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I used this type of nail strips a while back, and they’re again appealing to me while a salon manicure is out of the question. After prepping your bare nail, you stick the sticker on and then file off the excess.
They last longer than regular painted-on polish, and if my memory serves me, they remove more easily than a gel manicure would.
These are a fun and easy way to get nail art that lasts a long time without having to leave your home for a manicure. Each set of 34 nail strips (22 base color/3 accents) is $6.99 at Target. Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Palette
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Sales of note for 3.28.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything plus extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off 2+ items; 40% off 1
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- Lands’ End – 10% off your order
- Loft – 50% off everything
- Nordstrom: Give $150 in gift cards, earn a $25 promo card (ends 3/31)
- Talbots – 40% off 1 item; 25% off everything else
- Zappos – 37,000+ 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 – 50% off entire site
- Hanna Andersson – 30% off all swim; up to 30% off HannaJams
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; 50% off select swim; 50% off kids’ styles
- Old Navy – 50% off Easter deals
- Target – 20% off Easter styles for all; up to 30% off kitchen & dining; BOGO 50% off shoes & slippers for the family;
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
stuck inside with kids says
I live in a place that’s gotten really bad air the past few years in fire season due to regional wildfires.
My kids are 4 and 6 and we have a small 2-bedroom house. School will be cancelled if the air gets extremely bad or the pandemic forces another shutdown.
How do I prepare to be hunkered down with them inside with zero outside time (or ability to go to indoor public places) for days/weeks? Moms in areas that get blizzards, do you have tips on crafting supplies, toys, getting their energy out, keeping spirits up, etc?
I was just getting the hang of shelter in place with kids, but my key to happiness was getting outside every day (even if just to the backyard). No clue what to do if the air means no outside time.
Anonymous says
Painters tape to mark out obstacle courses inside helps burn off energy. They can help pick the actions and mark off the arrows/Xs, balance beams etc. This got us through a few blizzards the past winter.
Spirograph says
My kids have gotten really into modeling clay in the last couple weeks, especially the 7 year old. We got a pack of several colors and a little kit of tools (under $20 for everything), and showed him some youtube videos about technique. He can make much more elaborate stuff than with playdough, which holds his attention longer. We got a good 2 hours+ out of it yesterday.
anon says
My other comment may have gotten eaten, but I got a lot of use out of the Scholastic “learn at home” program.
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome/grades-prek-k.html
Anon says
We get lots of super cold days where school is cancelled but I still have to work from home, and we’ve also had to pretty heavily isolate for this pandemic so I’ve got a whole list of ideas.
– Obstacle courses. Every day. Find a room (like their bedroom) where you can open up as much floor space as possible and a couple soft chairs/ bean bags that you don’t mind them climbing on. (Or you can put the couch cushions on the floor.) Build an elaborate course and then run it for a whole day. If they need inspiration, watch Floor is Lava on Netflix. Incorporate things like the Twist or sack races to make sure there’s big body movement in the course. A fun twist is to put a stuffed animal in a laundry basket and race them on a towel around a race course.
– Indoor Recess videos. There are a ton of free ones, we like GoNoodle. We force them to get up and do the moves (and we do them too).
– Dance Parties. Every too-cold winter night is a dance party. We alternate who gets to pick the theme – sometimes it’s Trolls, sometimes it’s Queen.
– Play physical games. You can buy ones like Twister and Pancake Pile-Up, or you can play simple ones like indoor hopscotch (with painters tape), catching a balloon on a paper cup, bozo bucket toss, simon says, etc.
– Oriental Trading. I place a big order at the start of every fall and then bring out a craft or two each snow day. They usually come in packs of 12 so if you have families you can split with, even better. We have so many foam sticker creations but it keeps them busy (and builds fine motor skills!)
Create a checklist of things to do each day before screens start. Ours includes reading a book, building with Legos, FaceTiming with a grandparent, playing a game, coloring a picture, inside/outside recess, and playing with toys.
Pogo says
The first couple months of the pandemic in the northeast were very rainy and we were inside a lot. Crafting was the best way to entertain my LO. Anything with scissors, glue, stickers, etc. “Jewelry” making – since my guy is young we use pipe cleaners and he strings buttons on to make bracelets. I found some good ideas online – I think busytoddler is one? But also lean into his interests – whatever animal he is into, we make construction paper cut-out versions of that (I draw the outlines, let him cut and glue). Or he was really intrigued by daddy’s orchard, so I cut out plain green trees and let him glue the fruits on. Paper dolls are another one that he can kill tons of time with – I bought an activity book that has a bunch of different ones, including a farm that he could set up with little paper animals and a little farmer etc.
