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Holiday season is pretty much upon us, which means you may be heading to a salon near you for some pampering, or otherwise indulging in darker nail colors than you normally do. If you’re looking for a classic red, Essie’s Fishnet Stockings is one of their classic, longstanding colors. But let’s hear it from you guys: What is your favorite red for nails? Are you eager to try any really trendy colors this season? What are your thoughts on glittery nails or gel nails for this time of year? This Essie color is $9 at Amazon and is eligible for Prime. Fishnet Stockings 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 4.14.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Mid-Season Sale: extra 40% off; extra 20% off sale styles; 40% off new spring styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 40% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50-60% off select styles; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – 40% off dresses; 30% off your purchase
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Cyber Spring: 50% off everything & free shipping
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time; 30% off select shoes
- Talbots – BOGO 50% off everything, includes markdowns (ends 4/14)
- 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 – Buy 3+ get 30% off forever favorites
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 30% off your purchase
- Old Navy – Up to 70% off clearance; sales on shorts and polos
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event; BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture;
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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?
lsw says
Malaga wine from OPI – dark, festive red that looks great in gel.
Ms B says
China Glaze in Heart of Africa is my longtime fave winter red.
Glitter toes are nice in concept, but do not last long in practice, which is a problem when I only can fit a pedi in once a month.
PregLawyer says
I got OPI Madam President for my last manicure – a very nice magenta-red that worked well on my pale skin with very pink undertones.
avocado says
I have trouble with red nail polish–unless it’s really dark and cool-toned, it makes me look straight out of the 1950s. For winter, I like a very dark purple.
BabyKicks says
I’m not Really a Waitress from OPI. Darker red with just a little bit of sparkle (but still conservative workplace appropriate)
Anonymous says
Just found out a proposal I submitted several months ago to present at a conference was accepted. The only problem is, I got pregnant in the interim and will be 34 weeks at the time of the presentation. It’s a cross-country flight away. I’m not all that committed to doing the presentation for career reasons (this happens frequently enough that it’s not a particularly important opportunity) but I am also aware that my boss may roll her eyes if I have my colleague (already attending conference, reports to me) present in my place if it’s not a reasonably acceptable request. Is 34 weeks late to do this trip? Last time around, I cut off travel at 28 weeks but that seems a bit conservative.
ElisaR says
your boss should not roll her eyes at all – 34 weeks is super far along and I doubt a doctor would recommend going….I would not have been comfortable at all at 34 weeks on a long flight.
TBK says
DO NOT GO. A friend recently told me about her friend who flew at 35 weeks, and had the baby 300 miles from home. She and the baby were then stuck until the baby was old enough to fly.
Blueberry says
I wouldn’t go cross country. FWIW I opted out of a conference when I was just turning 36 weeks, and it was within driving distance. I would definitely move my cutoff date forward a few weeks for a cross-country trip.
rosie says
Everyone has different risk tolerances on this. If things are “normal,” your OB/midwife would probably ok the travel. But I think you would need to be comfortable having the baby at your destination (meaning ok with the hospital & NICU, and ok being at that destination until the baby is able to travel home). For a presentation that is not high on your list that you can have someone else do, I don’t think I would risk it.
Walnut says
Would this also be a great opportunity for your direct report to spread their experience? If so, I’d be inclined to pass the opportunity along.
I had very normal pregnancies and did some very late work travel around 34 weeks, but it was a 1.5 hour plane ride and I was home the same night. I probably would have passed on a cross country trip attached to a conference.
Anonymous says
Yes, it would be — I’ll definitely frame it that way if I pass!
Anon says
I flew frequently (multiple times per week) until week 36 with doctor’s blessing in a normal, low-risk pregnancy. If you want to go, this fact alone shouldn’t preclude the trip.
But, totally up to you – a third-trimester pregnancy is a totally legitimate reason to sit this one out. The flight could be uncomfortable, your legs will swell, and you’ll have to pee all the time.
anne-on says
I’d pass. I flew cross country at about 25 weeks (mind you, after a super intense work conference I planned, which was not ideal) and wound up in the hospital a day after I got home with heart palpitations/shortness of breathe. They released me same day but baby was NOT happy and they basically said it was all due to exhaustion. I stopped traveling anything over an hour at that point (and heck, I nearly passed out on a commuter train at 35 wks pregnant from overheating/anxiety).
