CorporetteMoms

51 Comments · by

Washable Tuesday: Long Sleeve Knit Shirt

Machine-Washable Work Clothes· Nursing· Pump-friendly· Recent Recs

Caslon Long Sleeve Knit Shirt | CorporetteMomsKnit shirts can be a bit hard to find, so I took notice when I saw this lovely Caslon blouse on sale at Nordstrom. The t-shirt material says to “hand wash,” and the buttons would be great if you’re nursing and/or pumping and prefer something blouse-like. I like the red best, but it also comes in four other colors. It was $58 but is now marked to $34 in regular and petite sizes. Caslon Long Sleeve Knit Shirt (L-2)

This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Sales of Note…

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

Kid/Family Sales

  • J.Crew – Extra 50% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ camp styles
  • Lands’ End – Up to 40% off your order
  • Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off summer pajamas; up to 50% off all baby styles (semi-annual baby event!)
  • Carter’s – Summer deals from $5; 40% off new baby essentials
  • Old Navy – 30% off your order; $13 kid/toddler jeans
  • Target – Up to 60% off PlayStation games; kids’ summer styles from $6; outdoor toys from $3

See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:

Click here to see our top posts!

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

Comments

  1. Beach! says

    Can anyone recommend someplace to stay in Miami with a baby in January?

    I’m hoping to do a long weekend somewhere warm/beachy with my 5 month old and husband prior to returning to work. A pool is a must, as is the availability of suites.

    Open to other locations, but looking for beach weather and the shortest direct flight possible from NYC. We’ve done all inclusive in Jamaica (pre baby) and loved it, but looking for something a bit cheaper.

    • Beach! says

      Also, any and all tips for making this happen would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

    • Anon8 says

      We have stayed at the Ritz Carlton on South Beach. Didn’t have kids at that time, but they do have a nice pool area. I booked it directly through the Ritz Carlton site (both hotel and airfare) and got a good deal.

      • DC Mom says

        Signing on – we are looking for the same thing. A quick getaway for myself, husb, and one year old baby. Short flight or up to 5 hour drive from DC. Florida would be fun, but I have no idea where to stay/what to do. Insider tips?

    • Anonymous says

      1 Hotel South Beach was really nice. Several nice pools and a kids club.

  2. Favorite fabric softener? says

    Weird Q, but: what is your favorite fabric softener? I haven’t used one in years but just read it’s supposed to be great for extending the life of clothes. I’m leaning to the organic ones first — Mrs. Meyer’s, Ecover, Seventh Gen — anyone have any favorites in the bunch (or favorites in general)? TIA!

    • mascot says

      I think line drying your clothes probably makes a bigger difference (with fabric softener preventing the stiffness). I use white vinegar in the softener dispenser. Fabric softener isn’t good for towels or technical/workout gear and I feel like I get buildup from too much softener and detergent in the rest of the laundry.

      • Meg Murry says

        Yes, it’s not fabric softener alone that extends the life – it’s using softener in the dryer plus line or flat drying that extends the life, instead of washer + dryer and dryer sheet.

        We also use only vinegar in the softener dispenser (or you could use it in a Downy ball if your machine doesn’t have a liquid dispenser), and find it works just fine for 90% of our wardrobes. Plus vinegar helps get out the last of the detergent left on clothes, which is good for sensitive skin/contact allergies like my family tends toward.

        In general, things that I find extend the life of my clothes are to do more small to medium loads at gentler settings, using a mild laundry detergent for items that aren’t stained or super dirty, and save the big guns like heavy duty detergents, spot treatments and bleaches for things like kids clothes and stained items.

        Of course, when we are in crunch mode, all bets are off, and I just play laundry roulette (great term I learned on this s!te), just separating out my very favorite delicate items.

