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My kids mostly wear hand-me-downs from friends and family. However, every so often I like to get them a few special pieces.
My daughter loves wearing dresses covered in flowers. I’m thinking of getting her this adorable Backyard Dress from Primary for the warmer months. The cheerful flower print screams spring, and it’s made from “100% ring-spun cotton jersey, OEKO-Tex Standard 100 certified fabric,” meaning it’s free from hundreds of chemicals and irritants.
If your daughter happens to have a baby sister, there’s also a matching Baby Pocket Dress.
The dress is $26 and comes in cantaloupe/pink blooms, clover/white blooms, and ocean/white blooms, sizes 2–12. The Baby Pocket Dress is available in the same colors as the big kids’ version and comes in sizes 0–3 months to 18–24 months.
Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ 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 – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Cb says
I will definitely miss my Primary source once my parents leave the US. The UK has cute kids clothes, but the primary puffers can’t be beat.
GCA says
Uniqlo makes a pretty good lightweight kids puffer!
Cb says
I have one (and a gilet) but haven’t bought the kids ones. Will check them out next year. Mountain Warehouse also very good, but boring colours the last few years. I like to be able to spot my kid in a crowd.
Anon says
I bet people here could hook you up! I’d be happy to mail you a Primary package once in a while.
Cb says
Aww, that’s sweet. It’s weird thinking I likely won’t go back to my hometown? I expected one more trip before my parents moved but then pandemic happened, and their house goes on the market in a few weeks and will likely sell immediately because Bay Area.
Anon says
I know what you mean. My parents leased an apartment in my city and are going to start spending about half their time here, but I’m still hoping to go back to my childhood home one more time before they sell it (which probably won’t be for another year or two).
Cb says
Yeah, I feel happy they will be closer (Southern Europe) but feeling a bit weird about that connection to the US severed.
Anonymous says
If it helps, DH has sort of the same situation. We still visit every 2-3 years because he has lots of friends and family there. We stay at the same Air BnB every time and out kids think of it as our ‘house’ in that city. We get great rate directly from them because they know we are dependable and clean.
Anonymous says
Neither my husband nor I has family left in our hometowns. I haven’t been back since I graduated from college and moved 3,000 miles away. I actually like that our parents have moved on with their own lives and aren’t maintaining our childhood homes as museums.
No Face says
What kinds of purses/bags are you all using on the weekends? I would like something large enough to fit some snacks, straw cups, and my kindle, but I don’t want a gigantic diaper bag either.
GCA says
We mostly go to playgrounds and do easy hikes on the weekends, so a very outdoorsy old REI daypack that holds our water bottles, snacks, bubble wands, and the portable mini-potty (the toddler is mostly potty trained but…just in case.)
anonymous says
I have a messenger bag from Le Sport Sac. They have lots of sizes/styles. I got mine from Zappos and I’ve washed it.
Anon says
The medium MZ Wallace nylon tote. It’s big but it’s large enough to fit everything I need for a toddler + a baby + my stuff yet still easy to shove it under the stroller. I also like that it’s a real tote and not a diaper bag but the nylon makes it very kid-friendly.
Anonymous says
I have to do an llbean backpack because I’m holding water for 3, sometimes 4, people plus wallet and snacks.
AnonATL says
I used a gifted Kavu recently for running around, and it holds a good bit of stuff without being bulky.
Anon says
I use a backpack if I need to carry a lot of stuff. But for regular local excursions, I honestly just put my phone, credit card and ID in my pocket. We keep water and snacks in the car but don’t normally take them with us (my kid is too young for long hikes that would require water in transit).
Jeffiner says
I have a Baggalini nylon crossbody I’m loving. Life seems too casual these days for a leather purse.
AwayEmily says
A Baggu duck bag…I have a winter one and a summer one. I like that I can switch between cross-body and shoulder, and it’s big enough to hold various kid-related things.
Anon says
Random question for any moms of curly-haired kids (particularly those with multicultural hair).
We have a great hair routine and my daughter’s hair looks great… except for where she rubs it against her carseat. She’s 1 and her curls are just starting to really come into their full glory, but when we get to daycare or out anywhere, the back of her head doesn’t look as good. I realized she like rubs her head back and forth a few times to get comfortable and that ends up making her lose any definition she had back there. I also am trying to prevent breakage.
Is there something that fixes this? A satin bonnet seems like overkill, but should I just… pin a piece of Satin in the top of the carseat to prevent breakage? (FWIW, my BIPOC mom friends with whom I’m close enough to ask what they did either had all boys with short hair or had a kid who didn’t rub their head on the seat which is why I’m asking here.)
