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While I’m usually not a fan of zippered blazers, this scuba knit one from Target looks like really cute, though I’d still probably wear it open. I like the darts and the flouncy peplum, the fact that it’s machine washable, and the five different colors it comes in (burgundy, black, gray, white, and “jade green”). It’s well-reviewed, available in sizes XS-XXL, and ranges in price from $10.49-$34.99. Women’s Blazer – Mossimo
Psst: a friend just wrote to me to tell me she bought and loved this blazer after we recommended it over at Corporette — great for layering over dresses.
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
- 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?
Monitor recommedations? says
Looking to get a video camera for each of my two kids’ rooms that will work through an app on any phone (whether iPhone or Android). Recommendations? Thanks!
MDMom says
A basic dropcam (or probably other non monitor specific webcams) will do this cheaply. I think you can make it avail via internet or on home Wi-Fi only.
Nest says
We just got the Nest, which works on the same app as our thermostat (on our iPhones). It is very clear, with a very wide range, and the night vision is great with almost no ambient light; the speaker is also very sensitive. It is motion activated as well so will send a push notification to your phone if baby moves, which is handy if you don’t want it up on the phone constantly, and you can also speak through it to calm baby if that works for you. Only negatives are that it is fairly pricey ($200). But we love it.
Lyssa says
We’re planning to take a trip in a few weeks and leave my 3.5 year old and 11 month old with the grandparents. The 3 yr old tends to get upset either when we leave or when we stay somewhere with him overnight (he gets upset when he realizes that we’re not going home to go to bed). I’ve tried to talk up the idea of staying at the grandparents to get him excited (you get to play with the dog! they’ll give you treats! you can bring your toys!), but every time I’ve tried to explain to him that we will be leaving him there, he gets upset. Is there any way to make this easier? Doing a dry run beforehand won’t be possible. Any tips for the dropoff? We have to leave early, so we will take them over around dinnertime the night before – I could stay and do our usual nighttime routine before putting him to bed there, though I would probably have to wait until he fell asleep, but that might not be nice to have him wake up to us being gone.
CPA Lady says
There’s that Llama Llama book about staying at grandma and grandpa’s house for the first time. Would a book like that be helpful?
Meg Murry says
Or the Berenstein Bears have a “week at Grandma’s” that is similar
pockets says
https://www.vice.com/read/the-berensteain-bears-conspiracy-theory-that-has-convinced-the-internet-there-are-parallel-universes
PhilanthropyGirl says
Mine is much younger, but here’s what I’ve done:
Rip off the bandage quickly – drop him off, say your goodbyes, and leave. The longer I linger, the more clingy my kid gets. The faster I walk out the door, the faster he settles in. I hate it, because I want to linger and cuddle and smooch and all that good stuff, but all that just makes trying to leave terrible. I’d drop the kids off for dinner and let grandparents do dinner and bedtime. I think the anticipation makes it really hard, so to have you around and lingering and knowing your eventually going makes them more clingy.
Ask grandparents to have something fun planned for directly after drop off time – art project, go to the park, see a movie, play in the sprinkler out back, go to the zoo, go out to dinner – *anything* that will distract him and get him engaged. My parents are usually prepared with “nana’s toys” out and ready, so mine will get distracted with awesome trucks he doesn’t have at home – he gets engaged at nana’s house, and seems less distressed when I leave.
MomAnon4This says
I disagree with “do something fun right after Mom leaves”
Leave right before or during nap time- if before, kid WILL cry and fall asleep. That’s ok.
If during — kid will wake up, wonder where you are, probably be OK.
Don’t be surprised if kid has a long memory for this– my son until age 4.5 would remember when we went on our grown-up trip to Las Vegas and left him at Grandma’s when he was turning 2. We didn’t feel badly at all, poor kid.
Good luck!
