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Macy’s has a number of cute sweater jackets right now, including this machine washable shawl jacket. I like that it has a bit more structure than a drapey cardigan but still seems very easy to wear. It’s $45, sizes XS-XL. Alfani Shawl-Collar Sweater Jacket
(L-2)
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?
Clementine says
So I’m not good at maternity leave. Although I love my kid and am very happy to spend all day with said kiddo, I miss my job and miss the structure that going to work provides to me.
Let me first say that I know just how lucky I am to be able to take any time at all off. Part of what I am having a hard time with in admitting this to people around me is that I am one of the rare, fortunate people in the US who is able to financially and professionally manage more than a bare bones leave.
After several years’ worth of hoarding vacation and sick time, I had planned on a lengthy leave; however, I’m now wishing I could go back sooner. I don’t think think this is an option due to my husband’s work travel schedule and daycare waiting lists, but man… going back even 2-3 days a week would really be nice.
I don’t know what I’m looking for… advice? sympathy? reassurance that I’m not a crappy ungrateful mother?
TK says
Ha! I felt the same way. I love my kid, but you couldn’t pay me to go back on maternity leave, especially when he was a newborn – he was either asleep or unhappy about something (hungry, poopy, just generally full of newborn malaise).
Can you volunteer in your field? I worked on some pro-bono legal cases while on leave, which helped. Also assigned myself ‘projects’ for the day, like ironing everything that could possibly need ironing (haven’t ironed since), going through my personal e-mail account and organizing / deleting emails going back 10 years, and “menu planning” meals that never actually got made once I went back to work because I was exhausted. Personally and professional fulfilled, but still exhausted.
Clementine says
Because of ethics rules, I’m extremely restricted in what I can and can’t do. Anything that would be beneficial to me professionally is basically a conflict of ethics.
And yeah, I organized the basement for fun the other day and have started pre-cooking for the next 17 years of our life, apparently. I think it might be different if it was not cold and flu season where I am and frostbite wasn’t a risk on long walks.
I’m considering studying French. I figure it can’t be bad for bebe as well…
anon says
I went through all of our belongings while on maternity leave and purged probably a third of what we owned, Kondo-style but before I read her book. It was super cathartic and felt productive. Now we have less mess and fewer extraneous possessions, and we made some money selling stuff.
MDMom says
I also did a kondo clean out while on leave. It was awesome.
You’re not alone. I had mixed feelings about leave, especially towards the end
Stacey says
I did Duolingo while nursing. I could do it with one hand on my phone, and it gave me some of the mental stimulation I needed. You could try it for French!
Clementine says
OOO. If I can do that one handed, that would be awesome.
MomAnon4This says
Surely you can join a Moms Group? Sounds like you need social interaction, if you’re even wondering if your feelings are OK. If you’re in the DC area I highly recommend a PACE group.
RDC says
This is what I was thinking – more activities might help. To help brainstorm: Your neighborhood probably has a moms group you could join; library storytimes; mommy-baby yoga; movie theaters have special “crybaby matinees” where everyone brings their baby; depending on baby’s age swimming or music classes (more for you than baby). When baby is little I also went out to lunch a lot – could you meet up with working friends (the baby-friendly ones) for lunch or coffee?
CPA Lady says
I was like you. By the end of my 12 week leave, I was so ready to go back to work. I think about that every time I see someone presume that all mothers want a year long leave like they have in other countries. No. I would have lost my mind.
jmm says
I’m right with you there. I’ll be sad to go back (and I’m nervous about transitioning her from exclusive breastfeeding to the bottle) but I actually get a little depressed on maternity leave because it is boring and I’m lonely. My last leave was in the spring and I was in an apartment where I could walk outside easily all the time, but now I’m in a house in the suburbs (and have two kids) so it’s not as easy. It’s totally normal!
POSITA says
I made one of my goals during maternity leave to develop a network of mom friends with kids the same age. It’s hard to make these sort of friendships with the stress of working full time and a kid–there’s just no time. Those friendships with other working moms have become more important now that my kid has reached playdate age. Are there classes or listserves that you could use to fill some of your time?
