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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 55 Comments · by

Washable Wednesday: Sweater Jersey Wrap Top

Machine-Washable Work Clothes· Recent Recs

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A woman wearing an Ann Taylor Sweater Jersey Wrap TopI love this soft textured sweater jersey from Ann Taylor, which looks like a great basic for work or the weekend — and why yes, it is machine washable. It’s available exclusively online in green, light blue, red, burgundy, and black, sizes XXS-XXL in regular and petites. It’s $59 full price. Ann Taylor Sweater Jersey Wrap Top Psst: Note that the Nordstrom Clearance Sale starts today, with prices up to 40% off — check out our in depth look at the sale options for women’s workwear at Corporette. Additionally, please note that maternity clothes are included, as well as a few choice baby bags, baby gear, as well as a lot of kids’ clothes and shoes (I usually clean up on the shoes!) on sale.

Sales of note for 9.10.24

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

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

See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:

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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!

Comments

  1. (former) preg 3L says

    Baby Sleep Question/Issue/Complaint.
    I bought Ferber’s book, Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems, or whatever it’s called. We (my mom and I) have made amazing progress in the last week and now my almost-9-month-old daughter will fall asleep by herself in her crib with minimal crying (max. 7 minutes of crying, but usually 2-3 minutes of crying). Now, I’m trying to figure out the best plan for extending time between feedings, as the book explains, while also sending her to her father’s house this weekend. I’m thinking of letting her sleep stabilize where it is now, with bedtime at 5:30, first feeding around 10pm, second feeding around 1am, third feeding around 4:30am, and wake up around 6:30/7am (another feeding at that point).

    For sending her to her father’s house this weekend: I think it would be best for her to have a consistent schedule, as much as we can, and to resume sleep training after she returns to my house. Thoughts?

    For addressing the feeding schedule: She takes 20 oz of milk during the day from bottles and I nurse her for the overnight feedings (I don’t get home in time for bedtime so that’s a bottle too). She eats solids at daycare, mostly fruits and veggies, which they provide but she absolutely refuses to eat anything off of a spoon. Why does she need so many feedings overnight?!?

    • ECR says

      I don’t have thoughts on the transition to dad’s house, but as far as overnight feedings go, I would talk to your pediatrician and/or check out the sleep section of Baby 411 (which is a summary of Ferber, Weissbluth, and other popular sleep books). The authors and my pediatrician are quite clear that at 9 months, baby does not need to eat at night. The analogy they used is that if you woke up at night and someone offered you a pizza, you’d eat it, but it doesn’t mean that you NEED that food at night. My advice is to cut out the night feedings completely. Baby will adjust her milk intake during the day accordingly. We did this with my daughter and it was so much easier than I had thought it would be.

      • mascot says

        Yeah, I agree on dropping the night feedings and letting her adjust during the day. I’d probably start with the 1 am. That’s a bit harder with nursing perhaps, but work on an alternate comfort (snuugles, the paci, a lovey, crib soother, bottle of water, etc) with the idea that ultimately she will stop waking up or self-soothe.
        She may need some extra soothing at night because exterior stressors, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the only soothing available is feeding her.
        Also, fwiw, my child did pretty consistent overnight visits with his grandparents and adapted pretty well. Babies are more flexible than we think sometimes.

      • JJ says

        Agreed with everyone else. Baby 411 and my pediatrician also recommended dropping the night feedings because they’re unnecessary after 7ish months. It took about 4 nights of crying when my son woke up, but within a week, he was sleeping 12 hours at a stretch and just eating more during the day.

    • ANP says

      Hi (former) preg3L – I’ve been following your story here recently and while I agree in theory with ECR, I also think that some of your daughter’s night waking could certainly be due to some of what’s happening in your home/with your spouse at the moment. I found with my own kids that in times of stress, even as babies they craved closeness to me and/or my husband. So while I think any strategy to try and get your kiddo to sleep consistently is awesome and important, I wouldn’t overlook the fact that other stress might be causing some of the night waking.