Faye says
We talk a lot about how “Mom and Dad always come back”. Start talking about how you come back from work or you come back from a date night out. On top of that, talk about specific fun things that will happen – like Grandma will play Zingo with you, or Grandpa will take you out for donuts. Tell him stories like “Once upon a time there was a kid named BoyLyssa. He went to stay with his grandparents for 5 days. 1 2 3 4 5. He missed his mom and dad, but knew they would come back. He got to sleep in a blue bed and snuggle with a black puppy and play with new toys. He was happy and had a lot of fun. And then his mom and dad came back and gave him a big kiss! The end.”
Will you be able to do Facetime/Google Hangouts? If I open the app, my 3yo can tap the picture of the person she wants to talk to. Do your parents have an iPad (or can you leave one with them) so he can call you and see your faces, maybe as part of bedtime routine? Or maybe if he NEEDS to talk to you? It might help him to know he can talk to you and see you even if he’s somewhere else.
But nothing is going to make it much easier. It’s just hard to do a change in routine for a 3yo. I don’t know how long your trip will be, but by the second or third night it should be fine. Be prepared for some “acting up” when you get back, he likely will test you to see if you’ll go away soon or just need to act out his anger at you leaving him. Remember, you had a trip away but he had a stressful change, so he won’t be on the same vacation high as you will. Extra patience and attention usually help them work through all that.
Meg Murry says
Along these lines – can you play with Facetime now (maybe with Grandma)?
If possible, when you call them, don’t do it right before bedtime. If they are staying at the grandparents all day (not going to daycare), call in the morning or late afternoon. You don’t want to call and remind him all over again that you aren’t there right before bed – that was a recipe for drama if ever there was one.
Can you talk to him about what he would want to bring to make it better? Like a specific stuffed animal, or his nightlight or his pillow?
Do you think you could talk out his fears by putting them onto his baby sister or his stuffed animal? “You know, Stuffed Lion is a little nervous about sleeping at Grandma’s house. But I told him that you will be there, and sister, and the nightlight. What else could we do to make Stuffed Lion feel better?”
Worst case, can you give Grandma permission to just do whatever it takes during this trip? If that means she cuddles him in the living room while watching a movie until he passes out on the couch – well, worst things have happened, and as long as you are consistent at home kids are pretty understanding of “those are Grandma’s house rules, at home we sleep in bed at 8:00”
NewMomAnon says
Is it possible for grandma and grandpa to come stay at your house with the kids? I did that with my folks a couple times and it helped make bedtime easier.
Another thing that I’ve been doing with my daughter is imaging how a scenario will go together. As much as possible, I have her tell me what she expects to happen. We would visualize how the room looks, the pj’s kiddo will wear, the books they will read/songs they will sing/other steps in bedtime routine, the sheets on the bed, how many nightlights, white noise, etc.
But…it is going to be hard. And that’s ok, because kids need to learn how to deal with stress, and this is a controlled situation with loving, caring adults present to help your little one get through it.
CPA Lady says
You know what makes me sad? When I drift apart from old old friends because of our different situations. One of my best friends of 15 years and I have been drifting apart over the past few years. She and her husband are childless-by-choice, which I have no problem with, and almost made that decision myself. They do all the things that I would be doing if I were childless– amazing vacations and weekends away multiple times a year, staying out late at cool new restaurants, rocking their careers.
And I’m a mom to a toddler who took a step-down job and get excited when I go to Target by myself and cant stay up past 9:00 p.m. She gets really awkward when we talk and makes comments about our different situations that seems clear to me that she is a little bit uncomfortable or out of her element and doesn’t know what to talk to me about anymore. Then I awkwardly keep changing the subject away from my kid because I feel awkward too. I keep hoping it’s going to get better in a few years when my kid is older and we can go off and have a fun vacation somewhere together? I don’t know. It just makes me sad.
Navy Attorney says
Can you meet her somewhere so there’s something to look at and talk about? Like at an art museum, or gallery nights – somewhere more of her turf so she’ll feel more comfortable (don’t bring toddler!) and will make you feel more in the scene. This is hard. Sometimes when talking to childless people, I feel like I did as a kid pretending to be hip to all things forbidden by my parents – the latest movies, MTv.
