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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 103 Comments · by

Postpartum Tuesday: Cap-Sleeve Wrap Dress

Nursing

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A woman wearing Tommy Bahama Women\'s Faux Wrap DressWe’ve featured this Lark & Ro wrap dress before as a great affordable dress for going back to work, particularly if your body is still settling postpartum. This one is highly rated and select colors are down to $26 as part of Amazon Prime Day. (I’m still looking through the deals – I already bought a second Echo today because they’re down to $89 and we love ours!… I’m also considering the $90, 8-quart Instapot.) What are you excited for during Prime Day? Lark & Ro Women’s Classic Cap-Sleeve Wrap Dress Psst: Looking for more advice about what to wear to work after maternity leave, info about nursing clothes for working moms, or tips for pumping at the office? This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 9.10.24

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

Kid/Family Sales

  • Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
  • Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
  • J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
  • Old Navy – 40% off everything
  • Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs

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Comments

  1. JP says

    To me this looks like a maternity dress that she’s trying to pull off post-baby. Like that ruching is supposed to be hugging a bump.

    • Blueberry says

      In that vein, can anyone speak to how this dress might wear in pregnancy? I like the look and the price, but only if I can get a few months out of it during pregnancy.

    • NewMomAnon says

      It also looks too big on the model? It’s below her knee, and it’s hanging awkwardly. I think if it was a few inches shorter and if the waist hit higher, it would look less frumpy.

  2. lsw says

    Tips for child-proofing a gas fireplace? I swear I read about this on here, but cannot find it. Right now there is a free-standing screen in front of it, which I completely don’t understand, as the people we bought the house from had two young children and left some of their other child-proofing. Maybe their kids just listened really well.

    There doesn’t seem to be anything you could latch something onto, and I don’t know if a baby gate would work because there isn’t a lot of depth between where the fake logs jut out and the edge of the opening.

    • Cate says

      we just disconnected our gas but otherwise left it and since it’s never been lit kid is really not interested in it turns out! And she is into EVERYTHING.

    • Spirograph says

      What are you worried about? The hard surface being a fall hazard, or them actually getting into the fireplace and messing with the gas valve / starter? No answers for the hearth being a potential skull-cracker, but fwiw my kids aren’t interested in our fireplace, either. We have a free-standing screen that they’ve knocked over a handful of times (among the 3 of them. I don’t think any of them, individually, have done it more than once or twice), but that was incidental to them playing near it. The fireplace is really a non-issue in my house.

      We actually capped it and made some wood fires in there last winter. Obviously we didn’t leave the room, but the kids were very good about staying behind the perimeter line we set (at 2 and 3.5). The baby wasn’t mobile yet. They watched the fire for a LONG time, too. It was better than TV.

    • Anon says

      This happened to a friend of mine with her kid’s daycare. Totally excessive policy and they ended up having to move their kid to it. So no suggestions but sympathy!

    • anon says

      Our gas is disconnected as well, but we bought a sticky foam cover for around the edges, and put a cushion on top.

  3. CLMom says

    My child is in the 18-24 month room at daycare. She has been biting, and now daycare intends to send her home after two bites in one day. Is this a common daycare practice? Everyone tells me it’s just a phase she will grow out of, but until she does this will cause MAJOR work strain. I’ll be paying for daycare, and now have to find an on-call babysitter near my office?

    • anon says

      I’ve heard of this from a friend, who ended up having to switch daycares – it was really stressful for them too. Her son was a little older and she felt like it actually backfired as a punishment – he started to learn he got to go home and see mommy when he bit. I don’t think it makes much sense at all.

      • Redux says

        We switched. In retrospect I can’t believe our first daycare thought that sending our 18 month old home was the right response. The new daycare saw it as part of their role to work with the kid, figure out the triggers, head it off at the pass, redirect, teach her to use her words, etc. Because duh.

