This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
After our oldest was born, we weren’t sure about having a second, so we gave away most of her clothes and other baby gear. One item I repurchased for our son is Green Sprouts’ bibs.
Both our kids were very drooly, and these bibs are the best. They come in a rainbow of colors (or all white), stay dry underneath due to a waterproof inner layer, and last wash after wash.
Our version has a velcro closure that’s stronger than other bibs — our son likes to yank off his bibs, and he can’t rip this one off. Looks like they’ve updated the new version with a hook and eye closure.
The bibs are available in “blue” and “pink” (which actually includes other colors), and in all white. They’re $17.59 at Target or $17.99 at Amazon.
Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:
Click here to see our top posts!
And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Anonymous says
Hello! I need weaning help for my 19mo toddler. I’d like to wean him just because I’m ready. I nursed his older sister to 14m and weaning was no big deal. She wasn’t as interested and my body had no trouble. He only nurses once a day in the morning for about 10-15 mins total. Yesterday he bit me on one side so I stopped the nursing on that side since I’m ready to wean anyways. Well I woke up last night engorged and in pain on that side. I nursed him this morning but it still is sore from getting engorged last night. Now I’m afraid when I stop nursing it’ll be really painful or I’ll get mastitis (which I’ve had before). I ordered some Pink Stork no flow tea to drink after our final nursing session (ideally, next week). I guess I’ll start using a timer to reduce the amount of time of our morning session. But any other tips/ideas? All my friends either didn’t EBF or do extended breastfeeding (2.5 years or more) where the child eventually self weans
Anon. says
To prevent engorgement, you can hand express a tiny bit for relief. Alternatively, can you try to slowly shorten and space out the nursing sessions? I imagine if you can nurse him for 5 min instead of 10-15, your production will slow down. It may then be easier to nurse every other day, until you stop.
Anonymous says
Yeah I would try to shorten the length of time rather than going cold turkey. I never had any pain or engorgement when I weaned my 17 mo but she was only nursing for a minute or two by the end.
GCA says
Hello! I weaned two toddlers because I was ready: one at 19-20 months, one at 2 (I would’ve weaned her earlier, but…pandemic and we were all home anyway). If you start to feel engorged, I would hand express a tiny bit and massage out whatever clogs you feel. I didn’t feel like wearing a salad so I never did the cabbage leaves thing, but I did take Sudafed once or twice and it seemed to help. Also, I distracted kid 2 from nursing by pretending to have her stuffies nurse and wail because there was ‘no milk left’, and she promptly forgot all about her demands for milk.
Anonymous says
Take Sudafed – it helps dry up your milk. Pump just enough so you are not engorged and uncomfortable but not to empty.
AnonATL says
Sudafed and cabbage leaves work well to dry up. When I weaned, I had one or two days of engorgement but my supply was garbage at that point anyway.
Also I’ve read that showering in a sports bra can help prevent any stimulation from the water if that’s an issue for you.
Anon says
With each kid (I have a big family) I was in major pain from engorgement for at least a week after the final nursing, even though I cut down to a single short morning nursing before stopping. It was easier on the baby than me – baby seemed to forget what nursing was after a couple of days. Maybe a little longer with an older toddler, but it’s just like any other transition in which you need to be calm but firm once you are ready to commit.
anon says
I just did this a few weeks ago with kid roughly the same age. I just stopped cold turkey rather than reducing the time. I had some engorgement on one side for about a week. For me it worked best to hand express in the shower until I felt softer and comfortable. Good luck.
Anon says
I used sudafed after reading about it online – you can actually go pull up studies about it! Also hand expression when necessary. My nursing book’s only advice was to give you encouragement not to stop, which was bonkers.
Anonymous says
OP here – thanks everyone! I’ll start shortening his sessions starting tomorrow and then go to every other day next week. I’m not worried about his reaction to it and I’m good at setting boundaries with my kids. I’m just finally over it and I want it done now haha. And it’s taken me a long time to get ready to wean him. It’s our last baby so it’s officially closing the chapter on pregnancy/babies/breastfeeding. Which is a physically hard chapter of life but one that was also magical and sweet.
Pregnant and soon-to-be-fully vaccinated! says
tldr How should I celebrate being fully vaccinated while on bedrest?
