This little thermos has served us SO well over the past 1.5 years (at least?!). We bought it when Jack started daycare so he could have cold milk all day (they had a refrigerator there, but we didn’t entirely trust it — and he often wanted to drink whatever was left over on the way home). Amazingly, any milk left in the thermos was still cold. This is the first winter that he’s getting into hot cocoa, so I’ve been using it to put his lukewarm hot cocoa in — sometimes he drinks it immediately; sometimes he forgets about it and finds it an hour later, but it’s still warm. It’s easy to clean, not too prone to the grossness of toddler straws (some of our other straws seem to be growing a colony every time I look inside), and pretty darn leakproof. It was $19, but is now marked to $13.49 at Amazon (where it’s eligible for Prime). Thermos FOOGO Phases Stainless Steel Straw Bottle, Blue/Yellow, 10 Ounce
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Sales of Note…
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – 2,100+ new markdowns!
- Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off all sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything; extra 30% off orders $100+
- Eloquii – $39 select styles; 50% off select styles
- J.Crew – 25-50% off wear-now styles; extra 50% off select sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything; 50% off women’s dresses; extra 60% off clearance
- Loft – 60% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – Up to 40% off your order
- Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale: Extra 50% off markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ sale items (for women)! Check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kid shoe brands on sale.
Kid/Family Sales
- J.Crew – 25-40% off kids’ styles; extra 50% off select sale
- Lands’ End – Up to 40% off your order
- Hanna Andersson – 30% off all kids’ & baby clothing; PJs on sale from $25; up to 75% off clearance
- Carter’s – Rule the School Sale: Up to 50% off; up to 40% off baby essentials
- Old Navy – 50% off back-to-school styles; 30% off your order, even clearance
- Target – Backpacks from $7.99; toddler & kids’ uniforms on sale from $5
- Pottery Barn Baby – Summer sale: up to 50% off
- Nordstrom – Limited time sales on brands like Maxi-Cosi and Bugaboo.
- Strolleria – Free infant seat car adapter with any Thule stroller; 30% off all Peg-Perego gear in our exclusive Incanto Collection
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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?
CHJ says
Any advice on dealing with separation anxiety at daycare drop off? DS is 18 months old and got very clingy over the holidays. I think the combination of travel, jet lag, and staying at my parents’ house for a week threw him off his routine, and he has been very mama-mama-mama since we got home. But daycare drop offs have been absolutely awful. He clings to me like a crazed chimpanzee baby, screaming and turning red, and then screams MAMAMAMAMAMAAAAAAAA once I put him down. His daycare teachers told me that he cried for 30 minutes after we left yesterday, and then cried for an hour in the afternoon once the other parents started showing up for pick up. He woke up at 2:30 last night and started screaming “MAMA!” from his crib, too. He’s been at this daycare for over a year and normally he loves it there, but he’s not doing well with the post-holiday transition.
Any advice on how to help him cope? I hate seeing him suffer like this, and of course it pings all sorts of working mother guilt!
Spirograph says
Is he any better if one of the teachers is holding him when you leave? My son is just a couple months older and has always hated if I put him down and try to leave him, but as long as someone else is holding him he is either fine or calms down once I’m out of sight (or so I’m told).
Either way, lots of sympathy/empathy from me. We had a rough few days of drop off, too, after daycare was closed for a week over Christmas; I think my son got used to having mom/dad/grandma around all the time. He also started waking up in the wee hours of the morning again last week…we caved on letting him come sleep with us, and it may be coincidence, but that seems to have helped a lot. We have to re-break that habit again now, but I’m rationalizing that he needed to be slowly weaned back to less-constant contact. (Also, it is very hard to resist when he’s crying, “mama dada up please I want snuggle!”)
POSITA says
Is he just clingy to you? Could daddy do drop off for a few days?
hoola hoopa says
+1 to Daddy drop offs
I’m sorry. I don’t have much other advice other than reassurance that he should be back to routine within 2-4 weeks.
Burgher says
My husband usually does daycare duty. He is gone for work all week so I’ve had to do it, and I didn’t realize just how huge of a psychological help it is for me.
CHJ says
Thanks everyone for the advice and empathy! I think daddy drop-offs are a good idea. He’s clingy with DH, too, but not to such an intense degree. And normally he would do ok getting a cuddle from one of his favorite teachers, but it’s just not working for him this week. Poor guy.
BeenThere NotLikeThat says
If you can’t trust the refrigerator at daycare, what can you trust?
Wow.
I’m sure it’s a great product, but just… wow.
