bubble and am well aware most 35 year olds do not have anywhere near $1M in retirement, but most 35 year olds also don’t earn as much money as we do and I feel that we’re behind for our income level, especially in a part of the country as affordable as ours.
I’m sorry you’re hurting, I hope you can find some peace. <3
Anon says
My husband’s favorite money blog is White coat Investor. I haven’t read it, but I know he’s a fan.
Anonymous says
Not a blog per se, but I like Her Money. It’s not targeted at any particular income level, but has a ton of personal finance resources.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I’ve found most finance blogs to be aimed at extreme frugality or savings so that people can be “FIRE” (financially independent, retire early). While I would like to retire a few years before 65, I don’t think we’d want to cut our expenses to the extreme, particularly not childcare when the kids are young. So I just use the mint calculators to get a ballpark for how much we should be saving in retirement and in 529s (based on a state tuition, which who knows what it’ll be in the future), and aim to save at least that much monthly, with a 6-9 month emergency fund and some extra for house repairs fund. Vacation fund is basically $0 this year, ha.
Anon says
We use Mint as well. Watching where your money goes will tell you a lot more than a blog ever could. Budgeting also allows you to have more grounded money conversations with your spouse and plan how to save for things and what to prioritize.
AnotherAnon says
I think the only person who can tell you how best to allocate your finances is you. I’d maybe recommend a financial advisor, if you have a specific goal you need help with, such as saving for retirement (at X age) or funding college tuition. But for pure entertainment purposes, I like the money profiles on the main site and The Money Diaries on Refinery29 (they’re back y’all!)
TheElms says
We have a financial advisor and I find him only meh. I’ve talked to several others and I find them meh also. So, I think that may just be how I feel about financial advisors. I guess I’m just looking for more thoughts on how people do things / allocate money. Definitely not interested in FIRE. We did a modified version of that pre-kid to pay off school debt and save for our house. It was very effective but not a way I want to live long term. I didn’t realize money diaries was back – I enjoy those – was looking for more like that I guess but with more focus on long term planning / budgeting. White Coat Investor looks promising.
AnotherAnon says
Oh I agree re financial advisor – and DH is one heh. He remarks all the time that his job is completely unnecessary because Vanguard exists.
Walnut says
If you want to post a burner email, I’d be happy to talk shop with you.
Supply Q says
In the midst of my first postpartum period. Based on pumping results and a cranky baby, my supply has dropped. It’s going to come back, right? Pretty sure this is normal, but I don’t really remember it happening with my first. Just need some reassurance.
Anon Lawyer says
I went through that two months ago and it came back fine, for what that’s worth!
Anon says
Yes! Your supply will naturally dip during a period. If you want to throw in an extra pump at night or sometime, then you can, but you’ll probably be fine.
Anon says
It’s possible that your baby is eating more and going through a growth spurt — which is why you are getting less when you pump and baby is cranky. Try to let the baby nurse as much as she wants, and this naturally will raise your supply (but this takes 12-36 hours). Also, oatmeal really helped!
Anon says
Yup, happened to me. It came back but always dipped during.