Nursing/Postpartum Tuesday: Go Gaga! Big Softy Sea Chime Toy
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We just gave away the last of the kids’ stroller toys (sniff), including a little whale just like this one.
This charming stroller toy makes chime and crinkle sounds when squeezed — perfect for encouraging little ones to use their hands. There’s also a textured teether for relieving achy new teeth. It says spot clean, but I’ve definitely tossed it into the wash when it got grubby. This would make a great stocking stuffer for a baby’s first holiday.
Infantino’s Go Gaga! Big Softy Sea Chime Toy is $7.49 at Target.
Sales of note for 1/16:
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
- AllSaints – now up to 60% off (some of the best leather jackets!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles with code — readers love this blazer, these dresses, and their double-layer line of tees
- DeMellier – Sale now on, free shipping and returns — includes select options like Montreal, Vancouver, and Venice
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; extra 50% off all clearance, plus ELOQUII X kate spade new york collab just dropped
- Everlane – Sale of the year, up to 70% off — reader favorites include their scoop tee, Dream Pant, ReNew Transit backpack, silk blouses and oversized blazers! New markdowns just added
- Hannah Andersson – Up to 30% off all pajamas;
- J.Crew – Up to 40% off select styles; up to 50% off cashmere
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything
- L.K. Bennett – Archive sale, almost everything 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Tag sale for a limited time — jardigans and dresses $200, pants $150, tops $95, T-shirts $50
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale – 50% off + extra 20% off, sale on sale, plus free shipping on $150+
I will be closing and moving into a new house with a toddler and 5 week old. Any recommendations?? For past moves, we did it totally DIY. We will likely use professional movers this time. We’re on a tight budget, but is it worth paying for the movers to pack our stuff as well? Any suggestions about how to prioritize kids’ stuff to ease the transition?
At what age do you start giving your child freedom to come and go from their bedroom at night? My 26 month old has been in a Montessori-style floor bed since 5 months, meaning he always has free access to get out of his bed and wander around his room. Early on we put a plastic doorknob cover (the kind kids can’t turn) inside his bedroom door, because when he first learned to walk he went through a brief phase of trying to leave his room at nap time/bedtime instead of sleeping. That’s no longer an issue, he stays in bed once we put him down, but we’ve kept the doorknob cover on there out of habit. Is it time to take it off?? The only thing giving me pause about removing is that he often will spend 30-45 minutes playing independently in his room on Saturday/Sunday mornings before calling for us, and we can relax in bed and just watch him on the monitor (usually this means we don’t get out of bed until 8 am most weekends which feels so luxurious). If he has free reign over the house then we’d lose that.
If it matters we’re going to have baby #2 in a few months so I’m sure all will be chaos and any leisurely weekend moments will evaporate anyway…
both kids are sick – hooray. my in-laws are currently on a plane and other family arriving tomorrow and thursday. is thanksgiving over yet…
Boss took me aside a few weeks ago and told me I’d be asked to do a Big Thing. I’ve heard nothing about it since then. Boss just sent a group e-mail out about preparing for the event where Big Thing will happen. I replied to Boss asking “you still want me to handle Big Thing, right?” Waiting for a reply and I don’t know why I am so nervous. Maybe I misheard? Maybe I am nuts? I realllly want to do Big Thing and I am the best person to do it. Please reassure me that I’m not being pushy and grabby by speaking up?
Help me choose our giving-tree gifts this year, please:
Coloring supplies for a 12 year old girl–pens, pencils, or a smaller pack of each?
Books for a 9 year old girl–I was thinking one fantasy novel, one contemporary novel, and a non-fiction, does that sound good? Any recommendations for the non-fiction?
My 5 year old used to be pretty good at culling old books and toys but in the last year or so, it’s gotten impossible for her to part with any toy. And I’m using “toy” very loosely here. She’ll decide some scrap of paper or tiny piece of plastic junk she got at school or is using in some pretend game is the most important thing ever. She refuses to part with any of the baby toys she no longer plays with. She’s still ok at giving away books, I think because she doesn’t have as much interest in books for whatever reason. With the holidays coming up, I know we’re going to be inundated with new toys (we buy very little, but friends and family give a lot) and I just can’t believe how much stuff we already have in our house. It’s more than I imagined we could ever have for one small child and she doesn’t use most of it. I’m at the point where I want to start sneaking stuff away and donating it if she hasn’t asked for it in a few months, but my husband says this is cruel. Any ideas for getting kids to part with stuff? I am actively dreading the holiday season because of how much new stuff I know she’s going to get. Some family members do ask us for suggestions, and we can try to steer them towards consumables but even then it’s like she will decide the box or something is super important and refuse to let us throw it out. She’s a little mini-hoarder!
