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I loved all the new washable wool workwear options for winter. Now that spring is nearly here, I’m turning my attention to washable silk.
Like washable wool, there are a growing number of washable silk options. Right now, I’d like to add both M.M. LaFleur’s Annika Tee and Orchard Skirt in washable silk to my spring wardrobe — I love the bright “Cactus” green and relaxed look.
What could be easier or more comfortable than pairing an elevated silk tee with a matching flowy skirt? Just add a cozy cardigan for early spring. It’s also machine washable (not just hand washable).
The top is $165 and available in XS–XXL. In addition to Cactus, it comes in Pearl and Rosewater. The matching Orchard Skirt is $225 and available in 0P–18. It also comes in Sunshine. If you’re looking ahead to summer, there’s also the sleeveless Daisy Top for $190.
Sales of note for 7.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale has begun! Here are all of our picks.
- Ann Taylor – Semi-Annual Sale! (Ends 7/12)
- Athleta – Extra 30% off semi-annual sale (ends 7/10)
- Banana Republic Factory – 40-60% off everything + extra 20% off your purchase
- Boden – 10% off new women’s styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off all sale
- Everlane – Up to 70% off
- J.Crew – End of Season Sale, up to 60% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything + extra 60% off sale styles
- Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off
- Loft – 50% off tops
- Madewell – End of season sale, up to 70% off with code.
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide. (Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the biggest sitewide discount I’ve ever seen…)
- NET-A-PORTER – Up to 60% off sale styles
- Rothy’s – Lots of great finds in the “final few” section
- Sephora – 25% off a ton of shampoos and conditioners (ends 7/10)
- Talbots – Semi-annual Red Door Sale, extra 40% off markdowns
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything plus extra 15% off purchase
- Eloquii – Semi-annual clearance, up to 85% off
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off warm-weather styles; extra 50% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – 50% off your order
- Loft – $39 dresses and 40% off your purchase (ends 6/26)
- Talbots – 30% off all markdowns, summer favorites starting at $24.50 (ends 6/25)
- 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 – Summer clearance up to 70% off; 50% off tops, shorts & more
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all dresses; up to 50% off all baby items
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 50% off warm-weather styles; extra 50% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 50% off all polos; 60% off steals
- Target – 20% off women’s swim; 50% off patio furniture, garden items & accessories; up to 30% off kitchen & dining
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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?
AnonATL says
Talk me through babyproofing. We have a very soon to be crawler, and I read the Lucie’s List guide on babyproofing and it feels so overwhelming. We have 2 stories so there will definitely be a gate at the top of the stairs at minimum. I also plan to secure our tall and heavy dresser as well as the baby’s shorter heavy dresser. He has a playpen in the den and of course a pack n play. The only places he is really unsupervised currently are in his playpen or in our offices while we work (not all week, just a couple hours here and there). If he’s in our offices, it’s typically on the floor or in the pack n play.
I guess I’m looking for the minimalist version of babyproofing so that every single surface in my home doesn’t have some gadget on it but we are still safe.
Anon says
so we live in an apartment so didn’t have the stairs issue, but we didn’t have to baby proof every single thing. Dresser and bookshelf in kids room is secured, we already have those childproofed outlets so didn’t have to do anything about those. In our main area we have an ikea kallax which is secured to the wall and wires are out of reach. For the crawling and early walking stage we basically used a gate that gave them access to the whole living area. Once we needed to move on from that we did put child locks on any kitchen cabinets they could reach as well as the bathroom cabinets in their bedroom, but we never had to childproof the toilet. Our master bedroom is not at all childproofed but they are rarely in there. You definitely don’t have to do it all at once
Anonymous says
The only things we did were securing the dresser in the nursery to the wall and putting a gate at the top of our main stairs. (The stairs to the basement have a door so we didn’t gate it and just ensured the door stayed closed when we weren’t around.) I have friends who did a lot more, but this felt completely safe to us with a fairly cautious toddler who walked very late.
Cb says
I have a cautious toddler as well, and we gated off our open kitchen so he couldn’t access the oven, and secured the big furniture to the wall, but otherwise, we were pretty minimal. I do think it really depends on your kid.
anon says
This was us, also with late-walking, cautious, not-climby kids. We made sure the bookshelf in the nursery was secured, gated off the stairs, and covered outlets in the nursery, but that was basically it.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Yes, a lot of it depends on the kind of kid you have. My first was way more into climbing onto furniture, rocking furniture back and forth (fun when we had a TV on a stand!) and being a hazard in the kitchen. My second didn’t do that and is even pretty cautious around stairs and waits for us to come walk with him. We have a gate on the stairs, big furniture in their rooms is strapped back, outlets are covered and some low drawers are kid proofed, but a lot of this probably wasn’t necessary for my second.
Anonymous says
Totally agree that it depends on the kid of kid. Kid #1 didn’t need a baby gate at age 3. Kids 2&3 needed one until age 5 and I only took them down because they taught themselves to climb the outside of the staircase to get around the bottom gate.