Anon in NYC says
That would bum me out too. Does it overall seem like she enjoys your kid and just maybe doesn’t know what to talk about, or that she’s disinterested? If it’s the former, can you invite her and her husband to visit and stay for a night or two, and perhaps get a babysitter for one night? My best friend had her first kid years before me and my husband were ready for kids. It was definitely an adjustment for me on how to relate to her/what to talk about, and how we spent time together changed as well (obviously). But I just kept trying to spend time with my friend so sometimes that meant a trip to the playground and then an afternoon at home to accommodate nap time, and other times that meant getting a babysitter and trying a new restaurant.
I think one of the things that made me (as a childless person) feel a little awkward is that I just knew so little about kids. I didn’t know what was “normal” or what kids should be doing at that stage. So I’d see a 2 year old and be like, “I can’t believe kiddo has a personality already,” as if that was something they didn’t develop until some time down the road. If you think that’s the case, perhaps talking about your kid more often would be helpful so she can feel like she understands what is happening in your life.
CPA Lady says
Well, she also lives a few hours away, so part of it is that we just rarely see each other. She’s not really into kids. I’m not saying she’s one of the people on the main s*te who would say she “hates children”, but she literally has zero interest in them and is baffled that her paralegal’s entire life changed when she had a kid. She’s happy for and supportive of me, but I don’t see ever going to a playground with her, for instance. I feel like for us to remain friends, I need to go to her turf. Which is fine, because her turf is fun. Maybe I need to plan a visit to go see her.
Meg Murry says
I think planning a visit to see her is a good idea – and then you’ll have something to talk about too, planning the trip. I think that regardless of where you are in your lives, it is hard to talk to people when you don’t see them very often, unless you talk so often that on one call they say “oh, we’re doing A, B and C this weekend” and then the next call you can say “so how were A, B and C? Was the food as good as you expected?” etc – whereas is awkward to say “oh, tell me about A, that restaurant you went to 2 months ago”
AnonNYC1 says
I have two close friends, and I think of them as filling different buckets. One friend has a substantially similar life to mine – two young kids, husband with a very demanding job, and employed as a lawyer but slightly leaned out for the time being. The other has a husband, no kids, and is positively crushing it in a very demanding but different profession (finance). Honestly, I just don’t talk kids with childless friend. If I need to vent on my kids or my husband’s schedule, my childless friend just has a different context. We’ve been going through a significant sleep regression with my daughter, and childless friend equates it to the really late nights she has while working. I had that schedule when working NYC Biglaw, and it’s just different that kid related sleepless nights. I can’t say it’s better or worse, it’s just different.
To keep our relationship close, I just focus on non-kid things with her. She genuinely loves my kids, and they love her. But, we only talk about them when she’s at my house, and she’s actually with us. But, she just doesn’t tend to be my sounding board when I need to really talk about them. It’s refreshing to have conversations where I’m not in the weeds on picky eaters, sleep regressions, and negotiating chores with husband, and if I really need to talk about that stuff, I call other friend. It does mean a lot of our conversations are about her stuff, and that’s not a bad thing. She comes over and hangs with the kids, and when we go out, I channel my pre-kid life and we gossip about her colleagues, work schedule, and long term goals. It’s too abstract for her to talk kids, I think. It gets awkward b/c it’s not a two way conversation. Whereas, I used to have a similar life to what she’s got now, so we connect on that level when it’s just the two of us. I’ve also tried to do better – but still could do better – about getting a babysitter and going out all four of us, no kids. And we just don’t talk about them.
