This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Now that I don’t often go far from home, my wallet has shrunk down to a card case. I’ve been on the hunt for an upgrade, and this one from Saint Laurent might be it.
This zip card case is made from luxurious, textured calfskin leather. It also has some very practical aspects: five exterior card slots and a zip-top closure to keep your cash and change secure.
It comes in three go-with-anything colors: black, “blanc vintage” (beige), and “crema soft” (a beautiful, but very impractical, cream).
The card case is $325 at Nordstrom (in crema soft) and YSL (black, blanc vintage).
Two more affordable options — both available at Nordstrom — are from Kate Spade ($88) and Longchamp ($80).
Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:
Click here to see our top posts!
And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
anon says
Happy Tuesday, my DH and I are both positive for Covid. I’m on day 7, he tested positive yesterday. The kids have zero symptoms and tests are in such short supply that I can’t find anyone willing to test them until/unless they show symptoms. Both are vaccinated, but so are we. What a cluster. I want to throw things. We’ve been careful for two years and managed to get this anyway.
Anon says
Do you guys have any symptoms? My family went through a similar experience a few weeks ago where two of us tested positive – but no one ever actually got sick. Here’s hoping you have the same experience we did. And, don’t beat yourself up about it – we were very careful for two years also but, with this new variant, it seems like you’d literally have to never leave your house in order to guarantee you wouldn’t get it. Thank goodness the vaccines came out before this variant did.
anon says
I have been sick, though nothing too awful. DH had a sniffly nose on Saturday but nothing since. I am very thankful for the vaccine, and that my kids were old enough to get it, too.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I’m sorry. You did nothing wrong though – Omicron is extremely contagious. I hope that your symptoms are mild and just know that being vaccinated is going to give you a lot of protection. For the kids’ tests – our ped was able to set up a same day test for our youngest when he was considered a close contact from school – can you check with yours? I guess he did have a symptom of a runny nose, but that’s like, every other week.
anon says
I checked with our ped, and they basically said that without symptoms, they’d be willing to do a telemedicine appointment and decide from there whether the kids need to be tested. Huge eye roll on that one. I just told you the situation; I don’t need to be billed for that.
Anonymous says
What is the goal of the testing? If it’s to allow them back in school, could you use a rapid? If negative, send them.
Anonymous says
In our school district, if the kids tested negative today they’d still be excluded from school for 15 days after their dad got a positive test yesterday. If they tested positive today, they’d be excluded for 10 days.
Spirograph says
Sorry, this sucks, but don’t feel bad about getting sick even with vaccines and being careful; we went through this a few weeks ago, and half the people I know have gotten it within the last month. Omicron is just so contagious! Our cases were mild, with no symptoms at all for the kids, and I hope yours stay that way too.
If you want to go rapid test route, I’ve seen them online on amazon and walmart recently, and I heard the capsule pharmacy site has them too, but I haven’t signed up for an account. Rapid tests apparently aren’t great at detecting asymptomatic/early omicron, so ymmv.
Anonymous says
+1 don’t feel bad, there are so many families in this boat right now. Hopefully this peak ends soon! Also, we’ve had good luck getting rapid tests at Walgreens – you can ask when they get shipments in and go on those days to maximize your chances.
anon in brooklyn says
I ordered the https://ihealthlabs.com ones directly from then. Takes a week or so to ship, but you don’t have to keep checking for them to be in stock. Good for getting some to keep on hand, and some of the least expensive.
NYCer says
+1. I have ordered from the twice and had good experiences both times.
Pogo says
I have had luck keeping the BinaxNow at Walmart tab open on my phone, signed in to my account, and then clicking add to cart as soon as I see it in stock. I randomly check at various times throughout the day but had luck last night at around 6pm.
Anonymous says
This is what I have been doing.
Anonymous says
I’m sorry and don’t blame yourself at all. While there are certainly many people who have thrown caution to the wind, getting COVID doesn’t mean you are among them. Hope everyone feels ok.
If you can get rapids, I’d test the kids periodically. There would be value in catching an asymptomatic positive to shorten their quarantines, I would think. Since they’d basically have to wait out your husband’s infectious/isolation period and then their own wait-and-see quarantine unless they test positive and can start isolating sooner.
Cb says
Professional / mom victory: I got funding to run a residential research retreat for academic moms who have felt like their research has taken a hit during the pandemic. Obviously, it can’t mitigate even a fraction of the impact the pandemic has had on women’s academic careers and research output, but it is a small contribution.
Boston Legal Eagle says
That’s great! Congratulations!
Anon says
That’s so awesome. Go you!
Spirograph says
I love this, way to go!
Anonymous says
That’s great, Cb! Wish I could attend!
anonamama says
Amazing news! Much needed support for your fellow moms. Congrats.
GCA says
You are a rockstar, Cb! Congratulations.
Pogo says
that’s so cool!
EDAnon says
That’s awesome!
Anon says
This is so cool!! Can I come? ;) only sort of kidding. Great work!
Anon says
Fantastic!!
CCLA says
This is amazing, love hearing these wins, way to go!
Elle says
Hi All. We’re planning on TTC for the first time in the next few months. What are the things you wish you had done before/ during your pregnancy? So far I have traveling and getting our dog trained so that she doesn’t bark at delivery drivers on our list.
Anon says
I’m not sure you can train a dog not to bark :) A sign on the door asking people not to ring the bell is probably more effective but honestly babies sleep through a lot.
Anonymous says
We have that sign. It scares away the people we actually want to see, but does nothing to stop delivery drivers and nosy neighbors from ringing the bell and pounding on the door during naptime.
Anon says
Sorry to hear that. It worked really well for us.
AnonATL says
We have this high pitched beeper thing that usually stops the barking quickly. As a newborn, my son paid no attention to a bark, but as a toddler it does wake him up. Found it on Amazon under the dog training devices.
Traveling and home renovations are good suggestions.
Try to start being active if you are not already. Even just getting in the habit of going for an after dinner walk will help with a lot of pregnancy pains.