Signed,
A former preschool teacher, that had many, many working refrigerators and many applicable laws and regulations about how to store children’s milk and drinks.
mascot says
This makes me laugh. I don’t think I gave the refrigerator any scrutiny during the daycare days. To each her own.
pockets says
I probably wouldn’t even notice the fridge, but it doesn’t seem that unreasonable to not want to store milk in a refrigerator that was constantly being opened throughout the day.
hoola hoopa says
I also found that intriguing, but I’ve certainly put up with oddities when I overall felt like my kids were getting excellent care.
I will put in another vote for thermos products, though! Fogo sippy and Funtainer straw bottle in particular. Seriously, don’t bother with anything else, especially those temptingly-cute siggs.
RR says
That kind of threw me too, but different parents make different choices I guess.
BethC says
Ha! I had the same thought.
KJ says
Dear Daycare:
8:30 am, i.e. when I’ve already been at work for 30 minutes, is not the ideal time to announce that you are closed for the day due to snow.
No love,
KJ
PregAnon says
Ok ladies, here is my first real question. I’m about 5 weeks, and my chin is breaking out something fierce! Sounds like Salicylic acid is ok for use during pregnancy, so I’m looking at the Philosophy products to start…but I would LOVE some help on this.
About six months before we started TTC, I went off my spironolactone which was keeping me break-out free. Now I’m really a mess. Help please?
Also thank you to the posters that chimed in on my first post around New Year’s. Still totally freaked out, husband is still super excited.
PregLawyer says
I got the Clarisonic Mia 2 for Christmas and have been using it with a face wash with salicylic acid. Originally I was using it once a day, but now I’m switching to every other day with salicylic and then using a gentler face wash on alternate days (still using the Mia every day, though). I have oily t-zone and things have gotten slightly worse in the chin region since I got pregnant. Now that I’ve been using the Mia it’s awesome. I didn’t have a purge period either. I just use a Neutrogena face wash with salicylic acid, and right now I’m using the face wash that came with the Mia for the gentler version. For some weird reason the Mia doesn’t instruct you to use it on your chin (it has ‘zones’ that you focus on for 20 or 10 seconds at a time). I just run it for another 20 seconds on my chin and jaw line.
If anything my skin got a little too dry with the salicylic acid every day. I had been using it every day before I got the Mia and never had dryness issues. Now I’m just moisturizing like crazy and things are looking good.
PregAnon says
Any recommendations on where to get the Clarisonic? I’m looking at the 3 or maybe the Pro, since I get patches on my back and the Pro has a body brush / setting too.
KJ says
I also had to go off spiro when I was TTC, and it sucked! Based on my research, I didn’t feel comfortable using salicylic acid during the early part of my pregnancy, so I kept things relatively in check with a Clairisonic and occasionally using products with glycolic acid.
Katarina says
My OB said anything over the counter is fine during pregnancy. My skin was fairly well controlled with salicylic acid face wash and benzoyl peroxide cream before pregnancy, but nothing worked during pregnancy, my skin was oily and broken out. It got a little better in the third trimester. A lot of my bad feelings about how I looked while pregnant came from how bad my skin was.
anon says
Congrats!
My skin was terrible in the first trimester – thankfully, it seems to be the one thing that’s improved for me as time has gone on. I like my Clarisonic (I separate the brush head from the tool after every use and wash it with soap and hot water, and let it air dry separately to help combat the bacteria issue) with my face wash followed by a 10% glycolic acid product. I also use benzoyl peroxide in the mornings.
Newly pregnant says
My understanding is that salicylic acid/benzoyl peroxide is not recommended during pregnancy. My derm recommended Belli Skincare, which I can’t use because my skin reacts to some of the ingredients. Once I hit 12 weeks, my derm prescribed a cream for me but he said he wouldn’t have prescribed it in the first trimester. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name (I believe it starts with an F), but it is a Category B drug (as most acne products are).
Pogo says
I’ve also read that salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide should not be used during pregnancy. I’m curious if anyone knows (if they’ve spoken with a derm or OB), why that is? I can’t imagine how the 1% salicylic acid in my facewash could get into my bloodstream and hurt the fetus? (Not saying I don’t believe it, but it seems far-fetched)
Philanthropy Girl says
Yes – I also heard that both products are not recommended during pregnancy. As someone mentioned above, once I hit second trimester my skin really cleared up. If you’d like to try something more natural, egg yolk face masks and oatmeal cleanses really helped with my bad breakouts.
PregAnon says
Oh geez I hope I didn’t already screw it up. I dug out some salicyclic acid Neutrogena face wash last night and used it.