    • NewMomAnon says

      I’m right there with you. When my kiddo spent a night with her grandparents recently, she did not take any bottles overnight, so I think most of it is the comfort factor. I noticed that my 9 month old doesn’t eat much when she nurses at night, but she likes to nurse frequently. We also think that when she gets enough table food during the day, especially protein (meat, eggs, cheese, beans, lentils, etc), she sleeps longer at night. But then there are the nights that make no sense at all…

      Mine is also popping a tooth and recovering from all the daycare illnesses, so I’m trying to just roll with it right now. Good luck. And I’d be interested to know how the Ferber stuff goes with moving baby between houses, since we’ll have to do some of that soon and I’d like to do sleep training.

      • Anon says

        I have been trying to drop night feedings first before trying the progressive waiting technique described in Ferber’s book. Baby is 6.5 months and up until around 2 weeks ago was often nursing every hour – 90 minutes at night. We tried to space out feedings by 30 min more per night and had some success. If baby woke up before it was time to eat, we would rock him or try to soothe him w/o nursing. He would sometimes go right back to sleep and other times would cry for about 10 min but then go back to sleep. Beginning about a week ago, though, if he woke up before it was feeding time, he would cry hard. I lasted about 30 min of that before caving and just nursing him.

        I think he may be getting a new tooth and that may have contributed to things. I feel bad to begin sleep training if he is not feeling good due to tooth but I also think it is very important for him (and us) to learn to sleep through the night.

        Did you guys try to cut down feedings first or did you do progressive waiting/CIO first?

        • KJ says

          I have been working on this with my 7 month old. We worked on reducing the amount of time spent on each feeding (reduced by one minute every couple of nights until we got down to 5 minutes) before working on reducing the number of feedings. So far it’s going pretty well – usually just one feeding a night, down from 4-5.

        • (former) preg 3L says

          I found that working on sleep first, and nursing second, really helped cut down on number of feedings per night. Baby (re)learned how to get to sleep on her own, so she no longer needed to nurse to get to sleep (every 90 minutes). So now, we’re down to 3 solid feedings per night.

    • FVNC says

      Can you get your husband to commit to following the same schedule and techniques you’ve been using this week? In my (limited) experience, a consistent schedule is very helpful in improving sleep habits. Also, this weekend may be an opportunity to help make progress on the night feedings. If your husband (or his parents?) can comfort your baby when she wakes in the middle of the night without giving her a bottle, then these couple nights may be enough to break her of the need to nurse in the middle of the night.

  2. Anon S says

    Morning ladies. My husband and I are in the midst of researching (a) cribs and (b) strollers for our first child. Would love to hear recommendations (or products to stay away from) for both.

    • Anon says

      I would recommend the book Baby Bargains. They do indepth reviews of all sorts of baby items. Having said that, I went with a crib from Babies R’ Us from the line Baby Cache and a travel system from Graco.

      • Maddie Ross says

        Second Baby Bargains. It’s a great help and worth buying to review all the baby items (and figure out what is totally unnecessary). As for recs, I love my strollers – we have a BOB Revolution jogger and use it for running (duh) as well as long neighborhood walks. I also have a Britax car seat, so we got the Britax B-Agile stroller for travel and to keep in the car. It’s really lightweight but has good action. Definitely a fan. For our crib, we got Pottery Barn. It was probably not at all worth the price, but it’s simple and safe. Baby Bargains pans them pretty hard, but I had already bought it before buying the book. You can definitely do better on price and durability.

      • JJ says

        Agreed with Baby Bargains. That being said, we have the Uppa Baby Vista and the Uppa Baby umbrella strollers and absolutely love them. We used the Vista conversion to a double stroller when we found out we were having a second, and were very happy with it.

      • mascot says

        Loved my Uppa Baby Vista and the Uppa Umbrella. But, go test drive all of them and see what is easiest for you to push, fold, etc.
        We got Pali furniture, the Wendy collection. It was a bit more expensive, but we liked that it doesn’t look too juvenile and has grown with him. Used the double dresser with galley rail for changing table and now just dresser, bed has gone from crib to toddler bed to day bed to double bed and hutch is a great bookcase. So if nothing else, we will get our money’s worth.