JEB says
I felt a little panicked early in my maternity leave because it felt so isolating, and I was wishing I could go back to work. I signed up for some activities, which made it a lot better…baby yoga, stroller strides, etc. I also linked up with a few other maternity-leave-moms with similar aged kids for lunches, coffee dates, etc. (I didn’t know them well at all, just happened to meet one of them through a friend of a friend, but they were also lawyers/professionals, so that was nice.) Can you find a regular activity to get you and the baby out of the house? Maybe that will help a bit.
You’re definitely not a crappy, ungrateful mother. It’s a HUGE adjustment when you’ve been working full time, to then be sitting at home alone with a baby. Not everyone is inclined to stay home, and that’s totally fine!
Two Cents says
I had a 6 month maternity leave and generally really enjoyed it (I’m never someone who could be a stay at home and I was definitely happy to go back to work after that long stint, though).
I think what made it enjoyable for me is that I made social plans at least a couple of times a week. Baby classes, walks with a friend, went back to my law firm and had lunch with colleagues, etc. Sounds like it’s too cold for you to do the long walks, but incorporating some social time was critical for me. Otherwise it is definitely lonely/isolating. I also had long chats on the phone with friends/family while the baby was sleeping.
I also read a LOT of books. Went to the library and checked out a bunch of books I wouldn’t otherwise have time to read. Lots of baby/sleep training books but also just fiction and fun stuff too.
Butter says
Do you mind if I ask how long you’ve been home and when you started to feel like this? This is not what you were going for, but I found your perspective really reassuring, as the impression (and comments and advice and information I didn’t ask for from strangers etc etc etc) that everyone gives me is that the first 6-8 weeks I won’t know what hit me/won’t have a second to think about work or cook or clean or organize the basement or do laundry or take a shower, etc etc etc. As a result I’ve been panicked about basically preparing for the apocalypse for the next two months! Which it might be, but I never hear the counter narratives like yours about wanting to go back to work early/being bored/actually being able to cook, and really appreciate it :)
Yes! says
I feel the same way (going on leave next month)! I’ve been stocking up on food/cosmetics/TP/pet supplies and the thought him the other day that we would be good if the apocalypse hits. Maybe it’s just dependent on your kid and their temperament.
anon says
If nothing else, it is highly useful to stock up so that you can spend your energy on things like showering and getting out of the house to do something other than going to the grocery store.
My LO was colicky but I still showered most of the time (and probably could have even more if I had managed to learn earlier that sometimes you have to let the kid cry so you can take care of yourself).
Anonymous says
My grandma’s advice on babies: “If you put him in his crib, you can’t hear the crying over the water when you take a shower.”
Clementine says
So I have been away from work for 11 weeks but had 3 weeks in the hospital and baby had extended NICU time. I’ve been home with baby for 4 weeks and he’s just an awesome kiddo. My husband has also been home all this time and he is AWESOME at being at home, but he gets tons of vacation from his job and stays at home while I go to work frequently.
Honestly, I was ready for carnage. Like, I was ready to never sleep or shower or brush my teeth. My experience has been totally the opposite. Kiddo LOVES to sleep in the car and going to Target to pick up one thing or another has been my sanity-saver. Kiddo also sleeps pretty well and just wakes up to nurse between 2-4AM.
The only times I had trouble functioning was while baby and/or I were in the hospital, but those were purely related to actual medical crises and not at all being overwhelmed by baby care.
I will also tell you that labor and delivery (no drugs) was really not that bad for me. I actually enjoyed giving birth.
Butter says
This is awesome. Thank you!!
Spirograph says
Have you gotten involved with any moms groups nearby? I always plug the weekly mom’s support/discussion group my local hospital organizes; maybe check to see whether any near you do something similar. I really enjoyed having something scheduled to get me out of the house and talking to adults once a week, plus it introduced me to other moms who were bored at home with a newborn at the same time and we got together outside of the group for lunch, movies, walks, whatever. Most were also professionals on maternity leave, and we remain casual friends almost 3 years later (with no expectation of seeing each other outside of kids’ birthday parties, which everyone understands).
You’re totally normal to be going stir crazy cooped up in the house with a baby and “nothing” to do. If you can bundle up and go for long walks, though, do it. One of my maternity leaves was in the middle of winter, and it was way worse than the one in May, but getting outside always did/does wonders for my mental health.
