Nursing/Postpartum Tuesday: Glass Baby Food Storage Blocks
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If you make your own baby food purees, I really like this version of storage containers. I’ve had good luck with OXO products, and if I were in the market for something like this, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy.
I like that these are glass containers, and they can go directly from the freezer to the microwave or oven. Since they’re glass, they won’t stain like plastic, or hold on to any smells. They are also dishwasher safe.
We own the OXO sippy cups, and the straws were starting to split because my son was chewing them, and when we contacted OXO, they sent us new straws.
These containers also have a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty, which is great. The set is $19.99 at Buy Buy Baby. Glass Baby Food Storage Blocks
Psst: Looking for info about nursing clothes for working moms, or tips for pumping at the office? We’ve got them both…
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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
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- 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?
How many people actually make / freeze their own baby purees? [Factoring in: for people with kids with no dietary restrictions.]
This post takes me back to the martyrdom of moms: it’s not enough to love, feed, and house your child. You must personally grind up their food. I personally masked up what I was cooking for me with a fork and then thought: maybe kiddo will think mashing food with a fork is fun if we make a game of it and let them “help.” Maybe kid will get teeth super fast or have hearty gums. Oh, maybe I should get sheep and shear them and card the wool and spin the yarn and weave the cloth and sew the clothes (my mother merely sewed my clothes from, sniff, store-bough fabrics that were heavy on the synthetics so as to be stainfast and launder easily). The expectations never end.
[If men gestated and did the caregiving, I would put $ on no FT working dad doing this more than one time.]
I had no interest in it so I didn’t do it. I also hate cooking and meal planning and found it a ton easier to just buy a variety of different kinds of baby food. Because of my lack of culinary skills, I felt like my kid would definitely be exposed to a lot wider variety of flavors that way.
Also… baby food is something that is a very short lived time frame. Maybe 3-4 months between when they start solids until they can start eating mostly”real” food. It seems all-consuming and important at the time (like so many things in the first year), but it goes by so quickly and does not really matter what you do. It’s just a personal preference, IMO.
Would love some thoughts on nanny vs daycare.
We need full time childcare for DD2 starting in September when my 6 month leave ends. DD1 went to daycare at that age and it was a good fit for us – she really thrived having other kids around, even at that young age. Learning to nap around other kids meant that she kept napping when she started at preschool at 18 months (and still does at 3!), while pretty much all of her friends who had nannies rarely or never nap at school.
With all the covid uncertainty, I have been thinking that a nanny for DD2 is a better option than daycare, to be backup if (when?) DD1’s school shuts down, and to reduce family exposure generally (though we are all low risk). But DH and I will be working from home indefinitely, and the logistics of having a nanny and baby in the house while I work are not appealing to me – I think it would be very hard for me to concentrate if baby is crying (because of separation, bottle refusal, not napping, etc). Finding and hiring someone, and managing an employee is also intimidating, especially since so many people are likely trying to hire nannies.
So now, in the last few days, daycare for DD2 is sounding more attractive. Naps and bottles would be handled through the magic of daycare teachers, out of my sight and hearing! No concerns about nanny reliability (we had issues with a summer nanny last year)! More affordable, more hours of coverage, and no need to train/manage someone.
It would be 2 drop offs and pickups, but we have a spot at a daycare 2 blocks from DD1’s school, both walking distance from our house, so not too bad. Either one would only be for a year until DD2 starts at DD1’s preschool. DH and I both have very flexible jobs, and my mom would be available to help cover future covid closures, though of course it’s not the same as a full time nanny.
What would you do?
Can we talk logistics of hiring live-in childcare? I am thinking nanny mainly because we need someone sooner than an au pair would be able to start.
How much do you pay relative to the going rate for a live-out nanny? How do you find someone? Do you look for someone locally or potentially expand the geographic area for the search? Any thoughts on how to handle the arrangement in light of COVID where everyone is going to be staying home more than usual?
Virtual shopping help? I’d like some new summer sandals. I’d like something that slips on and is comfortable to walk 1-2 miles in while pushing a stroller on a sidewalk. I have slightly wider toes. Would like a neutral color. Should I just get the Birkenstocks that have been popular for a while?
