This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Loft always has killer sales, and it’s hard to predict what will be in stock. This blazer looks lovely and has very positive reviews — and it would be a great workwear basic. I like the sort of academic look to the elbow patches, and the pale gray with a little bit of a herringbone pattern. I would wait until it’s 40–50% off, which should be any day now. Also note Loft’s new plus sizes and, as always, maternity sizes. For now, this blazer is $128 and comes in sizes 2–14. Elbow Patch Knit Blazer Two plus-size options are at Talbots (also available in regular, petites, and woman petites) and Macy’s. 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!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
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!
- 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?
Hostess Gift says
Hi All! Posted yesterday at the end of the day and received some great ideas. But I thought I’d throw it out for a little more traffic – any ideas on a cool or fun hostess gift? We’ve got a department dinner at my boss’s house this weekend. We’re a small group that gets a long well. It’s about as casual as dinner at your boss’s house can get. My goal is to take something cool and fun around $30 or less (but could go up a little). Any ideas? I’m trying to avoid the typical wine, flowers, etc. An Easter lily would be timely (even if ordinary), but they have a dog, and I know Easter lilies are poisonous to animals. Any fun kitchen gadgets, games, etc. or anything else come to mind? My boss and his wife are empty nesters and do a good amount of hosting and traveling if that helps. Thanks!
Anonymous says
Fancy chocolates!
Cb says
I agree. I always want people to bring me fancy chocolates. Are they coffee drinkers? Maybe a V60 or an aeropress?
EB0220 says
Maybe really nice coffee beans if they drink coffee? I would like that!
AwayEmily says
+1. These are such a great gift (esp if you can find something local).
AwayEmily says
(threading is confusing…I meant chocolate is a great gift, not coffee. Not that coffee is bad! Coffee is good too! But chocolate is the BEST).
KateMiddletown says
Just checked since I do easter lilies and was worrying – they’re not toxic to dogs, just cats. (Obviously any large foreign object can be toxic depending on qty and creature, but they don’t affect dogs’ kidneys the way they do cats’ I guess.)
OP says
Sorry I had it wrong and to cause concern. But now that you’ve cleared it up, I might go that route. Thanks!
Sabba says
A friend has the “chirping bird wine pourer” and it is adorable. The bird sings while you pour wine. It is cute and not loud or obnoxious, at least to me. Link from Amazon to follow.
Sabba says
Here is the wine pourer:
http://www.amazon.com/ChirpToy-Wine-Pour-Red-Orange/dp/B01BCMIZOW
anne-on says
My go to hostess gift is breakfast for the next morning – usually homemade muffins paired with jams, coffee, etc. in a cute wicker basket. Hosting/cleaning up (even for a fun group) is tough, this way they can just wake up and not have to cook the next morning!
anonanon says
Echo all of this – is there a specialty dessert or chocolate shop near you? We have a local macaron place that’s absurdly expensive for yourself but a special gift.
legal canuck says
Love local specialty coffees or chocolate as hostess gifts! Or homemade muffins for breakfast.
anon says
Do you use the 1-2-3 Magic book/technique for disciplining your toddler? Does it work? My understanding was that disciplining toddlers rarely works, I thought redirecting was the name of the game at this age (3.5). My copy is on its way, I just wanted to get a jump on things.
Anonymous says
We use it with our almost 3 year old. After doing it for a while often just threatening to count is effective, unless she is having a full out meltdown in which our strategy is just to ignore. If she gets to “3” she has to sit on the stairs for a minute . This is when she is doing behaviour that we want her to stop.
We haven’t had as much luck implementing the techniques referred to in the book for getting her to START behaviour (i.e. put on your boots to go to school).
mascot says
We had good results with that strategy, although admittedly we didn’t discover it until he was a bit older. What I found most helpful was that it took the away the parental temptation to escalate your own mood and reaction and made it much easier for us to remain calm in the moment. Plus, after the time out is over, the slate wipes clean so to speak which feels far more positive than everyone still being upset. If you can get the video from your library, it was helpful to watch somone act out the dialogues. Also good for my husband who doen’t tend to read the parenting books, but will happily watch a video.
