CorporetteMoms

Updated: Nov 1, 2018 128 Comments · by

Everyone Thursday: Firstclass Dress Pump

Everyone· Recent Recs

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A pair of Anne Klein Grey heelsWe featured this heel in black as part of our recent black heel roundup over at Corporette, but this dove gray is calling my name — and Amazon has it on sale. I’ve had great luck with Anne Klein heels being comfortable, and for $53 it’s hard to go wrong. (Other colors are as low as $30!) This style’s available in sizes 5.5-11 at Amazon. Anne Klein Firstclass Dress Pump Psst: We’re giving away TWO $250 Nordstrom giftcards through tomorrow morning — check out full details for the giveaway here! (L-3)

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

    • HSAL says

      Oh, I think they’re great. Just basic enough with interesting design details. And I find grey heels much more versatile than black. I’d worry about that white stripe getting dingy but I think these are perfect pumps for summer to lighten up dark outfits (even with the suede).

    • AIMS says

      Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the picks for this s*te are generally a bit “mumsier” than the main. It’s like all the Land’s End ponte dresses run wild.

      • Anon says

        Agree. It’s a little depressing, actually. Like now that we’re moms it’s all sensible comfort shoes and washable stretch dresses, because that’s what moms want, amirite???

        That said, I had an initial “no thanks” reaction to these shoes, but then thought about one of my childless friends who always looks very put together and is my normal person style icon. She would totally own these shoes and wear them with a beautifully tailored grey suit and look great.

        • Bday Party ETQ says

          Agree on the shoes – I think they fall into the category of frump that can be cute if styled the write way. I have a friend who wear a lot of low block heels, almost like Queen Elizabeth’s, and she always look super chic.

          As to the depressing, it is SO depressing! But on the other hand, if Kat featured stuff that’s a bit more fashion forward I can see readers complaining that they don’t have time for dry clean only items or that they’d never buy X because they have to be able to chase their toddler around all morning while getting ready, etc. But yeah.

          • Anon says

            I mean, yeah, I’m actually currently wearing a machine washable stretch dress, so maybe I shouldn’t be talking about being depressed… but the other day I was wearing a sleek tailored outfit and I just felt insanely put together and powerful. Like I had on battle armor or something. I hadn’t felt that way in a long time.

      • JayJay says

        I generally love ponte dresses, AIMS, and your comment made me laugh.

        Speaking of – I’m wearing the Halogen side-zip ponte pants that are part of the NAS and they are FABULOUS. My new favorite pair of pants. If you’re interested, I highly recommend.

      • Anonymous says

        I mean, yes, agreed, but now that I have a kid, I am ALL ABOUT machine washable work clothes. And PSST the limited is having a GREAT sale, and all their clothes are machine washable. So I can feel like a put-together adult without wearing a Lands End ponte dress, and still save money on dry cleaning even if my toddler pukes on me before work.

        • Anonymous says

          *most of the Limited’s clothes are machine washable. Obviously not their blazers, and some dresses are dry-clean only, but there is a good selection of machine-washable stuff.

          • Navy Attorney says

            So DH threw my “dry clean only” pile into the wash, including a suit from the Limited. A shade snug when buttoned, but it held up otherwise!

    • EB0220 says

      So, I am not that fashionable and never have been. But I don’t get the machine washable thing. Maybe because I live in the ‘burbs, but I find it much easier to drop the clothes off at the dry cleaner than deal with washing them myself. I do some spot cleaning between dry cleaner visits if needed, so I only go to the dry cleaner maybe once a month max. Throw stuff in the bag, drop it off in the drive through (it’s right by my coffee place) and go….Anyway, no judgement either way. Just think it’s kind of a funny discussion!

      • pockets says

        I’ll one up you – I live in a city and I just have to leave my dry cleaning with my doorman, my dry cleaner will pick it up and then drop it off with the doorman when it’s done. Dry cleaning is actually more convenient than actually doing the wash myself. I still prefer machine washable though because of the cost.

      • Anonymous says

        DRIVE-THROUGH DRY CLEANERS?!?!?! You just blew my mind. I had no idea this existed.

      • CPA Lady says

        My current job and my last job both have dry-cleaning pick up and drop off. Fill up the bag, drop it in the dry cleaning area, pick it up a few days later. It’s great.