Anonanonanon says
I wouldn’t go. My insurance company actually wouldn’t allow me to go (it’s a “health system” aka HMO and they wouldn’t want to pay for an out-of-system hospital) at that point either. If you’re worried about your doc rolling her eyes, maybe get some documentation from your doctor first and frame it as you tried to go but your doctor said no.
bluefield says
I flew 5 hrs at 32 weeks and I was SO uncomfortable. The seats were uncomfortable, my nether regions swelled (I did not even think that this was a possibility), and this was with my husband sitting next to me so I was able to stretch out a tiny bit.
HSAL says
Adding to the chorus of don’t do it. My last three hour car trip was at 32 weeks, and it was pretty terrible. I skipped a conference of a similar drive that would have been 33-34 weeks with no regrets. I don’t necessarily think you need documentation from your doctor, but your doctor will back up whatever you want to do to tell your boss.
Legally Brunette says
I flew at 37 weeks (!) but it was to interview for my dream job, which I now have. So I’m thrilled that I went and that it worked out. If this trip is not essential, and sounds like it is not, I would pass if you’re not comfortable with the idea.
Anonymous says
Thanks, all! I feel like I have the validation I was looking for!
Anon says
Someone I know had her doctor’s blessing to fly at 34 weeks for a business trip, but ended up going into labor in the other city, the baby was in the NICU, so she was stuck there for a few weeks. If you can get out of it, personally I do not think it is worth the risk
Anonymous says
Husband: hey this work dinner came up tomorrow – it’s okay if I go right?
Me: Uhhh, I have an appointment with a medical specialist that evening that took ages to get and that we already agreed you’d cover re kids, and we’re maxing out the au pair’s hours for two other evenings this week, including one you super wanted to go to, and the other that involves your travel (again) while I go to a dinner with my friends that I have had scheduled since way back that was very meticulously worked around my schedule (since I’m the only one with kids). But sure you either (1) want me to cancel one of these long-planned things so you can go to your dinner that only just came up or (2) have memory-holed every one of the complex conversations we had leading up to this week about how to make such a tricky week of scheduling work. I realize it was ambitious to try to shoehorn three evening things into one week, but we had a plan.
W.T.F.
mascot says
Sure, but first please secure childcare for one of the other evenings.
Anonymous says
But it’s not just that. It’s his casual disregard for the emotional labor that went into making the logistics of the week work. I’m assuming that if he forgot important medical appt (heck – he’s not even attending the appt with her), then she’s the one that did a lot of the emotional labor on the original planning.
This only got better in our family when DH set himself up a G – search engine calendar with reminders notifications. He knows to check it first before asking anything about changes. We have a weekly discussion at a set time about details of the next two weeks and he updates the calendar during that converation. We schedule additional discussions separately for logistics intensive periods like Christmas and vacation.
rosie says
Yes to the calendar. My husband has learned that if it’s not on our shared g-calendar, I cannot be expected to plan around it. And if he asks if we have anything going on a certain time, I’ll say “have you checked the calendar” (if he doesn’t note there is nothing on the calendar). There is a lot of emotional labor involved here for sure.
But to the anon OP, sorry, that sucks.
Redux says
Be prepared to say “have you checked the calendar” a couple dozen times (and being met with annoyance– “just tell me”) before he gets it. Habits take a while to form. But, +1 to the google calendar, it works pretty well for us now!
Anonymous says
not OP just to clarify
Anon says
I’d say “What is your plan for the kids, since I won’t be home and au pair is maxed out this week?” And let him do all the work to figure it out. You set up the initial plan, he has to scramble to figure it out if he wants to change it.
And +1 to the shared calendar – we do the same. But I had to stop scheduling all babysitters/childcare for a while until he realized what a huge timesuck it really is – and THAT was what cut way down on the last minute requests with no regard for childcare. I refused to help, just kept asking what his plans for the kids were, until he got it. It was painful for sure, but worth it for the end result.
anne-on says
+1 – He ignores au pair schedule and shared calendar, then he’s on the hook for making alternate arrangements. I ALSO made my husband plan the au pair hours out with me (on paper, with both work calendars) weekly for any weeks we’re both traveling so he sees the juggling that goes into it – esp. on weeks with short school days.