My final suggestion is to actively start working on your relationship with your partner. If you don’t have a fair division of labor, fix that now. If you have persistent fights about a topic, work on it. Having a high maintenance baby to take care of can cause a serious flare up of existing issues.
AIMS says
I have done it with two dogs! I also never have cats jump on tables/kitchen counters. It can be done!
OP, I don’t think there is any magic to-do list but start taking your prenatals and find out what your insurance covers/doesn’t and whether your doctor does deliveries. My gyn. didn’t which was a huge surprise! I ended up finding an amazing doctor based on a friend’s recommendation but that was largely luck. If your doc doesn’t do babies, start asking around now.
Anon says
We unplugged our doorbell and tell people to text us when they arrive.
Anonymous says
If you are contemplating any home improvements or maintenance, do it ASAP. I remember one awful night trying to install a faucet in the baby’s bathroom when I was around 38 weeks pregnant. Pro tip: A pregnant belly does not fit well under a sink, especially if you are trying not to lie on your back. One couple I know had to bring their baby home to a house with no functioning kitchen because their kitchen reno was behind schedule, and this was pre-pandemic before huge delays became the norm.
Get into a good exercise routine and build as much fitness and flexibility as you can before you get pregnant. Fitness will help your body handle pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery much more easily, but there is no guarantee you will be able to exercise while pregnant. I had hyperemesis for 9 months and could barely manage to walk a couple of miles each day, so I relied heavily on what remained of my pre-pregnancy fitness.
Talk to your doctor about what vitamins and supplements to start in advance of TTC.
If you don’t have one already, build your pet care village. You will need a kennel or dogsitter on standby for when you go into labor, and it’s best if you and the dog already have a relationship with the facility or sitter. Don’t be my SIL who called us the day she went into labor and said “Surprise! You’re taking our preschooler and our anxious little dog who can’t sleep anywhere but our bed for the next couple of days while I deliver this baby.”
Anon says
About to deliver my second child and got pregnant both times pretty quickly, in a way that I felt resentful that I didn’t have more time. There have been things I wish I did ahead of time but couldn’t and it still all worked out. Know that pregnancy is a season, baby phase is a season – it’s all a season. There will be time for everything I want to do, just not all at once. Having that attitude has really helped me this second pregnancy. I was a disaster during the first pregnancy and baby’s first six months because I didn’t have that perspective. So don’t be me!
Anon says
disability and life insurance. before you are pregnant. i know of more than one person who dealt with the terrible tragedy of their spouse passing away while they were pregnant. obviously the chances of this are slim, but i slept better at night knowing we had life insurance. any financial housekeeping tasks.
Anonymous says
Yes, and adding that it may be difficult to obtain insurance once you are already pregnant.
anon says
Good tip. Good time for a will/trust too.
Consider a housecleaner.
I like the dog training/travel ideas. I’m much more willing to dogsit a well-trained dog and your instinct is right that it will take a back burner once you have a LO so do it now! Travel somewhere far/not kid-friendly/last minute, relish the spontaneity and eat at a fancy restaurant. I don’t miss nice restaurants a lot, but I still remember our last few “fancy” and wonderfully impromptu pre-kid dinners. Get in a girls/friends trip too because that is one thing I find very hard to do now.
Childcare – you don’t have to decide now, but think about daycare v nanny v SAHP, your family/friends support (will a grandparent be part of childcare? How flexible is your job and your partners’? What do you want that to look like? Who can help pitch in for sick days? etc.) That support (or lack thereof) will shape a lot of your career choices/problems so best to at least have these discussions with your partner, even if you can’t foresee each issue and you don’t want to waste your time worrying too much ahead of time.
Also, if you don’t love your OBGYN start finding a new one now. Look into what you want from your OBGYN (do you care if they’re the one who delivers, or are you ok with a practice group? Do you want one that will perform abortions? Do you care what hospital they deliver to? Do you click with the NP/Dr, because if you have a risk factor you could be in that office weekly and if you dislike their approach it will be annoying).
Anonymous says
If it matters to you, ensure that your OB/GYN group has privileges at a non-Catholic hospital. If you end up with an ectopic pregnancy or other complications, a Catholic hospital will not even inform you of all the options that might exist at another hospital. This could cost you a lot of pain and suffering or even your life.
anon says
This. My mom is VERY catholic but even she chose to deliver at a non-catholic hospital as she knew she’d rather have the focus on her life vs. the baby’s life if it came down to it.
Anonymous says
It’s not always even about a conflict between the mom’s life and the baby’s life. Frequently, there is zero chance of delivering a live baby (ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage in progress, baby cannot possibly be saved or has already died), but the hospital still fails to inform the mother about the existence of treatments that might be easier on her or save her life.
This says
Yes! Plus life insurance asks lots of questions about medical history that frankly are easier to answer pre-pregnancy.
Anon says
We started a brokerage account with monthly auto-contribution several months in advance of trying that was intended to do two things: mostly to get us used to the cost of our preferred childcare option and secondarily to jumpstart college savings in case we needed to cut back in the early years due to childcare costs. We expected this to be small dollars, but TTC ended up taking a while, and in the meantime it became a pretty decent college fund. Hopefully you don’t have the same path but it was a nice positive to have that extra cushion and knew our budget could handle the huge childcare costs in our HCOL city.
anne-on says
On a physical level – get your shots/boosters (tetanus, MMR if needed, and there were a few others my doctor recomended before getting pregnant). I also echo the suggestion to work on your physical fitness – I did a LOT of pilates before getting pregnant which was super to keep my core/pelvic floor area in good shape during/after pregnancy. I also had hyperemesis so ‘gentle walking’ with maybe 1-2 pilates sessions when I didn’t feel like death was all I managed.I wished we’d done the wills/life insurance/health mandates before having a kid but we didn’t, so maybe get on that now?
+1 to travel, fixing up any home issues, etc. as you just don’t know if you’ll have a chill ‘sleeps all the time’ baby, or the wailing banshee variety.
Anon says
Tetanus is included in the whooping cough vaccine (Tdap) that is recommended to get during pregnancy, but I agree on making sure you’re up to date on any other major ones!