Anon says
Hopefully this isn’t a threadjack, but I have the same question as it relates to daycare/preschool. My daughter is 2.5, and her daycare does timeouts. Although the kids know they’re bad, it is our understanding that timeouts are having to sit with the teacher and talk about why the behavior is bad. That seems benign. Sometimes my daughter will yell at her stuffed animals “timeout now” in a really strict voice, and it concerns me a little. I think they use timeouts in a pretty threatening way. The other day when I asked my daughter to do something and she didn’t, I told her I was going to count to three and she’d need to do whatever I asked (I don’t even remember now) by the time I got to three. It was clear she’d been exposed to this before and it made her cry. I know they have to have some discipline in a group setting, but I’m concerned that they’re unrealistically strict with the kids. What is normal for this age group? FWIW, I’m thinking about exploring other options when she is preschool age anyway just to be informed and not stay at her school just because it is what we know. But she has an October birthday, so on the school calendar it’ll be a year and a half before she is technically ready for three year old preschool. This isn’t a huge issue because my daughter is fairly well-behaved. Again, just wondering what is typical and age appropriate. Thanks!
Redux says
I think you’re right that at 2.5 she is echoing something she’s heard at daycare. It sounds like daycare is doing a “time-in” which, from what I’ve read, is age-appropriate and an effective discipline strategy. But, what they plan/ intend to do and what they actually do can be different. If they are yelling at or threatening the kids, I would not be ok with that.
Sabba says
I say trust your gut. Let this sit for a week or two, observe, and if you still aren’t feeling right about things, consider moving her. Many preschools in my area start at 3 and you don’t have to start with the school year, if you are interested in private preschool.
Anon in NYC says
Some private preschools in my area have a 2’s program as well.
CPA Lady says
It’s not so much about “discipline” as it is about “natural consequences” at least the way we use it. We’re opposite of Anonymous above in that we actually use it the most to get our kid to start behavior. But we don’t use a time out as the consequence, typically.
For example, my kid hates it when I put her in her car seat. She would prefer to get in herself. But if she’s dawdling around or refusing to get in her car seat and it’s time to go, I’ll say calmly “if you don’t get int your seat [name what she needs to do] by the time I count to 3, I will put you in your seat [name consequence if she does not do what she needs to do].”
It has worked for us in situations like that. Sometimes we use time outs as consequences too, but mostly we use it to get her to do something herself. It only took a couple times where we had to enforce consequences for her to understand we were serious.
oil in houston says
that’s how we use it too. I only use time out (as in go to the corner) for her to calm down as she starts real meltdnows
Em says
We do, and have had good success with it. We rarely get to three anymore. We combine it with redirection, so we will say 1 (and attempt to redirect), say 2 for a second behavior and ask him if he wants a timeout (this asking usually prevents us from getting to 3), and 3 is a timeout (2 minutes on the bottom stair).
KateMiddletown says
I never read the book, but I count for my daughter still (age 8). She tends to freak out if I say I’m going to count, and says, no, mommy don’t count! (Moreso when she was younger.) Hopefully I haven’t given her some trauma about counting down from 10. I guess we’ll find out in therapy when she’s older.
Em says
We are working on teaching our two year old to count and sometimes when we start counting and say “one” he goes “twoooooooo” with a huge grin, which makes us laugh – very effective for discipline.
Mama Llama says
We started 1-2-3 at age 2. If we get to three the consequence is usually losing a privilege like dessert or a bedtime story. Now that she is almost 4, usually just asking “Do I need to count to three?” does the trick.
Becky says
My baby won’t sleep through the night! He is almost 8 months old and did just have some teeth come through but he goes down between 7 and 8 and wakes up about 3 times for his paci before a meal. Then between 2 and 4am he gets a bottle and it takes almost an hour to put him down after that as he just wants to play. He also sits up in bed every time he wakes up which means I feel i need to go back in and lay him down so he doesn’t cry continuously. I tried CIO a bit but gave up after 10 minutes each time as I was worried he would wake up the entire house. As I type this I see there’s a lot going on in his development but sheesh, I just want about 6 straight hours of sleep in my life. I wonder if I should wean him from his paci right now but it helps him fall asleep. And he generally gets good naps during the day so that’s not it. Is this the kid of thing I should get a sleep consultant for. Our toddler sleeps great so I don’t feel I am that inept but I also know a lot of it is up to the kid too.
Cb says
Commiseration! My almost 8 month old is nursing for 2 hours before he’ll go down and then waking up after 45 minutes. He’s only waking up once per night to nurse after that but still….
We did Ferber when he was 5.5 months old and it worked really well for 3-4 weeks before we got derailed by a cold. Once my mom leaves next week, we’re moving him into his own room and giving it another go because the 2 hour bedtime routine is unsustainable.
Anonymous says
2. Hours. What. Why babies you do us this way.
Cb says
Right? He’ll fall asleep in my arms but then wake up and eat some more when I try and move him. At least I’m getting some good reading done?
Anon in NYC says
All of that sounds tough. If I recall correctly, in addition to all of those developmental changes (huge!), there is an 8 month sleep regression. I would not remove the paci at this point. If him searching for one is a problem, add pacis to his crib so that he always has one in arms reach when he wakes up. Have you tried a dream feed? I wonder if that would prevent the middle of the night wakeup.