Anonymous says
I don’t think you’re a bad mom, but I think you may start feeling differently pretty soon. From what I’ve heard, newborns are pretty boring to be home with, but once you’ve got a ~3 month old, it’s a lot more fun (of course most people have to head back around that time; but those I know that were able to take a six month leave enjoyed the second half of the leave much more than the first).
(was) due in june says
+1. The fourth trimester, I was in survival mode dealing with what was basically a larva. The endless cycle of nap, cry, nurse, burp, change was so very boring and so exhausting and so frustrating. That instant feeling of falling in love with my baby the second I saw her? Totally did not happen for me. At all.
She got a lot more interesting at about 12 weeks but I was definitely ready to go back by 18 weeks. She’s now 8m and so interesting and fun to play with (though still totally exhausting). I definitely do not want to stay home, but being home with her now would be way more fun than when she was an infant.
Your day needs some structure. Definitely find some mom groups in your area during your leave – baby swim classes, gymboree, parents’ place, etc. Having mom friends with babies about the same age has been such a sanity saver, if only for commiseration and support.
MomAnon4This says
I went back to work at 6 weeks with #2 because Husband was out of work. I did ramp up – 2 days/week, then 3 days/week, then 5 days for week #3.
Meanwhile Husband was home with Baby.
Me: So, how’s it going? Do you have more empathy for stay-at-home-parents, the good, the bad, the hard…?
Husband: I can understand why we outsource a lot of childcare at this stage. It’s boring and repetitive and not very rewarding.
Sounds like you’re a great mom with normal feelings who will make the best decision for herself and her family!
Famouscait says
You’re certainly not alone in how you feel (I echo your feelings and those of a lot of the other comments). As a practical piece of advice, I found it helpful to listen to NPR in the morning while I was putzing around the house, feeding baby, etc. I normally listen on my way in to work, and so I think it had just the right amount of familiarity for me. I listened on my Apple TV/Apple radio.
Clementine says
You know, I’m replying late because all your comments inspired me and I ended up reaching out to a friend who is also on leave and going over to visit her and have baby’s first playdate.
I think I’ve been very germ conscious because of having a preemie in cold and flu season, so a big part is that. The other part I think I need to do is see if I can write a book or an article or something to keep my mind stimulated.
Re: Organizing/doing a Marie Kondo-style purge- I am not naturally a tidy person and the only way I have found to fake being organized and tidy is to only have things that I need/use regularly/bring me joy. This also makes sure I don’t shop for boredom or buy unnecessary things. I regularly purge-clean my house and am VERY careful of what comes in, so that’s out as a time occupier. I think I’m going to paint trim though.
Baby is so mellow right now that he’s very happy to just watch me fiddle around.
Anonymous says
I think your baby is still pretty young from the sounds of it, so ymmv, but I’m currently 7 (eek!) months in to my year long (Canadian) mat leave. Like everyone has echoed, play dates are your friend. And I’m not sure where you are geographically, but I still go for walks every day even when it’s cold. This has been my saviour. (Again ymmv re premie etc). I bought a jj cole polar bundleme (basically a giant sleeping bag) and it keeps baby super cozy here in Toronto. I throw on the plastic rain shield if needed but we have luckily had a mild winter so far.
Anonymous says
In case you are still checking – look for local parents/moms groups and make new mom friends. I’m 5 months into a 6 month leave and so sad that it’s almost over. I’ve made at least 10 new friends whom I see regularly, in groups and one on one. Not only does it keep me busy and sane, but we share what we learn and pool resources – one mom’s baby is refusing bottles so I brought her over several different types of bottles that she hasn’t tried yet. Another mom gave me tons of pumping supplies she got at her shower because she ended up not nursing/pumping. A bunch of us are going for a long walk tomorrow to a far away coffee shop with great donuts. The community we’ve built is amazing.
How? Look for new mom support groups, breastfeeding groups, list serves (yahoo groups), and local Facebook groups. Chat people up at mommy and me yoga, music, and tummy time classes. Go to coffee shops.
Also, after about 3 months, mine “woke up” and doing anything other than paying attention to her has become difficult. I kind of miss the early months in some ways.