No Face says
Black mom with biracial kids here. I just let my kiddos’ hair look frizzy in the back at that age. I also want to normally frizziness for them, because textured hair is not always perfectly defined and that’s okay! If there are breakage problems, just increase the amount of the moisturizing leave-in product you are using. As for results, my 4 year old’s hair now goes down to her bottom when wet (just below the shoulders when dry).
OP says
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but THANK YOU.
I’m a white mom and… Hair is a Big Deal. Respecting my daughter’s hair and properly taking care of it is really important to me. I’ll also tell you that I feel like the outward appearance of my daughter’s hair is how Black women make their first glance judgement of how I’m parenting my biracial kiddo (although I usually steal my friend’s descriptor of ‘marvelously melinated’).
Anonymous says
I’m a curly headed white lady with a curly headed kid so not sure re BIPOC hair but at one stage I had a satin pillow case (black so sort of blended in) slipped over the top of the car seat because kid sometimes fell asleep on the drive home from daycare and rubbed her curls fuzzy/knotted on the seat. Her hair was less curly as it got longer and she got older and she stopped napping so I stopped using it.
Anonymous says
That’s brilliant. I’m not sure if a pillowcase would fit, but maybe if I slit it on the sides?
Anon says
My daughter, a quarter hispanic (from her dad’s side, so I do not have personal experience with her hair type), is like a brown-haired annie (a mix of 3A and 3B curls). She gets the same frizz on the back of her head that eventually turns into matted knots by the end of the day now that it’s long, and it comes from sleeping at night unless I wet it and comb it out in the morning (and flannel sheets were the worst but she likes being cozy, sigh), her carseat, laying on the rug, etc. I just accept that she’s little (3.5) and the frizz is cute, and then I have a spray bottle of water, a really good detangler (purology, now we both use it) and a comb and I try to comb out the frizz before it mats at least once a day. If you’re worried about it, you could always do that in your car before she goes somewhere, but I assure you no one at daycare is judging the frizz on the back of your 1 year old’s head. I don’t worry about it for her morning preschool, but if we were going to an event (back when we used to have events) I would definitely spray it down and comb it out after a car ride.
Hanna Andersson says
How does Hanna Andersson fit compared to Carters/Old Navy? I’ve never purchased from them before (honestly hate spending that kind of $$ on toddler clothes) but their current sale plus a discount code from a blogger I follow PLUS the fact that they have boy rompers in 2T is tempting me to pull the trigger.
On a related note, what are some other places that sell rompers for boys in bigger sizes? It seems like most phase them out at 12-18 months, but my little dude isn’t so little for his age and I’m clinging to the idea of one more summer in baby-ish clothes.
Anon says
I’m not sure about height, but Hanna runs very skinny compared to Old Navy and Carter’s. We have to size way up there because of weight. Primary doesn’t sort by gender but has rompers up to 24M. That might not help you if you’re already in 2T though.
Spirograph says
Height is TTS-to long, and I agree it runs skinny. My kids are are 90+ percentile in height and seem to be exactly in line with Hanna sizing, but we usually size up one size in pjs because the clothes wear like iron and for things that don’t go outdoors, the kids outgrow them while they still look great.
Anonymous says
In our experience, Hanna runs big. Maybe it is just the styles we have ordered, but they are both very long and a little wide. I think of Old Navy as pretty average. Carters tends to be short, and I think it is inconsistent on width.
anon in Brooklyn says
The fabric quality from Hanna Andersson is really nice, so I think it’s worth it on sale. Could you share the discount code?
anonamommy says
Hanna runs long and slim. For my string bean girl it works well – our standbys are Hanna, Gap and Tea if that helps. Carters is too loose. If you aren’t sure about sizing, I’ve used their online chat a few times to make sure I’m ordering the right size. The quality is amazing. I bought a hoodie sweatshirt at the beginning of the fall, she wears it at least 1x/week and it still looks new.
Anon says
H&M has baby clothing in up to 4T – it’s a great source for tall kids. They have 4T rompers and onesies! My one year old is a 3T so I end up there a lot.
I haven’t bought much from HA but I found it longer and skinny. We have a few one pieces and couldn’t really size up because the torso was so long, but then the clothing was tight like slim fit style clothing. I’ve also found that Old Navy runs kind of small fwiw. My kid sized up in Old Navy/Gap before he did in Carter’s.
