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Ooh: love this maternity wrap dress from Leota — fit permitting, I’d even wear it after the pregnancy. It’s available in a number of other colors, as well; the pictured windowpane print is $180. Leota ‘Perfect Wrap’ Maternity Dress
Building a maternity wardrobe for work? Check out our page with more suggestions along both classic and trendy/seasonal lines.
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Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ 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 – 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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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
LSC says
I just gave notice at my first post-law school job that I will be taking a position elsewhere (non-law…eek!). It’s bittersweet, but life has changed since my daughter was born last year, and I think it is time. Advice/commiseration on starting a new job? I have big shoes to fill, so I am simultaneously excited and terrified.
anon says
Congrats! No advice, but good luck with your new endeavor.
Newmomanon says
I have a question rather than advice! How did you go about finding a non-law job? I’d like to make that move but don’t even know where to start!
LSC says
My practice now is employment law, so I am leveraging my experience to move into an employee relations/compliance role. It still has many legal aspects, but with more of an in-house/HR feel. I interact with the same HR departments frequently in my current job, so I had the advantage of some name recognition and familiarity when I applied. It’s hard to imagine leaving litigation behind, but I think it’s for the best at this stage in life. I feel like people scare you into believing you can never go back, but I am telling myself that is not the case and that I can make it happen if I decide I want to later.
Meg Murry says
No comments? Ok, I’ll start. Anyone have kids going back to school soon or already back to school? I am so not looking forward to having to get kids up and going, and homework, ugh – but I’m very ready to get back to a routine instead of having to figure out whats happening day by day and week by week with different camps and carpool schedules, etc.
But I wish our school would get it’s act together. I know some things are still in flux, but just tell me who my kid’s teacher is already so I can alleviate the “but what if none of my friends are in my class?” anxiety or start dealing with it/mitigating on the off chance that he really doesn’t have any good friends in his class. My kids (and I) don’t do well with uncertainty – just tell us already!
LSC says
I SO remember this kind of anxiety as a kid…Will I have friends in my class? Will I have friends in my lunch period? I hope it works out well for you guys!
hoola hoopa says
We find out the week before school starts. They intentionally delay so that parents have less time to request reassignment (or so I’m told by other parents), but since we’re pretty new to the game (or second year in this school, third overall) I don’t mind. I don’t know the teachers to have a preference, and she still won’t know who’s else is in her class until the first day of school.
We’re also looking forward to getting back into a routine – mostly for bedtime! – but we’re changing up aftercare so it will be a new one. I’ve heard homework should increase this year, and I’m anxious about how we’re going to make that work with the evening routine.
anon says
Our school posts at 5pm the day before the first day of school. At the school, not even online, so you have to show up in person (along with the other 800 kids), all so you know where to show up at 8:00am the next morning.
MSJ says
After 52 weeks of breastfeeding twins, I’ve finally outsourced my job full time to dairy cows. Thankfully the transition from breastmilk & formula to whole milk went pretty well. Next step I suppose is moving from bottles to straw cups. They do well with water in straw cups but don’t drink nearly as much milk as with bottles. Although I also have to get a better handle on the target milk consumption in oz for a one year old. It’s a bit staggering ho w quickly that gallon bottle is emptying.
POSITA says
Congrats! That’s a huge accomplishment.
We may be weird, but we really never worried about target milk consumption. We only offered milk and water as beverages and we figured that she’s self-regulate and drink when she was thirsty. I wouldn’t worry too much about amounts unless your kids have other health concerns. We’ve really found that toddler diets are generally bizarre–some days ours eats like a 200 lb man and other days she just sips her cup of milk and eats nothing else.
Anon in NYC says
Congrats! I hope to be able to make it to a year.
Tunnel says
Congratulations! What an accomplishment!
AEK says
*claps*
buckeyeesq says
That’s phenomenal!
Carrie M says
Congrats on making it that long!!
