Washable Wednesday: Botanical Blooms Collared Top
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Hopefully by making this pick for Washable Wednesday, I am willing springtime into existence. I like how this top has the blue and white stripes to keep the floral print plus Peter Pan collar from looking too froufrou, and the horizontal stripes plus middle pleat draws the eye up and down. Since my baby will pull on any necklace I wear, I am getting into interesting collars and necklines. I picture this top as one to throw on with a navy blue suit or blazer. I also enjoy a cap sleeve; it prevents me from having to wear a tank top around the office if I want to remove my blazer, and it cuts down on the shoulder bulk when the blazer is on. I like the way it’s styled in the photo with jeans, but maybe not the floral on floral as they have shown. Toughen it up with some boyfriend jeans for the weekend. The top is $69 at Nordstrom. CeCe Botanical Blooms Collared Top
Psst: Stock is running low, but the top is also available at Zappos if it sells out at Nordstrom. There’s a button-front, long-sleeved version at Nordstrom as well.
Here’s a plus-size option.
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Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
My 14-month-old has suddenly and unexpectedly weaned. He hasn’t nursed since Saturday. I have been pumping and offering but I think this is the end. I feel sad (last baby, I’m not ready, etc.). I am coming around to the fact, however. Just need some support.
Remind me why this is a good thing. What was the best part of weaning for you?
Kind of just need to vent but also interested in any advice about how to keep my head down and just get through this period.
DH and I are selling our townhouse and buying another house. We’re living in a third place currently as we wait for these to go through. Also we live with my father and our 11 mo daughter. The stress from the buying and selling is really getting to DH and it’s affecting me too. He’s a worrier and every time a new problem arises with either of the houses, he starts imagining the worst-case scenario and planning contingencies for the new house falling through. Plus he worries that our daughter loves my dad more than him and says there’s nothing he can do about it. I try to tell my DH how clearly she loves him and talk through the house stuff, but it seems like he doesn’t believe me because I love him and of course I want to make him feel better.
It’s clear there’s nothing I can say, but when I opt for silence, it is so uncomfortable too. He’ll end up talking the housing stuff over with coworkers and later feel better and resolve to change but then something new will happen and it starts all over again.
We have a good marriage and I know this is situational to the house situation, but we’ve got at least two more weeks of this to go and I’m at my wits end.
A Certain Kind of Mammal — did y’all read this article? It really felt honest and validating to me.
https://longreads.com/2018/04/09/a-certain-kind-of-mammal/
Where are people buying reasonably priced suits/suit separates these day? I’m just postpartum so don’t want to invest a ton of money in things that may have a shortish shelf life. But I need to refresh my wardrobe to cope with a new role and have to be at least on the formal end of business casual.
This is going to be a long one but I really need some advice and I really respect the women here.
I’m scheduled to return to work on April 23 and my mother, who was supposed to be providing childcare, let me know yesterday that she won’t be able to do it. It came as a shock because she’s been coming over nearly every day while I’ve been on leave, but the stress of commuting is taking a toll on her health.
My mother is the only person I would have trusted with my child because I was abused by the person who took care of me. A nanny or daycare are not options for us (I wish they were).
Now I need to figure out two things: how to resign, and how to have a bit of income. I’m scheduled to meet with my boss next Monday, but I’m wondering if I should call her today, even though she’s on a business trip. She’s been really good to me and I don’t want to leave her in the lurch or burn any bridges. I’m contemplating telling her why I’m not willing to hire a nanny or use daycare so that she’ll understand but I don’t know if sharing that would be unprofessional/inappropriate. I think I can work for a couple of weeks if she needs me to.
I was researching work from home jobs but I don’t think it’s realistic to work and care for a baby simultaneously. I’m considering becoming a nanny of sorts – finding someone who’ll drop their child off in my home. Is that a thing? (If not please forgive my ignorance; I’m the first of my friends/family to have a baby) Should I list myself on care or sittercity? Maybe talk to my doorman to help put the word out there?