MomAnon4This says
This. With my child-free & single MBA friend, I discuss data, news, community, old people family, hobbies, but not really kids unless she brings it up. I really like her! She provides me with great perspective. I think I help her be a good aunt, too
Onlyworkingmomintulsa says
This+1. Most of my friends are single and child-free, not sure how it turned out this way, but I just stick to non-kid topics with them because I always feel like I’m boring most of them when I bring up my kids. Sad, but true. However, I love talking about my kids with my parent-friends and look for input from them, and this site, of course : )
pockets says
I have the same issue with a friend I’ve also had for 15 years. He’s a childless guy. He’ll text me at like 11pm and tell me he’s going to a party near my apt and that I should join (in my past life I would have run out the door). He also has zero interest in my kid – never asks questions, never wants to know how she’s doing, is not interested in her nap schedule or how often she poops (I know, imagine that). We went to the beach once and he was like, Your baby just nags you all day? And cries for no reason? That’s annoying. And it is! I get it! But this is my life. It’s fine and I understand, it’s just a shock to me to transition out of that mode and think of entire conversations that don’t reference baby pockets.
We joke that we’ll have more compatible lives by the time we’re 70. But there is some truth about that – right now our lives don’t match up well, but eventually they will, and if it takes 2 (or 5) years, we’ll still be friends.
CHL says
I missed the hypnobirthing thread earlier this week but I wanted to share that when I asked about it, my midwife recommended podcasts by Rachel Yellin, who is based out of San Francisco. I listened to them every night for maybe 2 months before my birth. It’s so hard to tell whether it’s just the way things would have gone anyway, but I was in labor for 3 hours and had a natural birth because I just didn’t feel like I needed anything. I also did her podcasts for sleeping after the baby comes (sometimes you’re so tired but you just can’t relax bc baby might cry any minute!), parenting affirmations and nursing. Not the same as the full blown hypnobirthing course but it was a good option for me.
OP says
Thanks! I will check that out.
lsw says
I am not the OP but also grateful you posted this.
Anon says
We are debating a childcare change away from a nannyshare to a preschool setting. I’m really struggling with the weight of the decision b/c it will obviously significantly impact the other family and our nanny. Our nanny is trying to get pregnant, and it’s very likely she’ll be pregnant in the next few months (without going into specifics – assume for the sake of argument she’ll be pregnant this or next month). We would start the preschool in the fall. I really love our nanny, and I feel like I’m putting her in a terrible spot. There are definitely options – the other family could offer to pay her their share only and she’d stay with them (which she may want to take if she’s not feeling great), or they could try to find another baby for a temporary share until she goes out. Or, they might follow our lead and enroll their kid in another preschool. My guess is that they will offer her a job – but not want to start another share, and if she turns it down b/c she doesn’t want the pay cut, they’ll enroll their son in preschool.
Which mean we could put her in a spot where she’s unemployed and newly pregnant. I feel really, really bad about this. We could keep her until she goes out on leave, and then find a temporary nanny to fill in and start our kid the following fall (he’ll be 2 in August). But I can’t decide whether that’s ridiculous from our perspective, and I just feel overly protective of her b/c I’ve gotten close to her. Thoughts?
anne-on says
Why are you thinking of making the change to preschool? A nanny share at that age seems ideal to me as 6mos-2.5 yrs is about when my kid caught ALL THE GERMS, but I also loved the socialization and friend time that daycare provided (though the ‘friend’ aspect was more from about 2 onward, before that it was a lot of parallel play).
Anon says
It’s a cost savings, for one. It would mean our younger son could join our daughter at her school, and I’d have longer hours than I have now. I go both ways on this – but it would also mean the nannyshare would be out of my house. It’s nice having my son there, but it also means there are always three additional people around. I work from home a few days a week, and when son knows I’m there – he’s all over me. But, of course, if he goes to school, I wouldn’t see him as much.
Meg Murry says
Does she know that this is a strong possibility? I think you need to decide one way or another if you are sending your son to daycare in the fall and let her know NOW. If she has shared with you that she wants to get pregnant and you don’t share with her that you are planning to stop using her, that’s pretty crummy – and she might postpone her pregnancy plans until she has her next job lined up if you tell her now. Or at least she’ll be going into them with full knowledge.