PregLawyer says
Yeah, I would probably just do this. Keep it non-confrontational, and just remind him that as long as he takes care of childcare arrangements, it should be fine. If he pushes back, then you need to figure out your script for that conversation.
Has anyone ever tried one of those Pottery-Barn-esque chalkboard or whiteboard family calendars? I’m toying with this. We have the shared online calendar, but there’s something about just visualizing everything each time you pass through the kitchen.
Anonanonanon says
We have a pottery barn white board calendar in our kitchen and it’s great. We couldn’t agree on a family calendar (my husband keeps EVERYTHING on his outlook calendar, whereas I prefer to keep mine as just work stuff since my office culture promotes sharing calendars far and wide so I use google for personal) and so the white board is the shared “official” calendar. It’s a bit inconvenient that I can’t consult the white board from work, but it is really nice to be able to visualize what’s going on and check it easily during a conversation without pulling out phones etc.
D. Meagle says
PregLawyer – I have the Pottery-Barn whiteboard calendar in my kitchen. I love the idea of it, since I am visual and need to see everything laid out in one place. We also use a shared family g-calendar, and my old-fashioned paper wall-calendar for long term planning, but if its not written in front of me to easily see, it gets missed.
Only reason I say I love the idea of it is that the quality of the PB whiteboard calendar is not great – my first one warped after a few months, and when I complained, they sent me a replacement one which has also warped (but not as bad as the first). FYI, I noticed there was no option to review the product on the site, which makes me suspicious. However, aside from the quality issue, it is definitely more aesthetically pleasing than the other options out there.
Sabba says
I skipped the cute calendars and just bought the largest paper calendar I could find on Amazon. Works great and we write all family stuff on there. The visualization helps, although I still keep an electronic calendar. I also take a picture of it from time to time so I can still use my phone to look at it when I am not at home.
Tfor22 says
My husband asks about his work evenings in the same way. I agree with the response of asking him to arrange the childcare that would make that work. You don’t need to reschedule anything. If you think it is a bad idea because the week is already complicated, tell him so. He may not have put all the pieces together.
Walnut says
“Are the kids invited to that work dinner also?”
Anonymous says
Ha!
MSJ says
Very frustrating, but agreed on the calendar appointments as something to help going forward. My husband and I both invite each other to appointments like travel, days needed to work late, appointments etc even if the other isn’t attending, just to make sure it stays on our radar screen. I have no capacity to keep the details in my head otherwise!
Anon in NYC says
Potty training on the go! We did the bootcamp method with my daughter over the long weekend and it was moderately successful. But we haven’t yet hit the stage of running short errands or going to a restaurant in underwear. We dropped her off at school this morning and tried to have her sit and she was a wreck, so I expect that new toilets will be challenging for a while. In part because the school doesn’t have a smaller seat for the toilet (WHY?!) so it was a little too big for her.
What travel potty training gear can I get to make leaving the house a little easier? We can carry a backpack and use the basket under the stroller, but we can’t realistically carry around a potty seat (plus, she refuses to sit on them).
Anon in NYC says
Sorry, when I say a potty seat I mean a standalone potty that you then have to empty. The seat insert for a normal toilet seat is totally fine.
Anon says
Potette Plus 2 in 1. It has special bags, but you can also use standard grocery bags with a little paper towel in the bottom to minimize splashback. Folds up small and fits in a diaper bag or the bottom of a stroller. We have one that lives in the car at all times, since we’re a suburban family.
Also the Jerrybox Foldable Seat. Cheap, fits on a regular toilet, and folds up small, but you’ll want to rinse it off in a sink (or wipe down with wipes) before sticking it back in your bag.
Anon says
Oh, and literally every store you go into, immediately locate the bathrooms and keep yourself oriented to them at all times. I made the mistake of not doing this the first time I took my kid to the grocery store, and ended up abandoning my cart in a mad sprint across the store shrieking “where are the bathrooms” at workers and shoppers alike. Not fun, and probably traumatized my kid for a while, although she’s fine now.