I’m not sure what the recommended range is, but at a year, my kid was probably drinking about 24 oz of whole milk, maybe less if she eaten a lot of solids that day. Now at 18 months, it ranges anywhere from 15-25, though I’ve stopped keeping track the way I used to. She tells me when she wants milk or water, so I just don’t really think about it (unless we’re going out for a whole day and then I want to be sure I have a TON because she always seems to ask for it when we’ve just run out of our stockpile….).
I was actually thinking the other day that I need to ask her doctor at her appointment next week whether we should move her to 2%.
Marilla says
I have a potentially ridiculous first-baby question (6 mos pregnant). A bassinet seems like a super convenient option for the baby to sleep in our room for the first couple of months, and I thought we had picked a cute, practical one that would fit beside the bed.. but the more I look at them, the more I wonder why bassinets with fabric sides are considered ok compared to cribs with bumpers? Is it because they’re not likely to roll into the side of the bassinet? AND, should I just be getting a pack n play with newborn insert instead, since that’s more versatile than a bassinet that only works for a few months at most? Does anyone have any useful advice?
Jen says
Probably not useful (I am a horrible mother- see post below!) but we just put the crib in our room for the first week. Then both baby and I moved into the nursery (bed on floor) for the rest of the first month. After that, baby was in the nursery and I was in my own bed.
We also had a pack and play with newborn insert- I used it as our downstairs napping area (we have a dog so I didn’t let the little just fall asleep on the floor). If you didn’t want to bother moving the crib you could certainly use that instead.
I will say though, we had a very easy baby (we had to wake her up to sleep). She didn’t latch and I had all kinds of nursing issues that I eventually overcame, but the actual sleeping part was easy. Friends of mine had to cross fingers, toes, and perform magic spells to get their kid to sleep.
MSJ says
I’m a relentless pragmatic so I personally didn’t want to pay a lot for something with such a short life span. I had planned to use the crib from the start (in our room) but ended up buying a rock and play via Amazon overnight shipping once we hit a reflux issue in the first week. We got tons of use out of them and they are fairly economical. We ended up moving to cribs around 3/4 months without much drama.
I’m not sure what goes into the safety standards (although I remember reading negative things about Moses style bassinets).
rakma says
The bassinet is useful for about 2-3 months. Yes, the cloth sides are ‘ok’ because the baby can’t roll yet (crib bumpers are technically ‘ok’ until the baby can roll for the same reason) I was happy that ours was a hand-me-down, because I don’t think we used it enough to justify it.
The pack and play with the bassinet would serve the same purpose, but they’ve got a much bigger footprint, and if you want it right next to the bed, you might feel trapped. The bassinet had wheels like an office chair, and rolled easily. The pack and play only has two wheels and only moves easily in one direction. We used the pack and play on the first floor, and found the changing table attachment more useful than the bassinet attachment (in part because DD napped in the rock and play)
sfg says
We used a rock and play until four months – DD seemed to like the incline and being snuggled in. But, we kicked her out of our room after about four weeks because none of us were sleeping well. We tried introducing a bassinet as a crib transition (picked up a stroller bassinet on Craigslist that we tried putting in the crib) but DD didn’t like that. So, it was straight into the crib, and the transition was actually much easier than I thought it would be.
Anon in NYC says
We purchased a bassinet as part of our stroller set and wheeled our stroller into our bedroom every night (we live in an apartment where everything is on the same level). We used it for 2 months and then transitioned her to the crib. It was really convenient to have her in the room with us at the beginning when she was waking up every 2-3 hours – I couldn’t bear the idea of making those wakeups more painful than they already were! Having her in the room also eased some new parent anxiety on my part.
We also justified the bassinet/stroller combo by using the bassinet during the first 6-8 weeks, so it did double duty. After that, my daughter seemed to have sufficient head control that we could strap her in the regular stroller seat in a reclined position.
Babyweight says
Ditto. At night I’d detach the bassinet portion, carry it upstairs and place it on the ground by the bed. During the day, i just pushed the stroller around the ground floor.