We don’t really need my income but it’s been nice to have, and now we’ll have to cut back a bit, and not save quite as much. I don’t want to have to justify every purchase to my husband. So I guess that’s another question: how do I navigate this new financial situation with my husband?
Sorry for rambling I’ve just been thrown for a loop. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
I’m taking a cross-country flight next week and will be pumping (baby is 2.5 months old). Any tips for plane/airport pumping? Unfortunately I have a layover both ways (Detroit one way, O’Hare the other). It looks like O’Hare has “mother’s rooms” but Detroit does not.
I have a Medela hand pump but it’s not really any more effective than hand-expression for me so probably not worth the extra suitcase space. Any other hand pumps I should be considering?
I’m not too concerned about transporting the milk; I have a cooler and all that. It’s more the actual logistics of pumping that I’m worried about. I flew while BFing my first but never such a long flight.
I’m a couple months postpartum and down to my pre-pregnancy weight but none of my pants fit. Is this something that just takes time? Do I need to get serious about diet or a gym routine? I’m one of those lucky people who has always been able to maintain a weight and shape I’m happy with without a formal exercise routine or counting calories but maybe that’s no longer true post-baby. (I’m nursing so I can’t dramatically cut down on calories but I could definitely be eating less junk.)
DD is 14 months, and is finally moving up at daycare from the infant room to the young toddler room. Do people generally give a “farewell” gift to the infant room teachers? We’ve had a fair amount of teacher turnover since she started there at 6 months, if that matters – one teacher has been here about a month, the other since November. I can’t tell at all if there’s a gifting culture at this center, but we didn’t notice cards or other gifts at the holidays (we did $25 Visa gift cards and cookies). What would be appropriate here, if anything?
How do you deal with kid phobias? My 2 y.o. has developed a fear of vacuum cleaners. We can’t vacuum around her, she demands to see vacuums every single time we facetime with grandparents, and she totally freaks out when the housekeeper comes and uses one. Like she’s okay if you warn her but if she just sees it unexpectedly it’s a total freak out, screaming, demanding to be held, tears. If I tell her I need to vacuum, she will go into her room until I put it away.
She also gets scared of other loud noises lately. I don’t think it’s anything abnormal, just wondering what the best way to help her is. We try to explain that it’s nothing to be afraid of, but it seems to be of limited help when she’s startled by it like in a Sears when she saw a whole bunch of them displayed. Is it better to treat this as N.B.D. or to address it early and often?
+1. Relying only on yourself, or even you + DH + mom, for childcare is a recipe for burnout. Not to mention that it’s not realistic in the long run.
I’ve used both. There’s no right answer and so much varies center-to-center and nanny-to-nanny. I’ve seen some BAD daycare centers across the country. I’ve also seen amazing ones. I’ve seen some BAD nannies and some fabulous ones. FWIW, in Massachusetts at least, daycare centers CAN leave kids alone with one caregiver, as along as they are under the ratio (3:1 or 7:2 for infants).
I’ve got 3 kids and have been through all kinds of childcare arrangements, including being home myself. I’ve found that nannies are best for the <1 set. Once you get into 12-18 months, kids *need* socialization. That can be a nanny that is super great at setting up playdates and getting out in the world, or it can be daycare, or it can be a hybrid. But I've met some 2.5 year olds that have been with a nanny only and they have a HARD time adjusting to preschool. Babies–especially those with super finicky schedules– do best with a nanny. BUT, having put 2/3 of my babies in daycare at 4 months, I can tell you that they adapt and survive (though they do have lots of fun germs that come home…) and all 3 of my kids are perfectly healthy, high functioning kids regardless of BF/FF, SAH vs working mom, daycare vs nanny. We've done it all and I bet you can't guess from meeting my kids which ones had which childcare set up! My most outgoing kid was the one nannied for the longest; my wallflower that doesn't like to share was in daycare until kindergarten. My least flexible kid was in 4 different arrangements in his 4 years.