  3. EB0220 says

    Quick poll: Thinking of making a quick overnight trip to Canada for husband’s work Christmas party. We live in the states. Kids (16 months and 3.5) would stay with a family friend who is a graduate student. She was a nanny for 6+ years for a family with 6 kids, and she knows my kids well (but has never stayed overnight with them). Normally grandparents would be close by for backup but they’ll be out of town when the potential trip takes place. We do have some other families in the area who could probably serve as backup if there are any issues. Kids would go to daycare, she would pick them up and watch them overnight. Husband and I would be home sometime the next day. Thoughts? I’m nervous about going out of the country but I would like to go and I do trust the person who would be staying with the girls. What would you do?

    • mascot says

      If she knows your kids well and everyone is comfortable, I don’t see an issue. Just be sure to leave her with instructions, some cash, emergency numbers and a form authorizing her to get medical attention for the kids (Children’s hospitals often have sample forms on their websites). I’d also make sure she can stay extra time in case flights get cancelled.

    • Anon says

      I think this would be fine. Could she come over to tag along for a run through of the supper/bedtime routine one evening before you go? That way her putting them to bed wouldn’t be a totally new experience for her or the kids.

  4. TBK says

    Toddler sleep question. My 20 mo old twins generally wake up around 6:30am, go down for nap around 12:30pm, look at books/”talk” for about 30 min, then nap until around 3:30, and bedtime is at 7:00. For the last several nights, they’ve had a really hard time settling down at bedtime. They didn’t go to sleep until 8:30 last night and the last few nights have been similar. Mostly they’re okay just playing with their stuffed animals, rolling around in their cribs, and chattering to each other, but after almost an hour of this, they get fussy and don’t want to be in bed anymore. (Last night I gave them their munchkin owl nightlights and a few boardbooks. They finally went to sleep, but I stupidly forgot to take the owls out of the cribs and so they were up and playing with the lights at 5:45 this morning.)

    I’m wondering whether they’re napping too long during the day. I had heard that by 2 yrs old, most kids are taking a shorter afternoon nap, but mine still sleep as long as 3 hrs some days. I could push bedtime back, but it would really be better for us if their nap was just shorter. Plus it seems like it’s probably healthier to sleep more at night and less during the day. Should we just be waking them up from nap earlier? (One of mine would NOT take that well. He’s crabby for awhile after waking up from nap as it is.) Or should we just figure on a later bedtime?

    • Wow says

      My almost 3 year old can easily nap upwards of 3 hours (usually from 12:30 to 3:30 pm) on weekends. He takes a 2 hour nap in preschool generally. I think at 20 months, a 2.5-3 hour nap is pretty normal (and lot of parents would be envious!). :)

      What about putting them to bed a little later? At that age, my son was going to bed between 7:30 – 8 pm. The other option, of course, is waking them up from their nap but personally, I hate doing that.

      • TBK says

        On some days the long nap is terrific. But on others it’s really hard to be cooped up in the house for the bulk of the afternoon, especially if there’s a store we need to go to that doesn’t open until 10:00am (or noon on Sunday). It’s then a race to get to the store, run our errand, and get home without them falling asleep in the car (which will mean they won’t fall asleep at nap time).

    • Maddie Ross says

      Are they in bed at 7, or does the bedtime routine start at 7 (meaning in bed around 7:30/7:45)? Either way, you could bump it back at bit and see if it helps, but honestly the sleep schedule sounds pretty similar to my child’s. The nap is a bit longer than we could ever get, but she’s not a great napper. And while she’s in bed by 7:45 or so every night, we hear her chatting, singing, kicking the wall, “reading” to herself until 8:30 or so many nights. I think that wind-down time is pretty normal. I’m not sure if it’s possible – I know you’re in DC and have an au pair, so I imagine space is tight – but I wonder if they are keeping each other up?

    • Anon says

      You could try bumping bedtime to 730 or wake a bit earlier from the nap at about 3. Try a gentle wake up by opening door, turning on hall light, bringing up dimmer light in the room a bit, then wait a few minutes before turning light up all the way/opening drapes etc.

      • TBK says

        Ugh, I’m really hoping we don’t have to move bedtime. My husband doesn’t get home until about 7:45 whereas I get home at 6:30. So we start bedtime around 6:40, lights out around 7:00, then I can spend 7:00-7:45ish cooking dinner, and we eat at about 8:00. It would be hard to get dinner done by 8:00 if the kids weren’t in bed until 7:30 or later. (And obviously they can’t wait until 8:00 for dinner. They have their dinner at 5:30 before I get home.)