TK says
My almost-2 year old has abruptly begun waking up an hour earlier. He’d been sleeping 7 – 7 without much incident for at least a year, and I relied on that morning hour between 6 and 7 to get some work done from home and/or to get myself ready for work. I’d really prefer not to adjust my morning routine to begin at 5, but I can unless someone here has some good advice to get him to sleep in longer …
I did try moving his bed time back to 730 or 8 (difficult because he still becomes tired and cranky around 7) but he still wakes up at 6. Is this just the new normal I need to adjust to, or is there any way to get him to sleep in again?
For reference,
mascot says
He may not be quite old enough to get it, but an “Ok to Wake” type clock helped my son. The clock’s not green, I need to close my eyes again or, if it’s ok with you, he can play in his bed for a little while. Is he waking up really hungry/thirsty/wet? Sometime growth spurts can mess with their sleep.
FVNC says
This happened to my daughter as well, right around the same age. The early wake up time lasted around 3 weeks, and then for no reason apparent to me, she started again sleeping until 7:15-7:30. So, no advice — just wanted to offer some hope that things will get back to normal soon.
Philanthropy Girl says
My 16 month old is a 6-6 kid, but often goes through phases where he wakes at 5. My tactic with early wake-ups has been check diaper, give love, say “it’s still night night, I’ll see you in the morning!” Often he will fall back asleep, although sometimes it takes a day or two of crying before he adjusts to going back to sleep.
Are you still getting a good nap during the day? Have you tried putting him to bed earlier? Sometimes over tired kiddos will get up early – a lot of times I’ll get an early wake up when he’s had a late bedtime.
I also second the hungry/thirsty. I keep a sippy in the nursery and offer it in the morning. You could offer a bedtime snack if hunger is the issue.
Lkl says
Our kid (10 mo) has been “using” a sippy cup for about three months. He loves using it, and knows how to suck the liquid out. But he just spits it out! Doesn’t matter if it’s water or formula. Sometimes he’ll swallow a little bit, but mostly … out it comes. Same with an open cup — he knows how to get the liquid in his mouth but then spits it all out instead of swallowing (often while grinning widely). Is this, like so many other things, just some thing that he’ll eventually figure out? We realized he was still on the newborn-flow bottle nipples so have replaced with faster flow in case he is having trouble dealing with the fast flow of liquid from a cup, in case that was the issue, but it doesn’t seem to be. I am leaning towards “this will sort itself out in time,” but wondering if others of you have gone through this.
Philanthropy Girl says
Sounds like experimenting to me, especially with the grinning. Mine loves to experiment with liquids, and the sippy is no exception; he’s always finding new ways to make a mess with that thing. If he isn’t having other swallowing problems, I’d probably just work on helping him to understand it’s not okay to spit it out and make a mess.
All the stuff says
How do you all deal with kid stuff taking over your house? Especially after the holidays, I’m feeling smothered in our small-ish space with the millions of toys, gifts, hand-me-downs that they received. I feel like I can’t Marie Kondo the stuff because *most* of it does not bring me joy, but these things were gifts and with these gifts I feel like there is some emotional attachment by the giver . . . wanting it to be used and wanting to see it being used.
We have tried to nip this in the bud, asking for experiences, consumables, etc. (We would like to scrap gifts almost completely, but that plan just won’t fly.) I think there is a generational gap between us and our parents, who seem to believe that kids should have a hundred toys to open on Christmas morning. This all makes me feel guilty, ungrateful, and wasteful. So how do you deal?
JEB says
I felt stressed post-holidays for this very reason. The advice I heard over and over again was to pack half of the toys away and trade them out in a few months. I’ve yet to actually do it, but it seems like a good idea!
Betty says
I did this over New Year’s weekend for the first time ever. I boxed over half of their stuff, with some going to goodwill and put the rest in the attic. For us, it is half the stuff for the kids and our nanny to manage and the decluttering made me take a deep breath. Ahh. Open space. And now I want to throw away and clean out everything else….
Philanthropy Girl says
Yup – toy rotation.
I also know many families who do a charity donation of old things when new things came in. If the child is old enough to participate, involve them in deciding which shirt/toy/blanket/etc… they would like to give to someone who needs it to make room for new things.
Meg Murry says
As far as the “wanting it to be used and see it used” – give child the toy or dress them in the outfit, take a picture. Post to social media or send to gift-er. Then donate to an organization that can use the item more than you with no guilt.