Baking is a favorite indoor activity if it’s not sweltering where you live or if you have good AC. I bookmark recipes for small batch cookies, muffins, etc that are easy to make. Wacky cake is a good one that kids can basically do themselves and it’s one bowl (I make it right in an 8×8 glass pan); also doesn’t make a ton. I let LO decorate however he wants. Bonus if there are any holidays or birthdays you can attach the baked good to and Z00m friends or family to celebrate – I ordered a Milk Bar cake for my best friend and we Z00med her and LO helped sing and then he ate one of the cupcakes he “made for her”.
Finally, screen time. Pick set times of day that you will use it and don’t feel bad at all. Khan Academy Kids has been great and I feel like 4 and 6 would be the sweet spot for that. That’s our morning screen time (half hour) and afternoon is usually an hour of his choice of TV show.
stuck inside says
thanks, all!
Anne says
We’ve been shelter in place in an apartment: snack time is always sitting down at the table (so it becomes an activity and so it is less messy), cosmic kids yoga and go noodle, lots of free play unstructured time, lots of reading stories, audio story podcasts, and magnatiles galore have worked for us.
Anonymous says
I got a mani pedi this weekend in MA and it was glorious. Plenty of room between me and the next customer, plexiglass at the mani station, everyone in masks, technicians also in face shields. Combined with patio brunch and a Target trip felt so normal.
buffybot says
Hello all —
Looking for wubbanub/paci wisdom. I set a self imposed deadline of getting munchkin off the wubbanub/pacifier when he was done with his 2 year old molars. At 2 1/2, it looks like we’re about a month out from that as the top ones are finally breaking through. Dentist said 3 was the deadline. He has a whole menagerie of Wubs that he loves dearly, although he is fairly good at keeping them in his bed/crib — but sometimes will crawl back into bed specifically to have some quality time with them even while playing.
Has anyone ever just cut the soothers off of the Wubs so that you can keep the stuffies? Did you go cold turkey? Do the Pacifier Fairy approach? I tried to lay the groundwork for the latter (which our pediatrician suggested), talking about how Wubs are for babies and he’ll need to give them to babies soon and that went over like a lead balloon. Any in-the-trenches anecdotes welcome!
Anonymous says
So we weren’t on Wubbanubs, so the stuffed animal aspect adds a different layer. We ditched pacis at 3.5. Our dentist’s deadline was 4. We actually did it at exactly this time last year. We had four days in a row off due to 4th of July. We were shocked at how well it went. I would give kiddo the option of whether to detach the stuffed animal or pick out a new stuffy. But I’d keep the wubs in reserve in case he goes with a new one. He might decide a few days later that he wants those stuffies instead.
Anonymous says
We waited until closer to 4 as we need to get over the dropping the last nap hurdle first. We’re in a pandemic – I wouldn’t stress about this just because your dentist gave you a relatively arbitrary deadline.
rosie says
+1. Our peds said to stop pacis by 3 pre-pandemic but is fine with us delaying given the current state of affairs (kiddo had a pandemic birthday). I will add though that the wubbanubs got holes pretty quickly, so we told my toddler that her teeth were too strong to use them anymore, but she still uses the jellypop ones. I put the wubbanubs in the washing machine, not sure if that caused the problem or if the pacis themselves are just less durable.
An Anon says
Is it arbitrary? As a kid I had one way too long and it really messed up my teeth. I still have a tongue thrust.
Anonymous says
Our pediatric dentist said that up until 4 is okay, because 4 is when the permanent teeth start forming and coming into place. So a general recommendation before that seems arbitrary. However, I’m sure there are kids who develop on a different timeline, so an individual child may receive a different recommendation that isn’t arbitrary based on his/her exam and x-rays.
Anon says
With the caveat that we didn’t have to do it during a pandemic, we used a birthday and “rules” as the excuse. “Oh you’re 3 now! Pacis aren’t allowed for 3 year olds! You can set Elephant on your headboard to watch you at night if you want, but now that you are 3, it’s not allowed. I know, it’s not fair is it, but that’s the rule! Do you want to pick out a stuffy to sleep with instead? Those are still allowed.”
Anoner says
Cold turkey. We left our last and only wubanun at a hotel just prior to DS turning 2 and just went with it. 2/3 days of whining then he pretty much forgot.
Anon says
I took it away at 18 months. Cold turkey but mine wasn’t super attached and never used it at daycare. I didn’t have the energy to make up pacifier fairy stories or deal with the drama of a more vocal child, basically. The first two nights without paci were bad but then it was smooth sailing. I hid the pacis thinking if she was sick I would relent but luckily that didn’t happen.