Anon says
Hannas must be magic based on the responses here, because I have a tall and very solid kiddo, and gap and hanna are the only things that fit her (she is 3.5 and wearing 8’s, 51 lbs and 44 inches tall). I find they run much wider than carters (we usually have to size up in other brands and I frankly stopped buying carters because it never fit right). Gap and Hanna fit similarly for us, with gap being a little narrower, but not sure how old navy fits compared to gap. Also Hanna sells onesies up to 3T, which with a 98th percentile baby for height and weight, was critical because she was wearing them at 18 months. Gap I think had an 18-24 month size, but she outgrew that around a year.
Anon says
+1 I agree with all of this. The Hanna pajamas are slim because pajamas are required to be slim, but their clothes are not. They fit similar to Gap for us, too, and bigger than Carters. I have one short and skinny kid and one average kid with a big belly and Hanna fits them both (I usually size down for the slim kid and TTS for the average kid). The quality is great.
Anonymous says
My skinny kid can’t wear anything from Hanna except the PJs and underwear. The daytime clothes are too boxy.
anon says
This is true for Hanna shirts for my skinny kids, but dresses fit them well.
H13 says
Can anyone recommend a good 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner for kids. I have one kid with very thick straight hair and one with less thick curly hair. They both need conditioner but I want to minimize the effort. Thanks!
rakma says
We’re using Pantene 2-in-1. I didn’t find the kid’s brands to condition well enough to actually skip the second step.
Mary Moo Cow says
I like Suave Kids, the Elsa Berry Sparkle. Both of mine have a lot of hair, one curly and medium weight, the other straight and thick. (Side note: the 2-in-1 makes their hair look better than the 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.)
Anon says
Not two in one, but the J and J curly shampoo (peach-colored) and ultrahydrating conditioner (white bottle) work wonders on my curly-haired kiddo. I found the two in ones didn’t condition well enough for her (or me). I also put the conditioner in, let it sit while we drain the tub and put away the twos, and then rinse it out at the end when I rinse the rest of her.
Anon says
+1 My kid had so many tangles until we started J&J ultrahydrating conditioner. Now she gets comments about how soft and silky her hair is.
anonamommy says
I use Kinky Curly Knot Today on daughter, who has thick straight hair. It’s a leave in conditioner — I use a very small amount and then comb through, and it works great. It works better than any of the spray conditioners/detanglers we’ve tried.
Anonymous says
My kids use separate products because two of my three have very thick hair for which 2-in-one does not cut it. They like Aussie.
My 3rd could be fine with a 2-in-1 but she just does what the others do.
Anon says
Any cute sources for matching mother-daughter dresses? My 3 year old wants us to be twins. Old Navy and GAP have “matching” sections on their websites, but it’s confusing because a lot of the clothes in those sections don’t actually have a match (e.g., this is darling, but there’s no adult outfit in the same print: https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=679869002). I find Target’s website really hard to use even though I like the in-store experience. Hanna and Primary only have matching in PJs. Boden has a small selection of matching clothes but it didn’t grab me. I also have a strong preference for dresses that cover the shoulders (for sun protection purposes) and a lot of what’s out there now is spaghetti straps.
Mary Moo Cow says
J. Crew Factory has a “matching family outfits” section — and with full tank tops!
Cb says
What about something stripey? Like breton striped dresses or tops? So they wouldn’t necessarily be the same brand but similar vibe?
Anon says
Target has a new mommy & me section:
https://www.target.com/p/mommy-mini-collection/-/A-82566266
Anonymous says
Maisonette and Hill House Home
Anonymous says
This doesn’t help with stores, but speaking of twinning: my very craft-inclined sister made me, my mom and my daughter summery outfits out of the same sloth-print fabric, then used a Cricut to lift the sloth picture and make graphic Ts for my husband and sons. Sons are not as enthused, but my daughter thinks is The Best Thing EVER.
I’m going to spend half of the summer in a sloth-print sundress, I can see it now. Daughter has a jumpsuit, mom has a maxi skirt.
Anon says
Omg this is sooo cute.
Anon says
maybe next time you can ask to choose the fabric…
Anon says
But why would you want a different fabric? Sloths are the best!
Anonymous says
I think half the fun for her was making something absolutely ridiculous that she knew my mom and I would be forced to wear repeatedly. It’s actually a really comfy, cute dress… just covered with sloths.
Little sisters, amirite? :)
OP says
Does she take orders!? :P My daughter loves sloth and would flip out about this. This reminded me though that I should look on Etsy for people who handmake things like this.
anon in brooklyn says
This only works if you are short and flat chested, but I can wear size XL girls Cat&Jack from Target, so that’s how I got twin dresses with my daughter.