I’m 30 weeks and am so so excited to be fully vaccinated at the beginning of April. I wanted to do a weekend trip nearby to celebrate but now I’m on modified bedrest and honestly get super wiped taking care of my toddler. I want to do something fun that I wouldn’t have done without the vaccine but I don’t know what to do that will feel fun and also not wear me out. It has been a rough rough road for the past year and I have this little happiness in my life and want to celebrate it. Any suggestions?
Anonymous says
Prenatal massage! Or pedicure/facial/whatever other spa stuff floats your boat.
Boston Legal Eagle says
This would be my vote too. I had a great prenatal massage with my second that got rid of my lower back/hip pain.
Anon says
+2. I’m not pregnant, but my first post-vaccine massage was amaaaaaaaaaazing.
No Face says
+++. I fantasize about my first post-vaccine massage! I also had a prenatal massage after my due date with my youngest, and it felt amazing.
Anon says
+++ all of this.
I had my first baby in October 2020, so I went my entire pregnancy without being able to treat myself to a spa day (or even a haircut). I will definitely be making up for it next time around!
Anonymous says
What I was going to say!
Anonymous says
Being touched while pregnant would literally make me vomit. I cannot imagine how a prenatal massage would be enjoyable. Apparently I am the only one?
Anonymous says
Can you leave the house?
OP says
OP here. Yes, I get to leave the house thankfully! It isn’t full bedrest – just supposed to take it very easy. Walks no longer than 20-30 min a day, no lifting heavy things (like a toddler), etc.
Pregnant and soon-to-be-fully vaccinated! says
OP here. Yes, I get to leave the house thankfully! It isn’t full bedrest – just supposed to take it very easy. Only walk 20-30 min a day, no workouts, no lifting heavy things (like a toddler), etc.
Anonymous says
Then I’d go out to dinner inside!
Anon says
personally i would not. i dont really see how dining indoors once vaccinated is any different than attending a medium-large size event where you don’t know whether the others are vaccinated and can’t wear masks the whole time.
Anonymous says
Yeah, also the weather is pretty nice in most of the country, or will be soon, and I don’t get why you’d dine inside when outdoor dining is available and just as good. To each their own, but I’d rather spend risk capital on things that don’t have safer alternatives, like flying to see loved ones.
Anonymous says
Ok then you don’t! I believe the vaccine works, it’s freezing here, and I miss it.
Anonymous says
Whether the vaccine “works” is not a binary thing. It “works” in the sense that it reduces the risk of a severe infection, but not to zero. You can believe the vaccine “works” and still make a risk-benefit decision that the rate of community spread is too high to make indoor dining safe. We don’t really have a good idea of how well the mRNA vaccines perform against the newer variants, either. And many people will choose to be most risk-averse when it comes to absolutely non-essential activities such as indoor dining.
Anonymous says
This is insane. If you are on modified bedrest, you stay home.
Anonymous says
Modified bedrest normally just means don’t lift heavy things or stand up for long periods of time. You can leave the house.
Anonymous says
Yes it’s different from bedrest. I was on modified for placenta previa. I could do short walks and lift toddler if necessary but not carry her long distances. Could not carry groceries etc…
anon says
Order some fun treats off of Goldbelly?
Anonanonanon says
Get your hair done?
Anon says
personally i would probably stay home. otherwise, even once you get your second shot, you still have to wait two weeks, so you will be about 34 weeks pregnant by then? maybe a prenatal massage or a pedicure? i also don’t know what you’ve done without the vaccine. i personally haven’t gotten my haircut in over a year (i live in an area with poor mask compliance, as i was feeling comfortable with going again, our numbers spiked, then they calmed down but spiked again. finally over the post-holiday spike, but masks are becoming optional this week in my state), so for me getting a haircut would be exciting. hanging out with another fully vaccinated friend?
Katala says
Can you take a night at a hotel by yourself? Chill out in the nice clean bed, order room service or eat at the restaurant, maybe sit by the pool if it’s nice out. If there is a spa, you can do the massage too!
I’ll get my second shot at the end of the month and I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I totally get wanting to celebrate! To me, doing things that lots of people were doing already even though not advisable would be very exciting. Like eating at a restaurant – i would do outdoor but it’s not cold here. I would LOVE to take a prenatal yoga class, but I’m still not sure about that (I wouldn’t want to wear a mask, I’d rather do yoga at home if that were necessary). I have been getting massages at my therapist’s studio, it’s just her, she spaces out clients and is very careful about Covid – I’ve had several appts cancelled due to her potentially being exposed and she shut down during spikes. So that’s the one thing that wouldn’t feel particularly special, but I do think it’s a great idea.