RDC says
I had planned to keep DS in our room for a while but he just made so. much. noise. that he was evicted after three weeks. Grunts, moans, little cries (all in his sleep) made it impossible for us to sleep – and we would wake him up checking on him. So he went into his crib (in the nursery) at right around 3.5-4 wks. We did have a rock n play and that thing got a lot of use since it helped him sleep when he was tiny and later helped with drainage ever time he got a cold. He finally grew out of it around 7 mos.
Marilla says
Thanks everyone – this is super helpful!
Jen says
So, a rant. Just came back with a long weekend with my extended family. I, a full time working mom of a 2 year old, remarked that my mother’s neighbor, who has 2 under 2, must “really have her hands full.” I’ve never met this woman, I have no idea if she works, doesn’t work, etc– just that my mom mentioned in passing that there are two littles over there now.
My mother, who stayed home to raise all of her kids from birth until the last one was 7 and then got a very part time job, replied, “well, you know, real mothers love it when their kids are that age and can’t get enough.” That’s the kind of snippy remark I get all the time from her. I know to laugh it off/go find wine/disengage, but just needed to vent *one* more time. My father, who wisely divorced my mother several years back, took me aside later and assured me that my husband and I are doing a fantastic job and of course my mom is just being a bitter nasty person….but jeez.
FWIW, DH and I spend a TON of time with our kid for people that work two demanding FT jobs. She goes to daycare 3x a week, is there for 7 hours max, and is home with a babysitter the other 2 days with lots of mom time (I work out from a home office and spend breakfast and lunch with her).
OCAssociate says
Ugh. I’m glad you know to laugh this off, but it’s still so annoying. You’re obviously doing a fantastic job – it’s amazing that you can spend breakfast and lunch with your daughter. But even if you couldn’t get that extra time, it has nothing to do with being a “real” mom or a “good” mom or any of that other bull.
IME, the people who vehemently judge you for doing something different than what they chose are the ones who aren’t very satisfied with their lives &/or their choices.
In the meanwhile, rant away here!
Jax says
“…aren’t very satisfied with their lives/choices.” BINGO.
I read an interesting book that followed the history of motherhood in the United States. In colonial times, business/home merged into one with a mother helping to manage a large farm (and servants) or the husband had a shingle out front for law/medicine/general store while the family lived in back. Family and work were combined together, and moms had so much more work to do than dote on a baby. It wasn’t until after the Industrial Revolution that men left home/farms to go off to work, splitting work life from domestic life. Having two separate spheres for Work and Home is, historically, very modern!
Around 1880, society decided that a wealthy man–a real capitalist success–had a well dressed wife and children at home in a beautiful house filled with fashionable “stuff”. (Our culture is still struggling to shake off this definition of success.) Over the next hundred years, women left home to work briefly (The Great Depression, WWII) but felt shamed back into domestic life as soon as the financial need ended. The first generation of women to step out into the workforce, not out of need but out of WANT–were our parents in the 70’s and 80’s.
In the 90’s some women thought they made a horrible choice and retreated back home (we all remember the Professional Moms, right? the NY Times did a follow up story on some of them a few months ago) and the Mommy Wars broke out in full force. Now it’s 2015 and 80% of mothers are working. Isn’t this an exciting time for us? I mean, we’re the generation who CAN GET THIS THING RIGHT! Seriously! It’s exciting!
Knowing the history of all this really helped me put comments like “She really loves her children because she stays home with them!” into perspective. We humans are meant for work, and for millennia EVERYONE worked. It’s only recently Work left Home, and we modern adults have to travel to it. I’m no less a mother than Abigail Adams, who worked ridiculously hard while raising children, because my work requires me to be away from them for 9 hours per day. A mother working is–historically–completely normal.
KLR says
What’s the title of this book? It sounds really interesting.
Ugh says
Your FWIW is not even necessary. No defense needed regarding such a ridiculous statement. Good for your dad for giving you a boost.