Anon says
So, it depends on your house setup, but I would suggest making as much of your house as babyproof as possible. It’s more work upfront, but then you don’t have to worry about it! It’s cool that he’s in a pack n play now, but he won’t be forever.
My house is small, and I did: gates at top and bottom of stairs, gate at kitchen entrace, door lock for basement stairs and bathroom closet (meds+cleaning supplies), TV and dresser straps, and magnet locks for some (but not all) kitchen cabinets. Some small rubber stick on bumpers on some sharp corners. I didn’t do a toilet lock or oven knob covers (my kid wasn’t too interested – I would have added them if she got interested). My outlets are now all tamper resistant, but before they were switched over (as part of regular electrical work – the outlets were old and 2-pronged and needed to be replaced anyway) they had the little plastic covers.
It is SO NICE to just have large zones, making up most of my house, where I just don’t have to worry about where baby is. Original baby is almost 3, and I have 9 month old crawling twins, and the system holds up.
Anonymous says
This is us. We just baby proofed the house so we don’t have to worry (as much) wherever we are. We do have locks on every kitchen cabinet as our DD (4) would still fiddle with and take everything out. Also we have oven knobs because my giant tall kids are both interested in them. All bathroom cabinets locked too. The only baby proof things you see in our house are the gates. We use inside magnet locks for cabinets so it’s not obvious. Also don’t use a toilet lock because our 4yo is potty trained.
Lyssa says
My theory on babyproofing is to look for things that could cause serious injury, and things that are just irritating for the parents. We didn’t worry about things like table corners that are only likely to cause a bump. So, cover outlets (we actually have the newer kind that don’t need it), move breakables out of reach, secure anything that might be climbed on, block stairs, and lock the kitchen cabinets (this was more because it got old to have baby constantly pulling out heavy pots onto the tile floor while we were cooking then any real danger – I do recommend leaving one cabinet open with baby-friendly stuff (tupperware is good) to play with while you’re working).
Blueberries says
+1 on focusing on what could cause serious injury. I live in earthquake country, so things like dressers and bookcases were mostly already strapped to the wall. Cleaning products were kept out of reach, outlets covered, and we got cordless blinds.
anon says
If you have cabinets, I highly recommend the magnetic cabinet locks. They require a screwdriver to install, but they last and are convenient. They still keep my 7 yo out of the cabinet of cleaning supplies. You don’t have to do every cabinet, but it’s worth doing the under sink cabinets.
Anon says
We have stair and fireplace gates, outlet plug thingies, a tv strap, straps for top heavy furniture, and and locks for cabinets and drawers. Initially we only locked cabinets with dangerous things in them but it turns out that little kids love throwing stuff all over. I ended up locking them so that I didn’t have to reorganize the kitchen every night. We also cut plexiglass to go over low cabinets with glass fronts and for big gaps in our stair railing. I babyproofed gradually as he started getting into things and it worked fine.
For the crawling stage I I think the only thing he got into at that age was outlets. I used my old Snoogle pillow to corral him into areas and he didn’t realize he could crawl over it.
Pogo says
The kitchen cabinets were super annoying when LO was in a very exploratory phase… maybe 10 mos- 2years? We locked it all down bc otherwise every single bowl and wooden spoon was all over the floor.
We also did gates on his door, the stairs and the basement stairs. We tethered all large furniture. We did outlet covers. I made a giant playpen out of the North States baby gate and as he got older (like 18 mos+) I put it up across the entire opening between kitchen and den/playroom (corral him while I was cooking/doing chores).
Anonymous says
We did gates at top and bottom of stairs. Stairs I know you said baby is constantly supervised but I wanted myself the space to make mistakes without serious consequences. Like if no bottom gate then baby can my scramble up 4-5 stairs while I’m rummaging in my purse for keys (our stairs are near the front door).
We did locks on a lot of kitchen cupboards and bathroom drawers as I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of putting everything back in when a toddler pulled it all out. We had a cupboard full of my baking supplies (pans, bowls, measuring cups) that we left unlocked for toddlers to rummage through while we cooked. Rather than wash stuff every time I just put it back and washed before baking.
It was a bit of work but we also didn’t want to have to constant hover over baby either. You’d be surprised how much chaos they can cause in the toddler years. Like how much toilet paper can be pulled off behind your back while you wash your face.
anonamama says
I hired a babyproofing service and would 1000000x recommend if you have one in your area (a quick google shows there is one in Atlanta). We made the investment knowing we would be growing our family and having other kid friends/family over, too. It saved us so much time and gave us confidence that things were installed correctly. We have two sets of stairs and did fixed aluminum gates at the top and mesh pull gates at the bottom. They were done in a way that makes them easy to remove when done. They also went in and did the kitchen cabinets/drawers, furniture straps, added toilet locks and door knob covers. Total cost, including consult, around ~1000.
Anon says
+1.
Best money in parenthood I think we ever spent.