Anon says
Curious why you don’t want to wear a mask for yoga? I’ve been doing masked yoga this whole time and it’s been fine. If you’re worried about having breathing problems, worst case you could leave the building and remove your mask and you’d just lose the cost of the class. But honestly it’s really not hard to breathe through a cloth mask (N95 is a different story) and I say that as someone with pretty severe asthma. It seems worth trying at least?
Katala says
I’m already short of breath being pregnant. It’s definitely uncomfortable for me after 10 mins or so at the grocery store in a mask. I can’t imagine I’d be comfortable exercising for an hour in one. I was fine wearing a mask before pregnancy, but I am short of breath so easily now. For me, the closest class is a 25 minute drive, and I’d need to try to do it during work or leaving the kids with DH on the weekend. So it’s really not just the cost of the class lost if I can’t do it, it’s all the planning and taking a couple hours for myself, and being fairly sure I wouldn’t make it through class that just doesn’t seem worth it.
Anonymous says
If you’re so short of breath you can’t wear a mask, I don’t think you would enjoy yoga even without a mask.
Katala says
I do yoga at home just fine with no mask. I’m surprised y’all think there is no difference in breathing ability with a mask on. Maybe mine are extra thick or something.
Anonymous says
I’m pregnant and short of breath too but I don’t really notice any difference in a mask. The first couple minutes with the mask on I always feel kind of weird but I adjust really fast.
Pogo says
This morning after I came out of the nursery after feeding the baby my preschooler had broken into my office and loaded my breast pump onto one of his toy flatbed trucks and was “driving it away to the job site”. It was 6:15 a.m.
anyway how’s your day going?
Realist says
Another pandemic day. Same as many of the other pandemic days since a year ago. Sigh.
Anon says
12 months in, I still have no dedicated office space in our house. I’ve been making do pretty well with the dining room table when kiddo is at daycare and we don’t have visiting family (husband uses the basement – he is loud and in meetings all day so we can’t share the same space). But now we’re starting to have pretty frequent visits from (fully vaccinated) family members, and working in the dining room is untenable with our open floor plan for our kitchen/dining/living area. We only have three bedrooms, all of which are in use and none of which really have space for a proper desk. When family is here, I work in our master bedroom but I feel really weird about being on video calls there and I also feel like having my office be not only in my house but in my *bedroom* is blurring the lines between home and work even more than they have been, and making it hard to focus during the workday and hard to sleep at night. Anyone have any brilliant ideas for how to make this WFH thing more workable long-term, short of selling our house and buying one with a less open floorplan? So sad that this pandemic has made me hate my beautiful house that I used to adore. :(
Anon says
One (or more) of those folding screens plus noise cancelling headphones to at least visually separate out an office?
Anonymous says
I’m in an NYC apartment, and we just don’t have a lot of options. I have embraced tiny desk in a corner of our bedroom. My bed is my super professional zoom background. When I have an important call I use a virtual background. For regular coworker meetings I just go with it. It helps that most of my coworkers are in the same boat.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Tell the family to do something out of the house and not bother you? Sorry, that might be harsh, but I’m wondering what these family members are doing. Are they traveling from out of town to visit the grandkids? Or just stopping by whenever? Are they staying with you? Your home is your office now and unless you or spouse are imminently going back to the office soon, you need to treat it as such. If these guests really need to stay with you, then you should switch off with spouse for the dedicated quiet office. He doesn’t get to have it all day.
AnotherAnon says
Yeah not to be rude but I think the simplest solution is not to have people stay with you. Failing that, it sounds like you have 3 bedrooms and one kid? My WFH space is a 3 foot by 5 foot awkward nook in the guest bedroom. I stuck an $80 stand up desk in it about six months ago. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than the kitchen table, where I worked for most of 2020.
Anonymous says
This. My dad is coming to visit this weekend and I specifically rented an AirBNB out of town because I will not host guests in my office-house at the moment. He is driving and concerned about hitting DC afternoon traffic on the way through to our destination and suggested he could just stop at my house and wait it out. I felt a little bad about it, but I said no and explained that my house is my office during the work day. Just like it would not be OK for him to wait in my office, he cannot hang out in my house starting at 11am. (I might be OK with this for some family members, but he is a particularly intrusive houseguest.)