Pogo says
I tried cutting off the paci part, because he was biting through it and it was no longer safe. I just told him that Giraffe was different now. This did NOT go over well (he was much younger than 3 though – like maybe 18mos or 2ish?). Just sobbed and threw Giraffe back at me.
So I went full cold turkey. We now have a thumb sucker. Wish I had more wisdom. It went quickly, like 1-2 days or slight crying at nap/bed, but he just switched to the thumb so that’s kind just kicking the can down the road. I had it on my to-do to get him to a dentist but then, coronavirus.
Anonymous says
From my mom this is basically how I ended up being a thumb sucker which is way harder to break. She was even wary of making kid give them up around age 4.
Emily S. says
With our older daughter, we tried cutting it down a bit day by day so it would be less satisfying, but on day one, she wailed, “It’s broken!” and didn’t want them anymore. It was a rough couple of days, but it was just a few days before she stopped asking for it. With our youngest, we quit cold turkey, by accident. We were packing up from vacation and couldn’t find the pacis she had lost in her bad so when she asked for one, we said, ” you left it at the beach! oops!” She took about a week and a half to get over it. With both girls, they were only using the paci at night by that point.
Anonymous says
Not wubanub but we did paci fairy and it worked really well. Bea Gives Up her Pacifier book, and I went overboard on the gifts the paci fairy left in the morning.
Bean74 says
My son was chewing through the Wubanubs at just over two. Once he chewed through the last one I cut off the paci part and gave him the animal. At that point he only used them in his crib or in the car anyway. He also stayed at my mom’s for a weekend around that same time and she had forgotten that I had told her there was an emergency Wub in his bag. She didn’t give it to him over that weekend, he didn’t ask, and that was that. We were extremely lucky with it.
More than a year later and he still sleeps with the one animal and the other is still in the car.
Anonymous says
my daughter is 5 and still has the sheep (animal) part of the wubanub – her name is Monica. we had the Paci fairy come at 3 and she brought her a present in exchange for the paci.
Anon says
Way too late to do you any good, but this makes me really glad my daycare had a strict 6-month cut off for pacifiers. They said we could do whatever we wanted at home, but they were strictly prohibited from 6 months on at their facility so I just stopped using them then and never had to go through all of this!
Clementine says
I just sent a kid to daycare for the first time since early March. I feel… so guilty and yet SO FREE.
I’ll also add that I somehow missed the memo that daycare was opening 90 minutes later than normal… so not only was I there half an hour before they opened, I literally had the first kid back in the building when they opened back up…
I feel so guilty and keep wondering if I’m making the right choice but at the same time… this is my child most likely to injure themselves by climbing on top of a couch and diving head first off of it. This is my child who needs the most hands-on parenting. I am so relieved that there’s somebody else making sure kid doesn’t have to go to the ER today.
Anonymous says
This sounds like a fabulous day I am so happy for you enjoy it!!
Boston Legal Eagle says
Keep reminding yourself that with the new regulations, including mask-wearing, sanitizing, smaller groups, etc., daycare is pretty low risk, and more and more keeps coming out that kids don’t seem to be badly affected by this virus. And it’s impossible to both work full time and watch kids full time for a sustained period, so you’re doing what you need to do to ensure your kids are provided for, both physically and financially. Not to mention for everyone’s mental health!
Pogo says
+1 And for those in MA (or anywhere really) I found the citations in the appendix of the Fall Reopening guidelines for public school to be very reassuring and interesting. Will try to link to it below.
Pogo says
http://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/return-to-school/guidance.docx
Pogo says
Looks like it is Appendix A.
Cb says
Amazing, I had 2 kid-free hours. I didn’t want to bike home in between so I was outside and it started to pour but FREEDOM.
Anonymous says
We sent ours back a few weeks ago and have felt confident it was the right choice (after a lot of back and forth. It’s a big deal!). Given the research on kids and our overall low risk, we felt the risk of COVID didn’t outweigh the enormous benefits of the kids social and emotional well-being. Our almost 4yo was miserable at home (Not at first!) and I responded poorly to it. It made for days of unhappiness and stress for both of us. It’s much better now.
CCLA says
Same. Kids went back June 1 and everyone – both kids and adults – is so much happier now, especially the almost 4yo. I have some fleeting guilt but it’s mostly gone, in large part to the support of the women here (both solidarity and the research shared in this group).
anon says
Yep, girl, that was me 2 weeks ago. Now I am SO SO GLAD that my youngest is back in daycare. The amount of relief that it’s brought us is palpable. When her teacher emailed us last week with a rundown of everything the kids had done … well, my girl sure isn’t getting that much stimulation at home.
