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Oooh: I first spied these shoes over at Garnet Hill (where they have some crazy sales on their excellent towels — $2 hand towels and $12 bath sheets! Go, go!) — but the shoes were almost entirely sold out. Sure enough, Amazon has them more in stock, but mostly full price — but if you’ve never had a pair of Gentle Souls, I highly recommend them. Made by Kenneth Cole, they’re packed with comfortable features like cushioning, wide heels, and here, a flattering strap. The heels is 2.5″ high, and most sizes are $219 at Amazon (with a few lucky sizes being $154). Gentle Souls Women’s Raven Dress Pump
Psst: on the hunt for more comfortable heels? Check out The Corporette Guide to Comfortable Heels!
(L-2)
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?
Anonymous says
At what age did you potty train? Asking because we started our daughter just before she turned 2 (maybe 22/23 months) and by her 2nd birthday she was fully, reliably, daytime potty trained. She is 2.5 and we are about to start nighttime potty training (held off because she sleeps like a rock for 13 hours each night and we didn’t want to interrupt a good thing).
In her daycare class (2-2.9), she is one of only 2 kids potty trained and the other kid isn’t really solid- just trying. We visited her preschool for next year (3s) and the teacher said most do not come in potty trained. Is this normal? I cannot fathom still changing her diapers at this age during the day. It was a b!tch of a month or so to get her trained but there were never any signs she wasn’t progressing.
Meg Murry says
With my oldest, we half-a$$ed it from 2.5 to 3 (pull ups are a racket, they just drag everything out and are expensive). Most of his daycare class was the same age, and were in the same “will go if you put them on the potty but won’t stop to tell you”. We finally did cold turkey underwear at daycare (with some fits and starts over 2 weeks) and got him mostly trained by 3. However, once we went to underwear he almost never had any issues with night training or naptime.
My youngest was interested before he turned 2, and my mother and daycare encouraged it and put him on regularly, and before 2.5 he could stay dry in underwear all day if taken no less than every 2 hours, and was mostly reliable to tell you he could go. However, even now at 4 he won’t stay dry all night unless we wake him to take him potty at least once in teh middle of the night.
A huge part of training in the 1.5-3 age range isn’t so much whether the kid is trained as whether the parents and cargiver are disciplined enough to make the kid take frequent bathroom breaks (and the kid is compliant). I’m grateful to have gotten out of diapers earlier with my 2nd, but I know that it was 95% due to daycare willing to take a million potty breaks plus hitting just the right window with the kid (and the fact that he responded well to the peer pressure of wanting to be like his big brother).
I feel like with most kids there is a window where they are interested and not too stubborn – and if you miss that you wind up having to wait until their next non-stubborn patch or put up with cleaning a LOT of accidents and tons of bribing.
Spirograph says
All I have to say is that I wish my almost-3 year old slept like a rock for 13 hours.
Our daycare does en masse training in the 2/3 class (really 22-38ish months) with all the kids who are about 2.5. potty training is required to move up to the 3/4 year old class.
We/daycare potty trained my son right around 30 months, and it really only took a week, with very few accidents since. We should have done it sooner, but didn’t think of it. I’ll probably try a little earlier with my daughter; I hear girls are smarter about it. :)
FVNC says
My daughter is 27 months and has just started showing an interest. She will ask to “try potty” but so far has had no successes. I don’t know how consistent daycare is, and until I find time to coordinate with them, I don’t think it’s worth pushing her at home. And I’m not sure she’s developmentally ready for it. Friends have kids who were fully trained at 18 months; other friends have kids that are closer to 3. I’m pretty “meh” about it — yeah, diapers are a bit of a hassle but I’m so used to them by now they don’t really both me.
Stacey says
I also “early” potty trained, with no regrets. My youngest girl was trained by 2. There were still occasional accidents. They mostly happened when daycare was not as disciplined about taking her to the potty regularly. We would ask the teachers to step it up and then the accidents would diminish. She had to be reminded to go, and wouldn’t ask to go until she was closer to 3. We are about to start training my well-developed and talking 20 month old. I also used mostly cloth diapers.