        • Spirograph says

          Yup, this is the best! I didn’t realize my current company has it until last week, and I’m super pregnant and not wearing a lot of dry clean-able things right now, but when I come back to work after maternity leave, I’m going to be all over that! I guess I could offer to bring my husband’s stuff too — but he likes “his” dry cleaner.

      • Anonymama says

        For me it’s really hard to wear clothes more than once without getting sticky kid avocado applesauce hands or snot face on it. So it adds up in time and money if you can only wear stuff once in between dry cleaner visits. And I do so much laundry now anyway that it cycles around much more quickly than dry cleaning.

  2. Clementine says

    You know how some days you feel like you’re barely making it as a human and other days you are absolutely on fire with the ‘functional adult’ thing? This week is the latter and I feel like I need to celebrate it.

    Husband has been traveling for work (he does extended work travel) for a while and I have gotten into this awesome groove. Granted, my kid went into daycare not wearing pants today (baby is in the ‘let me feed myself’ phase where we end up with at least one costume change daily so I just cut my laundry losses), but I’ll take it.

    What have your most recent parenting/adulting victories lately?

    • AIMS says

      This is probably not something to brag about but I am immensely proud of myself for getting to work within 5-15 min. of my somewhat early start time. Before baby, I never worried about when I got in because I knew I could always stay late if needed, but that’s not really an option now & I have never been a morning person so I was a wee bit concerned if I would be able to actually make it work.

      • RDC says

        I have a similarly humble one – I packed my lunch 4 days this week! I had been buying every day and realized the cost had gotten out of control.

        Relatedly, thanks to whomever posted (I think it was on the main site) about buying those bagged salad kits for lunch – major life hack!

    • Way Anon for This says

      After the past month or so, I have decided that I am about to receive a black belt in adulting.

      I’m my friend’s POA while she’s away receiving medical treatment. I am also helping deal with her elderly mom’s needs. Over the past three weeks there has been crisis after crisis with her mom culminating this weekend with her mom going to the hospital for what they thought was pneumonia but is actually terminal lung cancer. I have become her mom’s POA after her brother tried to steal nearly $20k out of her mom’s checking account. I have set up 24/7 care for the mom, dealt with hospice social workers, lawyers and nurses, pre-paid for the funeral, met with bankers, etc. It has been insane. It is scary and weird, but I feel like such an adult. I am knocking it out of the park for this elderly lady, and making sure she has what she wants in her final weeks/months. I wore a kick-ass suit when meeting with the bankers the other day. It was a very adversarial meeting, unfortunately, but I feel like such a champion advocating for this lady and making sure she gets what she needs.

      I am the person who wanted a two gold star necklace on the main s&te the other day. The little gold star is for taking care of my friends stuff while she is away and the big gold star is for taking care of her mother’s stuff.

      • mascot says

        You deserve all the gold stars. This is some seriously hard adulting. You are a good friend.

        • Spirograph says

          +1 I’d have a hard time taking this on for my own mother on top of normal life, the fact that you are doing it for a friend and her mother is so great!

      • Mrs. Jones says

        Congrats! You should write a blog or workbook on how to do all this stuff.

        • Way Anon for This says

          I have a friend who is an elder care social worker who has been an invaluable resource in each new crisis. I didn’t have to research care providers, for instance, she could immediately provide the name of a good agency to use. I’m thinking I need to get her some flowers.

      • Anonymama says

        Whoa, this is like sainthood level adulting. Seriously, beyond gold stars, you deserve an actual celestial entity.

    • EB0220 says

      Truth. Over the last week, I successfully traveled with my 2 kids and no spouse to NYC, without losing anyone, AND gave an awesome presentation to a group of c-level of execs from a potential client. Also, my husband thanked me for all the support I’ve given him lately while he’s working a full time job and starting a business. So I feel like I’m totally winning. (Shhh…don’t remind me about the gym.)

    • FVNC says

      I am solo parenting this week, and have not had to resort to cookies/ice cream as bribes, AND have been able to ignore/walk away from whining without giving in. I feel like I’ve taken one small step in the direction of undoing the toddler-monster I was rapidly creating.