Anon says
THIS. I sent my child to daycare for the first time ever; I was still out on leave when the pandemic started. I felt so guilty, but love the fact that they do all these things that wouldn’t happen at home. The stimulation is good for them!
Anonyhippo says
Guys, I am REALLY struggling with whether to send our 2 and 4 year old back to daycare next month. I recognize that it’s a very individual choice, and I see pros/cons to each, but it’s still very hard.
We live within a 5 min drive of my pregnant sister/her husband and my mother/her boyfriend. We had been “quaranteaming” with them for the past 2.5 months (with everyone being extremely careful and only seeing one another).
If we go back to daycare, we are planning to close that circle back off and, if we see them at all, only see them outside with masks and distance, etc. If we hire a nanny or PT babysitter, we would try to find one that was social distancing in a serious way so that we could continue to see my family. Or, we would continue as we have been with my mother helping out from 9-12 each day. I wish she could do more, but she feels like that’s her limit, and knowing how wild my boys are, I get it.
Neither my husband nor I are considered high risk, but who knows? Are we just accepting the risk that we will get the virus if we send them back?
I know you can’t crowdsource this, but, er, what would you do?
Anonymous says
Send them back to day care the day it opens and still see my family.
Anon says
That’s not up to OP since the pregnant sister may (reasonably) not want to.
Anonymous says
Omg sigh. That’s what I would do. If my sister refuses to see me because I need day care, oh well. That would be sad but I can’t not have childcare until there is a vaccine.
OP says
Can I ask where you live and your reasoning? Do you think the overall risk is low or is that you think that kids’ transmission risk is low? I know the latter is likely true.
Anonymous says
New Jersey. I think that the risk is low and also I think that I need childcare and I need it soon or I will lose my job.
OP says
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective. It’s definitely a personal decision, and I don’t think there are right or wrong answers. I have no real problem going back, but I wouldn’t want to expose my family to the risk since I do think it carries one.
Boston Legal Eagle says
We’re planning to send our kids (1.5 and 4) back to daycare and still see my parents for a few hours on the weekends, mostly outdoors. We’re all comfortable with this risk. If cases start getting worse, we’ll reevaluate.
Anon says
i would probably send them back to daycare and see family outside with masks. i’m a more risk averse person and while pregnant women seem to be ok, i would never forgive myself if i caused harm to my pregnant sister, future niece/nephew or my parent and i don’t know how much id be able to fully enjoy my time with them worrying about the virus the whole time. chances are, daycare will close again at some point and then you can quarantine for two weeks and see the fam again before your boys return to daycare. or once your sister has the baby, you could quarantine by choice + wear a mask to go meet the baby – i know a lot of people who’ve been doing that.
Spirograph says
Please go check out any of a number of articles recently on the lack of evidence of any significant spread related to daycares. You are making the best decision you can for your family, and I would not lose any sleep about sending kids to daycare; I don’t think the risk is significantly higher there than it is from grocery shopping. I am still avoiding “non-essential” forays into public, but childcare is essential, imho.
Just curious: Is your family driving the no-contact if your kids are in daycare, or is that an assumption you’ve made? It’s an understandable decision, but I’m not sure the current evidence requires it. I’ve been deferring to whoever has a lower risk tolerance in all my interactions, so I certainly wouldn’t push my mom or sister in that situation if they wanted to be cautious, but I also wouldn’t be the one that dictates no contact.
anon says
I’ve seen the studies, but I honestly just don’t see how this is possible. There’s just so much we don’t know about this disease and given how long the shut down has been in-place, I don’t think we can reliably say daycares are not a source of transmission for a few more months when things are up and going. I live in a southern state with high spread and I will not be sending my kids back to daycare this year.
OP says
Yes, I’ve seen those articles and am optimistically encouraged by them. I am really hopeful that they’re accurate. The way I read them, the numbers reported were children that had tested positive, likely bc they’d shown symptoms and gotten tested. I don’t think anyone has done widespread testing of a school/daycare after a known infection to see how many asymptomatic cases there were, and that gives me a bit of pause.
The no contact thing is sort of mutual. I probably said it first but my mother (67) and pregnant sister agree. We may change our minds after we see how things go. Thanks for your perspective, I really appreciate it!
Anon says
We’re sending our kids back to daycare next week. The childcare risk is pretty low and numbers in our country/state are still declining. We are probably still going to arrange some visits with far-away grandparents even after their exposed to daycare.
SC says
I would send my kid back to daycare. A widely available vaccine within the next year is extremely unlikely , so it’s unlikely that anything will materially change within that time frame, except maybe the virus will get worse. You need childcare. Your 4 year old needs social interaction outside immediate family. There is evidence that transmission among children and from children to adults is minimal.