Anonymous says
we did relatively little. Secured furniture in rooms where kiddo is likely to be alone – tall bookshelves in office (we are likely to be distracted) + dresser in his room. we put elastics around the handles on a lower cabinet that has wine glasses in it. Stair gates of course. we just got rid of a glass and metal coffee table.
Instead of locking down things we moved cleaning supplies / dishwasher pods well out of reach. e.g. high pantry / cabinets in laundry room that the door stays closed etc. Took wine bottles out of the built in wine rack; keeping any breakable / sentimental dishes out of reach. i have some more sentimental / family dishes. We (miraculously) were able to focus him on the cabinet of plastic containers – which makes a mess but kept him busy while i cooked so i was ok with that. It would have been nice to block off the oven somehow – but is impossible the way our home is configured.
Basically – this worked to us because it worked for the kiddo. My point is – don’t go crazy until you have a problem. You might never have one and you don’t have to live with locked down cabinets.
I am almost more conscious of childproofing now that he is three and much more likely to be out of sight. I just donated a whole bunch of unopened packages of baby proofing supplies.
Spirograph says
Keep in mind that you can choose to babyproof only for safety, or you can go all out. We did safety only, and just accepted that we might end up with Q tips or flour all over the floor or broken (non-glass) items. Our kids had run of the house aside from our bedroom and the unfinished part of the basement, but our house is small, closed-concept and it’s pretty easy to contain children in the desired space.
Stairs: We have a cape cod and kept the door to 2nd floor closed rather than gating (we didn’t really use the upstairs anyway when the kids were that age). We gated the hallway to the stairs to the basement — husband and I are tall enough to step over the tension gates easily, but stepping over and down onto a step is not safe.
Furniture: We anchored the flat screen TV and the kids’ dresser. The kids’ book shelf is long, low and not tippable (I tried). The pantry shelves in our basement are a huge hazard if anyone tries to climb them, but we just kept that door closed. We did not pad corners on anything. We did rehome our wine rack that was metal circles with a heavy piece of glass just kind of resting on top and waiting to fall on an intrepid child.
Outlets: Covered them with the little plug-in covers everywhere
Cabinets: I put locks on the kitchen cupboards under the kitchen sink (trash can and cleaning products) and the low one that has pantry items like glass bottles of cooking wine, vinegar, etc etc. Our kitchen is really tiny, so this was 2 of the 3 lower cabinets — I wasn’t worried about the one with pots and pans. The reach-able drawers have flatware, dishrags and towels, and reusable shopping bags, and one is for coloring books (they crayons we kept positive control of to minimize wall-coloring). Our main bathroom has no storage, and we kept the door to the basement bathroom closed, but there was nothing dangerous in there — just a lot of potential to make a mess.
I did a pass through the house and made sure anything problematic was up high or moved to the basement. The linen closet needed to be rearranged to move bath products and medicines out of reach, but otherwise it wasn’t much work.
Walnut says
Unpopular opinion: we didn’t put gates on any of our stairs. We spent plenty of time sitting behind our three budding stair climbers and all mastered stair climbing up and down pretty quickly.
Anonymous says
YMMV depending on your home and priorities, but The gates are also helpful in keeping children on the floor where you can supervise. We have a 70s split level with very steep slippery wooden stairs; our main living area and bedrooms are both upstairs. We just gated the top gate because we wanted the little kids to stay upstairs with us – downstairs was not a safe place to play without supervision due to easy garage access, electronics, etc.
Anonymous says
All we did was a babygate at the top of the stairs (ranch house with gate to the basement stairs), put all of the appliances with blades (blender, food processor) etc. in a single cupboard and bought a cupboard lock for that one cupboard, secured dressers, moved the sharp kitchen knives to a high cupboard instead of a drawer, and did outlet covers. Othewise, we put some breakable items in storage in the basement for a while and closed the doors to the bathrooms. In our situation, the outlet covers likely were not necessary, but I know they are for some kids. I’d also look at making garbage cans inaccessible.
Anonymous says
Adding that we were definitely in the “put things out of reach camp” rather than buying babyproofing gear. Medicines are out of reach, as are poisons. But AwayEmily makes a good point – kiddo went to daycare and is an only child, so we felt really comfortable that we’d know what she was up to in our main living area.
AwayEmily says
Also depends on whether they are at daycare/the parent to kid ratio. for our first, she was at daycare and when we were at home there were two parents for one kid. So we didn’t really worry about stair gates, locking every cupboard, etc. Just did the big stuff (attaching dressers to walls and putting locks on poisonous stuff). I had my second when my first was <2, and was also parenting on my own for big chunks of time, so I babyproofed a LOT more because it just wasn't possible for me to be as attentive to the kids.
AnonATL says
That’s a good point. He’s at daycare most of the time when we are unable to be fully tuned in and because we have dogs, we have gotten in the habit of putting him in the playpen or closing doors so they don’t lick him constantly if we aren’t on the floor with him.
He is super curious and loves dumping his toys out of a basket so I guess we will need to have a kid friendly lower cabinet in the kitchen he can poke around in at some point.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I was feeling some mom guilt about not having my entire house child proofed already.