Anon says
+1 My 2.5 year old still sleeps with a ton of pacis because she moves around a lot when she sleeps and knocks them out of her crib. I’d try putting more in the crib and spread them around a bit (so that one arm swipe doesn’t take care of the entire stash).
Anonymous says
We didn’t want to do CIO and had good success with the No Cry Sleep Solution by Pantley. Could be a growth spurt? Maybe increase daytime food. Or a cold/ear infection? My second was constantly getting sick from my oldest. He had a double ear infection last week, DH thought he wasn’t even sick enough to see the doctor. Or more teething? Maybe try advil for a few nights and see if it helps. I used a paci minefield (like 6) in the the crib so baby could always find one to pop in.
AwayEmily says
The best sleep book I’ve found is The Good Sleeper by Janet Kennedy. She’s very even-handed and talks about the pros and cons of lots of different options for dealing with sleep issues. I like that she doesn’t advocate for a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather recognizes that all babies and families are different. She also gives a great overview of the science behind baby sleep (much more accessible than the Weissbluth book, in my opinion).
Good luck!
Anonymous says
I think a sleep consultant is just going to be a very expensive way to get told that it’s time to try sleep training.
Becky says
Truth! Yes I figured I would be paying for what I already know with a consultant. I really just need to pick a plan and stick to it but there always seem to be lots going on. Moving room, moving to own crib, teething, sitting up.
I like the idea of the dream feed earlier in the night to see if that helps for a longer stretch after midnight. And the “paci minefield”
I appreciate the commiserations too because I sometimes talk to other parents and they mention their kid sleeps through the night and he’s only (insert younger age her). Ugh, why me!
GCA says
Sending you strength. I’m one of those people whose kid was a terrible sleeper until we weaned completely (20 months) – like, 2-3 wakeups was a good night for us. I was tempted to punch anyone who mentioned how great a sleeper their infant was!
A ~10pm dreamfeed before you go to bed might help (for us, that was really just his first wakeup). Pacis in the crib are good until they learn to chuck them out of the crib. Eventually we just did the thing that got most sleep for the largest number of family members: cosleeping in family bed.
Sarabeth says
Not sure what kind of paci you currently have, but the kind with the stuffed animal attached (wubbanub or other brands) really helped the middle of the night wakeups for my kids. Much easier to find them without parental help.
Anon says
We have some friends who had good luck with a sleep consultant around a year or so. I don’t think the results lasted forever, but she have them some very specific times when kiddo should sleep during the day and night. It helped.
EB0220 says
I couldn’t handle CIO myself, so I used the Sleep Lady Sleep Shuffle with both kids around that age. It didn’t make them magically better, but it did improve their sleep enough that I wasn’t miserable. Also, if the change in sleep is sudden then an ear infection is always a possibility. Good luck!
Anon says
First: total understanding. That is so rough. This might not be want you want to hear, but I think you just have an eight month old baby and that’s what it is like. Sure some kiddos are great sleepers, but that isn’t necessarily the norm. Most kids need help getting pacis or to nurse or whatever at this age. I’m no expert and even though some books claim babies should be sleeping through the night, in my experience (based on myself and friends’ babies), “normal” sleep isn’t sleeping 11-12 hours at 8 months. Babies still wake up at this point. You might try not rushing in even if baby is sitting up. He won’t learn to lay back down if you don’t at least give him the chance. There’s a difference between that and letting him cry it out (which I am firmly against). I really think you need to reset yourself on what is developmentally appropriate for an average eight month old baby rather than what some really good sleeper eight month old babies could be “trained” to do. That said, it sucks and vent away!!!
Also, FWIW, my child’s ability to grasp changed dramatically around 9 months, and she needed no help with pacis at that point.
Anonymous says
I remember a lot of wakeups associated with learning to sit up (and then to lie back down), learning to stand up (and the get back down), etc, even with our magic sleeper baby. It felt like an insurnountable problem at the time but overall resolved pretty quickly once he learned the skill.
Anon says
OH. MY. GOSH. Yes. I totally forgot about that stage with learning to sit up. And I totally agree about it resolving pretty quickly.
Anon says
I have a seven month old on a non-traditional sleep schedule (10-8ish), but I hear you. No CIO here – my child can scream for hours on end. We had a good stretch (even on vacation) but she got a cold when we got back and we are still recovering from that. Last night was a “good” night in that we put her down around 9:45 (10 minute bedtime routine and nursing to sleep while rocking in the dark), she woke up at 11 (but went down again quickly with some cuddles and rocking, not hungry), then up at 3:30 (hungry), so we nursed to sleep, set down, woke up, rocked to sleep, set down, woke up, repeat until finally at 4:15 she stayed down, then slept until 7:45, up to eat and play a bit, and back down to sleep for another hour cuddled with her daddy while I got ready for work.
