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Maybe it’s all the normcore fashion that’s out there right now, but every bag line has their version of a fanny pack. With my formative years being the early-mid ’90s, I initially rejected the fanny pack resurgence. However, I can see the practicality here. This bag has enough space for a few cards, some cash, and your phone. If you keep it around your waist, you can avoid digging through a crowded diaper bag for the essentials. This particular one from Lo & Sons lets you dip your toe into the trend without fully committing, as you can also wear it as a cross body, shoulder bag, and wristlet. Three out of the four offered colors are currently 20% off. Lo & Sons Leather Crossbody Bag & Belt Bag 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 4.14.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – Mid-Season Sale: extra 40% off; extra 20% off sale styles; 40% off new spring styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 40% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50-60% off select styles; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – 40% off dresses; 30% off your purchase
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Cyber Spring: 50% off everything & free shipping
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time; 30% off select shoes
- Talbots – BOGO 50% off everything, includes markdowns (ends 4/14)
- 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 – Buy 3+ get 30% off forever favorites
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 30% off your purchase
- Old Navy – Up to 70% off clearance; sales on shorts and polos
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event; BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture;
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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?
Anonanonanon says
I really enjoy all of my Lo & Sons bags, and the one I had an issue with they immediately sent me a new one free of charge, and it has held up wonderfully.
ANP says
Me too — and they have out of this world customer service. They have replaced a bag for me twice AND sent me a freebie bag of my choice (!!!) after I did a feedback survey with them over the phone. I’m their customer for life!
anon says
Loving these earlier posts!
Can any of you ladies speak to changing your career from private practice to …well, anything else? I’m just feeling so drained by the demands of clients and business development and partners of mine with outsized egos. I constantly fantasize about leaving private practice, whether it’s for in house or just a total career change but I feel chained to the flexibility of my job (sure, lots of hours but I can theoretically make them up here or there when I have to leave one of my daughter’s many doctors appointments). I guess I’m just looking for anecdata that things get better. I feel trapped in private practice by having a young kid with special needs and I’m just so exhausted by it all.
Anonymous says
I’m in state government in a smaller state and I love it. But I hated the ‘business’ side of law so I love being closely to the policy development side of things. Lots of other women lawyers with families. There’s an in-house litigation section. Billable hours are the worst.
lala says
I negotiate contracts for a larger corporation. I love my job, it has a ton of flexibility, and is still interesting and challenging. The downside: while my position is “JD required” I am not an “attorney” for the corporation. So I had to give up my ego regarding being an attorney. There are also a lot of more administrative things that I do that I would have given to my assistant or paralegal at the firm.
I don’t make big law money, but I certainly make the same if not more than most of my law school classmates that are working government, private practice, etc.
So there are other possibilities if you’re looking to get out and still have flexibility, but it does come with downsides, so you have to be willing to live with those.
Anonymous says
My advice would be to research places (either govhttp://corporettemoms.com/leather-crossbody-bag-belt-bag/#respondernment or in-house) thoroughly to get a sense of their facetime requirements and culture. Some places are very flexible and others just are not. I would not be shy about asking the questions during your search.
Legally Brunette says
I left private practice (Big Law) for the federal government after being at a firm for 5 years. Haven’t looked back and I can’t ever see myself returning to a firm. I get more challenging work, flexibility, a reliable 40 hour schedule and spend so much more time with my kids. Definitely consider gov’t opportunities!
anonforthis says
I am very interested in this, but am having trouble finding opportunities to apply for. For fed gov, is it just usajobs dot gov or are there other places I should be looking?
LB says
I found my job through usa jobs (no connection, just applied directly), but this was 4 years ago when there were a lot for openings. Now many agencies have a hiring freeze, which is unfortunate. I also signed up to get daily alerts through Indeed, which is a job aggregator (not just gov’t, all jobs in the public and private sector). I would also look at the DOJ website and your state gov’t page.
Anon says
If you made a move, can daughter’s dad pick up more of the management of daughter’s illness? You probably will lose a lot of flexibility, certainly at first.
Or is there another caregiver you can plan to rely on more?
anon OP says
Yes, this is what I’m afraid of. DH is a big help, but we feel so stretched already. I just feel like the stress needs to be cut somewhere and that a job switch would help but I know it would have trade offs as far as flexibility goes. Just hoping for some holy grail that entails less stress but some flexibility!
anon OP says
Ugh meant into reply to anon at 9:11.