    • mascot says

      My kid tended to be the chew toy instead of the biter, but that policy sounds a bit extreme. Some toddlers bite. It’s not out of malice. I realize that they can’t afford a staff person to basically shadow your kid exlusively, but there has to be some other way to keep everyone safe. I’d go in and talk to the director and lead teacher. Talk about what you are doing at home, what do they suggest, what could be some of the triggers, etc. Presenting this as a team effort between the family and school usually goes better when working through behavioral issues. If they show a complete lack of understanding of developmental patterns in children this age, you might want to consder another daycare.

      • CLMom says

        On behalf of the biter’s parents. We’re so sorry. We’re trying to prevent the bites in every way we can think of. We feel terrible for you and your child.

    • anon says

      Wow, I’ve been using daycare for 7+ years and have never heard of kids being sent home for biting. What else are they doing to prevent the problem? Are they identifying triggers, redirecting, and keeping certain kids away from each other? Biting is hard for everyone — both the kid being bitten and the kid doing the biting — but this seems extreme.

    • CHJ says

      My son was the biter, and never once did our daycare send him home for it. They had a whole plan that they executed every time a child was a biter (which was constant – this is so common for the 12-24 month age). In our daycare, the biters were separated from the rest of the group and given quiet activities to do for the rest of the day. In addition to the massive inconvenience to you, I think sending the biter home would be counterproductive. Not only are they getting rewarded for it (they get to go home), they are also not learning how to manage their emotions with other kids in a busy daycare room.

    • HSAL says

      That’s an insane practice. We’re in the same age group and our daycare recently brought in some “biting specialist” about how to handle biting, and left paperwork for all the parents about what they’d be doing to address it. If my kid has bitten someone I haven’t heard about it, but I know she’s been bitten twice. I echo mascot’s suggestions.

    • CLMom says

      I’m surprised that my large, corporate center is one of the few daycare centers that send children home for “behavior”.
      We have spoken with the director numerous times. There is no biting issue outside daycare. Everyone says it’s developmentally appropriate, including the pediatrician. It might be exacerbated by sleep or food?
      To daycare’s credit, it’s been like 1-3 bites for the past few weeks, and a lower frequency (more sporadic) over the past couple months.
      The information I get about the biting incidents leaves something to be desired. Yesterday it was the kids were sitting, waiting for their lunch and she just leaned over and bit the kid next to her. With those types of reports it’s hard to identify the trigger. Daycare is saying, “today just seems like a bad day and she needs a change of scenery.” My daughter LOVED being at the office yesterday. Me…not so much.

      • Anonymous says

        Wow. If they need a “change of scenery” at either of the daycare centers I have used, that scenery would be in a worst case scenario the director or assistant director’s office. I remember them even moving some kids around (eg. a preschooler would “help out” in the toddler room when the preschooler needed a change or missed his old teacher or whatever and the ratios allowed–the bad behavior disappeared when he got to be The Big Kid and help out with the littles!)

        1-3 bites/week doesn’t seem to wholly unreasonable for Peak Biting, but also, it sounds like there’s actually very little chance that you’ll be in a 2 bites-per-day scenario? I would be pretty skeptical of a classroom where my kid bit–or got bit–3x per day. They are clearly not managing the behavior (which obviously leaves something to be desired, but is totally age appropriate)

    • CLMom says

      And I’m starting to wonder about all the talk about biting is planting ideas of biting in her head. Maybe if we all just pretended like she didn’t bite, it would go away?

      • Anon in NYC says

        My kid was a biter too. One of my friends said that she felt like talking about biting made her son bite more because he got attention.

        Another friend said that his son was a horrible biter (every day, multiple times a day, for YEARS), and I think they had to switch daycares a few times. So, it’s not unheard of for families to be asked to leave (and in my former corporate daycare, they reserved the right to do it for behavioral issues that, while developmentally appropriate, put other kids at risk of harm).