Cross posting from the main site…
I think my marriage is over – I’m not sure what I’m looking for – sympathy, advice – mainly advice.
I am 6 months pregnant – my husband and I have one daughter, who is about to turn 3. There’s nothing that wrong – we’ve just grown apart, we fight constantly. Lately, he’s been staying out later and later with his single friends, drinking more, and generally being irresponsible. He’s still a good father, but I’m just out of excuses for him. Last night he came home at 6 AM, and I think he’s having an affair, but I realized that I don’t really care at this point.
So my question is – how do you go through a divorce with two young children? I don’t even know where to start – I’m just done.
Apologies for the poop question. My daughter is almost 3 and has just started to dive into the world of withholding. She’s potty trained, but we’ve always struggled with poop (and while we encourage pooping on the toilet, we’re also happy to just let her go in her diaper at night, which she often does). Now she’s not even happy to go in her diaper. It’s affecting her sleep because she’ll wake up when she starts to poop and scream / hold it in. She tells us that she’s uncomfortable and scared. I believe her, but I’m not sure how to address it.
I’m like 85% sure that she’s not constipated and this is psychological. She eats a varied diet, with a lot of fruit and some veggies, we give her benefiber, 2 weeks ago we introduced a probiotic, we cut down her intake of milk and carbs like bread/pasta, we encourage water. I spoke with the pediatrician last week who said that the answer is basically time, which, sure, I get, but just wondering if anyone here had any suggestions. Thanks!
I remember someone recently posted here that they left the workforce to be a SAHM. If anyone else has seriously considered being a SAHM, if you could walk me through your reasoning and how it’s working out, think it would be really helpful.
I know the community here is full of amazing moms that also have great careers. I don’t want to imply my thoughts as the “right” way at all, just want to help explain how I feel.
My first baby just turned a year old. I have a great job with a kind boss and smart team, with what I think are great hours, generally just 8;30-4:30 with some occasional evenings or weekends for an hour or two, and I think i get paid really well (biglaw type money).
However, I just feel tired and burnt out from what I think is as good as it gets for a full time job and the 2-3 hours at the end of the day doesn’t feel like enough with the baby, because she’s tired and winding down. I also miss the baby all day long. I took some time off when she was ~9 months and our lives felt so much easier because I wasn’t trying to cram life errands, baby time, spend time with husband and/or work between 5:00-9:30. We definitely had long, physically exhausting days, but it’s not the mentally and physically exhausted that I feel now.
I thought a new job was the answer and I did switch jobs and while my new job is much better, I don’t feel 100% about staying in long term. I keep staying because it makes a ton of sense to put away some money now when she’s young and maybe i’ll quit if we have another, but it’s just so hard to know.
I guess I just want to know if other women feel like I do, where quitting seems illogical, but staying in the work force is also not bringing much joy.
So that was me and I probably didn’t get into all of my reasons in my original post. But I’m like you – DD is a year old. There are a lot of reasons it will make sense for our family.
-DH works 1.5 jobs (without getting into details) and I solo parent at least one weekend a month, and a few weeks straight every year. No local family. So even with outsourcing grocery delivery, I have to work FT, do childcare, and manage our household. It’s stressful on me to manage it all and him to work so much and still be an involved father/husband/etc…we’re both struggling with work-life balance.
– I’ve been back at work 8-9 months and still miss my daughter terribly every day. Other working moms I know in person describe work as a “break” from the craziness of childcare, I have never felt this way. I will never get this time back and I want to soak up every second with my child.
-The cost of 2 daycares is more than my salary as were in a HCOL city/suburb. And we want another kid sooner rather than later. If I was breaking even we could justify it, but I’m not going to lose money and spend less time with my kid. Money/career just aren’t that important to me.
-Lastly, and it may sound silly, but I’m really good at being a mom and taking care of a home. Whether is social conditioning or it just comes naturally, I feel more talented at it than my job.