Anon says
What about working less? Can your budget afford that? Simply scaling down on the BD/delivery might free up space in your day.
DC anon says
So, I forgot all of my sleep training rules with my second kid and…he’s a horrible sleeper, for naps and night time. I am too bleary-eyes to whip out one of my books, please help. With my first, I was hardcore about putting him down drowsy but awake and he would always put himself to sleep. With #2, I have been nursing him to sleep pretty much every time. At daycare I know he goes to sleep on his own, but after a good amount of crying and screaming, I think, I am not sure because I am afraid to ask. So, how do I reverse 8 months of nursing him to sleep? Do I just start cold turkey drowsy but awake? I’m too sleep deprived to think.
AwayEmily says
I would ask daycare. Maybe he’s doing better than you think there, which would be a great (and maybe means that he’s just learned he can get away with nursing to sleep at home).
I hear you on the #2 thing, though. I was so good with my first and then my second…just did not have the energy. I did so much nursing to sleep/letting him sleep on my lap/etc.
You may have to do a little CIO if you’re willing. We just did it with my second for naps after I realized that nursing to sleep was unsustainable — I’d put him down drowsy but awake at naptime, let him cry for 20 minutes, then if he wasn’t asleep, I’d get him up for another 20 minutes or so, then try again. I found I needed a really firm plan in order to stick to it. It worked after a couple of days (now he cries for maybe a minute and then goes to sleep).
Em says
Are you open to doing CIO? That is how we got our son to put himself to sleep.
DC anon says
Yes, open to CIO. In fact, we tried it the other night. He cried more and more for about 40 minutes and my nerves were so fried I gave up.
Cb says
I’d recommend a hot shower, headphones, and some vigorous cleaning to kill time between check-ins if you’re doing Ferber style training.
I am in a bad nursing to sleep pattern with my kiddo and am waiting to get through this teething before we give sleep training another go.
Clementine says
Babies are different. It’ll be fine. Take a deep breath, work on baby steps towards a consistent sleep schedule. Also, I personally found that my kid slept horribly when he was just about to do something really exciting or had just learned to do something really fun.
Any chance your kid is teething/about to crawl/just learned to pull himself up and is loving spending his evenings hollering while standing on the crib?
We did consistent white noise and just made it really boring when we went in. We just said, ‘It’s time to sleep.’ and laid him down. Back pats at nauseum. Honestly, it’s just a difficult season of parenting in my opinion.
DC anon says
Good point! He just got his first two teeth and a bunch of new skills – waving, head shaking. I’ll give it some time, then CIO.
lala says
Seconding that babies are different. We are not CIO users, but we did the same sleep strategies for our first and second. Our first was a champ sleeper (according to our standards) in his crib. Our second was a terrible sleeper who just wanted me ALL THE TIME. He also had reoccurring ear infections (all praise the ear tubes), so I think he might have just needed more comfort? We survived by co-sleeping until 9-10 months. Then I made my husband take over all night time activities. First he was armed with a bottle of pumped milk, then he slowly weaned him to just rocking. Eventually he started STTN on his own.
So I guess my sleep training answer is, send the husband in and put some head phones on.
Anonymous says
I nursed my kid to sleep (but she slept through the night from 9 weeks). When she weaned from nursing right before bed (15 months?) we did The Sleep Lady Shuffle. Worked.
J says
This is a good point. When my daughter was about 6 months, I switched to about 1500 billable hours (from 1800). It has made all the difference in the world, especially with the flexibility you mentioned. The big caveat is that I don’t do a lot of business development. I’m fine not having my own clients at this point, and my firm has been fine with it as long as I understand how that will affect me economically as my career progresses. I do. It’s not all about money!
Part-time big law says
+1
I’ve got a slightly lower billable requirement than the PP, but my reduced schedule keeps me at a 30-40 hour, flexible work week. While I still do have the unpredictable client demands that can throw my week off balance, it’s not every week and not for long periods of time.
But, I’ve wondered the same thing myself, even if I could find a different position, would giving up flexibility be worth having more boundaries/fewer schedule blow-ups.
anon OP says
Yes your last sentence is spot on. I’m already close to 80% (it’s not super formalized because my firm claims not to do that and it would hurt me with many in the firm), but even that feels like too much with our daughter. And it just mentally exhausts me. I know there isn’t one easy solution but I love hearing other’s experiences.