I know you feel protective of her, but you would be giving her and the other family 4 months to figure out what they want to do. However, by giving her that much notice, I think you run the risk of her trying to find another position and leaving you before August – could you handle that? Or do you think she could handle adding a third kid to the nanny share this summer if she found someone before August?
Did you and the other family find each other, and then hire the nanny together? Or was she working for one of you first, and the other joined the share?
anne-on says
So we have a lot of young families on our block, and the parents and kids all get along well (everyone comes to bday parties, hangs out in each other’s backyards in the summer, etc.) but I wanted to try to become more friendly with the moms (selfishly, as I don’t have many local female friends). I was thinking of texting them with a ‘come over after bedtime and I’ll supply wine/snacks’, but some of them are on the quieter/shier side, so I thought an activity of sorts might help break the ice. What would you suggest? Book club seems a bit more like homework, but I’m at a loss for other fun low key activities that provide some easy conversation topics.
JJ says
I think that’s a great idea. My book club had a total “fail” the last time we met and just forgot to pick a book to read for our meeting. Instead, the person hosting supplied those adult coloring books, colored pencils, snacks, and wine. And we had a great time.
Spirograph says
I would love if one of my neighbors did this, and I definitely fall into the quieter/shier category. Wine and snacks ARE an activity in my book, but if you feel like you need something else, I like the coloring book suggestion. I was going to say a board or card game, but that doesn’t work as well if people might have varying arrival times.
PhilanthropyGirl says
I’m also a quieter/shier type person. You’ll find that in one-on-one, or maybe just small group (2-4) people, many quiet/shy people come out of their shells a little. Wine and snacks are good!
I think you can do board/card games if you pick things with short rounds so that people can jump in as they arrive.
Faye says
I love this idea, an activity makes it a little more likely to be attended than just “come hang out”. You’re right that book club seems like a little too much, and too easy to ditch if you forgot to read the book.
Adult coloring books. (great idea JJ!)
Game night – you could play some of those newer games like Cards Against Humanity or Monikers or LCR or Outburst.
TableTopics – just have some cards out to start conversation
Culture Theme – have snacks/drinks around a theme. Like empanadas with Argentinian wine or chips/fancy salsa with margaritas. Easy to start a conversation around “oh I found this recipe/theme on Pinterest, it’s the first thing I’ve tried from that site”
And then soon you won’t need to keep the activity, the meetings will just happen naturally.
layered bob says
I love this idea. I probably come off as remote/uninterested just because I’m busy (like everyone) but if a neighbor texted me this I would be really excited to come.
Anon says
I would love this! I think coloring books out would be fun.
layered bob says
My whole adult life I’ve been ~15-20 pounds above my “ideal” weight. I never thought about it much because I was healthy, exercised a lot, felt good in my body, and could maintain that weight without thought or effort, so why bother.
Well, nursing has been a (3,500 calorie/day!) miracle diet for me and I’m currently at or below my “ideal” weight. I feel good here and would like to stay this weight. But, we’re in the process of weaning and I’ll soon be starting the next big thing in my career, and I’m worried that no brstfeeding + more stress is going to lead to inadvertent weight gain. I have NO idea about how to maintain a lower weight – no idea about how much I can eat, or how to tell if I’m gaining weight, or what to do about it if I am, since, yeah, I’ve never thought about it/managed my weight before.
What should I expect post-weaning? I don’t own a scale… maybe I should buy one? (I’m tall so my weight can fluctuate 10 pounds before my clothes feel any different).
Maddie Ross says
I hate to tell you this, but I gained it back. I started pregnancy the first time at 143. At six weeks post-partum, I was 143 (thank you nursing). I nursed for 13 months and at the tail end, I weighed 133. My lowest ever in my adult life. 6 months post weaning, I was back to 143. Where I currently remain, even though I work out 4-5 days a week. To hold on to that lower weight, I’d have to really drastically change my diet, which I’m not willing to do.
layered bob says
yeah, if the weight comes back I’m not too worried… I’ve got a lot of other stuff to do besides worry about how much my bottom jiggles. But would like to take advantage of this accidental weight loss if possible!