        • Meg Murry says

          We also have a Pali crib, and love that it converted from crib to toddler bed/day bed – we got it as a hand-me-down, and then my oldest used it until he was 3.5 and my youngest is now also almost 3 and still in it as a daybed and its held up pretty well – and its been assembled, disassembled and moved no less than 4 times and still goes together easily enough once you get the hang of it. We don’t have the bedrails though, and I don’t think we would convert it to a full size even if we did – we don’t have the room in the kids bedrooms for a full size.
          For any convertable crib, if you think you will convert it to a toddler bed or full size, follow the advice of buying the rails at the same time – the designs change just enough from year to year for some companies that the old ones may not be available.

          I also highly second using a dresser with rails as a changing table instead of a freestanding changing table – although we did most of our diaper changes on the floor once baby got even a little bit wiggly. We just kept the changing pad under the bottom shelf on a bookcase and the diapers and wipes in a basket. Also good for a second changing station on the first floor if baby’s room is on the second – no need to traipse up the stairs 15 times a day for diaper changes the first few weeks.

          • Carrie M says

            Totally agree on the dresser/changing pad combo, as well as keeping a station on each floor of your house. I also carved out space in a kitchen drawer for a few onesies, blankets, burp cloths, and a towel – so that I wouldn’t have to go upstairs for anything in the event of a blowout or huge spit up or whatever. Saving 60 seconds and a trip upstairs is huge when you have a screaming infant in your hands!

        • oil in houston says

          I’m considering getting the uppababy vista too for my 1st, which car seat did you use with it?

          • mascot says

            A Graco snugride with the UBV adapter. Basically made the stroller into a big snap n go with a huge basket underneath.

          • JJ says

            We used a Peg Perego infant seat with adapter. Like the seat a lot, but if you have an off-the-charts sized baby (like I did), that sucker is HEAVY to carry.

    • pockets says

      Cribs choice is generally a function of style and budget – they all basically work the same. Strollers are harder and depend on a lot of factors like urban vs. suburban, whether you have stairs to get into your house, whether you need to get it into a tiny trunk, etc. I thought Lucie’s List was pretty good at rounding things up: http://www.lucieslist.com/baby-registry-basics/best-infant-car-seats-strollers/#best-strollers with the caveat that she recommends the City Mini/Britax, which I don’t like because they don’t have a parent-facing option.

      • Anonymous says

        I agree that these days cribs are about style and budget because they are all fixed sides. We bought our crib originally in the drop-side days (dating myself, lol), so brand really did matter. We got a Pali that I can’t compliment enough and still looked new after four kids and three moves, but these days friends and family seem to be getting the Ikea crib and I probably would do the same now.

        As for strollers, we started with a snap and go (a great lil’ stroller!) and waited to pick a stroller. We were so much better prepared at that point because we knew exactly what features *we* preferred and how *we* would use it. Test drive, test drive, test drive. We ended up using a city mini and BRU umbrella – loved both. With the umbrella stroller, I might go with a bob revolution instead if you’re a runner.

      • FVNC says

        We also have a crib from this brand from W almart, and really like it. There was minimal cursing involved in the set up process, and after 13 months, it has held up very well.

        We have a Britax umbrella stroller that we bought because we could use it with our car seat. I don’t love it — it’s hard to steer. Our main stroller is a Bob jogging stroller (not the one with the huge wheels) and I like it a lot for suburban use. It would be way too large for NYC or similarly urban areas. Something that is important to me — and that I didn’t consider before purchasing — is ability to steer the stroller with one hand. That way, I can hold the dog leash, cell phone, etc. and still steer easily.

    • ECR says

      For strollers, I would say that there’s no substitute for going to a Big Box store and trying them out. Ease of folding is a big deal for me and this is something you need to try in person. We were all set to buy the Vista but then discovered that the fold was too complicated for us. Stores will also let you try putting the strollers in the trunk of your car, which can be a major factor in the decision.