J says
How old is your daughter?
anon OP says
16 months
J says
I’d caution you not to do anything drastic if she was under a year. I think you’ll find that next cold/flu season will be a lot better than what you’ve had previously. It does get constantly easier, but trust your gut. For me significant time was gained when I stopped pumping regularly and cleaning bottles/parts, etc. I didn’t get there until 18 months. I really can’t weigh in on the extra logistics tied to a special needs child and how that will change over time. Hugs. You’re doing great!
Meg Murry says
I really like this bag, but I need a cheaper non-leather version (nylon maybe?). We spend tons of time at amusement parks over the summer, and I need a purse/pouch big enough to hold my phone (with case), card keys and 1-3 cards, and that can convert to a waist belt when required (on roller coasters mostly) but that can go back to being a crossbody when I’m not on a roller coaster, and that sturdily zips closed. I know I’ve already crossed into semi mom-frump for practicality when we’re at amusement parks (capri pants or not trendy shorts, running shoes etc) but I refuse to go all the way to wearing a fanny pack all day – that’s just one step too far. Right now I’ve got a small crossbody with an adjustable strap that I pull over to my waist when I need to, but one with actual hooks for converting to a true waist pack like this one would be far preferable.
Anyone seen such a thing? Or have brands to suggest I look at? Everything I’ve found has either been too small for my phone, way too massively big, or doesn’t have the clip off strap to convert between crossbody/shoulder bag and waist belt.
Cb says
I think you’re going to have to look at hipster festival goer brands rather than sophisticated mom brands. ASOS? Urban Outfitters? Maybe ask at the female fashion advice subreddit?
Anonymous says
I have an aging LLBean fanny pack that I think is geared to hikers. It is the bomb. I’d say you could pry it out of my cold dead hands, but it will be clipped snugly around my waist, haha. I think it was called the lumbar pack.
Anon says
I have this too!! I use it for dog walking in the woods. For true hikes I bring the big hiking bag bug the lumbar pack is perfect for carrying water, dog dish, dogwater and a snack. Though now that my dog is older, I’m considering getting her her own pack.
avocado says
Lululemon periodically offers a convertible fanny pack/crossbody bag. I don’t see it available now, but it’s worth watching for.
shortperson says
i have the “hatch pack” and it fits the things you list, but barely. it’s great for disneyland and the like while babywearing. i also have two pairs of athleta pants with a lot of side zippers that i usually wear to amusement parks.
Coach Laura says
Baggallini has several iterations in non-leather. I’ve used one that holds credit cards, keys, cell phone and sunglasses. Check ebags or amazon.
IVF and insurance says
Re-posting from main site yesterday.
I just lost a great employee who took a new job because the other company’s insurance offered IVF coverage and ours does not. Apparently ours covers infertility treatments up to IVF but nothing IVF related.
I know many of the women on here have undergone IVF – is it pretty commonly excluded from insurance coverage? Our plan is otherwise very broad and comprehensive, I was pretty surprised to learn that IVF wasn’t covered.
I’m considering campaigning our insurance office to add the benefit, as a recruiting / retaining tool but also for health and safety – if families need to pay out of pocket, they may opt to implant multiples to avoid the cost of an additional implantation, which carries additional risks.
Paris Pictures says
Planning and Shopping help for family pictures!
My family is traveling to Paris in May — YAY — and taking our first every family pictures. My daughters are 3 and 2. we are taking pics at the Eiffel Tower, because we are just touristy like that! The pics are at 7am — hello, jet lag!
Anyway, any thoughts on color schemes that work well together? (husband is dark and I am light. girls are in between with dark hair.) I think the girls should wear bright colours and my husband and I go with complementing neutrals, but I don’t even know what that means. I am horrible at fashion. I want the girls in “twirly” dresses, but not sure whether husband should wear a suit and I should wear a dress (which I do not own, FYI), or just separates?
ANY ideas would be so appreciated. Particulary re: color palettes and thoughts on dressiness needed. Also, it’s Paris in May at 7am. We all need long sleeves, right?
Anonymous says
at 7am you’ll probably need coats or sweaters. You might get some cute coats for the girls at Kate Spade or JCrew on end of season clearance.
It’s an ambitious plan but hope it makes for an amazing memory!