Are the family members local? We’ve found that having kids open Christmas and birthday presents at the local grandparents house and then leaving lots of them behind as “great toys to play with at Grandma’s house!” as one way to stem the tide – if Grandma has to find a place for it, or listen to it she’s less likely to buy it.
Anon says
+1 my sister does this with my Mom occasionally. she just states they don’t have room for it at their house so this will have to stay and be a fun “grandma and grandpa’s house toy.” Also would second pulling out like 75-90% of the toys/clothes, take a picture with it and donate it. Realistically no one is going to notice. If they do, just tell them that toy/outfit is in storage or broke.
RDC says
Also, fortunately kids grow fast, so usually my son outgrows stuff before the gift-givers are able to come visit us. But we live far away from family, so ymmv.
RDC says
Meaning – you could donate things and whenever the giver visits, tell them baby outgrew the gift already (but loved it!).
Anonymous says
This is what we do. We have a rule of one gift per family per occasion (one per set of grandparents, one from my brother etc). I said if we got anything else it would be donated to charity. A lot of unhappy people the first year we instituted it but I figured my mental health was worth it. If they want to ‘give’ anything additional, it gets opened at their house and stays there and they are not allowed to mention it being brought to our house or ‘loaned’ to us.
The kids also ‘out grow’ poorly chosen and little played with toys selected by others with remarkable speed ;) those are quickly donated.
We also have a rotation system where some larger items are stored in the basement and rotated biweekly. It cuts down on the amount of stuff in the playroom.
Famouscait says
The bit from Marie Kondo that stuck with me the most was that the purpose of the gift is to be received. Then, you can do what you want with it, including getting rid of it. I did this with a lot of the stuff you mention after our holidays as well. My son’s nursery is now a lot more fun and usable without ALL THE STUFF.
Pogo says
So… I got referred to a RE to start looking into fertility treatments. I’m actually really excited – I’d almost given up hope of having a baby, even though it’d only been a year… it had just lost the excitement of omg, we’re going to parents!
How did any of your ladies who’ve been through this manage the time off from work? Already I’ve had 2 OB and 1 fertility appointment in the span of a month, and I assume given how much monitoring there is involved in IUI, plus any pre-IUI tests like HSG, etc, I’ll be having to miss a lot of work. I have zero worries about actually getting my work done; yesterday for example I just worked from home after my appointment.
I’m more concerned because my boss is a man, and not at all a family type, who always wants to know my whereabouts, and made noise when I asked for an afternoon off after a dental surgery (like, really? Do you want me drooling and bleeding all over the office, cracked out on pain meds??). I’m concerned he’s going to start questioning why I have so many doctor’s appointments…
Betty says
I traveled a very similar road! I know it seems like the appointments will be overwhelming, but I they tend to be concentrated at the beginning of your month for monitoring and the procedure. Our clinic was great with monitoring appointments. (Monitoring may depend on whether you are starting on clomid or going straight to injections.) They started as early as 7:30, so I went in before work. The appointments are quick once you get used to them, and I was on my way with my day by the regular time. The IUI procedure itself, well for you, isn’t that complicated, and can be disguised as a “lunch”. If the clinic is near your work in any way, I found it pretty easy to keep appointments unknown to my work. (And my IUI baby is about to turn 5!)
Pogo says
Ok, that’s good to know! And now that I think of it, it is likely the monitoring isn’t actually done by an MD, just a technician usually? That probably means the appointments are more flexible.
The location is super convenient to both home and work (yay!), and I wouldn’t worry at all if my boss were more family-oriented. My husband says to just tell boss when I’m taking time off instead of asking, but he’s made it clear he dislikes me taking time off/leaving early/etc (for no reason other than he’s a stickler and has no heart, as far as I can tell lol).
He did shut up one time when he got pissed I stayed home with a migraine. I said something like, “A migraine is a very serious headache with nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and extreme pain. I cannot work when I have a migraine, but if I’m feeling better this afternoon I will work from home.” He didn’t bug me again after that, so if he says something similar I’ll probably do what Meg Murry suggests below.
Meg Murry says
Can you give him a vague but true statement about the doctor’s appointments – along the lines of “I’ve got a medical situation going on right now – it’s nothing life threatening or anything like that, but it means I’m going to have quite a few appointments of the next couple of months and it’s probably best if I work from home those days. I’ll make sure my calendar is up to date as to when I’ll be in and out of the office as much as I can.”