    • EB0220 says

      My older child wasn’t a biter so we never found out the policy at the large chains she attended. My younger daughter goes to onsite daycare at my office. She was a biter. Their rule is that the child is sent home for 3 bites in a day or if it breaks the skin, but if she bit once they worked extremely hard to make sure it didn’t happen again. They’d send her to a different room, give her extra “work” (helping the teachers with laundry, food, etc.) and we never got beyond 1 bite a day, and didn’t ever break the skin (although came close a few times).

    • SC says

      That policy sounds really extreme to me. My son isn’t a biter, but he got bitten twice yesterday at daycare. Apparently, the first time, my son knocked over another kid’s tower, and the second time, he pulled someone’s hair. DH and I didn’t feel too bad that the other kid(s) bit him.

    • Anonanonanon says

      I promise I’m saying this to intend to make you feel better, not worse, but to be honest I was always so relieved when I got a call and my kid was the one who got bitten/pushed/whatever (as long as he was OK, of course) instead of the perpetrator! I was never mad, I just felt so bad for the other parents, because I knew it could have just as easily been my kid! I’m sure the other parents understand

  4. AnonMom says

    When did you start reading to your baby? DS is 10 months but does not have the patience to listen me read to him. He likes to look at colored pictures but that is about it. After 30 seconds he wants to chew the books so that is when our reading session ends. He gets angry if I do not allow him to eat the book! It does get better right?

    • ElisaR says

      i started at birth – you never really know what they absorb. sometimes i let my son page through (or suck on) another book while i read outloud to him…. the NY Times recently did an in depth piece about reading to children, i will try to attach the link.

    • AwayEmily says

      Yes! My daughter is now 15 months and only recently started sitting through whole books (well, about 50% of the time). I’m sure many babies do it earlier but it definitely took her awhile to develop the patience. Some things that worked while she was still super-wiggly and distractible:

      – Letting her be totally in control (whether that’s grabbing the book halfway through, or climbing all over us, or whatever) so as to make reading a non-stressful, non-coercive experience.
      – Giving up on actually reading the words, for the most part. For example, she could care less about the words in Eric Carle’s “Brown Bear” book, but if we did dramatic animal noises instead, she would pay attention.
      – Giving her a “chew book” to hold (or something else to chew on) while we read the regular book.

      But yes this is totally normal (esp with an active kid, I think) and it definitely does get slowly better!!!

    • RR says

      I heard a child development specialist talk once about the importance of reading to young children. She said to just read–even if they are playing with something else or running around the room, they are still absorbing the words, how the books work, etc. Just start reading and I promise he will get tons out of it.

    • Spirograph says

      There was an article in NYT on “how to raise a reader” recently. I’ll post the link separately to avoid moderation. It recommended reading from birth. I might have done that with my first kid, but definitely not with the younger two. I sporadically read to my 10 month old. We’re starting to regularly include a story in his bedtime routine., but he’s in the book-chewing phase, too. I only read board books / touch-and-feel books to him right now; he’s grabby and tears pages.

    • CPA Lady says

      My kid would do the same thing, rip the book out of my hand and chew it. I didn’t stress about it. I just tried from time to time, and around the time she turned 1 it got a lot better. Now we read to her every day. I don’t think I brain damaged her or anything.

    • Fellow Mom of Book-Eaters says

      My kids went through the same eating the book thing – I was advised when pregnant to remember that I didn’t have to finish the book or even the page, as long as I was reading to them.

    • NewMomAnon says

      My kiddo was a very active baby who would fight us reading books to her….until magically it became her favorite, calming thing. We made it a point to have books around, “play” with books, have mommy and daddy read books to each other, “read” the pictures in books, and read books at her while she was doing other things. It’s OK if reading doesn’t look like the stereotypical “parent and child cuddling in chair reading story together.”