    • SC says

      I bought life insurance, fixed an issue with homeowners insurance, and signed up for Obamacare because I’m leaving my job at the end of this week. If dealing with insurance isn’t adulting, I don’t know what is.

    • Anonymous says

      Parenting victory: My 10-year-old said she feels like she can tell me anything.

  3. Bday Party ETQ says

    So I am new to the kid birthday party circuit, forgive me if this is a stupid question. Our kid is invited to birthday party with a save the date and we may have another commitment that day but won’t know until past the RSVP date. It’s okay to RSVP yes and then not go, right? We would send a gift & a card, if that matters.

    • POSITA says

      I would send a note to the host letting them know exactly what you said here. Ask if you can let them know after the RSVP deadline, or you will need to decline.

      For some party locations the host may need to pay for your spot(s) ahead of time or the child may have other guests that they want to invite if there is room. I would just politely ask.

    • mascot says

      What kind of party is it? I think that’s probably fine if it’s at someone’s house and they are just figuring out how much cake to have. If it’s some activity party where the parents are paying per head (build a bear, laser tag, etc) then I’d try to be more firm about the dates. I may be over-thinking it though since most kids party places do adjust the final bill based on actual numbers of kids that attend.

    • Faye says

      Why not explain? I have to do this a lot and most parents understand. “I won’t know for sure until X date, is it okay to let you know then? If not, I totally understand if you have to put me down as a No. Regardless, we’ll send an awesome gift and lots of love!”

      • Momata says

        This. Don’t build in a probability of ghosting on them. We all complain about how hard it is to find mom friends — this is part of why that is. Reach out and use your words.

  4. Anonymous says

    Pregnancy hormones made me cry this morning when I read an e-mail saying that my current-youngest is moving up to the next class in daycare.

    If you need me, I’ll be trying to pull myself together to be a functional adult in time for a meeting with my boss in 10 min. Gah. Great start to my day.

  5. Anon in NYC says

    Any tips for minimizing (eliminating) toddler food throwing? It’s my daughter’s newest thing. I know that she’s probably just looking for a reaction from us. We have a dog that has become quite a scavenger when she’s in the high chair, so we’re constantly jumping up/telling the dog to ‘leave it’ which I think is providing enough of a reaction for my daughter.

    FWIW, I honestly don’t really care about the dog eating the food. None of it is unsafe for her and it really is a fairly small amount, so I’m inclined to let that go. If the answer is to just let the dog eat the food, I’m fine with that but my husband cares about it. I’m more annoyed by the black beans that get flung all over the apartment. I’d like that to stop.

    • Anonymous says

      Put the dog in its crate / in another room during dinner (so noooooo reactions, not even from the dog) and COMPLETELY disengage from the food throwing. She throws once, she gets told “we don’t throw food” in a very nonchalant tone (think: a CEO speaking to a trusted employee). She throws twice, she’s done with dinner and you take away the remaining food. 30-45 minutes later, you can give her a snack (my go-to is cheerios — it’ll fill up kiddo enough that she can sleep but it’s boring and easy to clean up if she spills because I don’t put milk on it).

    • RDC says

      We sometimes crate the dog when it’s becoming too chaotic (not fair to the dog, but such is life). She has free reign to clean up afterwards. Also we take away my son’s plate if he drops or throws food (he gets a warning usually) since it usually means he’s done eating anyways.

      • Meg Murry says

        Yup, getting the dog out of the room and ending the meal when she’s throwing are probably the only ways. If you are sitting at the table with her, we found that we would say “no throwing food” or “food is for eating, not throwing” the first time, take away the plate/bowl (if the food wasn’t just dumped on the tray) the second time and offer it back in a few minutes, and ending the meal entirely after the third time. The main reason we added that second step is that if the adult was also eating it bought them a few minutes to eat while the food was still hot. It also was to try to teach them not to use food throwing as a fast way to get out of the high chair, since my friend’s toddler had quickly worked out “if I throw the food, mom lets me out of this chair that I hate!”