Anon says
I disagree about the tetanus booster. You will have to get that in the third trimester (TDAP) so that baby will be born with some level of protection for whooping cough (pertussis is the P in TDAP).
+1 to everything else. Definitely wish I would have worked on physical fitness more. It will make pregnancy and delivery easier if you feel stronger :)
Anonymous says
Find out whether you need to get on day care waiting lists pre-conception. At one college where I worked, the campus day care only added families to the waiting list during one month of the year, and it encouraged people to sign up before TTC. It was absolutely bananas, but that was the system. We moved from that insane HCOL place to a much more laid-back MCOL place before we had our baby, but I still had to get on all the day care waiting lists as soon as the test came back positive and before we told our families we were expecting.
Anon says
It’s worth asking but my university daycare needs a child’s birth month or due date to be added to the list. I guess you could make one up but I don’t know if they let you change it so you might have to go to the back of the kind once you miss the target month. I’m also superstitious and would feel like I was jinxing my fertility by doing that. Honestly I hated getting on lists before my kid was born because I felt like I was jinxing her safe arrival, but it is recommended most places.
Pogo says
Even if you don’t want to get on a list, work on your options for childcare. Since our first was born, we’ve used a small in-home daycare, a local community center part time preschool, a center-based daycare/preK, a part time nanny, and multiple babysitters. You want a deep bench.
Anon says
I’ll be the dissenter and say I did absolutely nothing before TTC except starting a prenatal (on the advice of my OB) and I have zero regrets. At minimum, you have nine months from when you start TTC to when the baby arrives, and potentially much longer. There’s plenty of time to figure out all the logistical stuff once you’re actually pregnant. Travel, sleep late, drink wine, eat sushi, garden for fun not because you have to, go to fancy restaurants and theater and other events that aren’t kid-friendly and just otherwise enjoy your last days just the two of you.
Anon says
+1
EDAnon says
I have an MD friend who says take folic acid and that’s plenty. I found prenatales made me sick to my stomach so I would just do folic acid.
NYCer says
+2.
Anon says
I wasn’t prepared for how miserable I’d feel first trimester (which is apparently surprisingly common). The nausea/vomiting and fatigue were no jokes. I lucked out that it happened to be a slow period at work, but if you can at all I’d try to give yourself a lot of grace during that period. I wasn’t mentally prepared for how much the pregnancy would take over my life. Also- your first appointment with the OB is actually towards the end of your first trimester. My OB prescribed Diclegis before that appointment so if you’re miserable call their office!
Anonymous says
Inheritance- WWYD.
DH’s grandmother recently died (at 94; she lived a wonderful last few years and died peacefully). She was a poor rural farmer in the sticks of the Midwest. She was so focused on saving money that she died with several hundred thousand dollars in the bank, at 94.* per the will it is skipping a generation and all going to DH. Our family is solidly upper middle/upper class income wise but it’s still a big amount of money- this is about 5 years worth of bonus money for us, or 1.5 years of salary after taxes. We already fund our retirement accounts and have been saving for college for our 3 young kids.
His grandmother valued education and family above anything else.
Would you:
1) stick the vast majority in 529s [or an earmarked savings account to allow more flexibility] for the (3) kids. Dumping it into a 529 now, combined with what is already in there, would mean our kids will have college and possibly more paid for without any additional savings on our part.
1b) It could also be used if one or more of our kids would be good candidates for private high school, which is not currently needed or the plan but there are some excellent private schools in our area that are even better than our great public system. Kids are all still in elem.
2) use it to fund a family vacation home. The money wouldn’t cover the whole thing or maintenance but it would accelerate our ability to do this. We’d use it for winter and summer vacations.
3) add it to the general savings pot and take more/nicer vacations as a family
We are already planning to earmark a portion to donate to two causes she would support anonymously (she would be mortified if anyone knew she had this much money), including caring for the gravesite in rural nowhere in which she and her family are buried (she used to tend it and there is no longer anyone to do this).
*my own grandmothers, with significantly more means, did not die broke but they were absolutely spending down the last 100k of savings into their 90s when they died. It is absolutely shocking that she had this much at her age. To everyone but DH’s mom, who has been managing it.
Cb says
Wow, that is such a lovely generous gift. I’d fully fund college funds and consider whether you might have to contribute to elder care expenses for DH’s parents’ at any point and maybe put away some money for that?
Anonymous says
DH’s parents won’t need financial support, which is why it is passing directly to DH. MIL asked her mom to change the will some years back.
Boston Legal Eagle says
All seem like good options to me. Can you split among the 3 categories? For the last bucket, general savings – I’d probably put this in an index fund that will allow your money to grow, unless you need it fairly short term.
NYCer says
I would add it to the general pot and invest it. Then you can use it for vacations, schools, etc. as the opportunity/need arises.
Anonymous says
I wouldn’t put more than you’ll need in a 529, because I don’t like restrictions on what happens to the excess. But other folks are okay with that. Just my preference.
So Anon says
I highly suggest engaging a financial advisor that will take a comprehensive look at everything with you. I was in a surprisingly similar situation a year ago. My grandmother passed away and left a large amount to my sister and me (my father died when we were young). My sister and I had both been led to believe that there would be little, if anything, for either of us (and I was fine with that). The financial planner and I went through everything, from my attitude towards money to how much I needed in an emergency fund to feel comfortable (a lot as a single parent) to funding my retirement and my kids’ college educations. It was incredibly helpful to understand what I needed to do, what my options were and to give myself permission to spend some of it. I ended up keeping the vast majority invested. I also spent a decent amount buying new pearl earrings that I adore to replace the ones that my ex gave me.