Anonymous says
She may well refuse to pee in public for a while. It generally took my kids about two weeks to be consistent at home and daycare and then another month to venture to try peeing in a public washroom. We insist that everyone tries to pee before we go somewhere (adults (for rolemodeling) and kids) to cut down on having to go while we are out.
anne-on says
Use a small piece of paper or seat cover over the automatic sensor, having the toilet flush automatically scared the heck out of my kiddo. Boys are A LOT easier, for pee they can just stand on your feet. I second having a small foldable seat and lots of disposable wipes/bags at first. A small wet bag and change of clothes for an accident was also a must have for us for a loooong time. And we absolutely had pull ups on under undies for long car trips for at least the first year.
POSITA says
I kept special pink, sparkly and smelly “Princess” soap in my purse. My 2 yo wanted to try every public bathroom in every store just so she could wash her hands with the special soap. She wasn’t allowed to use the soap unless she successfully pottied. It was annoying to tour every bathroom in the county until the bottle was empty, but was really efficient at getting her over the fear of public bathrooms.
GCA says
+1 to the Potette! You can use it as a training seat too!
Potty training…win? I think? My son now cries if forced to go in his diaper. (Eg.: we were on a longish drive. Holiday travel. I said he could just pee in his pull-up, which he was wearing because it was past bedtime. No go. Had to pull over so he could pee on the grass by the side of the road, and then he peed like a horse.)
NewMomAnon says
I kept a small potty in the car for road trips for a long time for that reason. Kiddo thought it was great; we would pull onto a country road, she would pee and then get to dump it into the grass.
Anon in NYC says
Thanks, all! Just got a foldable potty seat insert – hopefully that will help!
Anonymous says
In a pinch, you can usually sit behind your child on a toilet – I used to do this on outings when I forgot the Potette, and it helped my son feel secure enough to sit.
PregLawyer says
My 2.5 year old got herpangina over the holiday week and lost probably 10% of his body weight. At least. Maybe more. He just didn’t eat for 5 days. The doctor assured us that this happens, and he’ll be fine as long as he drinks water, so we pushed fluid and didn’t force feed him. It was so hard to see the weight just fall off. He’s finally eating again, but man, that was rough. Has anyone else dealt with this, or with some other eating strike? Any tips for the future? I’ve never felt like such a failure.
NewMomAnon says
Awww, you are not a failure. He’ll probably bounce right back. Kids are amazingly resilient, especially when they have loving, attentive parents.
Anonymous says
Smoothies are a hit with my kids when they don’t feel like eating a lot – frozen strawberries, bananas, yoghurt and a scoop of protein powder is a great meal replacer for sick kids.
Anon in NYC says
You’re not a failure! When my kid got HFM she had maybe 3 blisters on her body in total and instead had all of the ulcers in her mouth. It was terrible. She was clearly hungry but everything hurt her mouth/throat. She did nothing but drink milk for about a week straight. Milk was soothing. Bananas were good too. The pediatrician suggested ice cream for calories/fat, but my kid doesn’t like cold foods. Basically nothing acidic or salty.
PregLawyer says
Thanks all. He wouldn’t even drink milk – I have no idea why. He was the most stubborn human being I’ve ever seen — ever. There were literally whole days where I don’t think he consumed any calories. Fortunately, he did drink water, so he didn’t get dehydrated. But still.
Anonymous says
Vanilla soy milk – or even adding vanilla extract to regular milk or trying chocolate milk are all options. My kids will only drink milk at room temperature so you can try varying that as well.
NewMomAnon says
Ideas for kid’s clothes storage? Kiddo has a big 6 drawer dresser right now. I’m in the process of cleaning out her closets, which have been used for storage, with the idea that I can then move her clothes into the closets and free up space in her bedroom for playing. BUT – I haven’t found a dresser narrow enough to fit into the closet and still be able to open the drawers (the opening is barely 30″ at the narrowest), and I don’t want to hang stuff. I’d also like kiddo to be able to easily get her own clothes and put them away without making a giant mess.
I have a bookshelf in there now, so I could put fabric bins on the bookshelf with clothes in them – I’m afraid those could easily be dumped on the floor though. Any other solutions I’m missing?