        The other thing that can also help is to teach the “more” and “all done” signs, so that the kid can have another way to communicate with you besides food throwing (My google-ing shows that most people/books use the sign for “finished” for baby signs, we either had a different book or were making it up, we used a sign more like a smaller version of the “safe” sign baseball umpires use, similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAvs5yIwvPA )

        • Meg Murry says

          Oh, and if possible don’t let her see the dog eating the food off the floor – let him into the kitchen/dining room to clean it all up while you are in another room, because chances are she’ll think it’s fun/funny to watch the dog eat what she threw.

    • CPA Lady says

      If my daughter throws food, the meal is over. Period. Even if she has eaten two bites and is going to be hungry. She learned very quickly.

        • Spirograph says

          Ours too. We used to just take the plate away and then give it back to her after she stopped screaming (it always triggered a meltdown), but I think that sent mixed messages, and she’d usually throw food again right away. We’ve had a lot more success just being done.

      • TK says

        Us too. Take it away quickly and calmly, with an explanation but no discussion. Also,
        – we don’t let him watch us clean up, he finds it hilarious to see mom and dad crawling on the floor, and;
        – we won’t go directly from food-removal to something super fun like ‘bear movie’ (Kung Fu Panda, he’s obsessed).

        We try a meal again in 30 minutes, and remind him that if he throws food, meal time is over. IF he does it again, no more tries.

        Doesn’t happen often any more – usually because he’s tired or otherwise out of sorts.

        It’s also greatly decreased since we moved him from a high chair to a booster seat at the table – he likes the independence to ‘choose’ which chair (+booster) he gets to sit in, and will move his seat several times during a meal. Which I don’t care about so long as he’s actively eating and not throwing food.

      • PregLawyer says

        But then how do you get food in their bodies? If I do that with my kid, he wakes up in the middle of the night hungry.

        • Anonymous says

          This is why I give cheerios for the late-night snack and midnight snacks. It’s boring enough that she won’t wake up *just* to get it, and it’s filling enough that she’ll usually sleep through the night.

    • pockets says

      I did time outs for food throwing. My issue was more that my daughter, when done with her meal, would drop the plate off her high chair. So the whole “meal is over” thing wouldn’t have worked. It’s actually very easy if they’re in a high chair – I would move the high chair so that she was facing the wall and then set a timer (I did 2 mins). Explaining cause and effect is key. The plate throwing stopped after a few time outs, although it could also have been that she grew out of the behavior.

    • Onlyworkingmomintulsa says

      At what age are you all communicating “no food throwing” to your toddlers? My little guy is almost 17 months and does this all.of.the.time, but I haven’t been taking away any food yet because I don’t think he understands yet. Should I go for it now?

      • CPA Lady says

        Absolutely. I don’t like the idea of having a surprise rule/consequence that you don’t tell your child about, you just all of a sudden do without warning. They aren’t mind readers, which I sometimes forget.

        My daughter can follow simple directions so I know she understands what I’m saying to her. When my husband and I decided to do the zero tolerance to food throwing crack-down a few months ago (she’s 22 months old now), I looked my daughter in the eyes, with my face at her level and said kindly but firmly “if you throw food, dinner is over.”

        For the most part she doesn’t throw food. But if she does, we immediately take away her plate, remove her from her chair and say kindly but firmly “you threw food. dinner is over.” Cue tantrum. It’s very rare now though, as opposed to every night, which it once was.

        • shortperson says

          we started ending the meal after food throwing as soon as we started finger food (9-10 months ish) and it never became a problem. she learned definitely by her 1st birthday. it made things a lot easier to start then because if she missed out on solids she could make up for it at her bedtime breastfeeding so we have not had to deal with the post dinner snack. by 19 mos she also knew that yelling at the table or putting her feet on the table ends the meal. it helps that they teach this at daycare too. also helps to have a generally cooperative baby who loves to eat so ymmv.

    • Anon MN says

      We never took away food or ended the meal, and like most toddler misbehavior, it ended. We knew he was looking for a reaction, so we just kept on as if nothing had happened. Ended within a week.

      As for the dog, we gated off our kitchen so he couldn’t get it, but he also eats food from the table and counters, so that was a pre-kid solution.

    • Anon in NYC says

      Thanks, all. I think we’ll start by putting the dog in her crate or a different room. I’m not ready to take away food / end the meal yet (she’s 13 months), but good to know that it worked well for other people.