NewMomAnon says
I lost weight after weaning, but am still 10 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. A friend gained 10 pounds after weaning.
With all the info on how diets affect metabolism, I think I’m falling into the camp of “generally make good food choices, eat when you’re hungry and don’t eat otherwise, try to hit 10K steps a day, and don’t bother with the scale.” Maybe I’ll change my mind at a later date, but I’ve got more important things to do.
CHJ says
I lost 10 lbs after weaning and kept it off, but now I can’t lose a single pound past that. Not even kidding – I’m training for an ultramarathon right now AND it’s vegetable/grilling season, and yet I weigh within 0.2 lbs of what I weighed during Christmas Cookie and Hibernate season.
That said, a scale is really helpful. It’s easier to monitor your weight regularly and make small adjustments than to try to lose 10 lbs at once.
RDC says
Agree on a scale being helpful — it’s definitely easier for me to take note when I’ve gained 2-3 pounds and focus more on good habits / cutting out the extra junk I’ve been eating rather than waiting for it to be 5-10 pounds and having to do a more intentional “diet.” BUT I also limit weighing myself to once a week (always the same day, which helps a bit with regular weekend fluctuations) which helps me avoid becoming too neurotic about it.
Meg Murry says
Yes, I’d suggest buying a scale and weighing yourself only once a week or so – and don’t worry unless you see an upward trend for two weeks or more.
That said, can you identify what habits that might cause you to gain weight might come back, so you can make plans to avoid them now? For instance, does more stress at work mean you are more likely to eat at a restaurant for lunch or dinner instead of packing a lunch or making a healthy dinner, and can you get in the habit of meal planning now? Have you been not really drinking since pregnancy and nursing, and do you think you could limit yourself to “only X glasses of wine a week” or “only wine on Fridays and Saturdays”? Or are you more likely to skip the gym when you are busy at work, and do you need to find a blcok of classes to pre-pay for so you will go?
One little thing that I picked up from weight watchers that has helped is to pay attention to serving size. So if I’m going to eat a bowl of cereal, I look at the side of the box and get out the measuring cups and measure out 1 cup of cereal and 1/2 a cup of milk, or whatever one serving is. When I finish that one serving, I stop and think about if I’m still hungry – and if I am, I can go get a second – but I find that I often don’t really want that second serving, but I would have eaten it if it was in front of me.
Kate says
Try talking to a nutritionist, and try beginning to log your food in a tracker like myfitnesspal now while you’re still nursing. Also, for most people, nursing only burns an extra 600 calories per day, so you may find your diet doesn’t have to change radically. I nursed for a year, and I got within 10 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight before weaning. (I was tall/relatively heavy to start, so 10 lbs was the same dress size.) Based on my aunts’ experiences, I expected to drop that weight right after I stopped nursing. Instead, I started drinking more once I didn’t have to worry about alcohol in my breast milk, and I found myself starting to finish things from my daughter’s plate, etc.
layered bob says
oh this is a good point – I bet alcohol is where I might pick up a lot of calories without realizing it. I’ve been drinking a seltzer in the evening rather than the beer that was my pre-pregnancy habit – I should make note to just stick with the seltzer, at least mostly.
Meg Murry says
Yup, when I had a surprise pregnancy, I actually lost 5 lbs between my first appointment and the next month, and the only thing I had really changed was the wine and beer I typically had been drinking.
Anon says
I gained 55 or lbs during pregnancy, lost it quickly PP, and was 15 – 20 lbs below pre-preg weight while nursing. After I weaned I ended up exactly where I was pre-pregnancy. My body apparently just has a ‘baseline.’