OP says
It’s out of town family staying with us, not people just dropping by to hang out during the workday. I suppose I could make them get an Airbnb but I think they’d be hurt, and it would be a financial hardship for some of them. Quite honestly, at this point I care way more about our extended family than my job. The year of isolation has really driven home the importance of quality time with long distance family, plus my employer has treated me like complete crap during the pandemic and I don’t really feel like punishing the grandparents by banishing them to an Airbnb just because my employer took away my office space.
Anonymous says
Get an Airbnb to use as your office?
Anon says
That’s more appealing to me than kicking out my family, but it’s a very significant amount of money given the frequency/duration of these visits, and I’m really loath to spend that kind of money out of my own pocket on what is essentially a work expense (office space).
Anonymous says
Or a WeWork subscription
Anonymous says
Do you have a walk in closet? Since you’re probably not wearing your work wardrobe very much can you pack it into some suitcases and move your desk in there. That way when you are not working you can close the door and your workspace is out of sight. Obv leave door open when you are actually working in there.
Or tell DH it is your turn to work from the basement for the next few months and he can use the master since he’s had it for months now. 50-50 split on the basement office is what we do. I get mornings down there, DH gets afternoons.
Pogo says
I was in a walk in closet early on. My one coworker called it “the cupboard under the stairs” – you could for sure tell I was in a closet. Don’t know if that’s better or worse than being in your bedroom?
Anonymous says
I would still use one of those virtual backgrounds but I think the closet gives you the ability to not look at your desk when you are in the bedroom after hours.
Anon says
That’s a good idea, thanks. Our only walk in closet is in the master bedroom but I do see the point about how being able to close the door in the evening gives you more physical separation between home and work. I’ll give it a try.
anon says
I have a desk in my bedroom and have it carefully angled into a corner, so while I can see my bed over the top of my monitor, all that’s visible on video calls is the wall/bookshelf behind me. Can you figure out anything like that? Or use a virtual background.
This is also really personality dependent, but I find it fairly easy to keep the work/home boundaries even when working in my bedroom because I’m either sitting at my desk (work) or not (home). For me, this is actually easier than if I’m in my dining room.
AwayEmily says
+1 on all of this
NYCer says
Totally agree with your second paragraph. I have a desk in my bedroom and it is completely fine (the bed is behind me, but I do not care if people see my bed in Zoom meetings). Full set up with multiple monitors, etc. It is rather ugly from an aesthetic/design point of view, but I have no issue separating work/home boundaries.
Anonymous says
My desk is in my bedroom. At the end of the workday I turn off the computer and put the desk chair in another room, but I still wonder whether the fact that I spend most of my waking hours in my bedroom trying to concentrate is part of why I can’t sleep at night.
anon says
Could you add a screen behind your desk in the bedroom so there’s more separation? But I also think you need to cool it with the visitors during work hours.
I completely hear you on this — I am fortunate to have a guest bedroom to work in, but I also have recognized pitfalls to our open floor plan that NEVER bugged me pre-pandemic. I keep reminding myself that this is a temporary situation and someday, this will feel more like my home again. And I cannot work at the dining room table without being reminded of the dishes that need to be put away, the crumbs my kids left behind after breakfast, etc.
Anonymous says
We also have a small, open-concept 2 bedroom with 2 adults working from home. I use a desk in my kid’s room while he is at daycare, and use the dining room table if I need to work after he’s asleep. My husband uses a corner of the couch, and goes into our bedroom if he needs to take calls. It works for now but it sure will be nice to go back to the office one day!
No Face says
Can you add some walls to your basement to create two actual, separate offices with doors that close? It sounds like you will WFH for a long time, so making that change would be worth it.
If your third bedroom is for guests, can you make a sleeping area for guests in the basement and use the entire guest room as your full office?
Anon says
Honestly, I’d ask my husband if you can switch spaces periodically.