I’m going to break it, I just know it. Back to Purpose and maybe I’ll order a Clarisonic?
Katarina says
My OB said they were fine as long as it was not prescription strength (and she seemed to think I was being silly worrying about it). I think they are mostly not much studied in pregnancy and may be absorbed through the skin. For a face wash, especially, I can’t imagine much was absorbed, especially because the amount is so low.
anon says
My doctor’s office said benzoyl peroxide in OTC products is fine.
Just an acnedote says
My sympathies! While I’m not pregnant, I did go off the pill a few months ago, and wanted to avoid the terrible cystic breakouts I’ve had the two other times I went off BC. I’ve been using Alba Botanica’s AcneDote Srub (2% salicylic acid) for face and body (I tend to also break out on my neck, chest, and back) in the shower. I’m in absolute love with it- my face looks like it did when I was on the pill! My understanding from speaking with my dermatologist is that salicylic acid in a face wash isn’t much of a worry during pregnancy since it’s not prescription strength and largely gets rinsed off. I also use a 5% benzoyl peroxide spot treatment when any zits start to crop up.
I moisturize with Trader Joe’s SPF 15 face lotion which is a steal, non-comedogenic, and relatively natural. I also use Dove soap at night to lightly wash my face, as otherwise my face is a flaky mess in the winter.
Good luck! It sounds so vain, but breakouts were one of my big worries in going off the pill and TTC.
Spirograph says
My face broke out like crazy in my first pregnancy, and my doctor also said OTC anti-acne products were fine, but did recommend avoiding stuff that’s marketed as concentrated or maximum strength just to be on the safe side. Honestly, none of it helped anyway, and like Katarina said above, it really took a psychological toll on me — more so even than the weight gain, I think.
You might want to test going totally the opposite route with just a mild cleanser like Cetaphil and moisturizer/sunscreen, and leave it at that. That’s what I’ve done this pregnancy and my skin has been so. much. better (until this week, but everything goes to pot at 39 weeks anyway). Of course, I might just be luckier this time around, but it’s worth a shot!
Anon says
One of the things that really affected my breakouts was the brand of prenatal vitamins I was on. I had run out of the natural based vitamin I had been using, and switched to a generic brand at CVS. I broke out for a week before I was able to get back to the natural food store to get my original prenatal vitamin and the break out cleared up almost immediately. That said, reaching the second trimester helps a lot too!
PregLawyer says
Stroller recs?
I know there are a million posts on the internet about this, so if it’s boring to you, please ignore. I just thought I’d throw it out there.
I looked at the Stokke and the Bugaboo yesterday at Nordstrom and liked both. The Stokke is beautiful, but seems kind of difficult to breakdown. I’m a city dweller and have a small car. I need to make sure that whatever stroller I get can break down and fit easily in a small backseat or trunk.
I know the Bugaboo is generally highly-ranked, but does anyone have any specific thoughts? Is it actually worth the high price?
pockets says
I think both of those options are a bad choice for a city dweller with a small car. The Stokke is cool looking and trendy but is (IMO) not actually a good stroller – doesn’t handle well, hard to collapse, etc. The Bugaboo doesn’t collapse with the seat and the big wheels make it hard to get into a trunk. I would get the Uppababy Cruz (smaller wheels, fits into my tiny car’s trunk) or the Uppababy Vista if you want the bassinet and the bigger wheels.
JJ says
I have both Uppababys and agree that you should look at them. We LOVE them (the big one for bigger trips, the smaller as an umbrella stroller). The Vista handles amazingly – you can easily push/steer with one hand. It also collapses with the seat attached. We’ve flown three times with the Cruz and absolutely love it, as well.
RR says
Just a note on travel–if you buy their travel bag, they guarantee against damage.
OCAssociate says
+1 on the UppaBaby Vista. I went with the Bumbleride Indie and wish I had gotten the Vista. Everyone I know who has it, loves it. And if you plan to have a second child, it’s easy to add-on.
I don’t know anyone who loves their Bugaboo chameleon, other than enjoying the cache. It’s so heavy and impractical and huge.
anne-on says
Sounds weird, but the bassinet frame for the Vista which turns into a hamper is probably the most odd ‘I didn’t think I’d love that as much as I do’ piece. We only used the bassinet with my son for a short time but the fact that it turns into a double hamper is pretty awesome.
