Maternity Monday: Linen Maternity Blazer
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As someone who was pregnant during the height of summer, the last thing I wanted to wear was a suit jacket. But I might have made an exception for this breezy linen version from Angel Maternity.
This 100% linen blazer has notched lapels, a single back vent, and an open front to accommodate your changing body. Add a pair of tailored jeans or a flowy skirt for a relaxed, yet polished, in-office look.
This linen blazer is on sale for $55 (down from $79.95) at Nordstrom. It comes in sizes S/M and L/XL. It also comes in white.
Sales of note for 3/21/25
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off: Free People, AllSaints, AG, and more
- Ann Taylor – 25% off suiting + 25% off tops & sweaters + extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + 20% off
- Eloquii – 50% off elevated essentials + extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 25% off select linen & cashmere + up to 50% off select styles + extra 40% off sale
- J.Crew Factory – Friends & Family Sale: Extra 15% off your purchase + extra 50% off clearance + 50-60% off spring faves
- M.M.LaFleur – Flash Sale: Get the Ultimate Jardigan for $198 on sale; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Buy 1 get 1 50% off everything, includes markdowns
Had my NT scan today and it’s too thick. Anxiously awaiting NIPT results and trying not to spiral but it’s very difficult!
Hi friends. At long last, a happy update from me. It would seem our March FET worked. I’m 10 weeks pregnant as of yesterday! Due right around Thanksgiving. As you may recall I was very, very conflicted about going through with the FET, citing this new Big Job and just overall mental health should the transfer fail [again] but we are very cautiously optimistic and had the first OB appointment this past Friday. All is going as well as it possibly could and I have to admit as soon as I saw a positive line I was very excited, which was a nice gut check to some of my earlier doubts.
Feeling pretty miserable physically – I forgot about this phase and also the fact I’m 6 years old than when I was last in a first trimester – but hopefully this is behind me soon enough. Because of course, I’ve had a lot of travel lately, a lot of client facing meetings. I think it’s overall a good thing – trying to see as many people as possible while I’m not showing. That being said I feel like I’m enormous and perpetually majorly bloated. I have gained about 10 lbs since start of FET cycle in mid feb, some of which is probably fertility hormone stuff. Some of my go-to sheath dresses definitely don’t fit well enough to wear anymore (pour one out for the MMLafleur wardrobe…).
I do have a real fear that I will miss out on business opportunities because of the pregnancy and people drawing conclusions that I’ll be out/unavailable for extended periods of time. With that, any suggestions for how to dress to minimize a growing bump? Was thinking black, more flowy-ish dresses plus blazers, aiming to take advantage of a trend away from biz formal to biz casual and summer/early fall wardrobe flexibility. Any other pro tips on this front or where to find? I’m in the office 5 days so I definitely need to be prepared.
Hi all, perhaps a silly question here. I’m going to have my second child in two months, four years after my first. I’m feeling much calmer and more experienced overall, but I haven’t really done any prep/reading this time around. We have most of the gear and clothes already. I had a hard time nursing the first time around, and had to pump and nurse for months. Our baby was a so-so sleeper and didn’t philosophically believe in taking naps until a year, so we’re trying the Snoo this time around.
Do you recommend that I catch up on anything in particular for reading or new products? Anything that was really different with a new baby from the first? Those sleep window schedules never really worked the first time, but I’m interested in hearing your experiences :)
Ugh today was aftercare registration for my incoming K-er. The process was super vague and unclear, we were just given an email and a phone number with no instructions about what to do. I emailed at 7:30 am and followed up with a phone call at 8:30, but apparently people sent emails at midnight and they’re ahead of me in the queue. But I don’t think it even matters because apparently it’s full with current families and there’s no space for kindergartners who don’t have an older sibling!
We’re fortunate that we have flexible jobs and local family and some neighbors willing to trade childcare, so we can make this work, but what an introduction to the K-12 childcare struggles.
PSA for the mom whose daughter hated Sunday school- I mentioned there are playgroups in my area. One was just posted and it looks like it’s grant funded…in case it’s helpful or inspirational:
“I’ll be running a free, local playgroup this Friday [……]for ages 0-4 celebrating Lag B’Omer and Shavuot. There will be music, a story, sensory craft activities, take home plush Torah, and blintzes, cookies, and coffee. Direct message me for location information and to learn about future events!
This program is sponsored by the generous support of CJP’s Lee L. and Judith E. Selwyn Foundation grant for the engagement of families with young children.”
ADHD parents- what are your best resources for getting help/guidance on behavior management?
I have a 7 y/o girl who has not been diagnosed (yet) but who very clearly has ADHD behaviors. We have an appointment to have her formally evaluated, but it’s not until the fall. She is academically hitting all benchmarks so the school isn’t concerned; her ped said she’s borderline in that she doesn’t seem to have academic performance issues but DH and I strongly suspect she’s doing a lot of compensating. She’s been placed in the inclusion classroom for the past 2 years and her teachers have told us they use classrooms techniques with her that are effective.
We need the equivalent techniques for home. Do we need a specific type of therapy/therapist?
We have read a couple books and have also found things that work through trial and error but I feel like we could always use more help.
What has worked well for you and your kids?