Anonymous says
Maybe pick a shade the girls look good in and everyone wear a variation, with some accent colors? I just picked my kid’s outfits for our spring pictures, and they’re like this:
Son: denim blue cardigan to match his eyes; blue/white striped button down to go underneath; blue bowtie with yellow bumblebees on it; pants I guess
Daughter: white twirly dress with mint, denim, and pink stripes
Me: mint dress
Husband: whatever he can dress himself he is grown, with his nicer denim jeans that kind of match son’s cardigan
If you pick one color like “blue” and you wear navy, the girls wear powder blue, and you have pink shoes and one of them wears a pink coat or something, you’ll look coordinated without being strangely matchy I think. Like the interior design rules of 60-30-10 color balancing.
Paris Pictures says
I love that you gave ma real example. i can work with this!
thanks so much.
anon says
The mom edit has a good post on this
shortperson says
if you’ll have time in paris beforehand, you could buy clothes there. the kids clothes there are so much cuter and they are not all expensive. at least plan on buying the sweaters there.
Redux says
In today’s installment of things your mother says to shame you:
Last night my mom was telling me about how my sister’s ex forgot to pick up my nephew to take him to the zoo as he had promised, leaving them waiting for him in a parked car in a parking lot for a half hour, him not answering my sister’s texts or calls, and instead sending my nephew to stay with my dad for the day. My nephew was crushed, obviously, and my sister was so upset. My mom said to me, “it’s impossible to explain to a child why their father has forgotten about them, or why mama has to go to work.”
Hold up, are you equating a deadbeat dad situation with a working mom situation? Please don’t do that. It is indeed possible to explain why mama has to go to work. UGGHHH.
Anonymous says
OMG! If you did not immediately hang up the phone without responding you are a much bigger saint than I am and you deserve all the wine.
Mrs. Jones says
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
SC says
Wow. We have a candy dish at our reception desk, and on a few Friday afternoons, I’ve taken a bite-size Kit Kat bar with me to give to Kiddo when DH and I picked him up together. (Usually, DH does the daycare pickup, and it’s hard for me to leave on time to make it any day but Friday.) Now whenever we say, “Mommy’s going to work,” Kiddo says, “To get a Kit Kat bar?!” Obviously, that’s why Mommy goes to work… to bring you candy. Anyways, Kiddo doesn’t seem particularly upset that I go to work.
(We have explained to him that I work so we can have a house and food, and I’ve given him a Facetime tour of my office, but he’s just about to turn 3, and it’s all a little abstract to him. Kit Kat bars are not abstract.)
Pogo says
Omg, what? That’s awful.
When Niece was 3 she asked me at the end of a weekend if we were staying at their house another night. I told her No, we have to go back to our house tonight. “Oh, you have to work tomorrow morning!” If a 3 year old can comprehend that mommies, daddies, aunts and uncles all have to go to work on Monday, I don’t think it’s scarring any children.
Anonymous says
My stay at home mother forgot to pick me up at school once. I had a broken arm or leg (I am a klutz), and I normally took the bus. Apparently I reassured the elementary school secretary that she was probably just late since she was “always late,” but she actually forgot.
Anonymous says
PS – your mother is 1000% wrong!
Anon says
My mother did this when I was in middle school, on crutches, before cell phones. Finally remembered two hours later when I was sitting out front outside of a locked school.
rosie says
Ugh just threw up in my mouth a little. Sorry you are dealing with that.
lala says
Did you throw the phone? I might have thrown the phone. Ugh, moms can be the worst, but at least we won’t be those moms!! Next generation of supporting working moms coming right up, we just have to deal with our terrible mothers/MILs in the mean time.
Just in case you need some encouragement, my DH had a FT working mom (she was a programmer in a man’s world, so basically a rock star). He loved and respected her so much (she passed 9 years ago). He is so supportive of my career, I think in part because that was what was modeled for him.
Too bad my FIL remarried a terrible human, and I have to deal with her snide remarks now, ugh.
CPA Lady says
Oh. HAYYYYEEELLL NO.
My 3 year old already plays “mama and baby” where she’s the mama and I’m the baby, and she puts on my high heels and drops me off at “school” and goes to “do the taxes” and “get the bacon”. So yeah. Kids understand why their mothers work.
That’s complete crap. Next time (there will surely be one) I would ask innocently “what do you mean by that?”
Anon says
I love this.
avocado says
That is adorable.