Anon. says
Highly recommend devoting an entire lower cabinet for kid stuff. Tupperware to play with etc. Ours also includes the kid cups, bowls and plates. My 14-mo old and 3 yr old can (and do) help put away their dishes and get a bowl or plate at meal and snack time. We never have fights over ‘but I wanted the blue plate’ because they are responsible for getting the plate themselves.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I am trying not to get my hopes up too much because Covid 19 just keeps kicking us down but I’m really encouraged by the news from MA that elementary schools will now be required to reopen 5 days a week every day starting April 5. I really really hope this means that my rising kindergartener will have a more or less normal year beginning in September, which maybe just masks required still. How are other school districts changing out there since I last brought this up (because schools are always on my mind now)?
GCA says
I’m hopeful too (and schools seem not to be sites of transmission for the most part), but I don’t feel great about the way the MA state education commissioner is going about it. The dates to bring elementary and middle schoolers back this spring seem arbitrary – will a critical mass of teachers be vaccinated by then? I do think community spread should be lower by fall though as most of the general population gets vaccinated.
Pogo says
this is the common refrain in my local moms group, which includes a decent number of teachers. They’re pretty annoyed since they’re not vaccinated, which is fair.
Anon says
the type A planner in me who used to stalk the southwest website to buy plane tickets the second they went on sale has been trying to embrace the saying ‘we plan, god laughs.’ after missing out on 7 trips so far due to covid, i just don’t want to get my hopes up too much and be disappointed. that being said, august/September is still 5/6 months from now
Anonymous says
Same! We’re thinking of going away for my birthday in a couple months but I think I’m going to wait until like the week before to buy the tickets. I can’t bear another canceled trip.
Mary Moo Cow says
Our legislature passed a bill that requires school districts to be open with substantive in person learning — streaming a teacher won’t cut it. It takes effect July 1 and will expire in August 2022, if the Governor signs it.
My local district phased in students who chose to come back 4 days a week, with all grades reporting by March 8. It is voluntary, and from what I gather, is virtual learning just in a classroom.
Our private school announced that they are planning on keeping the same social distancing measures in place for the fall, but I think I’m not alone in wishing that such a statement is under promising to over deliver and that my kids won’t have to have silent lunch at their desks next school year…and that I can set foot in the school to volunteer.
anon says
Our schools have just reopen for reduced in person two days a week, with the other days being one day of asynchronous assignments, and two days of synchronous classes.
Unfortunately, our 100% fully vaccinated teachers are still resisting interacting with students, so nearly all of the day is still spent with the kids on their tablets. Only about an hour of content a day is delivered in person. All specials and half the core content is still being delivered virtually. In the meantime, the schools are patting themselves on the back for how well they’re doing. I’m incredibly disappointed in our administration and teachers. I don’t have any confidence that the fall will be any better–the administration seems to think that this is good enough.
To give you an idea, the PE teachers are refusing to interact with kids even outside. So PE is with kids at their desks, with no physical movements (too much exhaling is unsafe) and no manipulatives (no shared objects ever). Music classes are on tablets with only humming and clapping. No instruments are allowed. No singing. Many specials are pre-recorded and are being played as a video, including Library, where they play a video. No books are available because of potential surface exposure. My child’s homeroom teacher is only responsible for an hour of content a day, with all other learning being delivered virtually, including all math, science and social studies content. This is for K-5 students.
Anon says
I guess I could Google, but how will this work? Will parents be given the choice to keep kids remote, and therefore teachers will have to teach more kids in a classroom, plus still coordinate remote? Seems a little like jumping the gun right before vaccines become widely available. I’m glad our district is sticking with the cohort system for the near future; I’m not comfortable sending my kid back to a more crowded classroom before I’m vaccinated. I’d love it for next year, though!
Anonymous says
Our schools have given parents the option of in school full time or remote since September. Some teachers teach in-person classes and different teachers teach remote classes. Children switch classes if their parents change election. They have somewhat reduced the size of the in person classes and increased the size of the remote classes to help with social distancing. In our school about half of the parents have chosen remote schooling, so class sizes have stayed relatively small, I think it started at 12 and increased to 15 (20-22 is typical). I think it there have been bigger in person class sizes for other schools where more parents elected in-person.
Anon says
Similar here, a given teacher is either fully in person or fully remote and kids are sometimes shuffled between teachers. It has been this way since the beginning of the school year. The remote classes have been shrinking and they recently switched my son’s teacher from remote to in person because they needed another in person class. We elected to send him in person to keep the teacher, after seeing that a community spike around the holidays did not cause much in-school transmission. There are 8 kids in that in person class now, other classes have more, but still less than the up to 25 kids it would be normally.
Anon says
Interesting. Where we are, the fully remote and the hybrid kids are in mixed classes, and each week one cohort is in person (about 8 kids); the remote kids log in about 2 hours a day for specific sessions. I was envisioning suddenly having 16 kids in school and the teacher having to manage them plus four online all day.