Anonymous says
Send them back and let your family decide whether they’re willing to see you with this added risk. You don’t make decisions for other adults.
OP says
No, but I do make decisions for myself, and I’m not comfortable seeing my family if we have our kids back in daycare, regardless of whether they agree with my perspective.
Anonymous says
I still think this is their decision not yours. But I’m jaded by in-laws that make decisions for my husband’s grandparents that are totally unnecessary and childish and then act like children themselves if their parents “defy” them. The big reason I think this is their decision and not yours is because only they can assess the impact of isolation on their mental health. IMO taking care of mental health right now is really big issue and one that doesn’t receive enough attention.
Anonymous says
OP can’t tell her sister and parents to stay home, but she has every right not to make herself and her children vectors for spreading the virus to their relatives.
Anonymous says
My family is not close by, so it is difficult for me to respond. I am sending my child back to daycare as of July 1 despite the risks. He needs socialization and we need the ability to work. Family is out of state and bc of covid, we canceled plans to visit. We expect we will not see them in 2020
OP says
Thanks for sharing your decision. I would do the same if we didn’t have local family. Such a hard year for everyone. Good luck!
Anon says
I’m pregnant and we are likely sending my toddler back to daycare in the middle of July. Part of it is because she needs the social interaction and we need a break. After switching off to work each day and working late into the night, I can’t imagine doing this until I give birth in December. I also think I will lose my job if I do. We considered a nanny but that’s just not something we feel comfortable with (trust me, I wish we did because that would make all of this easier – we just are used to the daycare rhythm) and again, I would hate for my daughter to miss out on the social interaction for such a long time. And while I hope I’m wrong, I’m anticipating another shelter in place this fall if things get bad again, so it would be nice for her to have a few weeks/months with her friends.
Once we’re in daycare, we will see family on a limited basis and wear masks, but that’s also what we’re doing now. Our families do not live as close as yours. I think daycares are going above and beyond with precautions and I appreciate that. Also, it made me feel better to hear that our director is a couple weeks behind me in her pregnancy so I know she will not get lax on precautions.
From suburban Philly – just wanted to share my perspective FWIW.
OP says
Thanks, I really appreciate it. We have been managing alright because of (limited) help from my mom but it’s exhausting. Can’t imagine being pregnant on top of it. Good luck!
Anne says
We’re doing a nanny not daycare. I know this site is very pro-daycare rn but the whole thing seems very stressful for us, and what if they shut down again, and with our office/wfh requirements very up in the air a nanny seems to give us the most reliable childcare over the next year. I support anyone else’s choice hands down, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to decide otherwise. YMMV but I’d do a nanny in your shoes.
OP says
Thanks, I should have said that that’s a big part of it, too. I worry a lot about our 4 year old not having other kids around (beyond his brother and 2 year old cousin) but I also don’t love the added exponential exposure of daycare + the uncertainty of repeat closures. It’s so stressful to lose all predictability with your schedule.
Cb says
Thanks everyone for the nudge to explore alternative childcare options as my nursery won’t open right away. My son had the first settling in session with a small in-home daycare today. Just one full-day and two AMs but that will provide me with 3 full days of work (I normally work PMs). I put him in the baby seat and cycled over and then got a takeaway coffee and sat and read for a bit.
Anonymous says
Wonderful!!
Cb says
Also, nothing to improve your fitness then your child heckling you from the baby seat – ‘Why are you going so slow? Daddy goes faster!’
GCA says
Glad you’ve got childcare! It really is a game changer. Also, my kids always do this when they get in the jogging stroller. ‘Run mommy, run!’ ‘I *am* running, honey.’ Savage.
Anonymous says
I get the same thing except mine is younger and just yells “fast.” I am trying kiddo.
Pogo says
Ha, same. So glad you found an alternative!!!
Cb says
It happened super fast, we got lucky that someone nearby had a spot available. Still no word on when nursery reopens but I can just about manage until August with this level of childcare.
Anonymous says
Just looking for commiseration. Has anyone lost their “gardening” groove during this pandemic? I just feel so not interested in doing anything with my (wonderful, amazing, caring, handsome and very sexy) husband. We now have a 13 month old, and haven’t really seemed to be able to find our groove since the baby got here. Add to that a whole lot of PPD/PPA (on lexapro now which helps with the PPD/PPA, but I think has tanked my libido), and just finding time when we’re not tired and the baby’s asleep, plus just both WFH for the past 3 months in ten feet from one another, plus I now weigh more than I did at 9 months pregnant….I’m just….. not feeling it. At all.