      We ended up with the Baby Jogger City Versa, which IMO is just like the Vista but with a better fold (it has Baby Jogger’s awesome one-handed fold). It can also fold with the seat in either direction.

    • Spirograph says

      I don’t remember what kind of crib we have, but it converts to a toddler bed and I got it off of Craigslist for about $100 (we bought a new mattress). I picked it based on style. I checked at the time and it retailed for something like $500. If you don’t mind used furniture, I would definitely check Craigslist; there were tons of options in my area.

      We were gifted a Baby Jogger City Elite stroller, and I love it. It’s easy to push even on uneven surfaces, has a very smooth ride (perfect for sleeping babies), and has a big enough basket underneath to throw a dinner’s worth of groceries in. Plus it worked with out infant carseat — this was a must-have for me. It has the 3 wheel configuration with a lockable front wheel that you find on jogging strollers and I jogged with it occasionally, but it wouldn’t do if I were a more committed runner. Cons are that it’s on the big and wide side, so taking it crowded places can be a pain. It folds very easily with one hand, but it is bulky if you need to be hoisting it in and out of a car or carrying it up stairs. We live in a house close to an urban center, so we mostly use it to walk downtown or to the playground, and just park it in our back yard when not in use. We have a cheap umbrella stroller that we prefer for traveling or places we’re driving to and expecting crowds.

    • Carrie M says

      I agree with the recs for Baby Bargains. Such a helpful book!

      For strollers: We love our Baby Jogger City Mini GT. One hand fold is great. But I agree – if you can go to a store and try them out, you should. What sold us on the City Mini is the adjustable handle bar. My husband is a foot taller than me, and this was by far the most comfortable stroller for him to push. Biggest drawback is its small basket underneath (compared to the Uppa Baby basket, which is huge).

      I regret not buying a frame stroller for the infant car seat. They are relatively cheap and seem like a good option for quick errands. I found the City Mini bulky when the infant seat was on it, and I didn’t like putting her car seat on top of shopping carts. So I often put her in the K’tan when shopping, but it would have been nice to have the option of the frame stroller.

      For cribs: we went with a Natart crib. Made in Canada. Greenguard certified. Price is mid-range. So far, it’s been great.

      Good luck!

      • ELL says

        My husband is 6’7″, and I’m pushing six feet. The baby jogger city mini gt was one of the few strollers we could push comfortably. What really sold me on it was the available bassinet attachment. We do lots of walks, and I didn’t want the baby in a car seat that much. He loves wiggling around in the bassinet while we walk–and I’ve used it as a bed when we’re sleeping away from home.

    • sfg says

      In the same boat as you, I bought Baby Bargains, and yeah, it’s kind of overwhelming. So far, I am using it in this way: I see something I like (i.e. Babyletto Hudson crib) and I look it up in the book to see if it is terrible. For stroller and carseat, the plan is to go to the dreaded big box store and see what we like, and then confirm with reviews. I feel like there is a Baby Industrial Complex with all of the options out there. I just keep reminding myself that everything on the market has generally met the safety standards and whatnot.

      That said, I saw one of the 4Moms brand baby swings out there this past weekend, and, dang, that looks potentially awesome, or a huge expense. LOL.

      • Carrie M says

        For far too long (months), the only places my daughter slept at all (day or night) for at least 30 minutes were (1) my arms and (2) a 4Moms Mamaroo. I know every kid is different, and with our luck, our next baby will hate it. But it saved me while I was on maternity leave!

      • pockets says

        don’t waste your money on the 4Moms swing (the Babyroo), babies hate it and it doesn’t work. Get the Fisher Price swing. It’s big and ugly but it’s amazing.

        • OCAssociate says

          +1. I haven’t encountered a baby yet (my own 2, friends’, many nieces/nephews) who liked it as much as a F-P swing.