      • Anonymous says

        An alternative to taking away all food it to take all food off her tray and just offer her one piece/spoon full at a time. If she’s still hungry, she’ll eat the food one piece at a time. If she throws it, you know she’s done.

        I also think taking away the food and supper being over doesn’t work well with additional kids. Plus, when my toddler had supper ended for food throwing, he started throwing food at the beginning of the meal when he just wanted to go back to his toys and play. So, he got taken away from toys to sit up and eat dinner, eats one bite and throws the next, we end supper and he just happily goes back to his toys. Offering one piece/bite at a time or only offering spoon-fed food (instead of self feeding) worked much better for us.

    • In House Lobbyist says

      We would turn the high chair around to face the wall like a time out and then try again. It was really sad but only took about 3 times.

    • Anonymama says

      Also when kid picks up the food and is about to throw it, I say “put it in your mouth or on the plate, in your mouth (open wide and chomp) or on the plate (point to plate).” This works often, not always, but definitely much more effective than saying “don’t throw it” which seems to give kid an uncontrollable urge to chuck something (like he just heard the “throw it” part and not the “don’t”).

  6. dc mom anon says

    Favorite first birthday gift ideas? Why am I blanking on this – I have a two year old!?

  7. JMDS says

    Advice on overnight diapers for a big 27 month old with sensitive skin? My son keeps waking up with soaked clothes/sheets/etc because his diapers are leaking. We do bambo nature size six with a diaper insert, and it just isn’t working.

  8. JMDS says

    Another question. We are going on vacation in a couple weeks with a two year old and a ten month old. Will be in a beach town, but will mostly hang out at the hotel pool.

    Any advice for pool or beachside gear to help corral and keep happy the ten month old? Or any general advice for vacation with kids these ages?

  9. PregLawyer says

    Where do you all shop for clothes for your kids? I am kind of all over the place. On the one hand, I get that they grow out of their clothes so fast, and so the best thing is to get cheap stuff from Carters, Old Navy, etc.; but, on the other hand, I love the look and feel of the nicer clothes (Tucker + Tate, Hanna Andersson, etc.) Am I foolish for wanting to spend more on clothes the kid is only going to wear for maybe 3 months?

    (I have a one-year-old, by the way)

    • Mrs. Jones says

      Consignment stores and sales. Occasionally I “splurge” on something new from Target.

    • HSAL says

      If you’ve got the money and enjoy the clothes, go for it. At 9 months I’m totally happy with Carter’s and Kohl’s, though I confess my mom buys the vast majority of my kid’s wardrobe. But now I want to check out these “nicer” brands because they’ve never been on my radar – though Baby Boden is adorable.

      • PregLawyer says

        I just got some Tucker + Tate shirts from the NAS and they’re so soft and awesome.

    • Onlyworkingmomintulsa says

      Daycare clothes are Kohl’s, Carter’s and Old Navy. Weekend clothes are Hanna, Mini Boden and I can find good deals at consignment stores too. My kids are SO rough on their clothes during the week, it is just not worth it to spend much on them.

    • CHJ says

      My toddler is decked out almost entirely in Old Navy, Uniqlo, Zara, and Carters. He’s at an age where he gets very dirty on a daily basis and grows out of everything within 6 months, so I can’t justify spending money on nicer clothes.

      • PregLawyer says

        Yeah, I know this is the right answer. Even if I could technically afford to spend money on nicer clothes, I don’t think I can justify the expense. Bummer.

        But seriously, who is buying that stuff?

    • Anon in NYC says

      Most of my daughter’s clothes are from Carters and Gap (on sale). I’m willing to spend more money if I will get a lot of wear out of it, but she’s at an age where she’s so much messier that I’m not sure buying more expensive items on the theory that I could hold onto them for future kiddos make sense. Last year during the fall we bought the “grow with me” (or whatever they’re called) long-sleeve onesies and wiggle pants from Hanna Andersson. They lasted for the entire fall/winter and only now are the pants too short for her. Depending on where she falls on the size charts in the fall, I may do the same thing.

    • Maddie Ross says

      Old Navy and Target primarily. I really like pjs from Hanna, Burt’s Bees and Baby Gap (all much softer IMO). That said, we buy pjs at least a size big and wear until they are high-waters, so they last a lot longer and are worn year round.