        As for them keeping each other up, possibly. But we have a 3 br townhouse, meaning a room for them, a room for my husband and me, and a room for the au pair. No way to separate them. On the up side, it means they’re often happy to hang out in their cribs for a bit on a Saturday morning while we take our time getting up. Also, they tend to be pretty good about bedtime, since they’re not in there alone.

        • Anon says

          what if you put them to bed just a bit later – maybe bumped your routine 15-20 mins later – but used that time to prep dinner a bit? When my kids were that age they loved helping to ‘cook’ by getting out carrots/potatoes/pots/spoons, ‘helping’ measure the rice etc. You could finish cooking properly once they were in bed.

    • POSITA says

      It was right around that age when we started asking our nanny to rouse our little one from her nap after 2ish hours. The nanny wouldn’t overtly wake her, but would crack her door and start making some noise upstairs. If she was really out she would stay asleep, but most days she would get up after a few minutes of hearing noise.

      • kc esq says

        Mine will usually wake if we turn off the white noise machine that it otherwise on during nap time.

    • NewMomAnon says

      My kiddo is a couple months older than your boys, and we had a few weeks of tough bedtimes at about 20 months too. I let bedtime slip a little later for those weeks (like, 20-30 minutes). Now we are back to the regular bedtime, regular nap times. The bedtime issues coincided with an explosion of new words and new behaviors, so I chalked it up to a developmental leap that was too exciting for sleep.

      And at 22 months, we are now waking up for between 11 pm and 2 am. I’m trying to figure out if it’s teeth, or illness, or scary dreams, or something else.

      • Anonymous says

        My 21.5-month-old is almost certainly cutting molars and has been waking up like yours. Infant Advil at bedtime works for us.

  5. RDC says

    We just met with daycare to discuss my son’s transition to the “older” infant room (12-18 months). Apparently the expectation is that he can drink from a sippy cup and walk by a year old (he doesn’t) and learn to nap on a cot and eat with a plate, spoon, and open cup by 14 months (which seems unlikely). Also, my son apparently “nibbles” and headbuts the other kids. I’m suddenly panicking that he is delayed on meeting all these expectations (even though I never had concerns until now) and causing behavioral issues. Somebody please talk me down?

    • TBK says

      Neither of my kids walked at 12 months. One could take a few steps at 14 mo but still primarily crawled. The other didn’t walk until 18 mo. They now race each other around the house and only fall over when they crash into each other. They still eat off of their high chair trays at 20 mo., and eat almost exclusively with their hands. One likes using a spoon but really can only eat sticky food like oatmeal and yogurt with it; he often turns it upside down on its way to his mouth so things like rice are a disaster. Forget forks. They will sometimes drink from an open cup if I’m holding it firmly but they still often splutter and try to grab the cup out of my hands. One has recently tried biting as a way to avoid having his socks or coat put on. They often pull each other’s hair.

      So…I think your kid’s doing fine. Honestly, those expectations seem really aggressive to me. Sure plenty of kids might be able to do them at those ages, but I would be surprised if it was anything more than a slight majority.

      • TBK says

        Oh and the idea that they would nap on a cot — ha ha ha ha ha!! Seriously. No.

        • RDC says

          That was my exact thought about napping on a cot (ha ha). Thank you for this, they do seem like aggressive expectations but I don’t know many other 1-yr olds (besides his classmates) so I don’t have many reference points. They did say they’ll work with him on all these things but it just seems like a lot.

          • Meg Murry says

            I think it sounds aggressive, but not utterly impossible, having been there, and you might be surprised what kind of magic experienced daycare teachers can do. Hopefully you could tell from the teachers whether they thought this was do-able for your son, or if they also thought this was pushing him too fast. Our daycare transitioned our son to a cot at 12-14 months, and I also thought “no way!” But they did it gradually, with lots of praising about what a big kid he was that he “got” to sleep on a cot just like the big kids (especially comparing it to a boy who was only a few months older than my son liked to play with). The teacher would sit next to him for the first few days and pat his back or rub his head to get him to stay on the cot, and if he tried to get up they would gently lay him back down and say something like “it’s naptime, time to sleep” – which they also did for kids sitting or pulling up in cribs, so it was nothing new.