Jeffiner says
My kindergartener goes to a private school in Texas, and the school made it clear they understood that parents wouldn’t want to pay tuition for virtual classes. And the school has done an amazing job of being more or less normal while still being safe. I think one of the smartest decisions they made was to have different plans for the elementary, middle, and high schools. We haven’t had any outbreaks in the elementary school, and knock on wood we’ll make it the rest of the year.
Anonymous says
I think most places will have full-time in person school next fall, but I think there will be a lot more than masks that’s different compared to “normal” times. I’d be shocked if there isn’t some form of distancing required between kids, no visitors in school buildings, etc. I don’t see how things can go back to normal until there are vaccines for kids, and kindergartners won’t have a vaccine until at least spring 2022.
Anonymous says
I’m in Ma with a second grader and an incoming Ker.
They told us they are planning for a normal fall. Probably masked and distances but full in person.
Anon says
I know many people bought inflatable pools last summer. Any in particular that you loved/hated? Thinking ahead to this summer
anon says
We have a 9-foot In tek pool. It worked great, but be prepared to learn the chlorinated arts even for these smaller pools. I’m glad we were home a lot because it was more upkeep than expected.
CHL says
We got a 9 foot intek pool with a filter and also a cheaper rectangle one without a filter. If you want to leave it up, get a filter, but you need the clorine pellets and a cover Etc. Also, many people we know had one pop so maybe you want a cheap back up.
Anonymous says
How old are your kids? we bought a $50 Intex pool with a blow up slide between two small pools, ring toss, and sprinkler from target. my kids were 1.5 and 3 and it was perfect for them. My husband and I could each sit in one of the pools and play with them (and then during their naps I laid in it by myself and pretended I was somewhere else). It got a hole in it by the end of the summer, which we are hoping to patch for use this year. Slight hassle to blow up and take down (we have a small yard and didn’t want to breed mosquitos), but totally worth it and the kids loved it.
Anon says
We had a target sunsquad one that was about 2 feet deep and about 9 feet long, was about $30. Would put it up on a Friday on top of a tarp to protect the bottom, cover it with another tarp when not in use to keep debris and mosquitos out and “water the grass” with it Sunday night. Worked great all summer, only marginally destroyed the grass and we hope to use it again this summer because I’m not quite ready to rejoin our gym (with an outdoor pool).
Anonymous says
I didn’t want to mess with chlorine or a pump. We have the 7.5’ x 27”family pool with bench from Sun Squad at Target. We put a tarp underneath to avoid punctures and empty it after each use. It does take quite a while to fill, and it helps to fill it early in the day and leave it in the sun to heat up. It is large enough for two kids or one small adult to float in an inner tube.
anon says
I am feeling very overwhelmed by parenting these days. My own anxiety and depression, which had been under control for quite awhile, are rearing their lovely heads, which is making everything harder and I’m feeling super reactive instead of calm and collected when my kids are being pains. Anyway, that’s not really my question. Does anyone have any Janet Lansbury alternatives, especially for slightly older kids? Her advice is so wordy. There are some good nuggets in there, but a lot of it feels impractical or presented in a way that I cannot easily digest. Or it’s “soft” in a way that has never really worked well for our family. I need practical help with disciplining an older kid (who has ADHD, which presents different complications) and a kindergartener who is becoming more spirited and opinionated by the day.
anon says
I don’t know if this helps, but with my anxious and sometimes explosive 7 yo, I’ve done a lot better since I focused on how she is feeling. She’s really struggled with distance learning and isolation this year, which results in some really negative behaviors and a very short fuse. I’ve been focusing on trying to meet her emotional needs with outdoor, masked playdates and more physical activity, and her behavior is so so much better. There was nothing wrong with my discipline method–our issue was her emotional state.
Both my kids need as much time socializing with other kids as I can manage to arrange, which isn’t that much given closed schools and local attitudes, but both kids are a million times better behaved when they’ve had time playing with peers. Zoom does not meet that need at all.
Anonymous says
In a similar situation. The couple sources I’ve looked at lately, (Tilt Parenting, Make it Stick Social Emotional Learning) emphasize supporting parental self-regulation first. So, a lot about building self-care routines, working on taking five deep breaths before reacting to whatever the kid is doing, etc. a lot easier said then done.
It is super wordy but sometimes the suggestions from How to Talk So Kids Will Listen do help.
anon says
I’ve heard of Tilt, but not the other one, so I’ll check it out. I feel like self-care has become a cliche at this point, particularly during a pandemic, but I’m curious how you’re keeping yourself grounded. I already exercise, eat well, and sleep 7-8 hours a night, so I really feel like I should be doing better than I am.
Anonymous says
It sounds a bit silly but when things get tense, I’ve started saying ‘let’s take a walk’. Usually it’s just ten minutes around the block which isn’t longer than I’d spend dealing with an issue but somehow it seems to hit the reset button on kid behavior and my stress level. HTH.