My 23 month old has been telling me he’s “scared” of things for the past few weeks. Stuffed animals he’s liked before, pictures of animals or cartoons he used to like, the dark, etc. He is genuinely scared and asks me to “put away” those books or toys. How have you dealt with these new developments? I was scared of the dark for a very long time so I can empathize with him, but wondering if it’s a little early to be exhibiting such intense fears and at a loss for how to help him.
Maybe this is separate…but he used to fall asleep fairly well on his own but now asks us to leave the door open because he is afraid, which means he comes out and refuses to sleep.
Help me socialize with other daycare parents! Specifically, we ran into another daycare family at a restaurant this past weekend and exchanged phone numbers. Now what? Should I suggest a playground meetup on a weekend? Invite them over to our house? I’d love to get to know some daycare families but am not great at this. I don’t know where they live but assume it’s generally near us since the daycare and the restaurant were both in our suburb.
Ugh my 5 year old has strep and is really sick. We took her to the doctor yesterday after five days of low grade fever and general malaise (tired, complaining that her stomach hurt) and her rapid strep came back “flaming positive.” We started antibiotics but before they had a chance to kick in she spiked a 103 fever. I feel terrible, we obviously should have taken her to the doctor sooner, we just had no idea it was strep and figure it was some virus she would kick on her own. I guess this is a PSA that your kid can have strep with no complaints about their throat hurting!
Wwyd – my sensitive young 5yo told me he was scared of the movie that extended day went to the last time they had a half-day. It turns out I was supposed to be getting some newsletter that would inform me of the movies ahead of time, so I’ve corrected that now and looked at the movie they’re proposing for the next half day. It is also PG and also looks fairly “adventurous” (Strange World). This is a kid who couldn’t handle the new Minions movie – he was covering his eyes and finally asked me if we could leave (to be fair, the plot point that spooked him was child Gru getting kidnapped by a windowless van…).
Should I figure out something else to do on half-days, or work on trying to come up with a plan for him if he gets scared at the movie? (Like asking him to sit next to a buddy or one of the aides, closing his eyes, etc). Obviously the movie is also only 90min of the 4+ hours of the half day care, so I’m inclined to try and figure out a way to power through it, but I also don’t want to ignore his concerns.
We have a huge yard that’s basically empty and I’m ready to make it more fun. Currently we have a very little slide, climbing dome, and a sandbox. The yard is mainly on a hill so not ideal for adding a swing set or similar. We have a baby and a 5 year old, so very different stages. 5 year old loves climbing – I wish we could do some kind of ninja thing but we don’t have any trees to hang it from. What are your kids enjoying?
Hopefully a fun question. DH and I want to take a trip the second weekend in December. Flying out of IAH. Leave Friday, return Sunday. My only stipulation is: not New Orleans (our usual go to) and sort of cheap. Walkable would be nice. The cheapest flights are: LA, NYC and Vegas. I’d maybe check out Oakland but I’m not interested in NYC or Vegas. What city would you visit?
DH and I just tested positive for COVID yesterday, first time for both of us. We’ve both gotten the bivalent booster, our 22 month old is also positive, 5 year old is negative so far. Trying to get an idea of how long we should expect to feel like crap? 5 year old is masking when outside of her room and we are too when around her. We were supposed to start potty training Friday, is that silly ?
Need new lunch containers for the kids. Are planet boxes worth it? I am looking at the ones with two sections, for sandwiches and some veggies. Any other recs for lunchboxes?
What is your take on drop off playdates where you don’t know the family? My kid has a new group of friends from an activity outside of school, so we see the other parents and are friendly, but don’t really know them. My kid (8 year old) was invited to a sleepover at this friend’s house along with everyone else from the activity. None of the parents are particularly close. I told my kid that they can go over, but not stay the night. I was just totally surprised by this kind of invite, we have a very close-knit family community at school, so I dont know if this is the norm. Growing up, my parents only allowed cousin sleepovers. I am allowing the drop off playdate, but dont feel great about it, either because I dont know the family and have never been to their house. Am i just paranoid?