Nursing/Postpartum Tuesday: Smocked Nursing Top
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This summery, smocked nursing top would be a fun addition to your postpartum wardrobe.
This sleeveless top features a ruffle-trimmed boatneck and hem. The double layer design allows for easy nursing and pumping access. Add a flowy skirt or your favorite slacks for a warm-weather outfit (know your office) you’ll wear through early fall.
H&M’s MAMA Smocked Nursing Top is $39.99 and comes in black and “dusty turquoise.” It’s available in sizes XS-XXL.
Psst: Looking for info about nursing clothes for working moms or tips for pumping at the office? We’ve got them both…
Sales of note for 7/11
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Designer clearance, up to 60% off!
- Ann Taylor – Semi-annual sale, 60% off sale and 40% off everything — readers love this blouse and I always love the variety of colors/textures for this jacket (it’s a great separate)
- Banana Republic Factory – Extra 50% off sale
- Brooks Brothers – Up to 40% off sitewide + 40% off 3+ items
- Express – Up to 75% off all markdowns; sale on sale, up to 70% off
- J.Crew Factory – 60% off clearance
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off
- M.M.LaFleur – 25% off jardigans (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Talbots – 50% off wear-now styles and all markdowns + 30% off tops, pants, jeans, and shorts
What percent of mental load do you and your spouse carry? I’m 55%, DH is 45%; we have a preschooler and rising first grader so most mental load is around them and house stuff. We are very intentional in trying to be equal. My percentage is slightly higher because I have anxiety so I tend to think/ruminate more about what needs to happen, like buying back-to-school supplies, and I’m better at multi-tasking so I tend to incorporate mental loads like grocery lists while I’m actively making dinner. DH and I pretty equally share mental load when it comes to extended family (caregiving, birthdays, etc).
Will post again tomorrow since it’s late, but any feedback on a regular Kindle paperwhite vs paperwhite kids? Would like to get my 10-year-old a kindle for reading on an upcoming vacation. He’s finally gotten in the habit of reading until he falls asleep (instead of having his back scratched!), and I’d love for him to be able to keep doing that without schlepping a bunch of books all over Europe- and avoiding lights in a shared family hotel room.
It looks like biggest difference is the Amazon Kids+ subscription. Is that worth it? He mostly reads Diary of a Wimpy Kid books in repeat, which I see are included. Any other feedback on the subscription?
Another marriage question. I posted earlier this year that DH lost a parent, and we were all close and it’s been hard. As the year has progressed, I’m just increasingly getting tired and resentful of being the emotional backbone + logistics coordinator + on top of all the things of the household.
DH works long hours/travels a ton, complains/vents about work constantly, and then whines that work takes away time he needs to hang out with our kids, take care of himself, etc. I know he’s not in the headspace to actually change behavior, and the times he is, I do see him have perspective but that’s not his baseline right now. On top of it, we’ve had some very costly home fixes come up, which we are fortunate to afford, but now he’s lamenting that “all our money is gone” (it’s not), and constantly nit picking our home (e.g. “why is this towel here?”, “did you notice this stain?”, “why are the shoes disorganized?”), which is what he does when he feels things are out of control.
Anyway, I’m partially resentful because when I had a parent pass 5 years ago, DH and I were not in a great place in our marriage, and he wasn’t really there for me as I mourned. I also was postpartum with our second, and dealing with all of that, and also was objectively unsupported by him at that time that tied into our larger issues. We’ve gone to therapy and definitely are in a good place now, minus my resentment creeping back. The other reason I’m resentful is I’m just tired of handling everything else.
I have loads of support from the women in my life, family, etc., so I’m fortunate, and I’m being more deliberate about taking time for myself. I don’t like feeling this way towards someone I love and like immensely. Any advice?
Hopefully a fun one: what early prediction about your child turned out to be correct?
My newborn was noisy. He didn’t cry more than normal, he was just always making noises of some sort. My lactation consultant commented, I wonder if he’s going to be a chatty kid. Well now he’s a toddler and he is very much a chatty kid! I love it. He’s super outgoing and makes friends easily. I’m excited to see if he’ll continue to be chatty as he gets older. I’m wondering if anyone further down the line has noticed things like this.
What are we doing with our pencil skirts?
I know they are not currently in style, but I have maybe half a dozen that were absolute workhorses pre-Covid. They still fit and are in good condition.