        • sfg says

          See, I knew there was a strong possibility it was the Baby Industrial Complex at work – not discounting Carrie M, of course – if my baby is like that, who knows what I would pay for the ability to put her down!

  3. Anonymous says

    I LOVE this top. Love the cut, love the color. Do not love the high polyester content, but I’ll wait for the next sale and try it.

    Is it true that AT has improved their quality? The last two items I bought there didn’t even survive one season, so I haven’t bought anything for about two years.

  4. ECR says

    Does anyone have experience with cloth highchairs like Totseat? We’re going on vacation over the holidays and will be staying in a townhouse without a highchair. Is it worth bringing something like Totseat, or should I just make do without? Baby will be 9 months old.

    • Meg Murry says

      I’ve never used a cloth seat, and I don’t know how useful/useable they are. We have a seat like this one (but a previous generation) that we use at home and at the Grandma’s houses instead of a highchair, and have loaned out to friends as well. If you are driving, I’d get something like this, because its also useful after baby has outgrown the highchair as a booster. If you are flying, I’d do without.
      http://www.target.com/p/fisher-price-healthy-care-deluxe-booster-seat-red/-/A-11037106

    • Spirograph says

      My grandparents have a cloth highchair that we used a few times when we visited them with son between 7 and 15 months old. It was perfectly functional and pretty easy to use, but my mom has something similar to what Meg Murry posted above and that’s much better. Esp for a 9 month old, you’ll appreciate having the tray to contain baby’s food/mess.

    • hoola hoopa says

      My parents have this inflatable one for their house and it’s fantastic. Packs small, raises kiddo up (which no cloth seat I’ve seen can do), and fastens to a variety of chairs securely. We’ve definitely used for 9 mo olds.

      The First Years On-The-Go Booster Seat http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-On-The-Go-Booster/dp/B004GCJN6K/

      IMO, cloth seats aren’t worth it because they don’t raise the child up to table level. I wouldn’t bother and just plan on the babe being on your lap.

      • hoola hoopa says

        If you are driving and staying a while, it may be worth getting one of the Ikea high chairs. They don’t pack super small, but they would pack to approx the same size as the FP one and be approx. the same cost – and you’d get a tray and not have to dedicate a chair. We use the antilop one full time at our house and have brought it with us to vacation rentals by car.

      • ECR says

        I’ve never seen one of these before–thanks for the recommendation! We are flying, so we can’t take anything more substantial.

  6. Anon says

    Just looking for a reasonableness check. I have been having a great pregnancy for the first 32 weeks. Didn’t even announce until 20 weeks and felt really overall good for another 10+. Obviously worked full schedule. At 33/34, I’m starting to feel awful a lot of the time–can’t sleep, major back pain, headaches, etc. more worryingly, I’ve also been experiencing pre-term labor issues (eg, BH contractions spaced 5 minutes apart, cramping, spotting, etc) my doc says I must slow down. Last night, I worked until 2 am, just pushing through. Felt terrible and was terrified that I might be starting labor. This am, I went to see my doc and she was very concerned. Reiterated that I could bring baby too soon if I don’t sit more/ sleep more/ drink more water/ relax more.

    I have a couple more very late, stressful, marathon meetings scheduled at 35 and 36 weeks, respectively. I asked this am to be covered by equally competent, on- level colleagues. I know I’m not sick but I’d never forgive myself if I bring this baby too soon over a meeting. I got some pushback when I raised the issue and my request has been elevated to my boss’ boss. Am I in the wrong? I mentioned my preterm labor symptoms (without specifics) and my doctor’s advice.

    • HM says

      I think your request is reasonable, but I can also understand where you got some pushback. There really is not “right” or “wrong” here. Your top priority is your health, and the health of your child. Your boss’s (and boss’s boss’s) top priority to work flow and work product.