I’ve talked to several moms of my friends, and it seems like in the 80’s when many kids were in cloth diapers, potty training was usually done closer to 2, with boys a little later than girls.
I agree that potty training is often more about the parents and caregivers changing the expectation than about the development of the kid. Some kids put up more of a fight, but if diapers are no longer an option, I think most kids will figure it out in a week or two.
Also, using a post it in restrooms with an automatic flush was a lifesaver for sopping when out and about. She hated the noise of the flush, and she was to small for it to work properly.
Ciao, pues says
i never would have thought of that– great idea! adding post-its to diaper bag now…
mother of mr. poops a lot says
Post-its: genius – thank you! My son hates automatic flushers. Now if only I could figure out what to do about noisy hand dryers.
Meg Murry says
OMFG, the damn hand driers. My son loves our public library, but went through a period of sobbing, freaking out, refusing to go in the bathroom and/or wetting himself after he accidentally walked under one of those super loud hand driers and it started up directly over his head. Now I have to make a point of using the bathroom before we go to the library, carry paper towels in our library bag, and cover his ears if anyone else is in the bathroom with us and might use the hand drier.
I can’t say I totally blame him – the stupid things are loud to me, and they aren’t right at my head height. I’m pretty sure it reaches the “OSHA would make you wear earplugs in a workplace” level of noise.
Anonymous says
Nighttime training is not a thing. Night time training is training the parents. Until the brain-bladder connection is fully solidified (which can be as late as 7-9 YEARS old), the child will not wake him/herself to use the bathroom. Keep her in night diapers until she is dry every. single. morning.
Anonymous says
Call me lazy, but my son didn’t get trained until he was 3.5. The main reason is poop. This kid still poops 4x a day quite frequently. He has never been constipated. He pooped in the tub with alarming regularity until recently. When we tried training at the beginning of the summer (due to his daycare saying he was interested), I was dealing with poop accidents every morning while trying to get ready for work. And then more after work. And one nightmare-ish time while eating dinner out that continues to haunt me. So perhaps I am the problem, but if so I am totally cool with it. Diapers are much much easier than cleaning up poop accidents. When we tried training again in the fall, it was infinitely easier. Now he actually knows he needs to go BEFORE he goes. We did try to make him go periodically when we were having such a rough time earlier in the summer, and it kind of worked, but often he would go and then go again in his pants 10 minutes later. For me personally, dealing with diapers for another 6 months (or hell, maybe we added a year) was much better than being the every 30 minute potty police. I don’t get the push to early training. I still think diapers are easier in some ways.
FVNC says
+1. I can’t fathom why it’s an issue that kids train on different schedules.
Anon Here says
Be grateful that potty training wasn’t a disaster. We tried a few separate times with my son between 2-3 years, each time resulting in weeks-long p**p hoarding, necessitating stool softeners and enemas and refusal to even go in diapers. It was awful. He was completely physically ready: he would tell us “I’m going to poop/pee” and go in his diaper, but he just wasn’t emotionally ready for the potty. We finally gave up and waited until he was 3.25 years and was ready to do it on his own terms.
On the other hand, my daughter is 18 months and already shows a lot of interest in sitting the potty. I’m sure she’ll be emotionally ready sooner than my son was.
EB0220 says
Interesting discussion. My oldest was a little over 2.5 when we potty trained, and within a month she was day and night trained. I think she was ready a few months earlier, but we held off because of a new sibling. We did a potty bootcamp weekend – a few days of naptime pullups – and then switched to undies at night when she had been dry for a few weeks overnight. It was pretty easy with her. To my surprise, my younger daughter is already showing interest at 17 months. She doesn’t stay dry but does communicate a need to go and then goes. I’m actually surprised because the toilet in her daycare class is boxed in with art supplies – clearly not used in a long time. I think she’ll definitely be ready to try before she moves out of that room at 2. I’m in no great hurry, though, as I agree that diapers are easier in many ways. I’ll just follow her lead.