Anon says
if kiddo is at daycare – can you use kid’s room while at daycare? if family is staying with you but you and DH are both working, what are they doing all day? sitting in your guest room? growing up our guest room was a guest room/office, so it had a desk. once the visitors wake up and they are in the main spaces can you use the guest room? and just use a virtual background. honestly, i often take zoom meetings from the floor of my closet and just use a virtual background. no one cares (other than me who is a bit uncomfortable sitting on the floor)
Anonanonanon says
I got a huge lap desk and it has a drawer/cupholder and that kept me pretty mobile until the dust settled and I carved out a dedicated space for at-home days. Look up Cooper Mega Table XXL Large Folding Table & Laptop Desk. I like that it has a drawer so I can throw pens and sticky notes in there and I threw everything else in a backpack as I had to periodically move around. You could work out of a recliner or on a kid’s bed pretty easily with it. I’ve sat on the floor to do meetings with it so I could have a plain wall background. Could work to be on video from a closet, etc.
I have also used a tv tray and a folding chair for times I had to sit on camera for an extended time. Those can be folded up and slide under a bed at the end of the day. I finally carved out a space, thank goodness.
Anon says
I have no idea why a lap desk didn’t occur to me before, but this would be super useful since I often seem to be working in a couch/chair of whatever room currently isn’t occupied. Thank you.
Realist says
If you have the money to do so, I would 100% outsource this problem. Hire a designer that has experience with small/flexible spaces and have them put together something for you. I’m sure that a video tour of your space and a description of your challenges and desires, along with a reasonable budget, would be sufficient for a designer to come up with something that will help you feel better about the current situation.
Mm says
PSA: target circle has a coupon for 25% off any toy. On that note, any favorite toy ideas for a 1.5 year old? We already have a play kitchen, which has been a huge hit.
Anon says
Accessories for the play kitchen (sliceable food, shopping cart, melissa and doug slice and bake cookie set, stand mixer or coffee machine if your kid knows what those are). Since it’s getting warmer, what about a water table or sprinkler if you have outside space? At that age my kid loved her brio trains and little people (with castle and farm and cars).
Anon says
do you have an indoor slide? water table? doll stroller? shopping cart?
Anoner says
Indoor slide from target was my quarantine purchase all star. Bought for my then 3 year old and now 4 yo and 18 mo use it every day.
Anon says
Our MVPs are a shopping cart and a learning tower.For outside, one of those little play sinks that cycles water.
Anonymous says
At that age the most popular toy was a doll stroller she could push around the house endlessly. A shopping cart would probably also work.
Ifiknew says
Transitioning my almost 4 year old from her crib/toddler bed. Should I get a twin or just go with a full? We have the room for a full bed comfortably but twin would allow for more play space? Not sure if I need to upgrade the twin again.
Anon says
We went with a twin for the reason that we wouldn’t have much play space with a full. I think it depends on how much you want to try to keep toys/play confined to the kid’s room. If that’s a priority for you, I think it’s worth getting a smaller bed even if it means you have to replace it down the road. We have a nice glider for reading/snuggles so having the bed be a place we could all hang out wasn’t really a priority.
Anon says
We went with twin beds for our kids because we didn’t want to lose the floor-space to a full. Growing up, we all slept in twin beds until we left for college (where we again slept in twin beds), so I don’t think you’ll HAVE to upgrade.
On the other hand, if you’re ever going to double her room as a guest room, a full bed can be really useful for that.
Boston Legal Eagle says
We have a twin for my almost 5 year old. It’s pushed against the wall so he’s got lots of space in the middle to play with his toys, which is nice. I don’t know if we’ll upgrade to a full – the twin works fine for snuggles and reading with a parent before bed (although a bit tight for my husband).
Anon says
i dont understand this push to put full beds in kids rooms. growing up i think i had maybe 2 friends with full size beds, but they often didnt get them until high school if they were updating their room to be more grown up. my sister and i both had twin beds in our rooms all through high school and college. my parents replaced my bed with a queen once my sister and i both had significant others. a full honestly isn’t that comfortable for two adults to sleep in anyway. DH also had a twin growing up.
Anon says
+1 I didn’t have a full bed until I got married. If you have guests frequently that would use the bed, or you plan to sleep in kid’s bed with her, a full makes sense, but otherwise stick with a twin. Plenty of room for a kid, cheaper to buy sheets, easier to make the bed, etc.
Redux says
So funny, my experience was entirely the opposite. As kids we always had full size beds, and so did all my friends (solidly middle class). Upon reflection, I suppose it was in part so that your room could be used by someone else– guests, parent sleeping with a sick child, sleepover with your cousins, etc. I never knew people gave their kids twin beds until I went to college. That seemed to me like the push– to make the child’s room all about the child, promote independence, etc. which at the time seemed like a fancy upper class thing to do.