      Couple of thoughts:

      – IMHO, you need to slow down. If you don’t, and baby comes early, a) you will start your maternity leave then, and not be able to make the meetings at 35 and 36 weeks, b) you may spend time with baby in the NICU. (Not trying to scare you, but its a real possibility. At 34 weeks, hopefully it would just be an extra precaution).
      – Talk to your doctor about going on modified best rest. I’m surprised this order hasn’t been issued if there are concerns about pre-term labor. With doctor’s orders about modified bed rest, you may not get the same level of pushback for requests for assistance.
      – You may need to take some maternity leave early. I’m sure your preference is to work up until delivery, but sometimes that’s not in the best interest of both you and the baby.

      • Spirograph says

        Agree 100% with everything HM said.

        My first pregnancy was similar to yours, but endgame is always exhausting, and I hate to tell you but the sleeplessness and discomfort is unlikely to get better. It doesn’t matter how easy the first 30+ weeks were, you have to deal with the way you feel now. I think you know you can’t keep up this pace, and you will not be able to do your best work under these circumstances anyway. Your office must have some kind of transition plan for your maternity leave, so accelerating it should be within the realm of possibility. Doctor’s orders will really help your cause, but even without them, I would insist on being able to scale back to 8-hour work days.

    • KJ says

      You are not wrong. I turned down a great opportunity to do a prestigious, yet very stressful, project during my pregnancy because I didn’t think I could do it well and take appropriate care of myself and my baby. For me, the thought of how I would feel if I pushed myself and something happened to the baby made the decision for me, even though I was conflicted. Definitely push to get what you need. Ask your doctor for a letter specifying what precautions you need to take or even ordering modified bed rest as HM suggested. Employers are generally much more persuaded by a doctor’s order than by an employee just telling them what they need. Take care and good luck!

    • sfg says

      Get a doctor’s note outlining/confirming what you already told them – that you are at risk for preterm labor and need x, y, z accommodations until you go on leave. You’ve already done the right thing by requesting that the meetings be covered just in case – you can’t control when the baby is going to show up, and it’s better that you make your work aware of this potential complication and having coverage (which you did!). I think just the other day, someone here pointed out that if another poster had a sudden medical issue that required unexpected time off, the employer would be much worse off.

      Good luck and I hope you are able to relax a bit.

    • Maddie Ross says

      Agree with everyone else and want to reiterate that you may want to ask your doctor for some type of modified bed rest or an official note/letter to your office, as when something is simply couched as a “suggestion” from a doctor, it’s way to easy for work to sluff it off. If you’re having frequent BH contractions, spotting and there’s a serious risk of pre-term labor, that’s serious, scary stuff. And needs to be treated more seriously than just the “I’m getting big and uncomfortable and can’t sleep well” stuff, which I totally had and think is real, but probably doesn’t require official accomodations from an employer.

    • (former) preg 3L says

      Ok, I think all of the other commenters have been (politely) very gentle about what I see as a very serious issue. No one else will protect you. You have to aggressively go for what you need here. I’m concerned for you and your baby — stop working until 2am. Just stop. Work will find someone else to do the work. If you can get a doctor’s note and/or an official doctor’s order for modified bed rest, DO IT ASAP. This is non-negotiable. Having your baby at 33/34 weeks is NOT ok. Preterm labor is real and is really scary. Even a doctor’s note that says you must be in your home in bed for 8 hours (or more!) per day would help. Please, for the sake of your baby and your sanity, make this happen.

      • (former) preg 3L says

        Also, you say, “I know I’m not sick” — pregnancy actually IS a medical condition, and preterm labor and a premature baby are REAL problems. Take care of yourself. You don’t have to have the flu to put your health first.

    • Pogo says

      I think you’re being totally reasonable. You have to do what’s best for your health and baby, and no one is going to stick up for you if you don’t. I think as very driven, type-A women we want to keep pushing ourselves until someone ELSE says “that’s enough, you’ve done great, sit this one out”. Otherwise we feel like we’re “leaning back”.

    • Anonymous says

      I had one really bad day at 34 weeks in terms of pain, energy and discomfort. Can’t imagine not feeling good for longer than the one day. Take care of yourself and your baby- document everything at work and that your doctor says. Hang in there.

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