DLC says
I really liked the book Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen. I feel like the ideas and methods he advocates take a lot of energy, but I’ve found them helpful. Basically it’s about starting by finding ways to connect with your children through humour and fun – a lot of being silly, using funny voices, playing pretend, roughhousing – that kind of stuff.
I also find Meagan Leahy inspiring – she writes for the Washington Post and is a parent coach. She does talk a lot of self care and managing your own expectations as a parent and giving yourself grace for being in a really hard situation. At the same time I feel that she gives practical actionable steps to take.
AwayEmily says
What fairy tale/myth treasuries do you like? My almost-5yo is super into D’Aulaire’s Greek myths (although I think much of it goes over her head) and a DK “First Book of Fairy Tales.” Other suggestions?
anon says
Are your offices reopening? If so, do you anticipate going back to the office 5x week if you did so before? Curious if any biglaw firms would consider hybrid arrangements.
Anon says
i’m not in big law, but i am going to struggle so so much when it is time to go back into the office. this morning i literally got ready 2 minutes before my first zoom. i actually love WFH, but anticipate having to go back full time
anon says
yeah, even at the risk of losing my job and having to be a stay at home parent, I just cannot go in daily anymore. I didn’t realize how much it was hindering our quality of life.
anon says
The odd thing is I KNEW but felt powerless to do much about it. Even having 2 days a week at home would take some of the pressure off.
EDAnon says
I feel the same way. I am hoping for 3 days WFH if I sacrifice my work office (for a hotel if office)
Anon says
my office (Chicago biglaw) is planning on opening for vaccinated people who want to come in June, and tentatively planning a “mandatory” return in September or October. At that point it will be up to individual practice groups to permit a regular 2-3 days/week at home (my practice group has said they’d like associates to plan to be in the office at least two to three regular days a week, but can be flexible on that on any given week). However they have flatly shut down all requests to work remotely full time and have in fact changed previous remote-work policies to be more strict, particularly for associates and non-equity partners.
OP says
Why are they getting more strict on previous remote-work policies? Just curious, it seems like the billable hour format is the best way to ensure productivity compared to other jobs.
Anon says
Not Anon at 11:01 but I completely agree. Why wouldn’t they want me at home billing for the time I would otherwise spend getting ready, commuting, going to lunch…? Beats me, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the old white dudes running the show.
Boston Legal Eagle says
My company hasn’t given us a date yet (old dates kept getting pushed back). I WFH once a week pre Covid and I hope to WFH at least 2-3 days a week going forward. I think this will be at our managers’ discretion.
anon says
We’re going back this summer. Whether anybody gets to continue WFH is yet to be seen. Our leadership is supposed to be discussing it next week, but I think there will be a strong push to have as many people in person as possible and tighten up WFH requirements. I have really mixed feelings. WFH has not been great for me professionally, but my personal/family life is easier in some ways. I do NOT miss the rigamarole of rushing around from place to place.
Anon says
My biglaw firm is default WFH until end of May when they will re-evaluate. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that extend through summer. They are evaluating what return to work will look like once we’re there but haven’t made a decision yet (although I imagine it will contemplate a hybrid schedule given the subleasing the firm is looking to do of a material portion of office space). Through the rumor mill I have heard that some firms are considering requiring 60% in person or 50% in person (presumably absent special arrangements). I was previously 1x a week at home before COVID under a special arrangement; I personally expect to up that to 2 days at home, whether under a default policy or another special arrangement, and I do not expect pushback on that (as opposed to when I started my hybrid schedule 3 years ago and was the first person in our office to do so).
NYC Girl says
I’m back in my office 2 days per week, which is the amount I chose. I have my own office (where I can be unmasked) and all employees wear masks in common areas, so it feels safe for me. I also walk to work, so don’t have to deal with public transport. My company is ~50% remote workers anyway, so it was totally my decision to come back in the office. There won’t be any requirement to come back for the foreseeable future (likely never).
I enjoy it as a change of pace and scenery (plus good to show face with the senior leadership who mostly come in). But it’s TOTALLY more work (have to actually “get ready”, commute, pack lunch, pack pumping supplies) and so much easier to WFH. I also like that I’m not fixed to certain days and can come in 0 days per week if I want.
anon says
My big NY firm just sent out a survey on interest in WFH policies post pandemic. I am crossing my fingers hard that all the “we all must be in the office at all times! for…reasons!” people do not come out in force. I anticipate some variety of formalized policy allowing some amount of WFH, which is an improvement on the former system of working everything out on a practice by practice basis. For myself, I’m senior enough that I plan to push to be allowed to WFH semi-permanently, coming in only as needed. I’m cautiously hopeful, with the understanding that it might make promotion tougher (counsel, not partner). I had an informal 40% WFH arrangement pre-pandemic for a number of logistical/family/medical reasons that my group was fine with.