I know many wise women on here have suggested weekend afternoon naps are key, but how do you overcome the “this is my time to DO all of the things”? TIA
Anonymous says
I schedule it. I don’t tell my husband this, I think it makes it seem to him like a chore, but I plan a time when I’m going to do my best to be open to the possibility. I like Sunday afternoons so I make sure to take a good shower Sunday morning, shave, lotion, have a light lunch, wear cute lingerie all day, and take an hour for myself – husband walks the kid and I stay home and ready saucy books. If I do that, I’m usually at least somewhat interested. I also insist that we spend a power hour Saturday morning cleaning.
Cb says
Agreed, we schedule it. But honestly, we didn’t get back in the groove of things for ages post-baby so be gentle with yourself. Sometimes I just find it easier to say ‘we’re just going to make out’ and that feels fun and leads to more.
Anonymous says
+ 1 to the saucy books and unofficial scheduling. I was never into saucy books prekids. I prefer ebooks
Also, I find that ‘just doing it’ even when I’m not 100% in the mood helps. Basically every time we do, once we get started I get into it and I always think ‘we should do this more often’ afterwards.
Pogo says
ugh idk. I’m also super pregnant and miserable so I’m giving that to myself as an excuse, but it is HARD. I’m so exhausted at the end of the day and we never seem to have schedules line up – like a night where I get everything done by 9:15 so could reasonably laze in bed and let things happen, he’s stuck in the office til 11pm finishing work and I pass out before he ever comes to bed. There are not enough hours in the day. LO’s sleep regression has not helped either, as we seem to have SO little time when he is for sure asleep and we are free.
Anonymous says
OP – thanks everyone! It helps to know that I’m not alone. I think a book would certainly help….. any recs are welcome!
Anonymous says
I like maya banks
Anonymous says
I like Courtney Milan. And she’s also a legal genius.
Anonymous says
+1. Other favorite historical romance novelists are Joanna Bourne and Lisa Kleypas.
Anokha says
Outlander is old, but great (the saucy parts don’t start until over a hundred pages in). I also really liked “The Kiss Quotient”, which is a much faster read.
Peanut says
I don’t like to have to read a whole book to get to the saucy parts. (Though I may re-read books that I know are good.) I get anthologies of short stories for women compiled by Rachel Kramer Bussel, online via amazon or my local public library.
Anon4This says
Jasmine Guillory! Love that she features Black Women as her protagonists.
anon says
Take a Hint, Dani Brown and The Hating Game! You can thank me later. ;-)
New baby + daycare says
Any other pregnant mamas here trying to figure out what to do about older kids, daycare, and newborns in the time of COVID?
My 2 year old has been home with a nanny but she is moving out of state around the same time new baby is born. Pre-covid, I was planning on sending him to daycare during my mat leave. His daycare is reopening, but if I send him back, I will lose all family support with the newborn as my parents are high-risk and being very cautious. I’m also a little bit concerned about him being exposed at daycare and us all being quarantined at home with a newborn and no help (has happened to a few friends whose daycares have reopened.)
I could get a new nanny, but that’s a lot of people in the house while sleep deprived, trying to adjust to breastfeeding, etc. This is hard!
Anonymous says
How much help can your parents give?
rosie says
I would try to find a new nanny.
Leatty says
Yep, and I have no idea what to do. We sent our toddler back to daycare earlier this month, but our area has turned into a hot spot. We had planned to pull her out 2-3 weeks before my due date (at my OB’s recommendation), but I’m afraid we will need to pull her out sooner. I have no idea what we’ll do once the baby is born. DH has a month of parental leave, so we could probably get away with keeping her home for a month, but there’s no way I could care for a newborn and a toddler after he goes back to work. We may have to break down and pay for a nanny, but we’ll still have to pay for daycare to hold our spot, so we will have to cut out other expenses.
I’m a bit of a wreck over this whole situation today.
New baby + daycare says
Yes! It feels so impossible right now. We are planning to keep our son home prior to my due date as well (same recommendation) but figuring out what to do once the baby is born is just so freaking hard.
pregnant again says
Oh hey, it’s me, the poster who had a chemical pregnancy last month. I’m pregnant again and now just nervous as can be hoping it doesn’t happen again. Just here for positive vibes – this time I’m not calling for a doctor appointment until next week, in case that jinxed things last time (I know that is not how this works…)
Anonymous says
sending good thoughts your way!!
Pogo says
thinking of you!
Anonymous says
Send good thoughts your way!
Knope says
Thinking of you! I had an early miscarriage in the fall, but got pregnant two cycles later and it stuck (26 weeks now!), so definitely can happen!