Anonymous says
I grew up with fairly wealthy parents and I had a twin (and shared a room w/a sibling) just because my parents weren’t into buying their kids stuff. Full size beds were definitely for adults.
Anonymous says
All three of my kids have twins because it means I can fit all their sheets in one laundry load (in addition to the benefit of extra play space). Double sized bed is double sized sheets which is more laundry. Twin size seems cozier for a 4 year old anyway. We always put the beds up against a wall for more of a cozy nook feel.
avocado says
If you have space, I’d go with the full. It seems to be the standard for kids these days. As soon as my daughter noticed that many of her friends had full or queen beds in elementary school, she started complaining about her twin bed. When it was time to replace the mattress, we ended up getting a whole new full-sized bed.
avocado says
Adding: In elementary two or three kids would sometimes share a full or queen bed for sleepovers. As a kid I wouldn’t have been OK with that, but my daughter didn’t seem to mind.
Anonymous says
I mean, kids will complain about their friends having lots of things they don’t. I don’t think “your kid might see friends with it and want one” is a great reason to buy one.
Walnut says
Our kids all have fulls to make my life easier for reading books, snuggling them to sleep, etc.
Redux says
Our bedrooms are decent sized and we chose full beds. Agree with Walnut that it is much more comfortable for me as the parent, plus adds some flexibility for guests, sleepovers, etc. We had twins when they shared a room for space reasons, but much prefer the fulls now that they have their own rooms.
Anon says
My 3.5YO is in a queen because that’s what we had and I thought it was silly to buy a new bed. It’s been great to have the extra space for cuddling and storytime (and sometimes one of us will sleep with her), and it will serve as an extra guest bed when family comes to visit one day again. A double seems like it would be just large enough to be annoying, but not large enough for two adults to fit comfortably if used for a guest bed (or maybe we’re just a larger family), so I would vote twin. If you are worried about outgrowing, go for an extra long twin (sheets will be harder to find but are college standard) as I know I switched to a bigger bed in middle school because my feet were hanging off the edge.
Anonymous says
We are getting a twin for our three year old for play space. He is losing his nap but i want the option of him being shut away up there for at least an hour (more??) he will play in his room independently if not napping, but won’t do the same in the basement playroom. (NOTE: basement is fully finished with 9ft ceilings… it’s not creepy down there).
Assume that when the toys are gone we will get a larger bed given that his shoes are already size 11 and my hubby is 6’8″.
Anon says
I am looking for daycare for a 9month old in NoVA; specifically in the Chantilly/Centreville area. Any recommendations or places to stay away from? We are relocating from out of state and getting a sense of a place is difficult with virtual tours being the only option to see these places (though I appreciate the caution). I’ve looked at the state ratings and based on that, we are considering La Petite, Beantree, the Goddard School, Minnieland, and Willowbrook. We will be relocating again in the next two years so I am really only assessing the infant/toddler rooms and the two year old rooms as we will be out of the area before preschool age.
Anonymous says
Are you relocating for work? New coworkers can be a good source of info – even if they don’t have young kids, they can probably connect you to people who do.
DC Anon says
Multiple friends have used and loved Beantree FWIW…
Anon says
someone the other day commented about using an old phone to play audio books for their kid. this might be a dumb question – but do you have to pay for phone service to do that or can you connect to wifi and apps without paying to keep the phone in service?
AwayEmily says
You can just keep the phone on wifi. No cell service needed.
Anon says
You should be able to use an old phone just as a wifi device. It will probably give you a notification about not having a SIM card installed, but you can just ignore that.
So Anon says
Any book recommendations on raising boys? My son is 10yo and I am raising him as a single mother. I was raised in a house full of girls, and my ex is not a solid reference point, so I’m looking for guidance. Thanks!
Anonymous says
Haven’t read it but on my wish list – to raise a boy. Discussed toxic masculinity and all the expectations put on them. Might give you insight into their mindset
Anonymous says
An acquaintance of mine wrote this! I am very excited to read.
DLC says
I started reading Decoding Boys by Carla Natterson, but then realized that it was geared towards older boys than my 4 year old. So I can’t vouch for it’s usefulness, but I am putting in on my list to read in five years.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600223/decoding-boys-by-cara-natterson-md/
Anon says
How to Raise a Feminist Son just came out. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Anonymous says
Any apartment dwellers have recommendations for a small water table for a balcony? Or other ideas for playing on the balcony? I’d like to get my 2-year-old outside more once the weather warms up, and am trying to figure out ways we can use our balcony. Thanks!