Anon says
My biglaw firm is WFH for the foreseeable future, no set re-consideration date but I hear people are thinking at least September. And then, supposedly there will be a push to bring people back to the office regularly because the firm signed a huge office lease in 2019. Which is ridiculous, trying to make it look like you aren’t wasting a ton of money on office space is a terrible reason to make people come in to the office if WFH was going well (which by all accounts it is). A lot of my work is for a partner in a different office, so it never really mattered if I was in the office or at home. In person does help to be able to interface with people in other practice groups, so I expect to come in a couple days a week and for special events and certain meetings. I don’t anticipate formalizing my arrangement, but I’m going to wait and see how it shakes out. Likely the office will reopen while I’m on maternity leave, which could affect how I approach it.
Lara says
Anyone have a Mockingbird stroller and any thoughts on it? I’m pregnant with our first child and hopefully #2 will be within a couple of years. Their single to double stroller is looking almost to good to be true.
Thank you!
Anon says
As someone who thought No. 2 would be right away but then had a first child who 1) rejected all strollers around 18 months in favor of running everywhere and 2) is now 3.5 and still doesn’t have a sibling on the way (yet another failed test this weekend, sigh, secondary infertility is a thing), I would encourage you to pick the single stroller you want now based on the single stroller’s merits. If you have to sell it and get a double in the future, cross that bridge when you come to it.
Anonymous says
I have a single Mockingbird. I’ve had it for about a year and like it a lot! It’s easy to fold and unfold, seems like a comfortable and smooth ride, and we haven’t had any problems. It basically looks exactly like the Uppababy Vista at half the price. I have not looked at the single-to-double — I wish they had that option when we bought ours though, seems useful when planning ahead for #2!
Katala says
I’ve been eying the single Mockingbird since I really don’t want to invest in an Uppababy for our last baby. Glad to hear you like it!
Runner says
We have a beautiful new table that came with the house we moved into. Suggestions for protecting it from our two year old twins? For some reason I can’t find placemats that have some suction so they would stay on the table. Would love your thoughts.
Anon says
Getting a vinyl pad to go over it. Or you can have a glass shop custom cut a glass topper. Found out the hard way that our beautiful wood table is prone to bleaching from heat damage, for things I did not think were that hot (think corn on the cob on paper plates through a cloth placemat (I know because they are corn shaped marks) or an out of the oven casserole even on a heavy duty potholder).
Anonymous says
We have twins and a family heirloom table. After trying a few different things that we ended up with is a padded table cover, vinyl dollar store tablecloth that DH can wipe clean and those hooks that are used to keep outdoor table cloths on when it’s windy. They are 6 1/2 now and we are switching to a glass table cover finally.
Anonymous says
Just bought our first sippy cup (DD is 6mo) – the munchkin weighted straw. I can’t seem to get much water out of it when I suck on it, but it occurred to me that I should not expect the same flow as I get from my own sports water bottles. I’m over thinking it, right? I should just give it to her and she’ll figure it out?
Anon says
Yes. We did that, the nuk learner cup and the munchkin 360 cups, and you would have keeled over laughing at DH and I trying to figure out the 360 cups but DD had no problem with them. She preferred the nuk learner at first and it took her about a week to figure out the straw cups. Around 12 months or so we had switched to the 360 cups almost exclusively, mostly because of leaking issues with other cups. In the before times, building straw usage was key because it allowed us to stop bringing a sippy cup when we went out to eat (we started sips of water with solids). It also allowed her to figure out pouches for when we were on the go and not feeding her (or letting her feed herself, independence is strong with this one) with a spoon.
anon says
yup, just give it to her and she’ll figure it out. also, not bc i care at all, but many speech specialists and pediatricians focus on using straw cups as opposed to a “sippy cup” and what you are using is actually a straw cup as opposed to a traditional sippy cup bc sippy cups are apparently “bad”. i am only pointing this out so you don’t end up having a conversation with a provider where you are both talking about the same thing using different terminology. sounds like you are using the term “sippy cup” to refer to anything that isn’t a bottle. i personally do not care what you call the cups that you use with your daughter :-)
OP says
Hahaha, thank you! Good to keep in mind for her official 6mo appointment next week ;)
Anon Lawyer says
Lol, sippy cups are bad now? I hate literally everything.
OP, my daughter got really, really mad when I gave her the Munchkin weighted straw one and I put it away somewhere. I should take it out again. She drinks super independently from the Contigo water bottles though – those seemed really intuitive to her.
TheElms says
I’ll be the voice of dissent. My kid could not figure out the munchkin weighted straw cup. She generally is just slow at figuring out cups (even at almost 2 now she won’t use the munchkin cup). I think the valve was too hard. We had the best luck with the Oxo Tot transitions straw cup and the Avent straw cup and just regular silicone straws in an open cup. It still took ages and we didn’t see real progress until 13-15 months. And didn’t entirely wean from bottles until 15-16 months. We started with cups at 6 months. So don’t worry if progress is slow.
anon says
+1 My kids were also really slow to figure out different kids of cups. We stopped bottles at 12 months but then used the take-and-toss sippy cups until 15 or 16 months when they managed to figure out straws. And then they were both the only kids in their 18-24 month daycare classroom who couldn’t use open cups (despite their teacher’s best efforts) so they stuck with straw only until closer to 2. Very different from their cousins who were using straws by a year and open cups shortly after.