Anonymous says
Sending good thoughts and thanks for the update. I had a chemical pregnancy and got pregnant the second cycle after – currently 21 weeks! I will say that I worried a lot in my first trimester because of the prior experience. Some people would say blanket statements like you shouldn’t worry or I wish I didn’t worry during my pregnancy because it turned out fine and that was NOT helpful. The only thing that was helpful was time, and I would still get nervous the week leading up to any appt until I started feeling movement from the baby. So be kind to yourself! And know those feelings are normal.
Anon says
I think the way it would be possible is there are people that for whatever reason spread the virus more than others, and there have been studies that suggest that children in general are not only asymptomatic but also potentially not spreaders, even when they have it. I know it’s early and this isn’t fact yet, but just to answer how it could be possible.
Anon says
Sorry nesting fail…meant for anon at 10:32 in the daycare discussion.
AnotherAnon says
My son is 3 and wears size 2T, so he’s very small for his age. I ordered him some pants and shorts from Old Navy and received them this weekend. They’re HUGE on him. I know it’s just vanity, but I just can’t buy him 18 mo shorts. They have functional drawstrings, so I should probably just keep them, but he shorts are also extra long: they look like those Dickies shorts from the early 00s that come to your ankles. It’s not a good look for my kid. What re your favorite brands for very small kids? FWIW, the 2T shirts fit him perfectly. Shrug.
Anonymous says
I found Old Navy to run smaller than most other brands. Gap also runs small. FWIW, my skinny kid always wore a size smaller in pants than she did in tops.
Anne says
I don’t know about boys clothes but Target’s Cat and Jack fit our tiny girl the best.
Anonymous says
I always found Gap bottoms to run really large (waist wise, not length) for my son. Seconding the Target suggestion; they’re the only brand that will fit my kid in shorts this summer. He’s 4 1/2, wears a 3 in most brands but a 4 in Cat and jack. He’s not super tiny, but around 25% I think.
Anon says
If they’re cotton they’ll probably shrink when you wash them. You can help it out by washing on hot/drying on high.
jocelyn says
Carters! I have a very skinny 4 year old boy and carters were the only ones to fit him. The Cat & Jack regular shorts took forever to fit him though the athletic ones fit better. Osh Kosh ran bigger too, had to be Carters to fit him.
anon says
What’s with the huge size difference between Carter’s and Oshkosh pants?! My kids have consistently worn a smaller size in Oshkosh.
Anonymous says
I do not have the answer but this may be a problem for awhile. My 5 year old is tall for his age but I still buy I size smaller (or two) in shorts. It is easier than fighting shorts that will not stay up
Pigpen's Mama says
Same — if my my almost 6 year old (girl) is wearing shorts with a fly and waistband (i.e., not bike shorts) they are 1-2 sizes smaller than her shirts/leggings. Even the ones with the adjustable waistband. At 3 she had a few pairs of 18 month shorts that were great on her, even though she wore age-appropriate everything else.
anon says
Yep. My lanky 10-year-old still wears a size 8 in shorts. Size 7 would still fit in the waist, but the rise is too short, so I finally culled those. Even the drawstrings do not the solve the problem of having waaaay too much fabric to begin with. The kid is still in the 15th percentile for weight.
Anonymous says
I’ve just given up and buy the 18m size for my daughter. She rocks the short shorts in the summer – winter is harder. If you can find brands that are 2 rather than 2T, they typically run smaller in the waist because they aren’t trying to accommodate a diaper. My daughter also still wears training underwear which helps add some bulk to her; if you’re already past that point, it might be hard to go back though. As far as brands, I find Tea Collection runs leaner for leggings – we haven’t tried their shorts. And Cat & Jack shorts work, even though the pants are too wide (?!?)
First Day says
I am one of those who has had a baby during this pandemic (well, late February, so just before shutdowns). After an admittedly lengthy paid maternity leave by US standards, I have to head back to work. My daughter will be 4.5 months old in two weeks and starting daycare. I am doing a transition week the week before I go back. However, with precautions in place, they only do curbside drop off/pickup, so I won’t be able to interact with her teachers. Any survival tips? I’m crying just thinking about it, because we have been just the two of us all day every day for these past several months (dad went back to work), because we have been super careful to avoid unnecessary outings.
Anon says
i have a friend who just did this and at their daycare they were allowed to go in for the first week. but the second week she said every day when he arrives, the people who greet him outside sing a little song welcoming him, which makes her feel excited. she has also been trying to work from home with him for 2 months so i think she felt ready to send him and relished the time to work without trying to care for a baby. he is a bit older (6 months), but was born at 32 weeks and spent 2 months in the nicu. there were some posts about this last week, so I would take a look. in some ways, if you are still WFH, you can come home and get in a good cry before you get started with your work
Pogo says
Just wanted to say this sounds so hard. Such a different beast sending your baby off for the first time during this rather than sending an older kiddo back to a known quantity. If you think texts or pictures would help, I would request they do that. Some people find that makes it harder but I like more communication if possible. You could even ask that they let you know as soon as she wakes up from her afternoon nap so you could pick her up then?