Anonymous says
We had a water table on our high rise balcony and it was fantastic except filling it was a pain without a hose. You’re smart to get a small one!
Anon says
so i don’t have it, but first measure your balcony bc some friends in LIC had the step 2 water table on their small balcony and it worked for them. step 2 also makes a ‘waterfall discovery wall’ that i considered. or look at the ikea flisat table with the bins that you put in it, bc then you can use it for other activities too – like maybe you get kinetic sand that you only use outside, etc.
HSAL says
Is there another balcony or a porch below you? If so I wouldn’t recommend a water table since they would drain onto the people below. For a two year old I think you’d be fine with a plastic underbed box and some toys, then you could take it inside to dump. My kids don’t use all the bells and whistles of ours, so its basically a glorified storage box on legs anyway. But if dumping isn’t a concern, the small Step 2 ones are nice.
Petite AnonMom says
Hello! Gift ideas for 7 year old girl birthday gift. She is my son’s friend so I kind of want to get her something special. Her mom told me she likes legos and books. Thank you.
Realist says
A lego set is a great idea. Go by age range select one that looks like fun. You can always check with the mom if the birthday girl has that lego set yet if you are worried that she already has it. If you buy at a smaller local toy store, it is easier for decision fatigue. The local toy stores have pre-curated things and usually there are only a handful of options for each age. Our local toy stores have both an online option or I have also called them and described what I wanted and then they talk me through their recommendations. I’m not big on making phone calls, but I find it really helpful to talk to the toy stores. I’ve done both very specific requests like “a puzzle for a 5 year old that features animals” and more vague requests like “a birthday gift for a 3 year old girl” and they have been super helpful in both categories, describing what is popular or what they have in stock and recommend. They also wrap and send it for me. So I recommend local toy stores if you have good ones in your area.
Anonymous says
Is she a first grader? My 7 y/o first grade girl likes:
-Art/art supplies
-Legos (there is a cute panda rescue one with panda poop that was a big hit for her bday, also any of the amusement park rides are super fun)
– any of the “make your own” kits available in any toy store. Candles, scrunchies, unicorns, hair bands, etc
– sporty gear (new lax stick, new tennis skirt, lax balls etc)
– books: clementine series, Ivy & Bean, Mia Mayhem, series, Yasmin series, unicorn academy
Best bday gift this year was from her (female) bff: flippy sequin backpack from Target, flippy notebook, gel pens, scrunchies and lipgloss.
She also LOVED the monogrammed sporty bag from one of her sporty friends and a giant plastic unicorn that mounts to the wall to hold scrubchies.
Tweeter says
Piccasso tiles or magnatiles? Starting from scratch an curious which I should invest in
Anon says
The general consensus seems to be they work they same, hold up the same, etc. Some people say Magnatiles have stronger magnets, some say the exact opposite. I chose to go with Magnatiles because they are held together with metal rivets and, reportedly, impossible to get apart, while Picasso tiles are held together with glue. With a baby and kids who are rough on toys, I wanted that extra protection.
Anon says
not sure it matters. we have magnatiles. i believe the systems are compatible
anon says
Yeah, they’re all pretty similar. We have handmedown Magformers and they work fine.
octagon says
Magnatiles are the gold standard for a reason. And there are a couple of other brands that are (more or less) compatible — I think playmags and shapemags.
Anon says
I say neither but I’m a grinch about buying my kids toys and they’re literally the #1 toy at daycares and kids museums so your kids will have plenty of chances to play with them.
Anonymous says
We have PicassoTiles and they work great for us. They seem very high quality, and much cheaper than MagnaTiles. If money is no object for you, I guess I’d go MagnaTiles but really the Picassos work for us. Plus Picasso has a ferris wheel set that my daughter is obsessed with.
SBJ says
We have some MagnaTiles, some Picasso Tiles, and some PlayMags. Of the three, my preference is the PlayMags. Their construction is virtually identical to the MagnaTiles but the magnets are much stronger (and they’re less expensive). Which means less “my X just fell down heeeeeellllllpppppp meeeeeeeeee!” All three are compatible and played with interchangeably. When we (inevitably) add to our collection, I’ll look to PlayMags first.