It’s not lying – fertility treatments are a “medical situation” but it’s vague enough that he probably won’t pry, because when people don’t share more details it’s usually assumed to be something gross or embarrassing that they just don’t want to know about.
Msj says
Most of my ivf monitoring appointments were at 7am, so easy to fit in (but if you travel a lot would be an issue). Im not sure if it’s because they are generally paid out of pocket and thus more “customer friendly” but these early morning hours are quite common.
Otherwise, could you try to schedule the other RE appointments during lunch? A location close to your home or office is definitely a plus (and they may even have more than one location).
And your manager really shouldn’t be probing you for details but you might want to slip in a reference to “gynecological issues” which would certainly lead him to back off – but I can understand if you wouldn’t be comfortable doing so.
NewMomAnon says
Your boss is not going to be happy at all when you are pregnant and might not be supportive while you are out on maternity leave, or when you have to be home with a sick kid once you come back. Think of this as a practice run….
Pogo says
Good point. Overall the company is great for women/families, so I’m planning to just grin and bear it until I get transferred to a different manager. But you’re right, he won’t be thrilled.
Byrd says
I just told my boss I had a ‘medical procedure’ when I needed to be out for egg retrieval and embryo transfer. Everything else I just handled as normal medical visits. And my RE was out of town.
Hugs and good luck!!
SnowMama says
What are some of your best “working mom life-hacks”?
I had an aha moment over the weekend around setting out all the kids clothes the night before… this seems so obvious but I had never thought to do it! Any others?
mascot says
Husband and I both use outlook for work. Rather than maintain a separate family calendar, we just use invites on our work calendars to handle doc appts, sports, school events, spouse traveling, etc. (marked to private if needed).
Anonymous says
I am SO going to start doing this – this is an AMAZING hack!! I cannot believe that neither I or DH thought of this before!
Pigpen's Mama says
On Sunday I try to put together five outfits for the week (pants, shirt, undershirt, socks). I stick them in gallon bags and stash them by her changing table. If I’m extra efficient I do it when I’m folding laundry!
That’s about it — everything else is a hot mess!
Betty says
I do this too for both of my kids. I also do it for myself and try not to deviate from what I picked out. I am much more brave and creative in my own clothes on Sunday than Thursday morning when I just want to go with one of my go-to outfits!
Spirograph says
I do this to pack when we’re traveling, but never thought to try it just at home.
My daycare doesn’t provide breakfast, but will let kids eat food brought from home until about 8-8:30. We have a stash of nutrigrain bars, single serving yogurt, and make little berry fruit cups for the kids to eat at school. Not doing breakfast at home is the only way to have a prayer of getting to work on time.
Anonymous says
If you search online ‘5 drawer organizer for kids clothes’ there’s a really cute picture from Pinterest with the drawers labelled for each day of the week so kids can get the clothes out and get dressed themselves.
NewMomAnon says
I have a backpack for my work bag instead of an over-the-shoulder purse. It was too much to carry a purse on my shoulder and a kid who doesn’t want to walk (or can’t walk on slippery sidewalks) and a daycare bag.
I started buying the GoPicnic boxes from Target and keeping them in my office for lunches so I don’t have to pack a lunch in the morning.
And my biggest one – auto pay for all bills and automatic deposits/transfers for all savings.
Meg Murry says
Some of these I’ve mentioned before, but here’s my list again:
Each family member has one brand and type of sock (Hanes Easy sort for the kids and me, available at Target) in both black and white. I don’t match socks, they just go into each kids dresser or clean laundry basket and it takes just a minute to grab 2 that match each morning. When we go on vacation (once a year or less) we just buy a new pack of socks to take with us, sometimes a new pack of underwear as well.
I’ve mentioned this before, but my kids each have a dirty laundry hamper or bag and a clean laundry basket, that gets washed separately (no sorting!) When it gets extra hectic (read – most weeks) we just have them pull their own outfits out of their individual baskets. Since it’s almost always the same clothes as they wore last week, it’s usually seasonally appropriate.
I also don’t separate whites and colors. If it can’t be washed with blue jeans and red shirts, we don’t own it.