Anonymous says
One was fully (daytime) potty trained by second birthday, easy-peasy. The other was a miserable slog through about 9 months of tug of war, eventually ending around third birthday – I think a month or two past.
Interestingly, they nighttime trained around the same age (3.5 years).
Betty says
It really is one of those things that varies by kid. I have one who potty-trained himself with very little prompting from us at 2. It was easy as could be. My second is currently six months older and has no interest. We are not pushing it because I think that would set us all up for a potentially long, messy and frustrating period. That being said, it is best to wait until a child is fully ready to potty train before attempting it. Readiness includes interest from the child, the ability to pull pants up and down, the ability to communicate needs, and probably a few other things I am not thinking of. As with all child development issues, each kid hits those milestones at different points. So yes, it is perfectly normal to have a three year old not potty trained.
mascot says
Our son showed interest at 23 months, but probably didn’t day train until 2.5. Consistently dry overnight didn’t happen until age 3. That daycare class spent half their time in the bathroom.
Agree that all kids do this on their own timeline and there is a wide range of normal. Night-time training can really take a while. We had a few soaked sheets nights at age 4 and our doctor said they don’t really worry about it until closer to age 6.
anon says
+100. I agree. My kids were like an S-curve: interest around 2 (lots of talk, fun with flushing) but they weren’t there physically and then the interest petered out until they were 2.5-3. There was a period (2-2.5) where potentially they could have potty-trained by weren’t interested.
For all the reasons Betty cited, I had no interest in pushing and then making it a Thing (seriously–read up on all these kids with GI issues and you won’t want anything that makes the kid “withhold”). My working-mom position was that so long as they weren’t the last one in their class to potty-train, I was fine. We were doing all the things–reading books, encouraging potty time, etc.–but in a relaxed way.
And, honestly, for each one all it took was their teachers (i.e., a neutral party) telling them they were ready: and just like that, they were potty trained. Daughter trained around 2.5, son right around age 3 (and he was one of several boys that age who were similarly hanging on to diapers). Never had any accidents; slept through the night totally dry. No regrets.
PEN says
Does anyone have any feedback on using the freemie cups with a madela pump? I have a madela pump in style advanced–getting ready to go back to work after number 2 and those freemie cups look really appealing.
Spirograph says
I used freemie cups with my PISA occasionally. I never had any supply problems, but I don’t think the suction is quite as good with the freemie cups; it took longer to pump, and I didn’t get quite as much milk. Also, I found the accessories more annoying to dis/assemble, but that could have just been because I didn’t use them enough to get really proficient the way I did with the Medela accessories.
What would you use them for? If you want to pump in the car during your commute, or when you’re sitting around watching TV with people you don’t want to flash, I could see that being great. But if you’re going to be somewhere mostly private anyway, the traditional setup is more efficient. Just put the lid on the bottle and you’re done, none of this pouring into another container stuff. Also, the collection cups are SO BIG. I can fit 4 bottles and all my pump accessories in the standard Medela cooler, but I’d have needed a separate bag to take the freemie stuff to work with me.
Meg Murry says
+1 to all this. I used the Freemies 4 years ago (so they were a generation or 2 ago and they have changed a little, but not a lot) with a PIS (not advanced, the previous version).
They were ideal for pumping and driving or pumping somewhere where you might get walked in on, but the decreased suction, pain to take apart and inability to massage while pumping meant that I still used my handsfree bra + horns more often than the freemies. You also had to pull out the tubing to empty the milk, and then take them apart to put the tubing back in, so I couldn’t use them in a “I’ll pump for 150minutes, then get interrupted, set them down and start back up where I left off” like I imagined.
Also, despite what the videos on the webs!te show, I still had an initial period of hiking my shirt up and opening the flaps on my bra to put in and out – even after 6 months+ of using them I never could have put them in my shirt “blind” -my n*pple would not have been lined up properly, at all. And they were also way noticable under my shirt. Not as bad as having my shirt off and bottles dangling, obviously, but still not everything I had imagined.