OP says
Ha, no, I’m 6′ and very curvy and I could barely get my arm into a girl’s XL. I love the idea though!
NYCer says
Maisonette has some cute matching dresses. It is a bit more expensive than Old Navy and Gap though.
Anonymous says
Lilly Pulitzer makes adult and kids’ items in the same prints.
Anon says
My two nephews (8) and niece (11) are having their first communion and confirmation, respectively, and the family is having a get-together to celebrate. I’m supposed to get presents for this, aren’t I? What is appropriate here, particularly given we’re hitting three at once here? It seems like I should know this, but it all feels overwhelming for some reason.
Anonymous says
Yes get gifts. I usually do around $50 either cash or nice books.
Mary Moo Cow says
I never got presents for either, but that was the 80’s and 90’s. A nice card; I think I got a themed bookmark from my parents. Perhaps the expectation is different today, and in person, but I think a sincere card is fine. Are you comfortable asking the parents? (I suspect my sister would say, no presents for my niece, if I asked, but if she gave me some suggestions than I would feel obligated to give something.)
Anon for This says
Not sure your geography and possibly religion, which I think matters – I’m originally from upstate NY, of Italian descent, and Catholic. When I was growing up, the gifts I got for these occasions from relatives were nice cards, possibly a token religious item (e.g. inexpensive jewelry with a cross), and uniformly, money in varying amounts ($5 – $100) that would go in my college fund. This is what we gave as well to cousins, etc. Seems the trend for my husband’s non-Catholic mid-western family is money is distasteful and shows a lack of personal touch, and actual gifts (clothes, toys, religious items to display in one’s room like crosses and Bibles) are preferred. I noticed this with weddings too — my family’s mantra is cash is always in good taste, but my MIL thinks that’s gauche.
Pogo says
+1, also from upstate NY and Catholic and this was my experience, though I’m Irish. Husband is Italian and from CT and his family is exactly the same, so I think it might be an east coast/new england-y thing to do money? Def got all the religious tokens, like a nice gold cross for my confirmation, and I think even a little mini statue of my confirmation name saint. But that is SUCH a Catholic thing.
Anon says
I also think Midwesterners are more hesitant to give cash. It might be less applicable in the big cities like Chicago and for members of a specific culture like Italian or Jewish or whatever, but the generic Midwestern Protestant culture seems to be that money is impersonal and gauche. I still remember my mom (who’s not ethnically Jewish) picking out special jewelry for my cousins’ bat mitzvahs because she thought giving them cash was inappropriate. I’m pretty sure we were the only people at the entire event who didn’t give them cash, lol. I went to college and grad school on the East Coast and husband’s family is Jewish and from New England, so I give cash at most weddings now but I do feel like it’s not done as much in the Midwest. My best friend had a “no boxed gifts” wedding and my mom about had a stroke.
Anonymous says
What is a “no boxed gifts” wedding? They didn’t register and spread the word that they only wanted cash? I have seen the “honeymoon registries” that are really just cash grabs, but nothing even more obvious than that.
Anon says
Yeah, it meant don’t get them a physical gift, cash or gift card only.
Anonymous says
Yeah, but how do you declare that you only want money without being incredibly tacky?
Anonymous says
We usually give cash for weddings, but if someone pulled this stunt I’d give them some ugly tchotchke with no gift receipt.
Anon says
It said “no boxed gifts, please” on the invitation.
Anonymous says
Well, I can see why your mother was shocked.
Anon says
I don’t think it’s that tacky. I’m Indian – cash is preferred, and it’s ok to say so. You guys are pearl clutching when this is not objectively wrong. The idea of being vague about gifts is very Western.
Redux says
This is extremely context-specific as is evident from this short thread. I really can’t stand it when people say something is “tacky” because it is not common where they are from. “Tacky” is so value laden and just makes you sounds super judgmental and myopic. I’m teaching my kids to say “that’s not our custom” rather than saying someone else’s food/ holiday/ tradition is “weird” or even “unusual.” It’s usual for them, so stop centering yourself.
PetiteMom says
What hair color do you use? I have grays so I have to color my roots every two months. I have been using CHI professional for years and I feel like it is time for a change. My hair looks fried a few weeks after coloring so I was looking for alternative natural hair color. Not sure if that would improve the texture of my hair.