PregLawyer says
What about the hanging bins? Like this:
https://www.amazon.com/mDesign-Nursery-Organizer-Stuffed-Blankets/dp/B01BPK8QVI/ref=sr_1_38_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1511801603&sr=8-38&keywords=hanging+storage
PregLawyer says
Also take a look at the Pottery Barn (or other retailer) systems for hanging wall storage. I did a Gabrielle System set-up in the nursery with hanging boxes, hooks, and hampers. You can create your own custom closet storage at easy-to-reach levels for kiddo.
avocado says
We have a wire drawer unit by either Elfa or Closetmaid in our kid’s closet. Some items are stored KonMari style and others are folded and stacked in the conventional way. You can customize the depth of the drawers to your needs. Depending on the frame height you choose, you may be able to hang dressy clothes above it, at least in preschool sizes.
Redux says
what is the konmari style storage method?
avocado says
Stand the folded clothes on end so you can see everything at once. No stacks.
Anonymous says
responded below
Anonymous says
All of my 5 year old’s current season clothes fit in 3 drawers of a approx 40″ wide dresser, so it may work if you can find a narrow dresser. Wayfair’s search function allows you to limit by dimensions on at least some items. Have you tried searching for a “lingerie chest”? We put out of season handmedowns awaiting usage in a plastic bin in the closet. What about under the bed storage?
EB0220 says
My 3 year old has a 4 cube storage unit from Wal-Mart (Better Homes & Gardens) in her closet. It has various dividers to keep everything a little more corralled. I roll the pajamas and stack everything else. Right now, we have an x divider in one cube for underwear and pajamas. One cube for pants, one cube for long-sleeved shirts, one cube for shorts/short-sleeved shirts. The warmer weather cube is the only one that always gets messed up, probably because it’s overloaded. Otherwise she does a decent job of keeping things in place. Sometimes she’ll get a pair of pants out to get to another pair of pants on the shelf, then not put the original pair back. It has worked pretty well for us. We have one of those low-hanging bars next to the cubes for hanging up dresses. There are 2 bins on top of the cube unit for blankets and sheets. Those are high enough that she doesn’t do much with them which is good. Overall it has worked pretty well for us.
NewMomAnon says
This might be a winner, thanks! I love those cube units…I bet I could hang a rod between two of them as well to get some lower hanging space; the rods in the closets are so high that I struggle to reach them.
Ms B says
My Shark sweeper (not my choice, MIL bought it and it could not be returned) died over the holiday weekend.
I want to replace it with something (1) cordless, (2) bagless, (3) freestanding, (4) not cr*ppy, and (5) $100 or less. Bonus points if it has a handheld component that I could use to clean up the cars.
Primary jobs for it would be cleaning up what The Kid drops on tile while eating, what The Husband drops on said tile while cooking, and quick brush-ups of hardwoods/marble/berber between housekeeper days. (We have a Hoover canister that still does great work on carpeting, but it lives upstairs in our house).
There are several interesting Deik models on Amazon, today, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger on a brand I have never heard of.
Anonymous says
The SweetHome has cordless vacuum reviews.
Baptism says
Has anyone baptized their child outside of their own religion-by-birth? I am born/actively raised Catholic, including Catholic high school. We’re considering a baptism in the Episcopalian church, and then also becoming a more active attendee/member of the same. I have two primary issues:
(1) For a while now I’ve been an inactive Catholic, disagreeing with many teachings and practices. I haven’t really done anything about my feelings, apart from not getting married in the church and just being a Christmas&Easter Catholic.
(2) More recently and significantly, we went through 2 years of fertility treatments to become pregnant with my first, due in the spring. I cannot bring myself to baptize my child into a community that teaches (and I know I’m paraphrasing) he/she essentially should not exist.
I think my northeast traditionally Catholic family will groan, and it might put my Irish-Catholic grandma in the grave early, but I can live with all of that. Practically speaking though, does anyone have stories of having done this themselves – baptized a child in a church different from their own, and maybe becoming active in said new church? Is this a crazy idea? I’m struggling to articulate what my concerns are, but I think I’d simply take comfort in knowing this isn’t completely stupid.