However, for situations like pumping and driving or pumping and typing at full speed, they were ideal. Basically – do you want to pump for 25-40 minutes and multitask (drive, type, etc)? Freemies Or do you want to put on the bottles and horns and get pumping done (but not be able to move much beyond websurfing on your phone, etc for fear of knocking over bottles of milk, etc) in 15-20? Horns + handsfree bra
Either way though, for pumping with kid #2? Treat yourself to freemies and/or a second set of parts (or heck, a whole second pump) and make your life easier.
Blueberries says
Freemie + Medela PISA is a good combo.
LSC says
I loved the Freemies with my PISA for pumping at work and while traveling for work. They honestly were much more discreet and comfortable for me than the flanges that came with the PISA. Worth a try, in my opinion.
Faye says
Can we talk about diapers? (And I know this is late on Friday, maybe I should post again next week…) I did Amazon S&S for Pampers, but recently had to switch to Huggies now that kiddo is in a larger size. But for both brands, the Amazon ones I’m getting are different than the same brand/type in the store. My Huggies Little Movers from Amazon have muted colors in the print, less effective grip strips, and don’t seem to fit quite the same. I had the same issue with Pampers when I was buying those. I’ve talked to a few mom friends, and they see the same thing. I googled it though, and can’t find anything else about this.
Is it just well-known that Amazon has off-brand or outlet-type diapers? I don’t think it’s an issue of older stock as it’s been across brands and across 12+ months of diapers. Or are we all just imagining this?
JJ says
omg. I’ve noticed this before but never put together that it’s the difference between Amazon and wherever else I have to buy diapers if I run out before the Amazon shipment arrives.
Nothing substantive to add, but you’re not imagining this.
Meg Murry says
It could also be that the diapers are made in multiple factories around the country, and your BRU/Target/whatever is supplied from Factory A while the Amazon warehouse is supplied from Factory B. I’ve worked in manufacturing, and it’s distinctly possible that there are 2 different companies supplying the grip strips, etc to Factory A and Factory B.
We only ever did S&S for Luvs, and those cases always went straight to daycare, so I never saw the diapers at home to compare. FYI, Target also has a subscription model for diapers now, although I think Amazon is cheaper (although we always found the Target brand diapers to be just fine for daycare where they have to change really frequently – I just switch to Luvs on S&S because I didn’t want to spend the extra money that magically disappears from your wallet as soon as you walk into Target)
anon says
We have found that the store prices for Target brand diapers are cheaper than the online prices, even with subscribing. We use Target exclusively and love them!
NewMomAnon says
Since we are talking potty training – over the holiday, my almost-2 year old daughter decided she wanted to only use the potty, and started fighting whenever I would put a diaper on her. Daycare is having the same problem. I keep finding little bruises on her hips from daycare, and I’d be upset about it, but I know how hard she struggles against the diapers and I don’t think the bruises are avoidable as long as she is in diapers.
So – my next weekend with my kiddo is not this weekend, but the following (Dad is not on board, doesn’t want to be responsible for potty training this weekend). I bought a pack of “training” pants and a pack of undies with her favorite cartoon character. Should I start the undies sooner and let her hang out in undies at home in the evening and morning, with diapers only for school and sleep next week? Should I do the training pants or just jump straight to undies? She is fabulous with #1, but erratic with p**p. Any tips for handling that without freaking her out or causing problems (knock on wood, we’ve avoided GI issues so far)?
I know she isn’t ready for night training, so she will have to deal with night diapers. But I am so over getting kicked in the face and wrestling an angry toddler every time we do a diaper change.
EB0220 says
Any experience with your parents or parents-in-law gifting significant sums of money to your kids? My parents are planning to start doing this in 2016 and we’re trying to figure out the best mechanism for doing so.
EB0220 says
Oops! I did not mean for this to be a reply. Sorry, NewMomAnon!