Anonymous says
For at-home or salon color? I have been using Madison Reed at home since I quit getting my hair colored at the salon at the beginning of the pandemic. It does not mess up the texture of my hair, but it does start to fade rather quickly. I have to touch up my roots every four weeks anyway, so the fading is not really a problem. I really like the Madison Reed shampoo and conditioner too.
Anon Lawyer says
Anyone have any resources that helped them in evaluating job changes rather than career changes? I’ve been at one place for a long time and am thinking of moving on but feeling pretty adrift when I think about how to balance all the different factors. (Work-life balance, how interesting the work is, money, security, etc.)
Pogo says
I took a course from my alumni association w/ an executive coach that helped with this. I don’t know how much those cost for a 1:1, but I think it could be worth it if you’re really struggling to define your goals/values.
Anonymous says
Google “weighted decision matrix” or chart.
Happy to be WFH so I can cry says
I’m 36 weeks pregnant, going on leave in literally 8 business days, and my division head set up a 15-minute meeting with me today to let me know that I’m underperforming. The truth is, I’m not at full capacity because I’m beyond exhausted, burned out, and trying to do two people’s jobs (my report was reassigned) plus getting my new boss up to speed. I’m just sad and tired and feel so frustrated.
What! says
I am so angry on your behalf! That is just … not ok.
Aside from the fact that we are in a global pandemic and your pregnant, etc etc., there is no point whatsoever to having a meeting like that a week before you go on maternity leave.
No Face says
Maybe the point is to set up a pretextual reason for firing her while she’s on leave.
What! says
I suppose I mean “no legitimate point.”
No Face says
WTF.
In your shoes, I would not care about this job ever, ever again. I would go on leave early, take the full leave, and job hunt during that leave thankyouverymuch.
EDAnon says
+1
Spirograph says
omfg this makes me see red on your behalf. I’m so sorry.
That said I’d probably talk to your HR rep about it really quick saying all the things you did here, because — not to scare you — the *only* reason I can think to do this (other than your manager being a first-class jerk) is to protect the company if they want to eliminate your position later in the year. They may be trying to start a pre-leave paper trail of underperformance so it doesn’t look like they’re punishing maternity leave.
octagon says
Yeah this was my first thought, sadly.
Anon says
I had the exact same thought, but I would retain your own employment lawyer rather than going to HR. I assume the lawyer will advise you to make some kind of paper trail with the company, but they will be advising you with the goal of protecting you, whereas HR would be advising you with the goal of protecting the company.
OP, I’m sorry, this is absolutely infuriating.
Pogo says
IANAL but if they eliminate the position they usually justify it as NOT being performance-related in any way, which probably removes most claims as to pregnancy discrimination (especially if they give you severance, job-finding support, etc).
If they want to fire for cause, agree that a paper trail makes sense, but in my org you need a PIP for like a year before they can do that.
overall agree w/ the above to take the max leave and peace out, or at least only give them 50% of your brain when you return.
Anon says
It depends how many positions are being eliminated and how the people getting cut are chosen. If you cut dozens of similar jobs, it’s fine to let one pregnant woman go as part of that. But you can’t just eliminate one pregnant woman’s position and call it an economic decision. That’s still discrimination and it doesn’t matter how much severance/job finding support they give the laid off person. The decision to let someone go is the discrimination, and the financial details would only be relevant to damages. In practice, even when the decision isn’t motivated by discrimination, many companies bend over backward not to terminate pregnant women because it’s easy for someone to claim discrimination and very hard to disprove.
Pogo says
Ugh, I’m so sorry. This sucks. If it helps at all, at various points I’ve been given tough feedback – sometimes legit, sometimes a result of that person being an a-hole – and I have gone on to get awesome feedback again.
The good news is, no matter how stressed you are, once you have that little tiny baby burrito to snuggle, I promise it will all feel so far away.
anne-on says
I am furious on your behalf, that is nonsense. And yes, I would fully support talking to an employment lawyer and documenting the heck out of things. This absolutely reads like they are trying to lay a paper trail for firing you during/right after your leave.
Anonymous says
Ladies, sometimes you just have to call kids on their bull$hit.
Picky 5 year old who likes tacos but also likes to complain about literally everything: Whats for dinner?
Me: Tacos.
Picky 5 year old (whining, acting as if tacos are poison): ewwwww, I don’t liiiiiiike tacos.
Me: OK. The rest of the family is having tacos. You can have a poop sandwich.
Picky 5 year old: Ew!! Ok fine, I’ll have tacos.
Happy weekend.
Spirograph says
lol, I’m going to use this.
EDAnon says
This is amazing. I will also use this.