Anonymous says
A vacation home sounds like a great way to use a windfall, especially given COVID uncertainties, but here are some considerations. 1) How far from your home would the vacation home be? We have observed that people we know tend to use their vacation homes most when they are a 3-hour drive or less away. 2) Are you and your spouse able to work remotely for extended periods of time, meaning that you could decamp to the vacation home for long stretches during the summer and school breaks? If so, what summer day camp and child care opportunities are there in the area? 3) What will happen when your kids get heavily involved in extracurricular and/or school activities and have weekend obligations? Everyone I know with kids in middle school or high school has sports tournaments, dance competitions, band tournaments, track meets, play rehearsals, choir festivals, etc. nearly every weekend for at least one season out of the year. No matter how hard you resist travel sports, by high school your kid will manage to find at least one school-based activity that takes up a substantial number of Saturdays. 4) Are you counting on public high schools with competitive or lottery admissions, meaning that if something goes wrong with the admissions process you’ll prefer to fall back on private school rather than the zoned high school? Or will you just regret not sending your kids to private school? Our daughter is in a perfectly good public IB program, but there is a private school that would probably meet her needs even better and if we had that kind of money just lying around I would have pushed hard for it. 5) Have you already budgeted for big optional high school expenses like summer programs and cars? Good residential summer programs for high school kids can run as high as $10,000, and the cost will only go up by the time your kids reach high school. These programs are by no means essential, but it’s great to be able to provide them if that’s what your kids want. There is also one public high school near us that ties its senior seminars to pricey international trips, or at least it did pre-COVID. And you will probably want to have money on hand to pay for college tours. IME high school kids are at least as expensive as day care was, and our kid isn’t even driving yet.
Anonymous says
We ski, so we’ve already been talking about buying a place up in the mountains on or near a lake and engaged a few agents, also talked about a house in a nearby beach community, but ultimately decided to do a big home reno instead. Then we had another kid.
Totally agree that the peak time for this sort of thing is when the kids are young- and mine are now, so that’s why it’s still on the table. It would 100% be <3 hours of driving. DH and I both work fully remotely.
Anonymous says
Oh- and for high school, no. We are in a suburb with a top in state school system.
Anonymous says
Golly, if I had the opportunity to buy a lake house in ski country <3 hours from home with young kids I'd jump on it!
Spirograph says
Same!
OP, I agree with others that a financial advisor would be my first stop here, but my impulse would be general investment. Personally, I contribute only the tax-advantaged amount to my kids’ 529s and invest the rest elsewhere to keep options open that might end up being better for their future situation. I also just wanted to say that it’s lovely that you’re being thoughtful about honoring her values, including with the charitable donations and gravesite care.
Anon says
i’d split it between 1a)/b) and 2/3 – do you want a family vacation home or do you prefer to take more/nicer family vacations? i personally have ZERO interest in owning a second home, so that would not appeal to me. we actually had a similar situation with my grandmother. she was widowed pretty young (my dad was 28, and his siblings 23), and never remarried. never earned a lot of money, but could afford her rent, etc. but she spent nothing. like she wore her ripped blouses with safety pins and rarely went to a restaurant. my grandmother also highly valued education, so we used it to pay down some grad school loans that DH had. this is also a know your situation kind of thing, but is there any additional outsourcing you’ve wanted to do but haven’t because of money that would make your life better? i realize that is more of a micro impact, but if it is something that could make a difference day to day
Mary Moo Cow says
It sounds like you somewhat want to honor her values of education and family. If so, I would dump it in a generic investment account with the idea that it will be used to pay for school (private secondary or college or graduate school) or for a launch pad fund for your kids. Because you are already funding a 529 and what if your kids decide on a vocational school and you have more than enough to cover it? Or, a huge blessing, they all earn enough scholarship to not need much of the 529? Or they are the next tech genius and decide to skip college? If you have it in a 529 you have less freedom to spend it; if you have it in an investment account, you can let it earn for a while and then spend it how you see fit down the road (early retirement cushion, nice vacations with adult children, etc.) I’m sorry for your loss, but happy for you that you have a pleasant surprise in these bleak days.
Anonymous says
This is good advice. My partner is a financial advisor and we have investments accounts for our kids’ college because they are more flexible than a 529 (I also have no delusions that all my kids will go to college). I think investing the money and using it for a vacation home or vacations is a great idea, but we live in a great school district and both I and my partner had horrible experiences with private schools, so I’m a bit biased. So Anon has good advice as well: talk to someone who does this a lot. Tl;dr – how you spend it is personality dependent and there is no wrong answer here. Congratulations!
strategy mom says
529 can be used for private high school too. I wouldn’t do a vacation home personally – unless you really think you’ll use it every weekend during the right seasons. Otherwise, feels like maintenance and taxes mean its cheaper to just rent when you go on vacation. Unless you buy on lakefront or somewhere where you can be very very confident it will get a strong return on investment. I’d save for education and also go on a nice vacation.
Anon says
Concur. Use the 529, which has a lot of options for high school, college, and graduate school. Moreover, what you no longer need to save for college in a 529 becomes that which you can use to fund vacations, a second home, or unexpected expenses.
anon says
I would save enough for college in earmarked accounts, but not 529s. I think the flexibility is important. Your need for college funds is uncertain, running from kid gets a merit scholarship to really wants to go to your flagship state school to really wants to go to an expensive private college. Also, your needs before college are uncertain. I just found out that my 6 year old has a medical condition, and treating it will mean that we’ll hit the out-of-pocket maximum of whatever insurance plan we have for the next 15 years. I would love to have $150K in the bank just to pay his medical expenses for the next 15 years.
Assuming your kids’ college is fully funded in an earmarked account, you can use income, as you earn it, for nicer vacations or save it for a vacation home.
Walnut says
Are there any splurgy summer camps (academic, adventure, etc) you’d consider for your kids using the money? It seems like that amount of money could fund some really interesting opportunities for them to explore their interests. Bonus if you can work a nice family vacation into it.
Anonymous says
It’s just a problem with our front door layout and, of course, these neighbors. :)
Anonymous says
Oh gosh, obviously a nesting fail. This was about the sign on the door asking people not to ring the bell during naptime.