I’m holding on to my ‘skinny’ nursing clothes in case I’m ever again nursing and down to a size 2 (with an E+ chest, oy)
Anonymous says
I know a few people who lost and kept off large amounts of weight (more than the 20 pounds you are talking about). Every one of them cut out a food group: one is vegan, one paleo, one gluten free and one cut out all processed sugar (he has twice yearly dessert binges). Basically none of them can eat dessert, most don’t consume alcohol, restaurants are a pain and mindless snacking is almost impossible.
I think those are good lessons about eating. Fill up with lean protein and veggies and come up with reasons to stay away from processed stuff. Also each of these people have a go to treat. No sugar LOVES honeycrisp apples, vegan is a fancy coffee with soy milk, paleo makes these coconut things and gluten free makes these sweet potato/ banana pancakes. So build some treats into a diet too!
Anonymous says
I lost as much of the weight as I was going to while nursing and then after weaning lost some more because I could finally run as fast and as long as I wanted to, thanks to my boobs going back from an F to a C…I’m nursing again with #2 and I’m at an F/G and it really limits what I can do physically. I can’t wait to stop in six months and get my body back…
JEB says
I hit my pre-pregnancy weight easily while nursing. Sadly, when my supply began to drop, I continued eating like a linebacker (I was soooo hungry while nursing/pumping!) and I gained like 15 pounds in just a few months. It was incredibly disappointing but probably preventable. I should have modified my eating as my milk output dropped.
Momata says
Potty training question . . . We are thinking of trying a 3-day boot camp for my 2.5yo daughter over Memorial Day weekend. The goal is just to train for daytime. But — we are going out of town the weekend after that, leaving the kids (daughter at issue and baby) with their grandparents for Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Should we postpone trying to potty train in case it’s only partially successful, leaving Grandma to clean up messes in addition to everything else? I.e., what’s the normal “tail” on boot camp? Also, will having different caregivers (we’ve never left the kids before) undo or regress any potty training that does stick?
pockets says
I am now in the midst of potty training my kid for a second time. The first time was right before her second birthday and obviously didn’t go well. She’s now 2 yrs 3 months.
The tail is long. The first time we were closing in on 3 weeks and we were not even close to the point where she would tell us she had to pee. We’re a week into the second try and she still doesn’t tell us (but can at least hold it for a little while). So it’s really more like me fighting with her every hour to go sit on the toilet, praying that she doesn’t pee in the stroller or on the carseat when we go out, and studiously moving her off carpets when we’re in public places.
IMO, the 3 day thing is not meant for 2.5 year olds. In 3 days they might figure out the hold it/release concept, but they’re not going to be very good at it. Obviously your older daughter might get it sooner, but from what I understand the 3 days thing is really meant for older kids (3+ years) who have some familiarity with the pee-on-the-toilet thing and need to be potty trained RIGHT NOW to get into school.
THAT SAID, my daughter is terrible at peeing on the toilet with me (fights every time) BUT with her teachers at daycare, she is a champ. She will have accidents with me at home but none at daycare (this was true the first time too). So, your daughter might actually do better with grandma. Just tell grandma to roll up the rug.
Anonymama says
FWIW, my experience was vastly different than this: we did the bootcamp style potty training at 2 yrs 2 months, and after day 2 kiddo would tell us when he needed to go, or just go sit on the potty himself. Only very occasional accidents after that, if he was very busy with something or told us he had to go and we were not proximate to a bathroom. There is a book called “potty training in a day” or something similar to that, and that is what we used, and it was pretty effective.
pockets says
Ugh that sounds awesome.
Anonymama says
Yes, just wanted people to know that potty training is not always long and painful! It did help that kiddo has a bladder like a camel, so he could go for a while without needing a potty.