I am having a brain block and need help for eh mom hive. I’ve purchased my son a pair of Keen’s water shoes. They fit… but after wearing them for about an hour; they are rubbing on the back of his ankle/heel and caused a blister. The keens were purchased for the summer when his daycare goes to the splash pad (which is weekly) and some other water related adventures we have planned. Every other day of the year, he wears sneakers and socks and no issues with rubbing… these shoes just seem angled in the back so they’re digging into his heels. We tried the keens with socks and they worked great. However, you can’t wear socks to the sash pad. So, what can I do to make the backs of these shoes more comfortable for my son? I’m past the return window and the bigger size was too big on him, so I’d like to try and make these work before looking into a different pair of shoes. Thank you!!
just venting. kid 1 threw up on thursday evening, DH was not home, so i had the pleasure of cleaning all of that up, and getting both kiddos to bed. had to cancel plans i’d made 6 weeks in advance with a friend on friday (this was a ‘treat’ to myself after solo parenting the following weekend when DH was away to do something fun) to stay home with sick kiddo, saturday was divide and conquer both kiddos, with healthy kiddo being jealous of sick kiddo’s time with mommy. and then last night kiddo #2 woke me up a million times, and eventually threw up and kiddo #1 was hysterical about going to school bc kiddo #2 gets to be with mommy (which is not the case bc our nanny is here). i am exhausted and very behind in life. should be a fun week…
For those with kiddos in daycare, what are the policies for non-nappers? My 4 year old does not nap and does not need a nap. If he takes one, he lies awake until 9-10pm. Our daycare requires him to stay quietly on his nap mat for 1.5-2 hours. They allow me to send coloring or activity books, but I don’t know what I can send that will occupy a kid that age awake on a mat for that long. They can’t/won’t provide another activity or allow him to get up. lIs this normal?
Ugh, I need to vent. A big chain (Cadence Education) bought our beloved daycare a year and a half ago and it has been such a total disaster. Things aren’t being fixed at the facility, they chronically understaff the classes, and nearly all of the teachers that were there previously have left. There’s no way to contact anyone at the corporate level, even though the corporate people are calling the shots about how many teachers are allowed to be hired, etc. It’s so frustrating as there are very limited non-Cadence options in our area (they bought 10+ daycares). I really don’t want a nanny due to WFH, but I don’t know what we are going to do.
Well, today was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After working 60+ hour weeks since February, I come back today (after a long weekend away) to work and get a call from my boss at 8:30 AM telling me essentially how she’s struggling because she is being given growth opportunities that she feels like she can’t even pursue them because I’m not strong enough (paraphrasing) in the areas she needs me to be. I get this may just be fit, but I’m so tired of being told I’m “nice”, “helpful”, “high energy”, but not good enough. I was clear on my experience and expertise when I started this job, and they clearly need someone with a slightly different skill set. It’s a big job but I don’t get paid enough for this type of pressure.
Those who saw this coming, thank you. You were right. I’m now actually going to re-focus on finding something new and my exit strategy vs. trying to make this work.
Hi All – Packing my elementary aged kids for a two week international (not an easy way to shop for additional stuff) trip to visit family. The trip involves lots of walking and some beach time as well. Last year we took one pair of sneakers and one pair of Keen sandals each, and I don’t know that it was enough. How have you all handled this? I just bought them hardy sneakers (Merrells) instead of normal new balance, thinking that may bridge the gap, and I could still just bring Keen sandals. Should I add crocs? Another pair of lightweight sneakers? Thanks.
I’m interested in anyone’s thoughts or ideas about a summer nanny share. I have had the same nanny since 2019. She now works for us about 20 hours a week. My friend is having a hard time finding childcare for the summer and she asked if I would be interested in doing a nanny share with my current nanny. Our daughters are in first grade together and are close friends. We both have two younger girls (4.5 and 5.5) and they get along well. The idea is that the big kids would be in our local camp together pretty much every morning (9-12) The nanny would watch the two younger girls, pick up the big kids, then have them all in the afternoon at one of our houses. She would have access to a car that would fit everyone if she wanted to go to the playground or something like that.
We currently pay our nanny $22/hr and we proposed that for this summer when she had both families at the same time we would each pay her $18/hr for a total of $36/hr for her. If there ever was a situation where she would only be watching one family because of vacation or illness, etc, the remaining family would still pay her $22/hr. So she would never be making less than what she makes just watching my kids and would often make a lot more.
I have questions about a few issues. Our nanny asked for $20/hr per family for a total of $40/hr. This seems like a lot to me, especially when she would only be watching two kids for most of the time. Am I being unreasonable? I was hoping that it would save us a little bit more money this summer to have a nanny share.
I’m having a hard time weighing the costs/benefits. Aside from what I was hoping might be a little financial benefit, the other big benefit in my mind is that my daughters would be with friends instead of just at home, which would make me feel less stressed and guilty about being at work all summer. I also think it might give me more flexibility because typically I only work until 2 pm or so but at times I need our nanny to stay longer and she isn’t available to change her plans at the last minute if she’s planning to leave at 2. If she is watching the other kids until 5 or 6, then I know she is available and my kids can stay longer if I need.
My husband is not really on board because he thinks its not helping us in any way, will result in less supervision for my own kids, and will just makes things more logistically challenging for us.
Any thoughts or issues I need to think about before we move forward with this?
Anyone have a good recommendation for a kindergarten-appropriate book on personal boundaries? Among the several underdeveloped skills I am blaming on pandemic isolation, my 6 year old needs more targeted guidance on personal (physical) boundaries with friends and strangers.
Somehow I’m organising our school uniform bank and the person who has historically done it is dealing with a family crisis, so I don’t want to pester her. Any tips and tricks?
My plan is to gather donations in the last few weeks of school and do a dropoff point at the local library, include a fabric recycling box for things that are no longer in a fit state, organise the good quality stuff by size, and let people come in the last week of school/last 2 weeks of summer. My gut is that it should be pitched as an environmental project rather than a financial resources thing, to encourage people to use it without any shame.
It’s a big, socioeconomically diverse school, and times are hard for lots of folks at the moment but I know there’s a stigma around getting your kid dressed for school. My son’s uniforms are mostly scoured from the school’s pile of unlabelled things but I know not everyone feels the same degree of comfort with that.