Mask resource says
For those looking for KN95/KF94 etc masks for kids, this spreadsheet seems like a great resource. It includes dimensions, estimated age ranges for each mask, and filtration efficiency data.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i06OAItoOwIUaMjElr8mhh0Rw-it6WL-ODIQMZUOQxE/edit#gid=0
Accompanying video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A88AGnN-nwI
This was recommended by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina’s Your Local Epidemiologist blog/newsletter, which is a great resources for updated info as new research emerges. She also has 2 kids under 5.
anonamama says
Here’s a covid conundrum to share. DH, DS & I all tested positive within 5 days of each other starting 12/21. Now, all are negative on a rapid. Since we had to notify daycare of DH case, they say 15 days for child to return with NEGATIVE PCR from DH & DS. (20 for child but he was never in the building, so we’ll keep that quiet).
DH gets a PCR at Day 19. Still positive. Still waiting on DS results. In the meantime, daycare is closed this week due to positive case. Reopen Mon. Will try PCRs again this weekend but…WE MAY BE IN COVID JAIL FOREVER.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Ugh, I know at home tests aren’t 100% accurate but aren’t they supposed to tell you if you’re infectious, i.e. when you’d want to be away from other kids? So if negative, your son likely isn’t going to spread much. And PCRs can detect Covid for a while, right? I know daycares are under a lot of tough policies right now, but ugh…
OP says
Right – we’re all negative on rapids, which is a relief (we can leave our house) but the daycare has very tough rules. Will try strategymom’s ideas!
Anonymous says
The cynic in me wonders whether day cares will continue to insist on negative PCR tests for as long as possible so they can keep kids out while still collecting tuition.
AIMS says
I don’t think that’s a practical strategy for anyone dealing with actual outbreaks. If anything, I think it’s a matter of time before they stop enforcing much of any rules that aren’t strictly mandatory. None of this has been a windfall for the daycares. By way of example, my friend’s kids’ catholic school more or less stopped notifying anyone of anything (not that they were great to begin with), another’s daycare had a kid test positive and then another who was in one day longer that kid 1 did too and the 5 day wait to come back with a negative test was not extended by a day.
Anonymous says
Mine actually gives a near-100% discount for required quarantine/isolation periods, so they are pushing the health dept to change this ASAP.
strategy mom says
I would potentially talk to school nurse – and maybe get a note from husband’s doctor. Our preschool has uptight rules and I had to work with them to see if theyd be willing to consider flexing on this. My husband had covid right before xmas break and it had been 20 days and they wanted a negative PCR for my daughter but the wait to get a PCR was going to be 8 hours and I convinced them limited PCR capacity was better spent on folks who really needed it, not my daughter
Anonymous says
+1. We’re allowed to get around the negative PCR test requirement with a letter from a doctor
anonamama says
thank you! Retests may be in our future, but will definitely be trying this.
Anonymous says
That is crazy. PCRs can theoretically remain positive for 90 days.
Pogo says
YES! That’s crazy.
Anonymous says
1. I’m sorry, but
2. COVID JAIL. Love. Stealing it.
Anon says
any additional recs for kids k95? every place i’ve checked is sold out.
Anonymous says
I don’t think there is such a thing as a kids’ KN95 that fits anyway. I think the only people who can wear KN95s without gaps are large men wearing the adult size.
Anon says
That is… not true at all. Kn95s fit me fine. I agree it’s harder to find a good fit for little kids but we’ve had good luck tying the earloops for a tighter fit.
Anonymous says
We have tried 6 different kinds of KN95s in multiple sizes. Not one fit me or my kid.
Anon says
Sorry you can’t find one that fits, but you said they only fit “large men” and that’s not true. They fit me and plenty of female friends fine.
Anonymous says
Where are you buying these?!?
Anon says
I have a bunch from brands that have all been mentioned here: Maskc, Vida, WellBefore, I think one other brand that I don’t remember. I use masks very lightly (just daycare dropoff and very occasional in-person errands) and re-wear them for a long time, so I haven’t bought any recently and am not sure about current availability. My husband is not large for a man (5’9″) but he feels like they’re so tight on his face he had to jerry-rig a headstrap to make them more comfortable.
Allie says
This is not true at all — I was surprised but our kids actually find them more comfortable because they sit away from the face. The mini of these fit my three year old well and several of her daycare friends really like them too (one parent shared and a bunch of us tried): https://greensupply.com/products/kids-kn95-face-masks. They go in and out of stock so if you sign up for a notification and jump on the email you can order.
OP says
or k94s?
Anonymous says
I tried to post a link to a really great spreadsheet or recs this morning but it is in mod. Check back later or look for Aaron Collins’ kids database
Anonymous says
PS – link is under the YouTube video “Kids Masks for 12& Under…”
Anonymous says
Kollecteusa.com has a few styles available
jz says
I order KF94s from Miyool. My understanding is 95s get bootlegged a lot and the korean standard is the best bet in the market. Plus Miyool has good sizes for toddlers and kids. Expensive though – $2 a mask.
Anonymous says
Try Vida, they have KF94s and KN95s for kids. BeHealthy. WellBefore (may be sold out).
anon says
To those who send their kids to daycare with a lovey to nap with–do they bring the lovey home every day or does it stay there until it’s time to bring blanket, etc. home for washing at the end of the week? We’ve just recently started daycare napping and sent one of his loveys with him. We’ve been leaving it there but he talks about it at home. I guess I’m reluctant to bring daycare germs home daily?
Anon says
We don’t use a lovey but I wouldn’t worry about germs. They’re coming home anyway with your kid.
AwayEmily says
We have multiple (like, 4+) Angel Dear loveys for each of our kids (a fox for one and a penguin for the other). One goes to daycare for naps, one lives in bed, one particularly disgusting one travels around with us (we wash it but there’s only so much grime you can get out).
Now we are all engaged in a spirited family debate about what animal to get for the upcoming third baby.
Anonymous says
The germs thing is silly
sg says
Kiddo rotates between 2 at school, so he always has one of his favorites at home. They send it home weekly for “washing.” I do not was his stuffed dog.
jz says
bring it up. otherwise..he’d lose it lol
Anonymous says
Your child is bringing home far more daycare germs than any physical object could. We never took a lovey back and forth to daycare, it would just come home weekly (and I didn’t wash it unless it was visibly gross). My kids had/have many “favorite” stuffed animals, so they didn’t ever miss the one that was at daycare at the moment.