Pogo says
That is so precious.
Meiqi says
Yes, my son tells me that he is going to work in NYC and drop me off at his school. He is also constantly asking me about the whereabouts of Bert and Ernie, so we have a storyline where Ernie is a portfolio manager who lives in CT and Bert is a CPA. Although Ernie has to get to work before the market opens, it is inevitably Bert who is always working overtime.
CPA Lady says
ugh, Bert is SUCH a CPA. hahaha. Bless his heart.
Redux says
Yeah, I feel much worse for my sister in this situation, who almost certainly heard from my mom that day something along the lines of how both mom and dad were abandoning the kid that day. Mama going to work to provide for the child is so not the same thing as deadbeat dad not picking up kid as promised. My sister deals with these comments a lot more since my mom is her childcare provider. I am often jealous of how much help my sister gets from my mom– daily, on-call, free childcare– but these kinds of comments remind me of what a double-edge sword that is.
Anon says
I actually read your mom’s comment a little different. Your nephew didn’t understand why he couldn’t go to the zoo. He was already at the zoo with mom. He couldn’t go because dad didn’t come meet him there and mom had to go to work. I think it is fair to say a kid might not totally understand that. She wasn’t equating it to daily trips to work but that one particular day where he was sitting outside of the zoo and then didn’t get to go in.
Redux says
They were not at the zoo (they were meeting at a grocery store parking lot), but I think your point still stands. My nephew is 4, though– the same age as my kid– so I can imagine that he would have been upset, but I also think he is old enough to understand what happened. My mom’s comment that it is impossible to explain to him why… mama has to go to work is completely not my experience with this age-level of comprehension. My kid knows why I have to go to work. Sometimes that makes her upset but I can 100% explain it. A father forgetting about you is not something that I can explain and I don’t think it’s at all fair to equate those situations in any way.
Anon says
That makes sense!
GCA says
So if your mom was so concerned about your nephew, why didn’t she drop everything to take him to the zoo? Oh, because she already made plans? Like a normal person?
Sorry OP, am feeling punchy on your behalf!
Redux says
Right? In fact what happened is that my nephew instead went to my mom’s mom’s 95th birthday party. An event they wanted to take him to in the first place, so he could see cousins and great-grandma, but deadbeat dad refused, saying he had plans to take him to the zoo that day. Talk about an ouch situation.
The hard part here is that the bad guy is definitely deadbeat dad, but my sister tries really hard not to talk about him in that way to the kid. The context of the comment was my lamenting how difficult the situation is for my sister in negotiating that kind of series of disappointments. Then my mom made her comment. So, it really was a more global comment, not just this particular incident.
If anyone has advice on dealing with this kind of disappointment– scripts you use when talking to kid– I would welcome them!
J says
The other day, I told my 2.5 year old “I’ll pick you up after work!” as she and my husband headed out the door to school/daycare and his work. She corrected me numerous times very loudly that I would pick her up after school. What I was doing in the meantime was of no concern to her. In a good way – like she felt important that she had somewhere to go and she just assumed my life revolved around her very important school schedule. But I have been a little more cautious about explaining to her that I work since then. I work from home so don’t get all dressed up, etc., and I am scared that if I don’t make a point of explaining to her what I do, she’ll think I just sit here all day playing or watching tv!
MidwestNP says
To Meg Murray: I use a lesportsac crossbody for my summer/outdoorsy purse. Lightweight lots of zippers and I think the colors/patterns are more fun than a more basic “outdoorsy” brand. The strap is held on my a sturdy metal ring so I imagine you could use small carabiners to clip it to your waist/belt loops for roller coaster use, or tighten the crossbody strap and somehow clip that to you.
Anon says
This is the perfect response.
GCA says
In case anyone needs a smile on a random dreary Tuesday: this morning my son was watching me put on makeup and said ‘I want some makeup too! I want to be fancy!’ and proceeded to streak purple eyeshadow above his eyebrows. It’s a very fashionable look for preschool, I guess, or he’s going to be starting one of those Instagram influencer trends.