FWIW, we did start test-driving the underwear at home the week before our potty training bootcamp. It worked pretty well, although she didn’t really make progress until we had a dedicated weekend. Then she figured it out quickly.
Anonymous says
Skip the training pants. Just do underwear during waking hours. Listen when they don’t want diapers.
For any accident, including #2, just matter-of-factly clean it up. It will come. It’s definitely not unusual. Sometimes kiddos will wait until they have a diaper or ask for a diaper (for example, I know a child who would get about 15 minutes in a diaper when they got home from daycare for a brief transition period just for pooping). Sometimes they prefer privacy, so just leave them on the (little) potty. Experiment and be patient.
Meg Murry says
Yup, just be matter of fact about accidents – and actually, don’t even use the word accident, because once they get a little older, it’s not an “accident” its really “oops, I didn’t bother getting to the bathroom fast enough”.
We made a huge freaking deal out of dry pants and sitting on the toilet in general, and just said “oh, you have wet/dirty pants? Oh that’s no fun, ;et’s get you cleaned up.”
If you wind up doing a bath after dirty pants, don’t make it a big deal with toys – if possible just do standing up in the tub with a washcloth. Save fun bathtime for it’s regularly scheduled time.
For poop advice – try to get her to sit a little longer (distract with books or whatever) and give her a stepstool to put her feet on.
RE: money gifts says
eb0220, relatives in my family have done this and earmarked the money for education. Sometimes it was in a trust or parent controlled account, sometimes just paying tuition directly. More recently, in a 529 college plan. A financial advisor figured out the best 529 plan for flexibility and rate of return.
EB0220 says
Thank you! Guess we need to finally get a financial adviser in addition to a CPA and attorney…feel so adulty today.
NewMomAnon says
My parents actually opened their own 529 for my kiddo. At the time, they said it was to keep it out of FAFSA when she goes to college, but I think it was actually motivated by the imminent divorce…they wanted to keep it out of joint assets. Their financial planner was instrumental in pointing them toward a good 529 and helping them set it up.
My grandparents gave me a ton of savings bonds when I was a kid, and it turned out to be enough for a down payment for my first house. I think the program they used has ended but they were able to pay less than face value to buy the bonds, and the bonds could be redeemed for face value at maturity plus interest accruing after that.
Meg Murry says
My parents have set up 529s for my kids. We are planning to play with Turbotax this year to see if it is worth the hassle to have them write checks to H and I as gifts and then have H and I deposit the money and contribute to the 529 (so H and I get the tax benefit), or if my parents should just keep doing what they are doing and contributing to the 529 monthly or quarterly.
My parents have given us financial gifts in the past for things like a house downpayment- you can gift up to $14,000 per person to person per year. So that means that technically a set of grandparents can give $56 to a couple for the kids – Grandma writes a $14k check to mom, Grandpa writes a $14k check to Mom, Grandma writes a $14k check to Dad, Grandpa writes a $14k check to Dad. Per their account’s advice, each check was accompianied with a note saying “Check #12345 for $14k is a gift from Grandma to Mom on MM/DD/YY” and we filed those notes with our taxes just in case we ever got audited.
The disadvantage to doing it that way is that:
-parents/in laws have to trust that you are going to actually put money in the 529 and not just put it in your bank account.
-money goes in as a lump sum, instead of a small amount each month or quarter to take advantage of the rise and fall in market prices – it’s possible you are buying at a high point instead of dollar cost averaging over the year.
Anon says
My in-laws wanted to set up an account for our son. I (most strongly but husband agreed) said no they can do nothing requiring his ssn. This is unique to our family but they are well intended people with a lot of money but poor respect for boundaries (in my opinion, but much of this is cultural). I am certain that if they had his ssn they would open accounts in his name without telling us and probably make him an “employee” in my father in laws company when possible and good knows what else. The compromise is that we opened a 529 that they contribute to. It works for now.
Katala says
Just want to say – not entirely unique. One grandparent will never, ever see DS’s ssn due to problems respecting boundaries…