CPA Lady says
This is absolutely not crazy. My dad’s family was Episcopalian, my mom’s was (very French Cajun) Catholic. We were baptized and raised Episcopalians. After we were out of the house my mom went back to being Catholic. I big puffy heart love the Episcopal church. The services themselves are basically identical to Catholic services in terms of structure, and we have the same church year (lent, easter, pentecost, advent, etc) and use the same lectionary for weekly readings, so you’ll feel very at home. I also think that the music is about 20x better, but I’m a huge church music nerd and have been in choirs off and on for the past 15 years. I also love the Episcopal church’s focus on the love and grace of God and on helping others. It’s not stupid at all. The Episcopal church welcomes you! :)
Clementine says
Yes. Many similarities to my life as well.
The kicker that brought my husband over to the Episcopal church is their stance on Birth Control: We believe it should be the goal of every Christian to end extreme poverty worldwide. We do not believe this is possible without the use of Birth Control.
Anon in NYC says
Can you become more active in the Episcopal church prior to baptism? It might help you feel like you have a church community, see if it’s the right fit, and eventually decide if that’s where you want to baptize your child. (Plus, I think attending around the holidays will be really lovely with all of the services/decorations.)
Anonymous says
It’s a great idea! I’m Episcopalian and DH is Catholic. We baptized and are raising our kids in the Episcopalian church. DH has never officially ‘converted’ and I don’t know that he will. He doesn’t attend Catholic church anymore unless we are in his hometown for Christmas and then we all attend with his mom.
I grew up in an Episcopalian church with a female priest and I couldn’t imagine taking my daughter somewhere where that wasn’t an option as a career if she felt called to leadership in the church. I would suggest attending services a few times and staying for a coffee hour if they have one after the service to get to know people a bit.
You might be surprised how well relatives take it. Encourage them to attend service with you. Episcopalian and Catholic services are quite similar. After attending a church service with us, my MIL decided she didn’t really care. She doesn’t believe in many of the main Catholic tenants away – no women priests, transubstantiation, no marrying by priests, teachings on contraception etc. She still attends her local Catholic church in the tiny town that DH is from but if she lived near us in Big City she would probably attend church with us. When she visits us, she attends the Episcopalian church with us.
Anonymous says
The British and Canadian Episcoplian (Anglian) churches are quite progressive on LGBT rights – includinig transgender people (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/09/anglican-church-vote-welcoming-transgender-people-general-synod and http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/church-of-england-schools-let-children-explore-gender-identity-transgender-gender-fluid-a8051406.html ) and Canadian churches will have in church same sex marriage next year.
This was particularly important to me in case any of my children turned out to be gender questioning or gay, I didn’t want them to feel excluded from the church.
Anon for this says
Not crazy at all, completely normal. I know the Catholic/Protestant divide is bigger than the difference between different Protestant denominations, but in my experience it is quite common for Protestants to switch denominations as young adults and then raise their family in the new church. In your shoes I would probably join the church myself before having my child baptized.
Anonymous says
Making a choice to participate in a church, and to raise your child in one, based on your own actual beliefs rather than your parents’/families’ is not remotely crazy, it is refreshingly sane.
I was raised in the Episcopalian church. My mother was raised Catholic (although her father became an atheist at some point in her childhood) and my father Episcopalian. My mother said the liturgy was quite similar, and she much prefers the politics. But my family is no longer religious so we may not be the best example.
Tfor22 says
Yes, I did and along the same lines as you. I was raised Roman Catholic and am now Episcopalian. The little guy was baptized in the Episcopal Church. I don’t recall my family saying anything about the service, unlike our wedding, which was different enough from the RC service that they noticed.
I am very happy being Episcopalian. I attended an Episcopal church and considered leaving the Roman Catholic Church for at least a decade before I did it officially. This is hard to explain, but the key for me was realizing that I was choosing a different denomination for positive reasons (as opposed to rejecting specific practices of the RC church.) I’d be glad to talk with you more about this (full disclosure, I’m a, Episc deacon).
ElisaR says
not crazy at all. i come from an Irish Catholic family (my grandmother insisted on buying her car in black so the nuns would be more comfortable when she drove them around….. yes really). I was baptized Catholic but my immediate family soon after left the catholic church over disagreements on birth control among other things. I was raised in a protestant church that I continue to go to today. You can always change your mind at any time, where you baptize your child isn’t locking anything in for life and won’t ostracize them later in life. Your family is still figuring it all out and that’s cool!