This is a big part of what drove us to decide on a nanny just last week. We’re in Mass and I don’t think our governor will hesitate for one second to lock it down if there’s a spike. This lock down we got by because my work is tied to the financial markets and work was very slow for the last few months. I can’t feasibly do my job in a busier environment AND handle another lock down.
OP, can you hire a daycare teacher as a nanny – one you know or one you don’t? We just made the decision to do this last week. DD is 2 yrs 2 mos and we are TTC (in treatments) for #2 right now. While DD absolutely thrived at daycare and daycare helped us by remembering to do things that this over tired first time mom didn’t, like transition off bottle – that was so not on my radar – we just decided to leave for a host of reasons, many COVID related and some not.
We hired one of her daycare teachers as her fulltime nanny. Nanny is outstanding, brings structure to our house and also of course has experience with things like fixed nap times, helping kids meet milestones, etc. Some of that daycare structure will certainly be lost but we’ll be able to get some of it because our nanny is used to that setting (see: potty training, which is coming at us fast and I know nanny can help us with since she’s used to handling 7 toddlers at a time, let alone one..). For the socialization aspect, as soon as it’s safe, we are excited to sign DD up for dance or gymnastics, for nanny to take her to the library story times and other things like that, in addition to socializing with other nannies (a few former daycare teacher friends of hers who also opted to leave amid COVID). It’ll never be the same as daycare, but she’s going to be able to get much of the same types of structure for essentially the same cost as two kids in daycare plus more flexibility to us.
I have a 3 bedroom townhome. My spouse and I are both working from home. my spouse works full-time and I work part-time. Even with childcare, I don’t have a great place to work other than my kitchen table in the main living area, which means I end up doing most of my work when the kids are sleeping. The desk my husband has is in our bedroom and takes up ALL the space in there. Are there any solutions? I’ve considered closets etc and there is nothing. Is there any one in a similar position?
Preschool reopening…I live in a west coast hot spot and our small, private preschool just announced its reopening protocol. I have a 3.5 year old.
Masks for teachers always, masks for kids while inside
Only ten kids max per class, two teachers
Individual buckets/no sharing for high use items (paintbrushes, crayons)
Covid test for the whole family before entering
Less hours plus a “safety and healthy fee” $3000+
Food from home, no water bottles or sippy cups
No parents inside
Social distancing between kids and between teachers when possible (no hugs??)
Temp checks twice a day and if your kid has 100 degree temperature you need to show two negative covid tests 24 hours apart or an alternative diagnosis from a doctor
Etc
Plus we’re due with our second in August.
1) I don’t know how they can do these requirements in real life (does your school have similar rules/how’s that working?)
2) is there a good reason to stick with the school rather than a pod with five kids and a teacher in someone’s backyard?
Had the worst morning with my 2.5 year old and feeling terrible about it. So many tantrums on her end, so little patience on my end. Had to switch shifts with my husband early because I could not take it anymore and now I feel like I’m wasting his and my work time sulking about what a terrible job as a mother I’m doing. No advice needed, just commiseration. Does it get worse than 2.5?
It’s probably too early in the summer to have an answer with really any certainty, but what are your local/state school systems considering for next year? And how are you planning on handling it
We’re in Northern Virginia (Fairfax) and it seems like it could be all virtual or 1 or 2 days in school and the rest distance learning, possibly asynchronous, so a video of someone teaching, rather than interactive video chats. Neither of these seem like a feasible option for lower elementary kids without a stay at home parent (not that it’s a great option for older kids/kids with a SAHP). An actual on-line school, while it may be better able to deal with curriculum and technology, would still need more daily parental hands-on involvement than I think we can provide
I’m so sick of feeling like an inadequate mom and employee. My June 2020 self is wryly laughing at my June 2019 self who was feeling like she was doing a bad job of managing it all.
Anyone have a twin size loft bed that they love? Only requirement is that it has to fit a desk underneath, and willing to spend to get something that will last through the HS years. Thanks!