Maybe easier since I have boys, but I try to buy neutral bottoms at all times so I don’t have to worry about if this shirt “goes” with those pants. Learned that the hard way after my MIL bought my oldest a whole bunch of clothes that looked nice individually but we kept winding up at the end of the week with only the red striped shirts and orange plaid shorts left in the dresser.
We are a no shoes in the house family with the reason more for avoiding “mom, where are my shoes?” than for cleanliness. Everyday shoes live next to the door, period. No hunting for shoes every time we need to leave the house.
Backpacks and anything going to school (shoes now that it’s boots weather, music folder, etc) get packed the night before. If it’s up to me I pack lunches the night before, but my husband usually handles that and he’s a morning person.
Kids plastic cups go in a low cabinet so they can get their own darn water to drink. Mom approved snacks go on a low shelf in the pantry, while special items and things individually wrapped for lunches go on a high shelf with orders not to touch.
My oldest learned to find Curious George on the Tivo (look for the word that starts with a “C” and then another word that starts with a “G”) by age 4 so we could sleep in on weekends.
Anon says
My hack is to skip PJs and have the kids wear their next day’s clothes to bed. That way they aren’t worrying about what to wear or looking for clothes in the morning. I also let my kids pick their own clothes–matching is entirely their problem (not that they care).
All the baby clothes says
How many outfits do I realistically need for a baby in each size range? I would like to keep things minimal, but also don’t want to constantly be doing laundry because kid only has a week’s worth of outfits. Also, I realized yesterday that I have a bazillion 3 month onesies and a bazillion sleep sacks/swaddlers, but I only have 3 pairs of actual pajamas (like the footie/sleeper things). Do I actually need pajamas for a baby or can I just use onesies, socks, and sleep sacks/swaddlers?
Spirograph says
Babies’ limbs are like little noodles, and they can be really annoying to wrangle into the arms and legs of footie/sleeper things. If you have onesies and sleep sacks, you’re good. If you find you REALLY prefer the footie PJs, you can get more later. Or, more likely, people will gift them to you.
Babies grow really quickly. With gifts and hand-me-downs alone, I always had too many for my kid in any given size until about a year.
anon says
Well, you’ll be doing a lot of laundry regardless at the beginning, because of ALL THE FLUIDS and you probably don’t want a thousand newborn outfits, but by a couple months we were down to 1-2 loads a week. We’ve been okay with about 10 onesies and pants in each size (maybe 12 to account for the ones that live at daycare), plus about 7 sweatshirts (a new one every day because of drool, food, etc.). They do go through more than one outfit per day pretty frequently . We now use PJs at night rather than sleep sacks, but used swaddles/Magic Sleep Suit with a onesie until about 6 months. We did find one-piece “pjs” (sleep and play or whatever they are called) useful for daytime for a tiny baby when it was still cold out, though.
My other advice is not to buy too much yourself or in advance, because (a) people will give you clothes and (b) you don’t know how big your baby will be or how fast he or she will grow, so you don’t want to end up with a bunch of stuff that is the wrong season. For example, we were given a billion pairs of 3m and 6 m pants as hand me downs, but our baby was that size in the summer and just didn’t wear pants at that time – too hot, and not crawling yet. Our baby also was in 3 month clothes for a really long time (maybe from about 6 weeks until 5 months) and then was in 12 m clothes by 8 months.
Pigpen's Mama says
+1 for the numbers here.
For the first 9-12 months or so, I found the easiest thing to do was the multipacks from Carters and the like — 3-5 onesies (short sleeve or long) and 2-3 pairs of coordinating pants.
One thing that did surprise me was how growth just slowed down after 12 months. I bought a bunch of 18-24 month stuff for her for the winter this fall and it’s still too big on her (which, duh, she’s not 18 months yet).
MDMom says
Another reason not to buy too much in advance is that you don’t know what brands will fit your baby. My baby has never worn anything we were gifted from Oshkosh and very little from old Navy because he outgrew them length wise before he ever filled them out. A short chubby baby would have a similar issue with carter’s and h&m.
SC says
So, you’d recommend Oshkosh and Old Navy for short, chubby babies? Because my 9mo keeps filling out pajamas without growing into the feet :-)
Maddie Ross says
I think it totally depends on the baby, the season, and your preference. One of my friends, for instance, said gowns were the best and gave me like 6. I hated the gowns. The wriggled up my wiggly baby and left her uncovered from the chest down. I had a late spring baby, so we basically did onesies for about the first 4-6 months exclusively. We occasionally did footy sleepers, which I actually like more than Spirograph, as I couldn’t keep socks on my LO until about 4-5 months (feet were too skinny).