Are we keeping them on the assumption they’ll come back? Donating on the assumption that even if they come back, the new iterations will be slightly different and the old ones will look dated?
Also yes I’m aware I could wear them now and just have the classic look going on, but I’m trying to be somewhat more current in my workwear style (no shade to any of you rocking the classics out there!)
The mother of one of my 9 year old’s friends was arrested for DUI recently. I take any form of drunk driving seriously, but this was not a situation where she was pulled over for a minor traffic violation and blew slightly above the legal limit. She was very impaired and drove up onto someone’s lawn, destroying some of their property. She easily could have killed someone. We will obviously not be having our child ride in her car or hang out at their house without us anymore, but I’m feeling a bit shaken. She seemed perfectly responsible before this. It’s a reminder that you never really know people.
possibly of interest to the moms board, i posted yesterday on the main board coffee post (was curious about non-mom perspectives!) about letting my sixth grader get a second ear piercing. responses were all over the place!
Out of season but I am in charge of sourcing snow gear for 6 people (3 9 year olds, a 14 year old, and two parents – blissfully not me). Some ski lessons and general time in the snow. What am I looking for? The overalls and ski jackets? I’m not in a rush so I figured I could just buy stuff off vinted as I spotted it but need to know what I am looking for.
How do you handle a child melting down at daycare drop off for weeks/months on end? It has finally been getting better, but then we had a really bad morning today, and she was crying before we got in the building.
To make it worse for me, a building security guard (the daycare is in a state agency) said something along the lines of “you have to give her lots of cuddles this morning and get her to stop crying before you leave.” I was already annoyed this morning because nothing I do seems to help (and know her teachers just want me to give her a hug and leave), so responded with something like “then I would be here all day. Sometimes kids just cry at daycare drop off.” In a snippy voice because I was annoyed at the security guard giving an unsolicited direction in something that in no way involved her. And because I don’t like leaving a crying toddler — it sucks, but I don’t know how to fix it so drop offs go better.
This is a stressful post. Please be kind.
After experiencing a pregnancy-related traumatic event a few years ago, my husband and I have been struggling with our relationship. We were together fpe over a decade when this happened and share a long and happy history together. Now, we just tend toward fighting. We are lucky to have a happy and healthy toddler.
We never fight in front of our child and she has a happy environment.
Except a couple of months ago when my husband chose to engage with me in a contentious manner in front of her, about some mundane household tasks. We did not raise voices. We used polite words. But we were definitely “arguing ” or talking with angry tones fast back and forth. I was actually spelling to him that we need to talk about this later, but he definitely acted with inappropriate emotion in front of our child.
Since then, my toddler, who was fuly potty trained for almost a year, started having accidents (this has since stopped, but it went on for weeks). She has also started insisting that both parents come everyday and that both parents do bedtime. This is heartbreaking to me. Please hear me: I know this is not a coincidence and my spidey senses are telling me her safety was upset by this event.
How would you handled this (aside from my relationship with my husband – he cares and is usually a calm person, no worries there). I am sick about this.
I started a new job a few months ago and I’m worried it was a mistake. The job itself is fine, the pay is great, hybrid schedule all good. But so many of the partners are just real jerks. I’ve always worked in a congenial environment- first in person, then another company remotely. I really never had a situation where people were straight up entitled jerks for no reason, and I was always good friends with my coworkers. I loved the camaderie.
Here, things are very stratified, the higher ups are miserable (yet very very rich), and I miss the friendly, we’re-all-in-it-together atmosphere of my old office. Everyone here takes themselves SO seriously which is silly because at the end of the day they’re just paper pushers.
I am not going back to my old office because the pay cut would be unsustainable, as would the rigid in office requirement (that’s just a necessity of that particular job). Pay cut-I’m talking $200k vs $80k. I’ve done the math and we JUST break even if I have an 80k salary. I like being able to save for my kids’ college and max out retirement.
Overall things are fine, but I don’t know that I would have taken this job if I’d known that so much of the older crowd at this place is miserable and mean.
Has anyone had their kids for a Junior Lifeguards-style ocean swimming camp that teaches ocean safety and swimming in rough currents and such? Considering it for our son next year who will be 8 (the program starts at 6) and I think he would enjoy many aspects of it (plus gain skills that are important to me) but it would be pretty intense and we’d have to really coordinate a way to do it with work. Thoughts on a program like this?