      I also have an obsession with smocked stuff (I am in the south), but buy on consignment primarily or receive from my mother in law, who has the same obsession.

    • Anon MN says

      I have fully resigned to the fact that kids clothes are my “thing”. I spend money on them with no guilt and allow my kids to wear them like they would cheap clothes, and I don’t worry about it. I get grief from some friends, but I don’t care. I enjoy shopping for them, and have it in the budget, so I do it.

      That being said, Tea Collection is my favorite. They have twice yearly sales that I stock up during (January and July). Peek Kids is also another favorite. I have two boys, so both of these shops have unique options for them. All of the Carters and Target stuff from my first son is so worn for my second, so I’m glad I got a lot of nice pieces that can be worn again from these brands.

      • Anon MN says

        Oh, and Kidizen is a good app for buying used name brand clothes. We’ve had a lot of luck with searching for specific brands. It’s not cheap, but cheaper than it would have been full price (think Hanna Jammies, which never go on good sale).

      • JayJay says

        I LOVE Tea Collection. I splurge on a couple nice things twice a year for each kid, and it’s always either from Tea Collection or Mini Boden.

        • shortperson says

          ditto, I stopped feeling bad too even if baby clothes are not exactly an investment (and we do spend a lot more on her 529 than on her clothes). I get a few things from gilt (mainly egg) and the gap/carters but the bulk of my toddler’s clothes are from the semiannual tea sale and jcrew clearance.

          • shortperson says

            I also agree with Anon MN about letting her wear them like theyre cheap clothes. I wont interfere with her life to keep her clothes clean. I also don’t dress her in clothes that are uncomfortable or restrict her movement.

            Tea collection is also my go to gift for kids of friends that have too many toys (which is most of them). At least for friends who have kids, not friends of my kid’s.

    • JTX says

      My kids wear mostly Gap and Zara, and graphic t-shirts from Peek and J. Crew. I do like pajamas from Hanna Andersson as well, but I don’t feel bad about spending a fair amount on pajamas since they are worn so frequently.

    • CPA Lady says

      A mix of old navy, hanna, gap baby, and gymboree, with the occasional target or carters thrown in. If you shop sales, resale, and ebay, you can get nice clothes for cheap. I got 14 pairs of Hanna capri pants (in different sizes) for $6 each on ebay. I also get fancier clothes– smocked cotton dresses, nice sweater dresses, etc. at my local jr. league’s children’s consignment sale. I adore buying cute kids clothes. It’s so much fun. It kind of evens out because I also get a lot of hand me downs for free from my sister, so I don’t mind spending a little bit from time to time. Almost all my daughter’s PJs are Hanna Andersson because they are roomy enough to fit her thighs of glory. She can’t wear carters PJs at all because they are made for the Kate Moss of toddlers from what I can tell.

      I have what I refer to as a “viking baby”– big and tall and Nordic–and Hanna fits her very well, so I kind of justify it that way. My sisters kids are small and waif-ish and they do better in carters. I think the gravy train of hand-me-downs is about to end because my almost 2 year old is almost as big as my almost 4 year old niece.

    • OCAssociate says

      If you’re willing to spend $$ (although I always wait for sales): Hanna Andersson, Tea Collection, Mini Boden, Peek kids.
      Hanna pj’s are the very best. They’re the only thing I spend full price on.

      • OCAssociate says

        Oh! And JCrew crewcuts. I usually wish they had some of the girls’ clothes in my size.

    • SC says

      Most of my toddler’s clothes come from the sales rack of Target or Belk (my mom buys these) or consignment sales. I’ve only needed to buy something new twice, and I bought those at Old Navy the first time and Carters the second time. The Carters pajamas seem to be holding up much better than the Old Navy ones did, fwiw.

    • Anonymous says

      I justify Hanna Andersson for the quality and sizing that add up to longevity and less shopping. They are cute, yes but lots of cheap clothes are cute too but look raggedy very quickly. I hate raggedy clothes because I feel like that makes them disposable…and that really bothers me. Even though I know kids outgrow clothes quickly, with better quality clothes they can be handed down. So for my first kid (boy) I bought mostly Hanna, Gap, and Gymboree. Sales are great.