I get it though. I still hear a close family member saying: “I want to be the one to raise my children” when someone asked whether she intended to go back to work after her kids arrived. Yuck. I can think of a million retractions to that awful sentiment, but – just like you/your mom – the statement says more about her than me.
POSITA says
Anyone with a 2 year old knows that you absolutely can get enough some days, regardless if you’re a WOHM or a SAHM. I’d just take it that she must have forgotten how tough it can be–perhaps her memory is foggy from years of sleep deprivation?
sfg says
Can totally relate. When I was pregnant, my mother told me that it takes “a special kind of person to be a stay at home mommy.” (Verbatim.)
Katie says
I’d be tempted to snap back with “real mothers support their children in their endeavors”.
Three says
So, my husband and I have always only talked about 2. A million reasons, but some of the best are that we really love to be on the go (lots of travel) and my husband just….doesn’t really love the baby phase. So, he’s not always the best helper with the truly little set (night wakings, etc.).
We have 2 amazing awesome boys, and we are rounding the corner to when life gets more sane (1.5 and 3.5). And I’m usually at peace with being done, and excited about having two little people to travel with and keeping things a little saner at home. A close friend just had her first though, and another close friend is trying for her third. And I can’t help but feel a little sad that the great parts of the “littles” phase (the positive pregnancy test, the time with a brand new baby, etc.) are behind us. Does that ever really go away? Do you ever really feel done? Also, I worry I will regret not having a 3rd when they are older, and realizing just how short the baby phase really is. Can anyone else relate?
POSITA says
We have good friends who just had their third. They had two boys and she really wanted to try for a girl. They ended up with a third boy. They love him to pieces, but they’ve said over and over that it is really tough having three–the hardest transition yet. Watching them struggle has firmly put me in the no-more-than-2 camp.
JJ says
We could be the same person. I have two boys the same age difference apart and my youngest is turning two this weekend. We’re in the “more than likely done at two kids” camp, with my husband more firmly in that position than me. No insight, but I have complete commiseration. I’m so sad that I may not have a “baby” anymore, but can’t justify a life-changing decision based on that sadness alone.
anon says
We have three kids (first two boys, and then a girl) – and three is really hard. And I still have all those feelings! I’m sad that I won’t ever get to feel someone kick me again, and I won’t get to nurse anymore, or hold a sleeping newborn (unless I borrow a friend’s!), but I don’t think having a fourth will really make those feelings go away, and honestly, we’re done.
anyanony says
I have two and the younger is 22 (years!). I wanted three, was not able to due to combo of bad timing and not having the right partner at the time. I still STILL wish I had had three, still miss pregnancy, the kicks, the newborn smell… But the more rational part of me knows that working full-time++ and trying to parent two was hard enough. Not just time and money but the emotional stress of raising two to be adults. Three would have been a bad decision. Many parents of three told me that one is good, two evens the numbers between parents and kids and three sent (in their opinion only) their family off into the deep end of the pool.
So, no, you may always wish for three but two may end up being the right decision.
Burgher says
I’m contemplating the exact same thing right now. We have a 3 year old and 6 month old. It’s something that wouldn’t even be likely to occur for another year (based on previous return to fertility delayed by BF), but I’m trying to figure out if I should keep the baby gear and clothes or sell or give them away. Part of me never wants to pump again and get all of this extra stuff out of my house immediately, but when I see my 2 boys playing and giggling together, I can’t help but think “wouldn’t this be even better with another one?!” I simultaneously want to be done and for it to never end. Every time we retire a new size of clothes or put away an outgrown seat or gym or whatever, I am an absolute mess. Technically we could afford it, but it would likely take us from comfortable to a stretch. Not to mention resetting the clock on when we can start to travel easier and just be out of that intense care required at all times stage of life. Oh, and diapers. So many diapers. I really don’t know what I want. Emotionally – YES, ALL THE YES. Logically, heck no. Hubby is “fairly anti third baby” but then he asks the boys if they want a little brother or sister on the reg. UGH.