      FWIW, I feel like our reading experience just set the tone that reading is an enjoyable thing we do together, and that it sets the tone for calm activities. I don’t think she took in any content until at least 12 months, maybe 14-16 months.

      • AwayEmily says

        This is all so well-put and perfectly describes our experience as well.

    • Blueberry says

      My first would sort of sit still and read books, and my second would really not until past 1 year. I would keep trying but not stress about the fact that your kid won’t sit still. There are books called Indestructibles that you can buy that the kid cannot destroy by chewing, although perhaps allowing a baby to chew on books teaches the wrong lesson.

      • Redux says

        We had these! As a baby my kiddo loved to chew them and I can happily report that at 3.5 she loves books and never had a problem with eating them past the baby age.

    • Anonymous says

      I have two and each was different. #1 was read to and LOVED books since day 1. We have tons of photos and moves of her just flipping through pages of books babbling to herself.

      #2 tried to eat all books until 8 months (to be fair, she tried to eat pretty much everything until 8 months). At that point, she remained disinterested except for super engaging books (Pat the Bunny, which #1 never liked, was her favorite!)– lifting flaps, touching/feeling (“that’s not my…..” series), and anything with PEEKABOO! (her favorite game ever). Around 11 months she started liking very short books. We picked 3-4 and started reading them over and over and over (and over). Now she knows them and gets into them– but isn’t really into new books (exception: tactile books).

    • Anon in NYC says

      I started from basically day 1. My daughter loves to read books. It’s one of her favorite activities. But I don’t know how much of that can be attributed to her temperament or early reading.

      We started with a variety of books – crinkle books, books with texture, books with catchy rhymes and flaps – and now (at 2) she really likes stories and we get to read bigger kid books (so much more interesting for me!).

    • Rainbow Hair says

      I remember being frustrated with Kiddo when she was really little and just could not sit through a book… or a page of a book… like “Kiddo, this is apparently essential for your development! let me read to you!!!” My tricks were using a stuffed animal to act out the book (think little bunny foo foo jumping around) and sticking to books that were silly and animated (mr. brown can moo). To be honest, I didn’t try super hard, and if she lost interest we could do something else, but Kiddo (2.5-ish) is now addicted to books, demanding I reread them (esp. the most annoying ones!) over and over. And she can spell her name! So don’t stress too much!

      • CPA Lady says

        ^ bahaha, yes, to the frustration. Like “well, if you turn out dumb it’s because you were eating the book rather than letting me read it!!!” (I didn’t say that out loud, just thought it).

        Also, I thought I was going to brain damage her because I couldn’t think of things to say to her when she was a newborn. Oh my goodness, the things we stress about.

    • ANon says

      My son is 4 months old. I’ve read a book to him every day since he was 10 days old.

    • Anonymous says

      This is what cheap or used board books are for. Let him chew. Put all paper books out of reach. Learn the rhymes in a couple books and just recite while he chews (I can do Moo Baa La La La, Hand Hand Fingers Thumb from memory). My daughter didn’t sit for books until a year and ate a couple books in the 8-12 month range. Now we read at bedtime and in the morning (and she’s read to a couple other times a day). Also, your kiddo may be high energy like mine. She gets outside at least twice a day and reading is much easier if she gets her exercise and is calm and happy post nap.

  5. Cate says

    I tried to post this yesterday but I don’t think it worked – favorite system (and importantly, actual products – like what file folders or boxes or whatnot) do you use to organize kids’ yearly school stuff. Think mostly school pictures, report cards, etc. with maybe the occasional piece of art thrown in?

      • anon says

        I use these too. I keep cards, artwork, schoolwork etc. I have one color per kid, and they just sit on a shelf so I can throw things in as I get them. I didn’t used to keep artwork that is too big for it, but now that the kids are in elementary school, they come home with a nice portfolio at the end of the year and that goes into a plastic storage box under the bed (for now).