      Also…I never bought that many clothes. Keeps me on top of the laundry and I don’t feel overwhelmed by kid clutter.

      Most of the clothes remained in pristine condition (although some stains were inevitable) and were able to be handed down to little brother. Although the kids are different shapes most of the clothes still worked. And now they are mostly STILL in excellent condition to be handed down to a 3rd kid or sold for good $ on eBay.

      Also, the Hannas in particular are somewhat miraculous in that most of the clothes have been work FOUR years in a row (1st kid 2 years/seasons wear, 2nd kid 2 years/seasons). And even after that amount of wear they are in excellent shape.

    • EB0220 says

      I have a bunch of Jumping Beans clothes from Kohl’s that I’ve been pretty happy with. They’re currently on kid #2 and in pretty good shape. Same for Carter’s. Target I like a little less. Old Navy stuff is soft but hit or miss on selection sometimes. Right now, my toddler wears hand-me-downs and my preschooler will only wear Umbro soccer shorts and random t-shirts she’s acquired from races/trips/etc. Whatever works.

  10. HSAL says

    Daycare Q – Baby HSAL is 9 months old. She came in at a weird time where the next oldest babies were 3 months older than her, so she’s currently the oldest in the “older” infant class. Her teacher mentioned yesterday that someone (I assume one of the directors) already been talking about when they’ll move her up to junior toddlers. Different ratios (1 to 4 vs. 1 to 5) but even if they were able to address that, am I right to think that there’s way too much of a difference between a 10 and 13 month old to move her up early? I mean, that class is down to 1 nap/day and they do primarily table food, and she’s just not there yet. There’s another kid who started later but is just a few days younger and I know they always planned to move them together, so I may see if the other mom has heard anything. I really love this daycare and LOVE her current teachers, so maybe I’m overreacting. Her teacher could have misheard, but I feel like she wasn’t based on the types of things she was saying (parents get to decide, she wasn’t ready for Baby HSAL to move). Am I just being crazy since no one has said anything “official”?

    • PregLawyer says

      My 13 month old is moving up to toddlers soon and he’s barely ready. They really pushed on getting him to go down to one nap, and it’s been a hard month of transition for that. He’s the youngest by a month in his little group, but they wanted to move them up together, so he’s going along for the ride.

      Does your toddler room do formula or breastmilk? Your 10-month old probably isn’t ready for whole milk, and the toddler room might be doing no bottles, just cups, and whole milk and water.

      Anyway, I guess that my takeaway is that you’re not crazy, and if I were in your position I’d wait until at least 12 months before talking about moving up.

      • HSAL says

        I don’t doubt at all that they would continue her bottles until a year, but that’s a good point. I know they generally have a pretty good transition schedule. The junior toddler class is 12-18 months, and they’re only combined with the 18-24 months during dropoff and pickup – the newest toddlers usually spend those times back in the infant room so she wouldn’t be with a full-on 2 year old. But still. I should probably wait to worry until/if the director tries to push anything in the next couple months.

    • Anonymous says

      My daycare has infants, mobile infants, then toddlers/2s, and pretty well-defined development goals to move up for each step. My daughter moved up to mobile infants at 11 months, because she was already walking, and it just wasn’t cool for her to be crawling or stomping all over the tiny babies anymore. Even in the older infants room, she still drank breastmilk/formula bottles and slept in a crib until her first birthday, when they started transitioning her to whole milk and a cot. She was already experimenting with table food in the infants class and at home, and the older class just kept offering it while bottles phased out, and eventually introduced utensils as she was ready. She was the youngest by several months in that class, and one or two of the kids were almost a full year older, but she held her own. Dropping the 2nd nap was probably the biggest change, but she was “allowed” to rest in the morning if she was too tired to play, and eventually that resolved itself.

      I don’t blame you for being apprehensive, and I’d definitely ask to be sure – but there’s probably a plan to transition her in an appropriate way. The daycare almost certainly has done this many times before.

      Those ratios are crazy, though! In my state it’s 1:3 under 2 years old.

    • Anonymous says

      I would not be comfortable with a 1:5 ratio for a nine month old. Especially since it seems like they are moving two young ones.

      I hate it when daycares move kids around not because it’s in their best interest but based on demand for services (like if they have someone waiting for a spot in the infant room but no wait list for the toddler room).