Walnut says
My kids looooove to haul as much stuff to and from daycare on a daily basis. I try my best to leave as much stuff at daycare as possible. It’s a daily struggle. When I get my way, my car is cleaner, my house is more organized, and I’m more zen. You’d think my kids would catch on!
Anon says
Our daycares preferekce is that only one lovey is sent and it lives at school for the week and comes home with the nap mat to be washed on the weekend. This reduces chances that lovey doesn’t get packed up one morning and leads to disaster at nap time. That has worked well for us. Our kid can pick a different one to bring each week, and it’s not her main Teddy (that lives at home)
Pogo says
Mine comes home every day. At first with COVID they weren’t allowed to go back and forth but since it stays in cubby until nap time, only comes out at nap time, etc they finally loosened that up. However I liked it better when he couldn’t take it because I could wash the damn thing more frequently. Now I have to remember to do it during weekend days.
Mine would not accept different loveys or keeping lovey at school. He asks for his when he’s sad or tired or even when he’s just zoning out in front of the TV.
Runner says
Childcare question — we are thinking about an au pair for this fall and I want to know if the costs listed on the websites are actually true. They lost a program fee and a stipend and education costs. Anything else that is more of a hidden cost that we should think about?
Runner says
Whoops, “list” fees not lost.
So Anon says
Those are probably the upfront costs associated with the program, but there are multiple other costs. We had an au pair and absolutely loved it. Additional costs, off the top of my head: car insurance, cell phone, gas for the car, food, extra utility usage, gifts for the au pair, costs if the au pair travels with you. In the best situation, an au pair is like adding an additional member to your family, so if there are costs that you would spend on the family member (gifts, admission fees on outings, etc.) plan on adding those to the expenses. For me, it was well worth it, and if I had an extra bedroom, I would happily engage an au pair again.
anne-on says
I forgot about cell phone bills – good catch!
You’ll also want to make sure you have time set aside when they arrive/depart – with sitters they’re plug and play, with au pairs it took me a solid few days upon arrival to get them set up with their bank account, cell phone, legal documents (social security card, etc.), driving them around to get them used to your area, taking them to the grocery store/pharmacy, etc. When they depart you’re going to want to give yourself a few days to deep clean/prep for the next one – even our neatest au pair still didn’t leave the room ‘clean and ready to go’ for the next girl.
anne-on says
I don’t think it’s updated any longer but check out the blog ‘au pair mom dot com’. The program/educational fees are set. What you aren’t taking into account are the extra amounts you’ll likely be spending on food, gas for the car, higher car insurance premiums (our doubled), an increase in your utilities and what I’ll classify as ‘gifts/entertainment’ and additional wear/tear on your home (assume sheets/towels will need to be replaced yearly for example). If it helps with dollar amounts, our grocery costs rose by about $80/week (teenagers eat a LOT – we buy organic milk ($), lots of fresh fruit/veg, but not a ton of meat or expensive cuts of meat – feeding another growing teen 3 meals a day 5 days a week adds up). Utilities went up – mostly water/gas bills – not a ton, but probably $50/month? We set a limit on how much gas we’d pay for and had explicit rules for car use but you’ll want to factor that in. With regards to gifts/entertainment – you’ll likely be paying for a welcome gift/going away gift/holiday bonus/birthday gift.
It’s your call on how much they do with you at night/weekends but we would generally plan to add their order to our Saturday night takeout/would offer for them to join us for ice cream/movie outings/etc. If you take them on vacation you’ll be paying for their meals/travel, and if you leave them home you still need to make sure they have food for the week! Long story short – I would say you’re looking at easily another $5k year for all of that stuff, but the biggest ticket items were definitely food costs and car/car insurance costs.
Anon says
Many also pay above the stipend. We pay $300/week, plus all of the other stuff.
The most expensive “other” expense is keeping and insuring an au pair car. Our insurance on our non-au pair cars also went up significantly, even though she never ever drives them, because we have a teen in the home.
anon says
I’d look carefully at the litigation around au pair pay in Massachusetts and consider the wage and hour implications of what the agencies recommend.
I’m not aware of litigation in my state, but the amount agencies say to pay as a stipend is less than the minimum wage if an au pair is working anywhere close to the permitted number of hours. There’s no exception to the minimum wage for au pairs in my jurisdiction.
I think that this has been allowed to continue for so long because au pairs are young, foreign, and very dependent on their host families (so not likely to know their rights and even less likely to bring a claim) and families trust the guidance of the agencies. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more wage and hour claims against families pop up.
strollerstrike says
WWYD: DS had two positive rapid tests in daycare this morning. Took him in for a PCR Test, that one came back negativ. Another rapid test at home came back positive. No symptoms. Due to the negative PCR Test we could send him to daycare tomorrow but that doesn’t seem right with three positive rapid tests?
Anonymous says
I would keep him home. False positives on three rapid tests seems unlikely. PCR isn’t foolproof either, especially with omicron. Several members of my family tested negative on PCR for two or three days after the onset of symptoms, then subsequently tested positive.
OP says
Thanks, that is helpful anecdata for me. So far everyone I talked to told me that PCR tests are reliable and to trust those results.
AIMS says
How long are you leaving out the rapids? They can all eventually turn positive if left out too long.
I would keep him home tomorrow and go for another PCR. If its negative and he has no symptoms, I would chalk it up to a fluke.
Anon says
Is that really true? We’ve done a bunch of home tests and I’ve never seen a positive even when we leave them lying around for hours.
OP says
Positives showed up within the 15 min timeline on each test…
AIMS says
No idea if its just anecdotal but we had a false positive over the summer (followed by a negative PCR and negative rapid) and the tech at the urgent care told me they may have been left out too long because that’s what often happened there.
Anonymous says
I mean, in theory that sounds possible, given how the tests work. Once the paper is saturated, the directional flow stops and the control could go back toward the test strip
Anonymous says
Definitely not right keep him home.
Anon says
Keep him home.
Anon says
I would assume that the PCR was the false test and keep him home. It is very very unlikely that you’d get three false positives on rapid tests. Schedule another PCR as soon as you can.