Anonymous says
That’s awesome! Definitely made me smile :)
Anonymous says
I’m going back to work in a couple weeks when my daughter will be 14 weeks old. She’s currently nursing 6 times/day. I can easily continue 3 of those sessions (one before work, two after). I’m not enthusiastic about pumping – my office has terrible pumping facilities and I think I’d have to pump at least three times per day to make all the milk she needs (maybe more? the pump is less efficient than the baby, right?) and since I only work 8 hours per day, that’s a pretty significant chunk of my work day lost to pumping. I’m definitely not interested in extending my work day just so I can pump. Instead I’m thinking of going home at lunch to nurse her (I live really close to the office so this would take <1 hour total) and having her caretaker give her formula at the other two feeds. Any feedback on whether this is realistic or a good/bad idea? I firmly believe that the presence of b-milk is much more important than the absence of formula and she was combo-fed for her first six weeks of life (so dad could sometimes do the night feeding) so it generally works for us. My supply issues seem to be of the oversupply, not undersupply variety, but I wouldn't be devastated if my supply took a hit and we had to go to a higher formula:milk ratio or even stop nursing altogether since everything I've read suggests the first 3-4 months are the most important.
mascot says
Try it and see. I give you permission to do whatever makes the most sense for you and your kid. My nursing journey ended around that time (pumping was not an option for me) and I felt like I had given my kid a very solid start immunity and bonding wise with combo feeding from the very beginning.
Anon in NYC says
Echoing the try it and see. No solution is one size fits all. Even if you can make this work in the short term, you may want to switch plans down the road.
Personally, I could not have done this (combination of too far from work, disruption during her/my day, etc.). I pumped 2x a day at work from the get-go, so I never bothered with trying to fit in 3 pumping sessions. I too had an oversupply so wasn’t that concerned about producing enough, and 2x was enough for me.
Meg Murry says
I also pumped 2X a day at work (plus in the car on the way to work, but I had a long commute). Instead of taking an hour lunch at noon, I took a pumping break from 10-10:30, and another from 2-2:30. I ate a snack during the pumping breaks and scarfed a sandwich or similar around noon while dealing with emails. It wasn’t ideal, but better than extending my day for more pumping breaks.
Anonymous says
Sounds like a great idea. I did something similar when I went back.
I would keep a hand pump at the office (familiarize yourself with use) just in case you are so full you are uncomfortable, you can always pop into the bathroom or close your office door and pump off a couple ounces.
Meg Murry says
+1 to this. Your plan sounds fine to me, although you may want to have Plan B for when you can’t go home to nurse at lunchtime to be able to pump over your lunch instead of being uncomfortable that whole time. A hand pump may be enough as a backup. I know women who managed to go to only nursing before and after work (which is something you could also consider) but if you are used to nursing around noon you’d feel pretty uncomfortable skipping that feeding (and/or will leak anyway).
My only caution to you going home at lunch is that it would take away your ability to run errands or get anything done over lunch (although so would pumping, other than stuff you can handle on a computer/from your phone). My only other caution is that it means having to have 2 goodbyes to your baby instead of 1 – for some people the comfort of seeing them at noon will make it worthwhile, for other people it will make them a wreck both in the morning and after lunch – that just depends on you and your baby.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Whatever you decide to do re: bmilk/formula will be fine, I just wanted to comment on the pump efficiency – if you have an oversupply, you might find that the pump will get more milk than baby so you may only need to do 1 or 2 sessions to get a good amount. When I went back to work, I pumped twice a day and got enough milk to give my son his total supply for the next day at daycare.
I have no personal experience with going home to feed baby but a few things to consider: it might make more sense from a scheduling perspective to just pump at that time to prevent having to go all the way home and have the baby not be hungry or be asleep, etc. Not sure how consistent her schedule is at this point. Also, once she gets a little older, she might get confused if you come home in the middle of the day and be upset when you have to leave again.
OP says
Thanks all. That’s good to know I might be able to get away with 2 pumping sessions. That would be closer to our current schedule (right now we’re doing feeds at approx. 8 am, 11 am, 1:30 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm and 8 pm so pumping at work around 11 and 2 would be very close to the current schedule, just dropping the 4 pm feeding). Pumping twice/day might not be any more time consuming than going home over the lunch hour. I’ll think about it some more.
Pogo says
Echoing all the above. You just don’t know til you try. I have a work friend who went home to feed baby every day at lunch (baby was with nanny) and my SIL fed her kiddos at lunch because daycare was on-site. I thought about this option, too, but the uncertainty of “when will kiddo wake up from nap and be hungry” was the deterrent for me – I like being able to structure my day.