Things that help us: Not nursing when she doesn’t demand it (I’m trying not to build a habit, since I know she can and has slept through the night). If she is being really fussy or gassy or whatever, husband and I trade off rocking her to sleep. If she is “talking”, low-level whimpering, etc. but not crying or screaming, I try not to go in. She self-settles about a quarter of the time. Sometimes I let her cry for 5-10 minutes to get some energy out if she just can’t seem to hold it together after the 3rd or 4th attempt at putting her down, but she had colic, so I am kind of immune to the crying. If all else fails and it is after 5 am, I just pull her into bed with us and sleep holding her (not sure if you want to go down the co-sleeping route), but trying really hard not to make that a habit.
lsw says
Wow, I love this blazer. Has anyone encountered it in person? Sometimes I have trouble with keeping knit blazers crisp but I love the machine washable aspect and the natural fibers.
Anon says
I also love it, but the elbow patches confuse me. The color and timing of the piece make it seem like it is for spring and summer. But elbow patches scream fall/winter to me.
AwayEmily says
Agree!
anon says
Question about breast pumps. I’m a soon to be first time mom and it’s been recommended to me that I rent a hospital grade breast pump. How is the pump that one would rent different from like the Spectra 2, which says it is “hospital grade.” Are there different kinds of hospital grade? What exactly does hospital grade mean?
lsw says
Is there a reason you wish to rent a hospital grade pump vs. the free pump from your insurance? (I’m assuming you are in the US)
Anon says
I think it depends on who the recommendation is from. A health professional who knows your body? Ask them why. Random other person or internet? I’d take it with a grain of salt. Plenty of women do just fine with a typical Medela, Spectra, etc. I’d wait until you truly need a hospital grade pump (and go through consultations with a lactation consultant) before you go that route.
Same Anon says
To add: when I’ve heard of a hospital grade pump being necessary is if you have a little one in the NICU who cannot nurse so are using the pump to establish your supply. If there is a possibility this is going to be you, maybe that’s the reason.
KateMiddletown says
I think it has to do with the motor strength/longevity. It’s like an industrial grade cleaner. The hospital grade pumps are meant to be used by many women for a long period of time (ie, they’re the ones they have at the hospital for LCs)
Delta Dawn says
I rent and am currently using a hospital grade pump for the reasons KateM listed above. The motor is stronger than other pumps (my comparison is to the personal pumps I have received through my insurance with both pregnancies). I rented a hospital grade pump this time because I had supply issues last time. I use the hospital pump at work (where I obviously pump the most) and keep the personal pump for home and weekends since I don’t usually need it if I am with baby, but it’s there if something comes up. Most likely, the pump you rent would be a Medela Symphony. All that said, I do not know anything about the Spectra 2, so maybe they’ve finally made one that you can buy instead of rent. Maybe somewhere online there is a direct comparison of the Symphony to the Spectra 2.
Anonymous says
I wish I had rented the hospital pump instead of buying a Pump N Style Advanced– the Symphony was huge and bulky (I had to fly with it and it was a huge pain) BUT it was way gentler and more effective, and I’d already gotten used to it when my twins were in the NICU. BUT I exclusively pumped for my twins– they did not breastfeed at all. Also, I believe insurance would only have paid for 6 months of rental, and I did wind up pumping longer than that. So I’d balance the cost with how long you think you’ll pump and how often you’ll pump. But for me the difference between the Symphony and the PNSA was quite large.
Zulily Code says
does anyone have a Zulily referral code to share? I don’t even know if these exist but happy to give someone props.
ER says
I have a spectra at home and a Medela symphony at work. I think they are equivalent. Both much better than the pump in style or the freestyle though.
Anonymous says
1. Try Ferberizing again. It takes 3-7 nights to work and a week of disrupted sleep for the rest of the house is a worthwhile investment in restful nights for all. (Also, those first couple of nights suck, but it doesn’t mean it’s not working.)
2. Talk to your ped about whether you can cut the nighttime feeding. We started giving our babe water at night instead of milk and he quickly decided it wasn’t worth waking up for.
3. Throw 8 soothers on his crib, and attach some to any lovey/blankie he cuddles so he knows where to find them.
4. You can’t sleep train when a babe is transitioning to a new room/bed or sick or teething, so it’s an exercise in getting back on the horse a LOT.