      • HSAL says

        Agreed on the ratio – I think it might only be a possibility because they’re currently down one kid in the junior toddlers so they may have a way to just have four kids in there. I would 100% report them if they were actually violating ratios.

    • Meg Murry says

      Just because they are talking about “when” doesn’t necessarily mean it will be all that soon – at our daycare they generally don’t do a lot of transitions during the summer, but then in the fall when the oldest preschoolers move on to kindergarten, there is a cascade of transitions as groups of kids move up to the next rooms. So they may just be looking at whether they think she’ll be ready (or old enough, depending on the age cutoffs for your state ratios) for a move during that fall timing. I think you could ask the teacher what kind of timeframe they were looking at – in the next few weeks, or the next few months?

      Our daycare also had developmental steps to move the kids – I’m pretty sure they had to be mobile (and generally walking, at least while holding a push toy), no longer drinking formula/bottles, etc – so it was generally between 12-14 months that most kids moved.

      • HSAL says

        Oh, fall makes sense – she’s an October birthday so she wouldn’t quite make the school year switch, but they probably just plan way ahead on these things.

        • Anonymous says

          I would ask about this though. Our daughter is an October birthday and she was moved up from the 3 year old room to the 4 year old room in June – basically 3.5 years old and it was too soon. In hindsight I wish I’d pushed back more for her to be moved when she was actually 4. Even 3-6 months make a big difference in development stages all the way through the toddler/preschooler years.

    • Jen says

      Our daycare was 1:3/2:7 for both infant groups (young infants was 3 mos -> ~10 months or walking/seriously mobile; older infants ~10mos-> ~15 months), then 1:4/2:9 for toddlers (~15months-2 years, then 2-2.9/3). Once kids hit 2.9/3, they transition to preschool and the timing depends a little on the time of year.

  11. Closet Redux says

    I was dropping my drycleaning off the other day looking totally haggard– 10 weeks pregnant, nauseous, tired, hair was still wet and i had no makeup on. The dry cleaner said, “oh what pretty eyelashes you have.” I almost cried. It was the kindest thing she could have said! I know I looked like crap (and she probably sensed I felt that way) and I was so grateful for that sweet pick-me-up comment. Sometimes I’m just so glad to be a woman among women.

  12. Ally McBeal says

    Reposting from yesterday: Does anyone have a good recommendation for parenting a six year old? My daughter is now almost in first grade and I feel like there were tons of great recommendations for younger kids, but I need some resources for parenting elementary-aged children. I’m familiar with “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen . . .” and “From Parent to Child,” but am looking something that’s focused on child development, etc. Any recommendations?

    • Anonymous says

      Haven’t read yet but it’s on order because I love the author (I get her email newsletters and have found them incredibly helpful): The Me, Me, Me epidemic: step by step guide to raising capable, grateful kids in an over-entitled world (Amy McCready)

    • mascot says

      I’ve also got a 6 yr old.
      Read and Recommended- The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, Raising Your Spirited Child, The Art of Roughhousing, One and Only
      Books to-be-read- Nurtureshock, Last Child in the Woods
      Websites- Alphamom, Amalah, Brainchild, Aha Parenting

  13. We all jump on a tiny trampoline says

    What age (if ever) would you let your kid jump on a little trampoline with a handle? Specifically the Little Tikes 3′ trampoline?

    • EB0220 says

      We have one. I let my toddler use it as soon as she could climb up on it (probably 16 mo or so). The only issue we’ve ever had was that she chewed on the handles for a while.

      • JB, JD says

        We received it as a gift for our 1 year old’s birthday. She got right on it and has been jumping (with help) ever since. Now that she’s about 14 months she will jump just holding onto the handle…although there is still some chewing on the handles like EB0220 mentioned.

    • Maddie Ross says

      My 3 y.o. still loves and uses it, so to the extent you think it’s just for very little littles, it’s not…

    • We all jump on a tiny trampoline says

      We got it when kid was 1.5. Husband freaked out. Kid is about to be 2 and he still “forbids” me to remove it from the box because he’s picturing instant death as soon as kid gets on it. … I’m like “come on. it’ll be fine.” Trying to convince him to take it out of the box for kid’s 2nd bday.

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