    • EB0220 says

      I have these hanging file folders from Container Store on the wall. I put the stuff in there as it comes in. When the folders get full (1-2x a year) I sit down with the kids and they help narrow it down to the really important things. Then I store them in one of those plastic file boxes with a file folder for each year. Each kid has her own file box. I imagine I’ll need a new file box every few years.

    • H says

      I’ve been wondering this too. A couple of ideas I had was
      1) for school photos – scan them so I always have a copy. I’m going to do this with Christmas cards too. This could also work for report cards.
      2) for art – there are a few services that will make a book out of children’s artwork. I plan on doing this, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

  7. ElisaR says

    Question regarding daycare: Morning drop off for my 15 month old left both of us in tears today. He recently “moved up” to a new room and he is the youngest child in the room. State law (NJ) requires a 1 to 4 ratio for under 18 months old. Many of the kids in the class are 18-21 months old so they only require a 1 yo 6 ratio. There were only 2 teachers in the room for 12 kids when we got there (after 15 minutes a 3rd teacher arrived) and it was total mayhem. My son never had separation issues with drop off but in this new room he is a mess. It breaks my heart. He’s been at this daycare for a year but only now do I feel uncomfortable with the setup. I spoke w/ the assistant director this morning and she was babbling about “blended ratios” for this room. How hard to I push on this? They clearly were not maintaining the required ratio for my sons age (and I know some of the other children there).

    • Anonymous says

      it’s 1-4 for under three years old in my jurisdiction so I can imagine that 12 kids and 2 teachers is chaos. Can he move back to the other room? I would consider looking for new care and hitting minimum levels for ratios is a deal breaker for me.

    • anne-on says

      I hate to say it, but it might be time to look into another daycare. We’ve moved when the new teachers/ratios changed and we saw behavioral issues come up (for us, it was great care in the infant room, not great care in the 12-18 month room) and then grouping 3’s together with 4’s and 5’s (moved to a place with a dedicated 3’s program).
      Your needs and your kiddos needs can change, and IMHO daycare is useless if it is making you stressed – a good daycare should be one you can drop your kiddo off without worrying about them for the rest of your workday.

    • Em says

      How did the 2 teachers in the room handle your son crying? Is there anything that can be changed to make the transition easier for him? At 12 months my son transitioned to a room that is 12-20 months. I learned quickly that if I put him on the floor with the other kids he cries, so one of the teachers always take him from my arms. He still cries sometimes, but he always stops within a few seconds of me leaving, and it makes me feel a lot better about leaving him in someone’s arms than on the floor crying alone. Also, he normally only has a pacifier during nap time, but I leave him with his pacifier at drop off and the teachers remove it once he calms down and is distracted. At a minimum can you talk with the teachers about someone taking him from you from the beginning? I don’t think I would be too concerned about the ratio unless it was preventing them from giving your son one-on-one attention while he was distressed at drop off. In my sons room the other kids are usually playing independently so it is never an issue for one of the teachers to take him directly from me.

      • ElisaR says

        thanks everyone for your input. I am hesitant to change daycares because I did SO much research and really felt like I made the best choice with this option. There is a 10 month wait to get in and geographically it is convenient (although not the MOST convenient option). I will have to really consider changing and don’t want to make a snap decision there……I really do feel like it’s mostly an issue at drop off but I am not thrilled with the blended ratio situation. I plan on speaking further with the director. Today was just a very emotional day (it did not help when the assistant director pointed out that I’m probably pretty emotional because I’m pregnant – uhhhh thanks that made me feel like crap even though she might be a little right).

        • anon says

          You should definitely talk to the director, because the comments from the assistant director doesn’t sound appropriate. But also give it a few days – it may just be adjusting to new room/new teachers/new playmates.

    • anon says

      Is this just today or happening every day? Do you have other indications of problems outside of rough transitions? I think drop off is often chaotic, and any daycare can have moments when everyone freaks out at once, so I wouldn’t read too much into this unless it is clearly indicative of a pattern.