Also +1 to only 2 pumping sessions being ok (works for me), but sounds like you don’t want to pump at all, which is totally fine too.
ElisaR says
like the other commenters said, give it a shot. I pumped at work after my first son twice a day and then I pumped after he went to sleep but before I went to sleep to get the 3rd feeding. (He was going to bed around 7 and I would pump around 10pm for that 3rd bottle).
With my 2nd son, I decided pumping just wasn’t in the cards. I did it one day. So now he’s getting formula at school and does 3 feedings at home with me.
I do think going home to feed at lunch might not quite work just because sometimes they need to be fed NOW NOW NOW and you might not be home at that moment.
AwayEmily says
Agree that it seems like a fantastic idea — I’m planning on doing something similar. If you do decide you want to pump, I found that just doing one pump a day at work was light-years easier than doing 2+. When you’re only pumping once you have a huge window within which to schedule it, you don’t need to rinse pump parts or store them in the fridge, etc.
AwayEmily says
And weirdly when I switched from two pump sessions to one I still managed to produce almost the same amount of milk in total — maybe one or two ounces less? (I just made up the rest with formula)
GCA says
I agree with previous posters that nursing at lunchtime might be tricky if baby is asleep, has already just eaten, etc – that’s actually why I stopped doing it. Our daycare was 10 minutes from home (I work from home), and I went in at lunchtime to nurse for a couple of weeks, but it just got too complicated – sometimes I would have to run back and pump anyway. If you’re not too concerned about supply issues, even pumping 2x makes a HUGE difference vs pumping 3x – the scheduling and logistics are so much easier. Just make sure you empty your b**bs and hydrate really well in between sessions.
Georgette George says
The awesome new nanny we found for our son – who is supposed to start next week – just texted to let me know that she’s staying with her current family (they offered her way more money and better hours to stay). I’m happy for her, but bummed for us! I’ve only been back at work for six weeks and after a not-great first nanny who we had to let go after two weeks, I was looking forward to finally feeling “settled” with our childcare situation and not having to do interviews while relying on a patchwork of grandparents + part-time sitters + working from home.
No real question, just sort of feeling blue today. I’m grateful for all the Corpor3tt3 Moms out there making things happen – you are so inspiring to someone who feels like they’ve been scrambling for six weeks.
BC says
Something similar happened to me as I was returning to work from maternity leave. My parents covered for us for a bit and we ended up finding a wonderful in-home daycare that was one of the best things to ever happen to our family. Sending you good wishes for a great solution!
Pogo says
Big hugs. Once you get childcare right, work will be so much easier, I promise!
Anonymous says
Hopefully when one door closes, a window opens. University semesters are finishing up soon – try posting a summer nanny position with the jobs centre – you might get a teaching/nursing/psych student who’d love to nanny for the summer and then you have lots of time to find the perfect fit for the fall.
I was devastated when we lost our dream house. We later bought the house across the street which I love even more and it wasn’t on the market at the time. The family who beat us out on the dream house has a kid who’s now my daughter’s BFF. If we had gotten that house, they would have bought elsewhere because they couldn’t wait to buy like we did. Sometimes things seem awful but then it works out even better than you imagined.
yup says
That sucks. Would you consider daycare? Hearing from so many friends about how many nannies they went through is what prompted me to consider daycare only. Haven’t looked back! A friend of mine who went through 4 (!!) nannies ended up switching to daycare for the same reason — she was tired of the uncertainty.
Georgette George says
Thanks for all the kind words, everyone! It is so nice to hear from people who have been here before. The suggestion to try and find a summer nanny is a great one, as is looking into daycare – we hadn’t considered daycare initially since we assumed we were too late for any waitlists by the time we thought to apply, but definitely considering that path now.
farrleybear says
Hang in there! We had to replace a lackluster nanny who was getting worse instead of better, and scrambled to fill for a few weeks with grandparents, work from home, etc. We did just find someone great and it is such a relief. A lot of college students will be looking for positions soon, and we’ve had great nannies in the past who were responsible undergrads looking to fill a few days a week or work full time for a summer.
Anonymous says
Another vote for daycare. We had the worst time finding a nanny in California (as opposed to NYC, where we had wonderful nannies!), and after two duds, went with an in-home daycare and loved it. We still have a sweet relationship with our provider, even though our kids are both school-age now. A good nanny is amazing, but a mediocre or bad nanny is the worst form of childcare.