Anonanonanon says
In terms of the last line here: yes! My son is baptized Catholic (it was veeeeerryyyy important to my ex-husband, despite the fact he never went to church) and honestly my son has no idea he was baptized Catholic and to my knowledge has never set foot inside a Catholic Church since. He went to episcopalian and Jewish preschools and when he’s gone to religious gatherings they have been Quaker or Unitarian, so he was definitely not locked in for life.
Em says
I was raised (cafeteria) Catholic, including attending Catholic school from preschool through college. I was married in the Catholic Church and we baptized my son in the Catholic Church, and almost all my friends are Catholic (although my husband is not). At the end of last year and beginning of this year I started dragging my feet about attending mass. I thought it was because the church wasn’t a good fit, so we switched to a different church, and I still didn’t want to go to mass. I did a lot of soul searching and realized that I really, really did not want to raise my son in the Catholic church because most of the teachings were directly in conflict with our personal beliefs. I researched several churches and ended up at an Episcopalian church that I LOVE. The church services are very similar to the Catholic mass, which I think made the transition easier for me, and going to a church that promotes inclusion and not judging others is amazing. I feel that converting has made me a much better and happier person, and I would be thrilled to baptize my child in the Episcopalian church if we have another child. I’ve seen a lot of Catholic baptisms, and the one Episcopalian baptism I saw gave me goose bumps (my own son’s didn’t do that).
Sleepy says
My 6 month old routinely wakes up at 5:30 am. Any tips for pushing this later? Even 6am would be great!
AwayEmily says
I’ve posted about this a couple times before so apologies for the repetition, but we started my daughter with the OK to Wake clock when she was ~5 months, and it has been a life-saver. We started setting it for right around when she woke up anyway (which at that point was around 5am), then gradually moved it later and later in about 5 minute increments. She’s now 20 months, it turns green at 6:30, and she generally wakes up at around 6 (then chills in her crib until 6:30). Basically, she learned to associate “green light” with “parents coming in,” and so if she wakes up and the light’s not on, she either goes back to sleep or is (relatively) content to wait for us. You do have to commit to not going in to get her until the light turns green, though. It has been life-changing, partly because my daughter now sleeps a bit longer but even more so because now we know EXACTLY what time we will need to get her, so we can plan the rest of our mornings around that.
Anon says
Have you already tried pushing bedtime earlier?
Kelly, who is obsessed with baby sleep says
First, check schedule – 3 naps? Wake times 2-2.5 hours, no more than 10 total awake, pay close attention to last wake time and make sure it’s not too long. Short naps might mean 5:30 bedtime. Make sure first nap isn’t starting too early, early wake-ups are usually what makes me push the first nap out 15 minutes. Is she is sleeping through the night she might be ready for two naps with 3 hour wake times. Don’t get her out of crib until your designated wake time (ours is 7:00 and not a minute earlier even if she is crying.) you can start with a 6am out of crib but you should really push it later or you will be stuck in an early bedtime cycle.
Anon says
+1. First step is reviewing her nap schedule, and seeing if you can push those back in 15 min increments every week or so.
Or you can be like me and co-sleep for the first ~9 months or so, muddle (badly) through the next 9 months, and then start using the OK to wake clock around 18 months. I did this with both of my kids, so clearly I didn’t learn my lesson the first time around. But now they both go into their rooms around 8pm and then don’t come out until the light turns green at 6:30am (they’ve always been on the “less sleep” end of age-sleep guidelines – my 2 year old takes a ~60-90 min nap, my 4 year old hasn’t napped in a long time). So whatever you choose, know that you’re not messing them up for life or anything.
Anonymous says
try Ikea – they often have scaled down furniture because it’s used in many European homes which are smaller. Don’t just look at the dresser section – some of the three drawer nightstands have a good amount of space in the drawer. Three drawer nightstand plus a hanging organizer bin might be your solution.
Anonymous says
for NewMomAnon
AIMS says
Favorite snow boots for toddlers? I remember there being a consensus here about some really great boot but I can’t recall which one.
anon says
Kamik snowbug