Meg Murry says
I wouldn’t do it just because it would be pretty annoying for the grandma to have to deal with. Even if she ‘gets” it and doesn’t have accidents, in the early days of potty training kids need to be taken very often – like every 45 minutes to 1.5 hours – 2 hours is pushing it. And it will take a while to get the hang of going away from home where she’ll have a little potty or insert and stepstool or whatever – so if she is staying at Grandma’s house she’ll probably have trouble with it. Public restrooms also take a while to work up to (the toilets are tall, the hand driers and auto flushers are loud, etc) so you would probably be limiting the grandparents ability to go do anything fun with them. Also, is Grandpa going to be an equal helper on the weekend, or is Grandma going to be stuck with the bulk of the kid duty? Asking them to handle a brand new barely trained kid plus a baby is a lot.
But it totally depends on your relationship with the Grandparents whether this will be an ok idea or a disaster. My mother was the one that was convinced my younger son was ready to be trained when I was iffy, and she and daycare actually did the bulk of the training, more than I did. So if you think the grandparents will actually be down for it you could do boot camp this weekend and pull-ups for Grandmas, and then do another “no pull-ups, just underwear” boot camp again this summer as a final way to kick the pull-ups.
(No longer) Overdue says
Just wanted to thank everyone for the Internet hugs last week. Certain commenters had suggested that I just take Fmla the very next day. I did that and had a great day with my husband (homemade waffles and a very long walk). I was in labor that night and ended up with a routine (not easy!) labor and delivery and the baby was born Friday morning. I giggled while holding my little guy as my husband called my work, aplogizing for violating protocol by calling 15 minutes late but that the baby was 10 minutes old and that I’d be out for a while. I’m totally In love with my little guy and recovering well. I really can’t thank you all enough.
pockets says
hooray! Congrats and enjoy!
AEK says
Thanks for letting us know! Congratulations!!!
layered bob says
congrats!
lsw says
So happy for you!
MomAnon4This says
Yay! I was wondering!
Spirograph says
Congratulations!
Anon says
Yeah!! Congrats!
Betty says
Congratulations!!
NewMomAnon says
I have another potty training question. My kiddo has been “training” for a couple months now, and still regularly has 1-3 accidents a day. We are lucky if we have 2-3 days without accidents in a given week, and generally those days are weekend days.
Our big weakness is nap time. At home, I put her in diapers for nap. But daycare has refused to do diapers for nap time, and she has post-nap accidents nearly every day it feels like. She frequently has another accident at the end of the day after her regular teachers have left and the aftercare teacher takes over.
I feel so bad for her, and so bad for myself. I’m tired of doing potty laundry in a coin-operated shared laundry room! What to do? I know she would protest going back to diapers but I’m so ready….
Anon in NYC says
Can she wear pullups for naptime? This way she can go to the bathroom immediately after her nap but not be embarrassed if she can’t make it. And she can change out of pullups while in the bathroom.
If not, can you stress to the daycare teachers that she needs to go to the bathroom immediately upon waking up, and either right before her primary teacher leaves or immediately after the aftercard teacher takes over? I mean, I’m sure the teachers don’t want her to keep having accidents. I know a daycare environment can be hectic and they can’t always drop everything to immediately tend to one kid, but they should be setting her up to succeed here.
Meg Murry says
How old is she? Our daycare had the youngest kids on a potty schedule – so every day at 9:30, 10:15, 11 … they would take them for a potty break. Can you talk to the regular teacher and late teacher about how they need to enforce a potty break, because she probably won’t tell them?
Any chance she’s wetting herself because she fears she’ll get in trouble for getting up during nap time? Or any chance she’s waking up and just laying there, but not hustling to the potty right away?
Otherwise, yes, pull-ups for nap. Not being able to hold it during nap-time is extremely common, for some kids until age 4 or 5. I get not wanting to use pull-ups during the regular day, but sometimes they are necessary for naptime.
Last, for yourself – you can rinse the potty clothes in the bathtub and hang to dry, then collect in a mesh bag or wetbag until you have enough to do a load (wash the mesh bag or wetbag with the laundry so it doesn’t stink). It’s annoying, but better than doing a load every day or two.