    • Redux says

      FWIW, we are in an in-home daycare that is 12 kids to 2 teachers and it is not chaos. Like, ever. Sounds more like a classroom management issue than a strictly ratio issue.

  8. EB says

    I have been awake since 2:45 this morning due to my 4.5 month old deciding it is party time. By the time I got him back down to sleep, it was time to pump and then go to the early morning personal training session I pay out of the nose for. How on earth am I going to survive this day? Nap under the desk and intravenous coffee?.

    • KC says

      UGH I have a 4 month old and I’m right there with you. I just keep hearing that all heck breaks loose at 4 months. I always try coffee, tons of water, and nutritious food when I’m super tired (even though I want to eat all the cookies). My 4 month old is just waking up 3 times a night to eat. So I haven’t slept more than 6 hours at a time since she was born and some days I feel like I’m gonna lose my mind.

    • Cornellian says

      My 6 month old is all about party time recently. I think it may be the longer days/extra sunlight? I have been struggling with this for a couple weeks.

      Took a five minute walk around the lobby, which helped…

    • GirlFriday says

      Yes – ALL the coffee and lunch break naps in your car! My 4.5 mo old (formerly perfect sleeper) is doing the same! We have blackout shades and swaddle him but I don’t think it helps much. Hubs and I just lie in bed listening to him wiggle and coo. He will put himself back to sleep multiple times (until 6:30AM wakeup time). Hugs to you and let me know if you find a solution! I thought to myself last night: maybe it’s time for him to move to his own room. Is that terrible? I need to sleep!

      • EB says

        Doesn’t the formerly perfect sleeper part kinda make it that much harder to deal with the not sleeping?!! Sounds like we’re in the same boat right now. Fingers crossed this is a very very short phase!!

        • Anonymous says

          Four month sleep regression, ladies! Mine hit it a bit late too (closing in on 5 months in fact, which gave me hope we had avoided it… we hadn’t). It will pass.

          • GirlFriday says

            Any tips to make it better (for him, if not us), Anonymous? And YES, EB! I know we are extremely lucky but I was hoping our luck wouldn’t run out! He’s still a sweetheart though so I’m thankful for that.

          • Anonymous says

            Sadly, I don’t have any great tips. I feel like I tried everything – we cycled through trying the Merlin suit, different sleepsacks, a zippadee zip – and nothing was the magic bullet. If she was truly inconsolable in the middle of the night (which did happen once or twice), we did give Tylenol. She did pop a tooth towards the end of it all, so I do think that was part of it. For me, I did go home one day midday to sleep when I just couldn’t take it anymore and was afraid I was making mistakes at work.

      • KC says

        I’m seriously right there with you!! 4 Months and I’m waking up every 2-3hrs. We just transitioned her to the crib (from her bassinet) and she now hates the swaddle after loving it for the first 16 weeks of life.

    • H13 says

      So let me say that there is hope. My 5 month old (today!) was doing this several nights in a row. It was brutal and right on the tail end of the four month sleep regression from hell. But the long night wakings ended within a week. It could reappear of course but even a few days of decent sleep (waking up 1-2 times to nurse) has been restorative. I mean, it is all relative after all.

  9. Anonymous says

    We had a similar situation at a daycare (both not following ratios during drop off and the resulting chaos). You may not like this answer but we switched daycares. If they are choosing to knowingly ignore ratio requirements, I don’t think they are going to change because of a parent complaint. And it would make me wonder what other rules they are ignoring.

    We moved to a daycare that doesn’t do blended drop offs, meaning both of my daughters teachers are there when the school opens regardless of how many children are there. Same at the end of the day-both her teachers day until close even if she is the only one left. We love it and the morning is so much calmer for my daughter. But I realize this is not an option for everyone.