EDAnon says
+1 I would get another PCR. If it is also negative, then maybe he has soda or juice up his nose :). Kidding.
Spirograph says
This, I would have expected PCR to pick up anything a rapid test could, since they’re much more sensitive — we had the opposite experience with PCR positive and negative rapid tests. False negatives on PCR are rare, but lab errors are possible, bad samples are possible. If you get *two* negative PCRs, I might believe those over the rapid tests…
Anonymous says
Given the current prevalence of the virus, I believe the math works out so the probability that a negative result is a false negative is much greater than the probability that a positive result is a false positive. With conflicting results, I’d put more trust in the positive, and even more trust in three positives.
Anon says
I was at the pediatrician this morning and she said we can’t definitively trust negative tests anymore, even PCR. So I would treat this as a positive case and quarantine appropriately.
Anonymous says
False negative PCR tests do happen. My SIL got a negative PCR test back in fall 2020, even though symptomatic, and then my brother (and their cat!) got sick. My brother confirmed with a positive PCR; the cat remains untested. SIL is a PA and works with COVID patients all the time, so was pretty suspicious of the negative test.
EDAnon says
The cat remains untested made me laugh. See below about getting it an antibody test maybe…
Anonymous says
Rapid home tests are very unlikely to be false positive, I think it’s really just if it’s defective, and that seems unlikely in your case with 3 tests presumably from 2 different batches. PCR more likely to be a false negative than rapid test a false positive.
Please for the love of everything do not send him to daycare and quarantine according to your daycare’s policy.
Anon says
Has anyone had their young kids (under 5) antibody tested for Covid? My husband had an asymptomatic breakthrough case recently. We isolated him as soon as he got tested positive but had spent the entire day prior and that morning together as a family. The kids never showed symptoms, but I was only able to get them professionally tested once during their 10 day quarantine (on day 5). Their test was negative but I still wonder if they had it and we somehow missed it? I tested myself daily with at-home rapids for 10 days and was consistently negative, but I’m also vaccinated and boosted.
I’d love to know if they have antibodies for peace of mind, especially with hopefully sending my oldest back to preschool soon. Is it worth asking our ped about, or a waste of time?
Anon says
My ped said not to do it but I did it at CVS, also hoping to get peace of mind that my under 5 had had an asymptomatic case. Unfortunately she was negative.
Anon says
Did your 5-11s have side effects from the second dose and if so what? Just wondering what to prepare for. Mine gets her second dose tomorrow.
Boston Legal Eagle says
My 5 year old didn’t. He was as active as ever and didn’t even really complain about a sore arm. Husband and I definitely felt worse after the second shot, but son seemed totally fine.
EDAnon says
Mine did not.
EP-er says
Nope — the 13 year old was tired & had a headache after number 2. The 9 year old was like nothing happened. She maybe slept in an extra bit? But she is my snoozy one, regardless. Good luck!
AIMS says
None. She complained that her arm was sore for about a minute and promptly moved on.
H13 says
No side effects from second dose.
Anon says
No side effects for my 5 year old. Frankly, we had hoped for an earlier bedtime but she went right on with her day like it didn’t happen.
Spirograph says
None of my three kids had any side effects. Maybe a bit of arm soreness, but even my daughter (who is a pro at milking the slightest of discomfort) only mentioned it once.
So Anon says
I have an 8 and 10 year old. No side effects for kid.
Anonymous says
My 5 year old had nothing other than a sore arm. My 8 year old (who is the size of a 9 year old or older) had a sore arm and self sort of off for a couple days. 2nd shot was 3pm on a Friday and she went to bed early and sort of slugged around on Saturday. No fever or anything. Fine on Sunday. Could also be general Friday fatigue.
Anon says
My six-year-old was completely fine. Running around and bouncing off the walls as usual.
GCA says
Same; in fact I read this and thought I had posted this comment without realizing it. My six-year-old is an exceedingly bouncy child.
ElisaR says
just a sore arm, but it didn’t bother him much and was gone after 24 hours
CCLA says
same for our 5 yo
DLC says
Nine year old was tired and sore arm, though she said the flu shot was worse.
She got her shot at 9am in a Tuesday and I sent her to school. She came home that night and reported that all her friends who got second doses got to stay home after their shots.
I guess I’m the mean mom.
Oh and the nurse didn’t give her a lollipop.
So maybe side effect is disgruntled child.
Anon says
7 year old fell asleep at 6:30 and had a headache the evening after the test, but he was fine once he woke up. He had symptomatic covid a few months ago – similar symptoms (though worse) when he actually had it.
Anon says
evening after the second *shot,* not test.
Anonymous says
Mine did not. I, however, am currently in bed on the day following my booster. I seem to be on the more severe side of side effects. So, FWIW, DH and I both react badly, and our 6 year old had no side effects.
Realist says
My 7 had a slight headache 18 hours after the shot, not 100% clear it was related to the second dose or not but I’m 80% confident it was a side effect. I had pretty significant side effects for 24-36 hours after my second shot and booster, so I don’t know if the likelihood of side effects runs in families or not.
Anonymous says
Day 7 of our Covid quarantine, and our toddler decides to sing songs in his room for an hour instead of napping. We both had 1:30 calls so we just let him hang out for a while. Seems fine for now since he’s not upset, but it’s gonna be a messy evening if he doesn’t nap at all.
Anonymous says
Good luck! I just had a team meeting with my boss and peers, and my isolating 5 year old chose that time to start singing Justin Bieber song loudly in the background.
Piper Dreamer says
Would you lie to get your 4 year old vaccinated? He is 4.5 years old. Not big or anything – wonderfully average in both height and weight. We have an infant. With the delay in under 5 vax and omicron, I am seriously debating. WWYD?
Anon says
I lied and got my 3.9 year old vaccinated, so…yes. We originally wanted to wait, but the Omicron surge combined with the delay for under 5 vaccines (they’re now saying May at the earliest) and the news that the lower dose used in the trial for preschoolers was too low to be effective changed my mind and made me more comfortable with her having the bigger 5-11 dose. Logistically it was easier than I expected, and I have no moral qualms about a harmless lie that may have saved my child’s life. Our daily lives have not changed much because many of her peers aren’t vaccinated and we can’t exactly be open about what we did. But I no longer worry about her ending up on a ventilator and that peace of mind is huge.