Anon says
You can always try it out and if she seems frustrated, find another cup. I am on kid 3 and am planning to skip sippy cups this time around…all those parts to wash and then screw back together became such a pain. I am now team open cup for all kids and babies (EXPZ makes a cute little silicone one; we do tempered glass for our toddlers). The exception is walking around the house or going out, when we use straw water bottles.
AnonATL says
My 7mo son is doing well on the Nuby Bin Cup Super Spout Trainer that we got at Target. I tried it, and you do have to suck pretty hard, but I watch him user it at dinner and he gets water from it. Previously we tried the Munchkin 360 and I think it was way too cup-like for him to figure out so young.
At least sippy cups are cheap.. unlike bottles.
Anonymous says
We had Avent straw cups like that. Kiddo could drink it crazy fast, and then I tried to take a drink one time in a pinch becuase it was all we had, and I could barely get any. I just wonder if they’re better at it at that age with all the bottles/nursing.
Anon says
She’ll figure it out. That said, those things are annoying to wash so if you’re not committed to putting that pipecleaner thing in the straw every day to clean it out start with a different cup.
GCA says
Kid 1 rejected all of the specialty weighted straw cups until one day, at 8 months, he grabbed *my* straw cup of water out of my hands and drank from it with no problem. I think the flow was just too slow for him. I would just give her the straw cup. Chances are she’ll figure it out. If she doesn’t like it, both my kids were fans of the Nuk learner cup for a long time, and we used one till the spout gave out from too much chewing.
Hypoallergenic formula says
Hi, any tips on hypoallergenic formula? 7 month old has eczema and started getting hives so ped is asking us to try hypoallergenic formula and see if it helps. But it smells gross and I’m sure tastes weird. We’ve tried the similac and enfamil versions. Just keep offering until he drinks it? Do half and half so he gets used to the taste? Other options to try? Also stories about out growing allergies very welcome. Thank you!
Pogo says
Personally I think all formula tastes and smells weird, not just hypoallergenic. But they babies still drink it, so maybe it doesn’t taste weird to them?
AnotherAnon says
Is he going from regular formula or bm to hypoallergenic? Mine never refused formula but he was literally starving so I think he was just thankful for what he could get. He had horrible gas pains with Enfamil, so I switched him to Similac for a bit and then finally settled on Gerber Good Start. He also tolerated Earth’s Best but it was harder to find than Gerber. This was four years ago and kiddo is adopted so I don’t know family history. YMMV of course. He’s now four and gets a bath every two or three days and his eczema is generally well managed. He does not have a milk allergy. He had an egg allergy for a few months after he started solids, but it went away after he turned one, thankfully.
Anon says
Just throwing this out in case it’s helpful – do you cook a lot of eggs at home? My niece had bad eczema for months and was finally diagnosed with an egg allergy. She never ate any (this was before she started solids), but her father made eggs for breakfast frequently and the particles in the air irritated her. Once they stopped making eggs her skin cleared up a lot.
Ifiknew says
My son also got hives and eczema with regular formula, he is allegic to dairy. We like hipp Ha, the European formulas just seem better in my mind
EDAnon says
You could do half and half. My understanding is kids don’t have much ability to taste at first. Around 1, my kids started refusing it and the doc said it was because the taste is pretty bad.
Anon says
Is teething possible in 3 year olds? My DD turned 3 last month. All of her teeth are present in the sense that I can see parts of each of them, but the back molars do not look fully erupted and for the last couple of weeks she has had classic teething symptoms – finger in the back of the mouth, night wakings, refusal to nap, etc. Tylenol seems to help a lot, which is what really makes me think it’s teething pain. She appeared to start teething these molars when she was 22 months and we saw the first white points just after she turned 2…I can’t believe we’ve been cutting these stupid teeth for over a year.
Anonymous says
It’s very possible for those molars to be coming in at 3
Anon says
There are one year molars, two year molars and then six year molars. If her two year molars are not totally in, it could be teething pain. That is quite a long time to grow in! But I just checked my 3-year-old and they definitely look like big, complete teeth when in
Anon says
Yeah, they are big but don’t look fully in. It’s hard to see the top ones, but the bottom ones only look about 1/2 to 3/4 erupted to me. We definitely saw the earliest signs of these teeth over a year ago, so I can’t believe how long they’ve taken to come through.
EDAnon says
I got my vaccine today! One year from my last day in the office! I am over the moon!
Anon says
Hooray!
Anonymous says
Yay! I don’t know if this is just me, but I found the two weeks after the first dose super nerve-racking because you MADE IT all the way to the vaccine but you don’t really have any protection yet. It probably didn’t help that we found out about a Covid case in our kid’s classroom two days after our first dose. But it got a lot better ~10 days after the first dose once we knew protection was kicking in and we could relax a bit (obligatory disclaimer that we are still wearing masks and distancing of course).