    • Anonymous says

      This. If you see them do the blended rooms more than in a true pinch situation (like one morning there was an accident on the main thoroughfare into our school and like half the teachers were late), then you complaining is unlikely to change it. I’d either suck it up for a few weeks and see if kiddo adapts (frankly, my LO does better when she’s the youngest in a group as opposed to one of the older ones, so maybe he’ll start adapting?) or I’d start looking at different places.

      • Em says

        To add to my response above, my son adapted quickly to the new room. Other than drop off, he loves his room and is happy there. If this was an ongoing issue and he seemed overall unhappy, I absolutely agree with everyone who said to consider switching daycares. I am willing to address minor issues with a director, but not ones I consider safety issues, for the reason stated by anonymous above. We pulled my son from a daycare that was violating licensing safety requirements, without addressing the issues with the director beforehand, because I knew I would never be comfortable leaving my son there. Go with your gut.

    • Anonanonanon says

      Wow, I never thought to add the blended drop off question to my list of questions when touring daycares, but I will now, because that used to bother me when my first son was younger!

    • anon says

      I would just note that our school does blended dropoffs, but only among similarly ratio’d classrooms. So the three preschool/pre-K rooms (3 and up), which all have the same ratio, get dropped off and picked up together, and the two infant rooms (under 2s) get dropped off and picked up together. I like it because the kids get to know the other teachers and kids, and so there’s less surprise when they move rooms. It is kind of odd that the kids who are just turning 3 are with the kids who are almost off to kindergarten, but there are so many sibling pairs that it doesn’t really seem to matter.

  10. D says

    I think there are two separate issues here. First, is the daycare following the required ratios. It sounds like they are not. If you are not comfortable with that, you need to find a new daycare. Second, your son just switched rooms. My child has had a difficult time adjusting to each new room but was usually over the hump within 1-2 weeks. It is possible that was the problem with your son.

    • ElisaR says

      yes – he is definitely not comfortable yet. I hope it gets better over the next week or so.

  11. PrettyPrimadonna says

    Where can I purchase a swim cap for a one-year old that will be delivered quickly? I searched Amazon and found a couple, but shipping will take more than a week! Thanks!

    • mascot says

      Maybe one of the online swim shops like swimoutlet? I’d also try Gymboree.

    • anon says

      PS – the fabric ones seem more flexible in terms of size and easier for smaller heads.

    • hmm says

      This isn’t an answer but why does your one year old need a swim cap? Unless it’s required by the pool, I wouldn’t mess with it. If you’re worried about sun – use a hat. If you’re worried about water in your baby’s ears – get ear plugs. Swim caps are designed to keep hair out of your face. That’s pretty much all they do. I really wouldn’t want to wrangle one onto my kid. That being said, lots of pools sell them. Second anon’s advice to try a fabric one as latex and some silicone ones pull your hair.

      • PrettyPrimadonna says

        Untrue. Swim caps also keep your hair from getting wet. I want a swim cap for my daughter to protect her hair from the chlorine. We are African American and have hair that is notoriously dry. Add chlorine from the pool and I am asking for a disaster. Thanks for your suggestions, though.

        • NewMomAnon says

          I was wondering whether this was a hair-type issue; have you checked Etsy? It seems like something the cloth-diaper-making mamas on Etsy would do with their leftover waterproof fabric.

        • mascot says

          Not AA, but is it an option to wet her hair before she gets in the water? That helps close the cuticle and reduce chlorine damage. You can even add a little conditioner in the process. Putting a swim cap on dry hair isn’t the most comfortable.

        • Anonymous says

          If you want to keep your daughter’s hair dry make sure you are getting a silicone cap (which are harder to get in baby sizes) or a fully lined fabric/latex cap. Latex caps will probably pull her hair and fabric caps allow water through. Baby caps notoriously don’t fit well, so you may also want to look for one with a chin strap.