Do you know any other parents at this daycare? Or do they have F@cebook group where the parents interact?
And by all means, cry away! This is not easy under normal circumstances and I definitely cried! I also had mastitis & an infected cyst and spent the day at the ER so that was fun too. The nurses and LC were so sweet to me, I will always remember that. I was a complete emotional mess! LO on the contrary was totally fine.
JTM says
I just went through this – had my second at the end of Feb & she started daycare the day after Memorial Day. I gave her lots of hugs and cuddles before I handed her off outside,and then i picked her up so i could get the immediate hugs at the end of the day. The daycare sent pics everyday during the first week which helped a ton! The first day is really hard but it gets easier every day.
Anon says
The first day or two are brutal. It gets so much easier when you get messages about sensory play and footprint art; then, you realise they are having fun and interacting with other babies while you work.
Cate says
Anyone have recommendations for an ipad for our entering kindergarten kid? We’re going on a trip soon – DD and DS have both had kindle fires – the older version with the kids case. Pandemic has made me realize being able to access different educational apps is useful, particularly for her… we need to replace one and was thinking of going ipad but I don’t want to spend too much. Older version? Mini? I’m completely tech challenged so curious what has worked for others!
FWIW at a younger age I’ve really loved how NOT user friendly the kindle fires are!
Anonymous says
Are you committed to an ipad, or would a non-apple product be ok? We have Samsung tablets that are very kid-friendly.
Anon says
My 5 and 7 year old have loved their Kindle Fires (and me too for exactly the non-user-friendly function!). As part of the school closings, we got a Chromebook for her to do homework on and honestly I think that will be our next step up when the youngest goes to Kindergarten as well. Since their school has Chromebooks in the classroom, all the apps they use for school are compatible, so I don’t have to worry about IOS. So we’re using the Fires for “fun” apps and the Chromebooks for “educational” ones. As she gets older, we’ll start easing into letting her do YouTube or other fun things on the Chromebook too, but for now the combo is working really well.
OP says
Oooh this is a helpful perspective.
Not committed to Apple either!
anon a mouse says
We started with a Kindle Fire and I hated it. There was no way to remove all the amazon programming or even segment it by age group. I also found it very clunky for apps and games and the battery life was terrible.
We now have an ipad and it’s been great. Easy to use, great assortment of apps, long battery life. My only complaint is that we got a 32GB and it’s barely enough storage. Apps are “heavier” now because they are so graphics-intense. I am contemplating upgrading to 128GB so that we can hold lots of downloaded shows for long trips.
Pogo says
We haven’t upgraded yet (LO still uses my ancient iPad that is legit 10 years old) but +1 to the higher memory if you do any kind of travel in non-wifi or LTE areas. LO’s iPad is only 16GB so we have to keep deleting things to add new shows or movies for him. I can certainly tether it to my phone for him to stream, but he gets SO frustrated if the internet is spotty (such as on a 2hour drive yesterday!). Ditto for plane trips if they ever happen again.
I feel like such an Old when I remind him and my nieces and nephews that when I was their age we just had to look out the window or read books! Imagine that! lol.
Anonymous says
I drove ~10 hours round trip with my kids last weekend and didn’t bring their tablets because most of the trip is through a spotty internet area. It went so well! We listened to podcasts, the Hamilton and Frozen II soundtracks, and they looked out the window or at books. I was shocked.
I highly recommend the Brains On podcast for kids 5+
Anonymous says
This is why we got a regular Kindle Fire, not the Kids edition. My 8 year old is still fine with it. We installed the Google Play store so can use any Android app. Caveat that we are super cheap in general and have never owned an iPad (or iPhone).
Anonymous says
PS – we don’t do streaming content when he doesn’t have WiFi; he’s limited to downloaded content at those times. (We’re cheap about data plans too).
Anonymous says
We strongly dislike the Kindle Fire, too. We bought one for kiddo and basically never used it. She has DH’s old iPad now. They shared for a while, but it was getting time for him to get a new one, and I wanted a second one in the house to FaceTime with when he travels. I’m not pro-Apple generally, but we already had one and the Kindle was so non-user friendly.
anon says
We have the Kindle Fire for kids, and I haaaate that thing. It is not user friendly at all. I would just get an iPad and call it a day.
Anon says
My kid is happy with an older iPad. It’s at least 3 years old, maybe 5? not sure.