            Would he have slept on a cot at naptime at home? Probably not, without a ton of reinforcement from us. But daycare did it. Same with sippy cups – they just started offering at meals, praising for being a big kid, etc. Open cup by 14 months also seems slightly aggressive, but again, daycare teachers don’t want to be cleaning up messes all day – so chances are it’s an open cup with a splash of water or milk in it at a time until they see the kid is getting the hang of it. Same with food with a plate and spoon – they will put small amounts on the plate, not be surprised if a lot of it winds up on the kid or eaten with hands.

            I think you can probably give them the go-ahead to start trying to transition to some of these milestones, and ask for progress or see if there is a way you can observe mealtime without being seen. Daycare teachers aren’t going to punish a kid who doesn’t eat with a spoon, they are just going to politely redirect, and eventually the kid will get it.

            The only thing that really can’t be pushed/taught is walking. Kids will walk when they are ready – and some of the fastest crawlers just really don’t care about walking for a few months. My boys both started walking around 14 months, which put them in the middle to late end of their daycare classmates – there were a handful of kids that learned to walk super early, but most were in the 13-15 month range. Can you ask the teachers what the plan is if he isn’t walking? Is their policy to transition at 12 months, period, or once walking (or perhaps toddling with a pushtoy)?

          • Spirograph says

            I agree with Meg Murry. My daughter isn’t quite a year old and just moved up in daycare, too, and her new room has all those same expectations. She was a very early walker anyway, but we’d never tried sippy cups and she already prefers them after just a week or two of encouragement at daycare. She tries open cups (in the bath), too, but there’s no way I would give her one I didn’t want spilled. Cots don’t start until 12 months, so she hasn’t done that yet (and I had the same “ha!” reaction), but if that’s what they want to do… and they have generally been successful with oodles of other kids, they can have at it. She’ll still sleep in a crib at home.

            Daycares have so much experience with so many kids, and at good centers their curriculum is usually research-based and developmentally appropriate (just on a slightly more aggressive timeline than I would pursue, myself), so I’ve just kind of let mine go. They had my daughter hold her own bottle and potty trained my son earlier than I would have tried. I figure, if the teachers want to do it at school and my kids are still coming home happy, that’s just less work for me! In principle, I like equipping kids with as much independence as they are ready for, but getting there takes a focused effort that I sometimes procrastinate on mustering. I really love that my daycare takes these things on.

    • Anon says

      I have three kids – none of them could do those things by 12 months/14 months. See if they will do a straw sippy instead as that may work. An independently walking 12 month old is pretty rare.

      • RDC says

        Apparently straw cups are considered non-hygienic, so daycare only does sippy. My son can’t do either so it’s kind of a moot point …

    • PinkKeyboard says

      I think a lot of daycares have these expectations… but they teach the kids how to do them. They teach mat napping, cup drinking, etc. Why is your daycare expecting things they haven’t been working on?

      • RDC says

        They’re planning to work on them (eg they start with a sippy cup but dump the milk back into a bottle if he hasn’t drunk any after 30 minutes).

      • Anonymous says

        I’m the anon from 11:44 and I second this. All the things my kid accomplished were things his teachers worked on with him and his class… cot napping, eating and drinking, etc. Meanwhile at home he’s still in a crib and only gets an open cup at about 50% of meals at home/restaurants… he’s 3 now.

    • POSITA says

      I would just say that peer pressure is a powerful tool. My daughter had never slept anywhere but her crib and they put her in a room full of kids napping on a cot and she napped on a cot on her first day. No issue. We were shocked, but it was fine. She napped.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if silverware and cups work the same way.

      • Meg Murry says

        +1 to peer pressure plus super patient daycare teachers.