JJ says
Absolutely! That hamper is used in our nursery every day now. I promise I’m not an Uppababy shill, I just really love the products.
mascot says
Loved my UB Vista. But, I have a suburban lifestyle with an SUV. My friend who walked everywhere in the city (no real public transportation) loved her Vista too because it was a steady ride and lots of storage. I then moved on to a UB umbrella stroller based on how well the Vista held it and it was durable as well. As a brand, I’ve been pleased and I’d probably look at the UB Cruz if I was in the market.
In the end, get the stroller that is easiest for you to fold and maneuver in your lifestyle.
Anonymous says
Any reason you’re not looking at UppaBaby? I loved my Vista, but my SIL uses the smaller version (Cruz) and finds it is much easier for her NYC apartment. We went to a UppaBaby umbrella stroller once my son was bigger and he loves it too.
PregLawyer says
I’m definitely looking at Uppababy now! Thank you all so much – the Uppababy is exactly what I’m looking for.
hoola hoopa says
I was a city dweller with a seriously small trunk with my first two kids and LOVED my city mini. Although I’d seriously consider the City Select if you think you’ll have more than one child. It didn’t exist when my first was born, but I would have loved the bassinet option. You can get a bassinet for the city mini, but I feel like it’s a bit awkward and the snap and go worked well enough. I’ve never known anyone to be disappointed by their Select.
anon says
Fellow city dweller. Going with a car seat frame to start, then still deciding between a City Mini and one of the UppaBaby models. I see a fair number of Bugaboos still, but the lack of ease in the fold took it out of the running for me.
RDC says
Ditto — we just have the Snap N Go frame for now, but were planning to get a City Mini once the baby is big enough (5 weeks now!). Anyone have thoughts on City Mini vs. UppaBaby?
RR says
I looked at both and can’t even remember what really made the decision for me. I had a pro/con chart. The City Mini has the easiest fold on the market. Pull a strap, and it’s done. I think I liked the size or weight and the handling of the UPPABaby better, but they were both great.
pockets says
One thing I don’t like about the City Mini is that it can’t parent-face. You can use the carseat adapter but it’s bulky and annoying, and makes the stroller less convenient to fold. I like parent facing because a) I spend so little time with my child as is that I’d like to look at her while strolling; and b) if you have a fussy baby (and you might!) you will want the ease of being able to talk to the baby, stick the paci back in, etc. The Cruz and the Vista both have seats that can face either direction.
RDC says
Good to know, thanks! Hadn’t even thought about which way the baby faces.
RR says
I did a ton of research before buying a stroller, and I wouldn’t do a Bugaboo if you are going to be putting it in and out of a car. I went into Baby #3 (but first single baby because #1/#2 were a combo deal) with my heart set on a Bugaboo. But you have to take the seat off to fold the thing. Great for someone who isn’t folding it and taking it in and out of a car all the time; giant PITA for someone who is. We ended up with an UPPABaby Cruz, but I don’t know that I’d recommend that with a small car either. It’s fairly large/heavy even when folded, but it’s great for my suburban car life.
RR says
Just realized I repeated what everyone else said, but +20 to the UPPABaby. Thought I’d add quickly on the Vista vs. Cruz decision for us. The big difference is the bassinet, and ultimately I figured that when the baby was small enough to need the bassinet it would probably still be in the infant carseat. The infant car seat attachment for the UPPABaby Cruz (NOTE–not the same as the one for the Vista; be careful when ordering) is only like $30 on Amazon. So it saved a few hundred dollars for a feature that looks awesome (the bassinet) but that I had to be honest with myself that I wouldn’t end up using much, if at all.
Love the Cruz. Considering one of their super light umbrellas (the G-Lite I think?) for when my daughter is a little older.
pockets says
I have a Cruz and a Mazda 3 and it works and there is even space for some other stuff. The wheels on the Vista (or the Bugaboo) would have been much trickier – I’m not sure they’d even fit in the trunk while still on the stroller.
I used the infant snugseat so that I could use the Cruz from birth (snugseat would work on Vista seat as well I’m sure). I think that I would have liked the bassinet so that I could have the baby sleep on trips without a subsequent transfer from stroller to crib. Not sure that convenience is worth $300 though.
RR says
I think I forget how big car trunks are. We have an SUV and a big crossover, but we have three kids and so utilize all 3 rows of each, leaving less space for storage in the back. It fits fine in that space though.
We didn’t have the snugseat either. When the baby was that small, we used the car seat adapter exclusively.
And per your above post, I now recall the options in seat configurations being one of my pros in my pro/con chart.
Newly pregnant says
I’m making this decision now too. For background: I live in a city, in an apartment, and will mostly walk or use mass transit with the baby. We don’t own a car. We’ve decided to accept a Chicco car seat from a friend, which also affected my decision making process. Weight, ease of fold, and storage were my biggest priorities.