Honestly, I didn’t find the laundry that unmanageable and would say that we probably came home from the hospital with only a handful of things that fit LO because she was so small, and it was ok. We probably went through an outfit a day, maybe two. LO was spitty, but not the kind that ruined an outfit. And the poop issues aren’t a daily thing most of the time.
NewMomAnon says
Keeping socks on my kiddo as a newborn was an exercise in futility. Since she was a newborn in winter, she wore the footed sleepers almost exclusively, with a onesie plus sleep sack at night. She was a spitter, so we had LOTS of footed sleepers (maybe a dozen?) and four or five sleep sacks. She also outgrew clothes approximately every 6 weeks, so she was in size 12 months by 6 months old. It was an expensive year, clothes-wise.
Amazon prime is your friend. Don’t buy too much right now. You will find out what works for you and your kiddo, and then you can buy more of it. Or have a shower after baby arrives, and ask for a bunch of clothes.
anon says
We solved the sock issue by just not wearing socks. Our nurse at the hospital told us that babies’ circulation is poor and just because their feet feel cold does not mean they are too cold. For months 1-2 baby was mostly wrapped up in blankets anyway but after that, so starting in May (warm here), we just didn’t use socks until the fall.
Philanthropy Girl says
The only socks I found that worked cuffed twice – garanimals maybe? But we went with plenty of footie pajamas instead. I had a fall baby, so we did light weight jammies (not the fleece) under a swaddle.
Meg Murry says
Will baby be going to daycare or staying at home with nanny? If daycare, once they reach that age you’ll need 3-5 extra outfits to leave at daycare.
However, +1 that you have no idea how much clothing you’ll need because you don’t know if your kid will be a spitter or not.
We didn’t differentiate between daytime clothes and pjs very much (never really bothered with cute little baby blue jeans, etc) just used “Sleep and Plays” or other footed one piece outfits and changed every 12-24 hours (or more if there was a spill/spitup incident).
Depending on where you live, finding a resale shop that fits your asthetic and budget can be a gold mine. A lot of the shops in my area only take “name brand” items like Gymboree and then charge too much for the used items, but we found one that sold clothes from Target, etc that worked just find for us.
anon says
+1. we aren’t interested in anything other than sweatpants, onesies and PJS for our baby (i.e. no jeans or other hard/restrictive pants) and everything that we’ve bought ourselves, we bought at Value Village — Carters fits our stringbean baby the best and there’s always lots of that. Since babies go through things so fast, there’s always a good selection of barely-worn clothes. Of course we haven’t had to buy much ourselves because baby is the first grandchild on both sides…
POSITA says
Our baby wasn’t a spitter or drooler so we only went through 2 outfits a day until she started solids. One for the day and then something clean for night. The exact outfit depended on the weather.
Butter says
Can I ask how many sleeps you can get out of a swaddle or sleepsack before it needs to be washed? We ended up with ~5-8 swaddle-type of things (swaddlemes, nuroo swaddlers, a couple of sacks, and A+A swaddle blankets) and it seems like overkill but then I didn’t know if they are like baby clothes and 1 wear = 1 wash (assuming they get dirty) or like sheets where you might get a few uses until mess.
anon from 11:31 says
We had one fleece Halo swaddle that we used every night for a couple months, washing during the day if necessary. Two would have been nice and in retrospect, I would have sprung for another one. When we moved on to the Magic sleepsuit, we did spring for two because sometimes diapers leak and we wanted to use it for naps as well as bedtime. Now we use a new pair of PJS every night because the baby is a drool machine.
sfg says
I swapped out our velcro swaddles whenever bodily fluids demanded it – we had 2 or 3 and that worked for us – one was nearly always clean. I switch out sleepsacks weekly unless bodily fluids demand more frequency.
NewMomAnon says
My kid was a spitter and prone to blow-outs, so we rarely got more than a couple nights use out of the sleep sacks, but we used them as long as we could between washes. My kiddo is 2 and she still wears the same pajamas a few nights in a row.