Fwiw she had no vaccine side effects and I told our ped (in a wink wink nudge nudge way with plausible deniability) and she said “you did the right thing.”
Piper Dreamer says
Thanks! Did you have to provide insurance information? My husband (the big rule follower) worries that this somehow gets on his school record when we enroll him in K this year…
Anon says
We went to a county health clinic that doesn’t ask for any insurance info because if they ask for insurance and you lie and say you don’t have it, you have to provide your drivers license or social security info which I did not want to do. Unclear what we’ll do about the permanent record, but currently we think we’ll just re-vax her since she’ll be due for a booster by then anyway and three doses of the toddler vaccine is less than one dose of the 5-11 vaccine.
Anonymous says
This varies by state. Our county immunization sites ask for your driver’s license and the child’s birth certificate.
Anon says
Wow that’s crazy. I have friends who’ve done this in several different states and no one was asked for a birth certificate. You could call in advance and ask them if they request insurance info or proof of age. I would also look at free community clinics. In my state there are clinics at libraries and museums that reportedly don’t ask for insurance info either.
Anon says
I think it varies by county, not state. I am in Illinois and my county does not ask for insurance info, but I’ve heard Cook County (which encompasses the city of Chicago) does.
Anon says
We’re not doing this with my 4y11m kids because of the school record problem.
Anonymous says
You can go out of state if you’re worried about it being reported to your school district. Vaccine records are all kept at the state level, there’s no federal database.
Anonymous says
Are any of the state registries reporting to the school districts? For other vaccinations, in our state you turn in a paper form from the pediatrician. My concern wouldn’t be having the vaccination reported to the school district. It would be the opposite–not being able to get proof of vaccination with the correct birthdate.
Anonymous says
Yeah, but the pharmacies report to insurance and the insurance reports to EMR regardless of state.
Anonymous says
I don’t think state registries report to schools either, but it sounded like that was OP’s husband’s concern.
Coach Laura says
In my state (Washington State) the state maintains vaccine records and parents submit those official records to the school. So in that case the school might find out. I don’t know why a school would care.
If I had a 4.5yo I wouldn’t get them a shot early, though I would wish I could. In the rare chance of a side effect that would require a doctor or hospital visit, I’d be afraid of being judged by the doctors for not following the protocol.
anon says
No, don’t do that. There is a reason that the under-5 vaccine hasn’t been approved yet: not enough evidence and data. I realize 4.5 is close to 5, but getting too large of a dose could have undesirable outcomes. Also, I would be concerned about potentially screwing up his health records.
Anon says
But the lower dose trial failed effectiveness in 2-4 year olds (it worked well for babies). That swayed me and many medical-science people I know. Anecdotally, most MDs and PhDs I know with 4 year olds have already gotten them vaccinated. It’s clear the 2-4 year old group needed the same dose as 5-11 year olds, and Pfizer goofed in choosing which dose to advance to large scale trials. I would not give an infant the 5-11 dose even if it were logistically possible, which it’s not. But a 4.5 year old, yeah, absolutely. These trials err *heavily* on the side of safety and if it’s fine for the tiniest, youngest 5 year olds there’s no biological reason it wouldn’t be safe for an average 4.5 year old.
anonn says
thank you for this. a ped told my husband to lie and get our large 4.5 year old the shot, but then the pfizer trial failed and I didn’t want to mess up her record and lie if it wasn’t going to help her anyway.
NYCer says
I would not.
Anon says
I am not. DD is 4.5. Definitely a giant. But vaccines don’t (to my non-medical understanding) function like drugs on a basis of weight (my child gets 10YO doses in most meds based on weight for comparison); it has to do with the maturity of the immune system. And risks of covid are so, so, so low in kids for me it is not worth the unproven data on the vaccines for her age group. Plus the complication of record keeping and that DH and I are both lawyers where lying is absolutely grounds for losing a license.
A small part of me wonders if it is better to catch omicron since it is milder (and thus have broad natural immunity) pending any other worse strains that come along. At least that is what I am rationalizing since she is in preschool, will not wear anything other than a cloth mask (not even a filter!), and cases are crazy in our area so I am fully expecting us to all get it in the next month, notwithstanding all of our precautions. The other benefit (light at the end of the very, very, very long tunnel?) is that if she does get it, and there are no serious complications (as is exceedingly likely, though not guaranteed) we can fly somewhere for spring break because she will finally have some baseline immunity until she can get vaccinated late this summer.
Anonymous says
It’s true that vaccines are not dosed by weight. But they’re also not dosed so specifically by age normally, either. If you get an MMR booster as an adult, that’s the same dose of MMR that babies get. Some flu vaccines use the same dose for everyone under age 65. There are some vaccines that make an age group distinction, but it is usually only two age groups (e.g., children vs adults), not four. Hep A is one such vaccine, and babies get the same dose as 18 year olds. 19 year olds get the adult dose and it’s not because biologically a 19 year old is very different than an 18 year old, it’s because dividing people into “children” and “adults” was logistically easier.
They’re being extremely cautious with these trials and trying to mitigate side effects and minimize incidents of adverse effects like myocarditis that were extremely rare to begin with. The FDA is less concerned with mitigating risk to the individual and is more focused on public health and doing what they can to address vaccine hesitancy. But if you gave everyone the adult dose, the risks of the vaccine to an individual would almost certainly still be lower than the risks of the virus. There was a big study that myocarditis rates with 6 times higher with the virus than with the vaccine, plus there are other risks to the virus, including death in a relatively small number of kids. ~1,000 kids have died from the virus so far; none have died from the vaccine. If, say, 2 children had died from the vaccine, the benefits of the vaccine would still be clear to me as an individual, but it would be a disaster for public health and vaccine hesitancy; that’s why the FDA has to err on the side of extreme caution and doesn’t use a simple risk vs. benefit analysis.