I’ve gone back and forth on the UppaBaby Vista, UppaBaby Cruz, City Mini, Bugaboo Chameleon, and the Bugaboo Bee 3. It boiled down to the Cruz and the Bee 3, and in the end we’re going to get the Bugaboo Bee 3. Here are my thoughts:
UppaBaby Vista – love it, but it’s big and heavy. Love that the bassinet is included, and the storage. Really liked the fact that UppaBaby makes a car seat that snaps right in without any adapter. However, since we’re getting a car seat from a friend, we’d need an adapter. The fold is easy, but requires two hands. Also, the stroller won’t fold with the car seat adapter, so we’d have to remove it to fold. Weighs a ton, and I’d be concerned about navigating narrow store aisles.
UppaBaby Cruz – a lot of the same pluses as the Vista, but it’s smaller and lighter. Bassinet is not included, but can be added. Storage is still good (albeit smaller than the Vista). Same fold as the Vista. UppaBaby car seat works with the stroller, but it can’t fold with a car seat adapter. Not too heavy, but just over 20 lbs.
City Mini – loved the weight and the fold of the toddler seat, but did not love how the adapters locked into the stroller. I had visions of me dropping the baby.
Bugaboo Chameleon – hate hate hate the fold. With a car seat, you have to remove the adapters to fold the frame, and when using the toddler seat you have to remove the seat to fold the frame. I could not fathom breaking down a stroller into two separate parts while holding a squirming baby.
Bugaboo Bee 3 – love the fold. It is the only stroller that we tested can still fold with the Chicco car seat adapter attached. Bassinet not included, but can be added. It is very lightweight, and when it folds it can be carried over a shoulder. Fold can be done one-handed. Storage is not as good as the Cruz or the Vista, but that’s to be expected since it is smaller than both of those. The max weight limit is less than the Cruz and the seat is smaller, which is a con (what if my kid is huge?), but I hope that because it is so lightweight that I can delay having to buy an umbrella stroller for longer.
You can find a lot of information online (especially from UppaBaby – they’re really great about giving you dimensions and stuff), but I’d really recommend test driving all of these strollers in a store, and breaking down/folding the strollers. We must have visited two different stores about 6 times before landing on the Bee 3. Plus, talk to the salespeople. I was worried that they would try to upsell me, but they had a lot of really great information. Hope that helps!
RR says
The UPPABaby strollers DO fold with carseat adapters, no problem. We had a Graco seat (the UPPABaby wasn’t out yet) with the Graco seat adapter, but it absolutely folded with the carseat adapter.
ETA: It could be the Chicco adapter works differently, but it’s definitely not universal that you can’t fold the strollers with the carseat adapters. (And the Chicco one is pretty similar in profile to the Graco one.)
JJ says
We had the Peg Perego adapter on our Vista and the stroller folded fine with it. I never used the Chicco one, so I don’t know if it’s the case with that one.
anne-on says
Ditto, our vista folded just fine with the car seat frame on it. Plus, it was the only stroller I saw that stood upright on its own wheels without tipping when folded. That made it take up a loooot less space in our home.
Newly pregnant says
Good point – it might not be all adapters. We were told by multiple people that the Vista/Cruz would not fold with the Chicco adapters.
Philanthropy Girl says
I really love my Britax b-safe/b-agile travel system. LO was just born in September, so the weather hasn’t really been conducive to a ton of use, but it has handled every job I’ve thrown at it. The b-safe infant car seat has excellent safety ratings, and snaps into the b-agile stroller. My sister preferred the B.O.B. stroller, which is also compatible with the b-safe carseat (she thought it handled the rough terrain better than the Britax, although I have not had any issues on that front). The Britax pops up and folds down easily and although it’s a bit bulky it is reasonably light weight, and we never had any problems packing it in our sedan along with all the necessaries for a two-week trip.
I’m not familiar with the other brands mentioned – we were on a limited budget, so the Britax fit our budget better than many of the others mentioned here.
Happy shopping!
Merabella says
This is the one we are looking at. What I did was went to a baby store and attempted to breakdown/carry the carseats by myself, if I couldn’t do it – it got axed from the list. This is an affordable system, with lots of options. I also like Lucie’s List for an extensive look at all types of baby gear.
Philanthropy Girl says
We found an excellent deal from Just Kids Store on our b-Agile travel system. I kept hearing how Diapers.com was the best price anyone found on travel systems, but a last minute search turned up Just Kids Store. I was thrilled with the price and timely shipping.