        • hmm says

          Ok that makes sense, OP. Definitely do wet her hair before she puts the cap on and gets in the water then. I was a swimmer for years and any type of cap will still let a bit of water in, so if you want to minimize the chlorine damage, wet hair will do the trick. Hope you found a good cap!

        • anon says

          I swam competitively as a teen and my tiiiiight cap never kept my hair dry, but maybe it works better if you are not putting your head in so much.

        • PrettyPrimadonna says

          Thanks, everyone! I do wet her hair before she gets in the pool, but it dries pretty quickly. I will try adding conditioner to the equation, but had avoided that because of fear it would get in her eyes. I did get her the cute little swim cap above (with the ruffle things) and have decided to try to use a plastic shower cap underneath that. I know it won’t keep the water completely out, but any minimizing I can do will be beneficial. Thanks again.

  12. Anon says

    We’ve also been having ongoing ratio issues with our daycare. For us it’s been going on for several months and we’ve had multiple meeting with the director. Daycares in our area are so oversubscribed that it’s at least a two year wait to get in elsewhere. Today I filed a complaint with the county. They said they’re going to send out an inspector. It may be counterproductive, I don’t know, but it is an option worth considering.

    • ElisaR says

      thank you – i totally sympathize with you and hope the issue gets addressed with both of us!

  13. Rainbow Hair says

    Uh I am feeling dumb here but what do you call the kinds of hair clips that are a sort of rounded triangle and like, you bend it one way and it opens, then you put it in the kid’s hair and kind of push it down and it snaps shut? My kid will only deign to wear those right now, ideally in purple or orange, and I’d love to buy a whole bunch but all I seem to find are “alligator” clips, which I do not want.

  14. CareBoxHelp says

    A (relatively new) friend dealt with a lot over the weekend: her DH was hospitalized for an infection and her 4 mo baby got bronchitis. She works full time and also has a 2 y/o. Yikes! Her MIL flew in to help but I just want to send her a few things to let her know I’m thinking about her. Thoughts on what to send? I’m going to order off Amazon and have it delivered to her house so she doesn’t feel like she has to “host” me. So far I’m thinking: pedialyte?, wipes, chocolate almonds (for her), Goldfish, hand sanitizer. This list seems kinda lame. What would you want to receive? Ice cream? A box of wine??

    • anon says

      maybe grocery delivery would be better, or a gift card for a local restaurant delivery? If I were her I would be worried about feeding her MIL while she was helping, and maybe something new to entertain the 2 year old. If you want something just for her I vote something mindless to read like US magazine. Chocolate rarely is amiss though.

      • Em says

        I would second food if it is an option. We have a local grocery store that does nice meat/cheese and fruit/veggie trays they will deliver with rolls. Something like that would keep them fed for days and include protein and healthy food with zero effort.

    • Marilla says

      Toy for the 2 year old to keep her/him busy? (Stickers, colouring book, crayons?) Definitely yes to the chocolate almonds for mom. Restaurant gift card for delivery? You’re a sweet friend to think of something like this!

    • blueridge29 says

      I am sure that anything you send would be appreciated, but I would recommend anything that will quietly entertain the two year old…new books or games, possibly a movie or Daniel Tiger DVD if the mom is open to screen time. I have a similar age range for my kids and the challenge of the younger one being sick was keeping the older one entertained.

    • Rainbow Hair says

      The ideas here are great so far. Quasi-healthy but delicious snacks for herself and her MIL, like dark chocolate and roasted almonds and dried cherries? Oh ha you already said that! Well, I love that idea.

      I’m a big fan of WaterWipes and in her situation would be thrilled to get a bunch because I use them for cleaning up surfaces and faces and butts… pretty great.

      Two year old might like those sets that are stickers + a thing to stick them on, or yes, Daniel Tiger. OR if you want to be the coolest fake-aunt EVER, you should get the kid a VTech Kidzoom Duo camera. I swear my kid could amuse herself for a week straight if I let her have one of those things. (But they’re not cheap.)

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