        It’s amazing what kids will learn at daycare. For instance, my son was dressing himself, putting on shoes and putting on his coat waaaaaay earlier than his non-daycare friends. However, for quite a few months, it was super, super painfully slow with lots of “No, I do it myself!” It makes sense though – even if it takes a kid 5-10 minutes to put on a coat, in a class of 10-12 with toddlers with only 2 teachers, that’s still faster than the teacher helping each kid for 2-4 minutes each.

    • Anonymous says

      These sound like typical daycare progressions based on what my mom friends and I have experienced (in a group of a dozen moms with kids the same age as my kids).

      When my kid turned 12 months he and the rest of his class (all born within a month or two of each other) all started sleeping on cots and drinking from sippy cups. My kid was not walking at the time but the other 7 kids in his class all were.

      I was skeptical but it worked well. Naps actually went better because the teachers would sit among the cots a first and could easily reach over and rub someone’s back. They did have 3 teachers in a class of 8 which is a better than typical ratio, not sure if that made a difference.

      I’m not sure when they started with open cups, but certainly by 18 months they were all using them. The plates started at 12 months. The spoon was still a work in progress by 24 months… the kids could use them, but sometimes chose not to.

    • Anonymous says

      My kid didn’t independently walk til 18 months, and now at 22 months is just starting to catch on about the whole silverware idea.

      • Anonymous says

        And napping on a cot happened as soon as she was in a daycare class where everyone else did that too — but she won’t do it at home for me.

    • RDC says

      Thanks for all the responses! This is really reassuring. As a few of you pointed out, I definitely appreciate daycare taking the lead to teach him those things I would be too lazy to take on at home. Just was a bit overwhelming to hear about all of these at once! (And also, I’m having a bit of “my baby’s growing up” shock….)

    • PEN says

      I was similarly worried at room transition–but peer pressure if a powerful thing, even at 12/13 months. within a week my son was walking and napping in the cots—and napping much better than he ever did in the infant room. We never did a sippy–skipped straight to an open cup for meals (doidy) and a straw cup when they were out and about (lolla). Peer pressure seemed to also apply to utensils and drinking apparatus. I was shocked by how quickly he picked up the skills. For biting we started reading “teeth are not for biting” and that seemed to resolve itself too.

  6. DC Mom says

    WEejust went through this, also. The first couple of days, my daughter did not nap at all and two weeks later she walks over to her cot and goes to sleep by herself! I saw it with my own eyes! Amazing!

  7. Cdn lawyer says

    I feel like this might have been asked recently but can’t find it. My daughter will be 6 months old in December. We have all of the baby gear we need right now but with Black Friday (now in Canada even though it’s not our thanksgiving!) I am thinking of doing some shopping for stuff we will need soon I.e. Baby gates. What other gear did you need in months 6-12? I have also already picked up our next stage car seat. Similarly, any Christmas gift ideas for this age range? Thanks!

      • TBK says

        YES to both toys — jumperoo and the V-tech one. HUGE hits with my boys.

        • TBK says

          Also the V-tech activity cube (although warning — the songs will get stuck in your head; my husband and I still sometimes sing about “the dog in the star, barks and runs far, roof roof roof roof, the dog in the star”)

      • Tunnel says

        Also, the V-tech sit-to-stand walker is currently $20 on Amazon, which is a great price!

      • Tunnel says

        An activity table or activity cube where she can practice pulling herself and playing while standing up.

    • Anon in NYC says

      My daughter is almost 6 months now. One set of grandparents is getting her a large play mat (Baby Care) because we have wood floors and I want something more cushion-y for her. The v-tech sit to stand walker is on our list too. We just purchased the Hape Country Critters Play Cube for her.

      Other items on our list include sippy cups and supplies for solids, footie pjs, larger hooded towels (she is outgrowing her baby ones already), books, various toys (crinkle toys, stacking cups, etc.). Also, bigger items in the next size up, like a winter coat for next year.

ABOUT

WORK WITH US

Serious Stuff

  • Copyright 2014-2023 Katfry LLC.
  • Corporette® is a Registered mark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy