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Button-front shirts are classics for pumping. However, in addition to the possibility of gaping problems, button-fronts can be difficult to care for — and the iron-free versions may be treated with chemicals (formaldehyde, etc.) that you want to avoid while you’re in the pregnancy corridor and around babies. I like the look of these pin-tucked, button-front shirts from L.L. Bean, which are easily washed, and come in a number of lovely colors. I’d wear it with a structured piece to offset the casualness — a blazer or a pencil skirt would both look great. The blouse is $40, available in both regular and petite sizes XS-XL. L.L. Bean Pima Button-Front Pin-Tucked Top, Long-Sleeve
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?
KJ says
I posted here a while back asking what my Husband and I should do on Columbus Day when we were both off of work and Baby’s daycare was still open. We ended up sending her to daycare for the usual amount of time, got some stuff done around the house, went and saw a matinee of Gone Girl, and made a giant vat of chili to freeze for future dinners. Then we picked her up and took her and the dog for a nice walk. Husband and I really, really needed a good day like this, so thanks everyone for making me feel better about sending the baby to daycare on a day off without (much) guilt.
mascot says
Yay! I’m a huge proponent of getting adult/self time without guilt.
pockets says
that sounds so, so, so amazing.
JJ says
Yay! MLK Day was like that for us. It was awesome. Good for you!
Spirograph says
That sounds great! My daycare was closed yesterday, otherwise we would have done the same thing. I’ll just live vicariously through you, if that’s OK.
Formula Help says
Hello Ladies! Advice sought- my son is 8 months old and has been exclusively fed bre@stmilk since he was about two weeks old. In a happy surprise I am about 2 months pregnant again. Unfortunately this has caused my milk to all but dry up (less than 10 oz a day). My frozen milk supply is quickly being depleted so we decided to start introducing formula (Similac) yesterday. My son HATED it and absolutely refused to drink it. Anyone have any advice about successfully introducing formula to an older baby? Do different brands of formula taste different? If so any brand recommendations to try?
mascot says
My understanding is that the only difference between brands is taste, nutritionally they are all the same (specialty types like soy are different). We used Similac and then Costco Kirkland brand.
KJ says
Have you tried mixing it with breast milk? If you have enough left in the freezer you could try to make the transition gradually.
greenie says
We gave bottles of mixed breastmilk and formula first (first day 3/4 bm, 2nd day half bm, 3rd day 1/4 bm) until she was used to formula on its own. Also making sure it’s the same temperature as your bm was extremely important for her to take it.
Good luck!
Carrie M says
When we first had to supplement with formula, we used 3 different ones in one week because we had a bunch of sample packs from various swag bags. My pediatrician said to stop switching it up on her. Pick one and stick with it so she could become used to it. My baby was only 2 weeks old then, so totally different than feeding an 8 month old, but wanted to share that approach, FWIW.
In the end, we went with Similac Advanced. But we’ve also used Gerber Good Start when our grocery store is out of the SA, and she has liked both.
Formula Help says
Thanks for the advice. I’ll try sticking with one brand, and mixing with frozen milk as we should have enough for awhile. Wish me luck!
Maddie Ross says
Just FYI, I’d mix once with BM and see how it goes, and then depending on the result, decide whether to go that route or not. My daughter did not appreciate the mix and I ended up just wasting BM. We just kept pushing the formula and eventually she was fine. We also had a better result at first with the premixed than the powder. I think the consistency was just closer to BM.
Formula Help says
Good call. I’ll try that.
In House Lobbyist says
Are you using liquid or powder formula? We had better success with the liquid formula. we used Enfamil for one baby and Similiac for the second because I thought the Similac smelled somewhat better.
paging (former) preg 3L says
How are things?
CHJ says
I need advice on how to deal with my mother-in-law. We’re supposed to go for a weekend visit next weekend, and I’m already bracing myself. The issue is that she talks all the time. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I mean literally, all the time. When she hears me get up with DS at 5:30 in the morning, she gets up immediately and follows me into the kitchen and starts talking, and the talking does not stop until we go to bed. The topics are irrelevant — it’s everything from what brand of paint she used to paint her bathroom to her opinions on hazelnut vs. unflavored coffee to the new cheese Costco is carrying…. And it’s not a conversation either – she doesn’t ask questions about our life or anything. It’s just talking. DH claims that he deals with it by just ignoring her, but I can’t do that because she will follow me from room to room. Plus I feel rude and I do feel bad for her – I think she has some kind of untreated mental illness that makes her act this way. (I’ve talked to DH about that as well, but he and his father think she’s just “zany.”)
Does anyone have any advice on coping strategies? I’ve tried being very nice, being distant, taking lots of breaks to go for runs, claiming my son needs me to sit next to him while he naps and hiding in the guest room for hours… but after half a day, I’m ready to lose my mind. She also gets her feelings very hurt if DH and I try to go do something by ourselves, so it is very hard to escape. I need to figure out some coping strategies to get through the upcoming visit as well as the holidays. Any ideas?
Newly pregnant says
I think you need your husband to run interference here. Can he engage her in conversation a bit so that you have some time alone? He should be the one to tell her that you, him, and your son are going to go to the playground and get out of the house. I also think that you should tell her that you need a bit of down time and just go into your room for a while. Her feelings may get hurt, but if you’re going crazy stuck in the house with her, you need to get out of there for a bit. She may have a mental illness, but she may also be lonely and just talk to you because nobody else listens to her. But there’s no reason for this to fall to you exclusively.
Pogo says
My MIL is like this too, and it is hard especially at the holidays when they visit for many days at a time. The hardest thing for me is I love my quiet time reading or just sitting with my niece/nephew watching them play, and MIL will not let this happen (she talks at the kids, too, which gets them amped up and often interrupts what looks to me like a nice time they were having by themselves).
1) Sneak out to another room while she’s engaged with someone else – I guess if your husband is the only other one there, it’ll have to be him.
2) Busy yourself with chores she can’t follow you to – for my MIL, who’s allergic to everything, that means anything in the basement, attic, outside, or in any proximity to the cat. My nephew loves the cat, so we go down to the basement and hang out where it’s nice and quiet. He’ll happily brush the cat for an hour while I get to sit and relax in silence!
3) This is pretty sad, but I have resorted to headphones hidden by my hair. Especially if you are just rocking DS and trying to calm him down and don’t need more noise, I could see this working.
4) Another one that my fellow in-laws (that is, others who have married into this family) shared is going to bathroom and just sitting there for a break.
5) Do as your husband has said (and my husband/his brother do as well) and simply tune her out. I’m still working on this, but not engaging (simply saying, “yep”, “uh huh” etc) can help, if you don’t encourage further discussion on a topic, she may tire out eventually or at least move on to something different.
I’m also curious on what others have to say about this. It’s tough, my MIL can be very intense and I am still struggling with this myself at the holidays.
NewMomAnon says
Is it possible that she is just “filling space” with chatter? My mom talks incessantly, and I think it’s because she feels like she has to entertain those around her all the time. She’ll even talk through television shows. I try to give her tasks to do – folding laundry or chopping veggies or even holding something while I manage the baby. It slows her down and makes her feel involved, and it’s helpful. But yeah, I still struggle with how to “escape” when I’m at my breaking point. During pregnancy I got honest about it and would say that I needed a nap, and that makes it a little easier now to get myself some down time.
jk says
Oh, hey, are you me? My MIL does this too, talking all day about nothing in particular, to nobody in particular.
DH and I trade off pretending to get emergency emails from work that require us to disappear with our laptops for an hour or so. I also sometimes replay her comments in my head in a yoda voice: ‘new cheese Costco has! Delicious is it’ etc.
That’s all i’ve got. Good luck!
Pogo says
hahah I love the yoda voice comment! Maybe I’ll try that…
JJ says
Ha! I was going to recommend fake work emergencies, as well. Maybe even set the scene beforehand, mentioning that you may need to break away every now and then to take care of some things at work? I’d also be taking every nap in bed with my son to avoid her.
KJ says
Or a fake migraine, requiring you to go lie down in a quiet, dark room?
sfg says
Fake work emergencies are one of my favorite ways to deal with the chatter. Task assignment is also very helpful for when she visits us.
Anonymous says
I just want to say that I’m overwhelmed with life, so overwhelmed. Maybe you all can give me perspective and tell me that it’s going to be okay???
I’m 16 weeks pregnant with twins. I sleep good about 50% of time. When I sleep good I’m usually exhausted and falling asleep on the couch between 8 and 9 pm. When I don’t sleep good I’m usually exhausted and falling asleep at my desk around 3 pm. This is our busy time of year (October – March) and I’m losing between 1 and 2 months of my schedule (depending on bed rest, etc.) to get the same amount of work done that I completed last year. My boss just came in and said he wants me to plan on working long week days and Saturdays for the next 6 weeks so that “we” can try and get ahead of the game. I’m pretty overwhelmed by a 40 hour week…50+ sounds awful. If I wasn’t pregnant I wouldn’t blink at a 50 hour week but I’m just so dang tired. There is no one here that can fill in and help with my workload as we are a small department of only 3 people.
My boss suggested a few weeks ago that I find a person to hire in the near future for the long-term (not just contract for maternity leave). I thought this was a great idea…much needed help for me. I reached out to my contacts and received 3 great resumes and was ready to start interviewing. He then tells me to wait until he gets approval from the CFO to hire. Wait, what? We don’t have approval?
What is my obligation here? I understand my boss is in a tight spot. But what if I would’ve gotten a serious illness? We’d still be in the same spot. At least with pregnancy I was able to give them a heads up. Is it my fault that they run this department so lean??? What am I supposed to do in this situation??
On top of work we are having a contractor that I trust remodel the downstairs level of our house to get ready for the babies because it’s currently unusable. Putting this off is not an option to me – if it doesn’t get done now, when will it get done? Never, because noise and drywall dust isn’t good for babies. This takes time to finalize the design (walls, etc.), pick paint colors, and bathroom finishes.
On top of that we need to look at baby gear, register for baby gear, etc.
I obsess over whether I’m coming back to work or not after the babies are born. I feel fortunate that it’s an option for us. My work keeps reminding me that I have bonuses and other vesting type items that I’ll lose if I don’t come back. Nothing like knowing you’ll have to pay back around $20k if you leave before 6/30/14 to add stress to the fire. I’ll also lose a couple other vesting benefits if I don’t come back. Not sure what I’m going to do.
Sorry this is long a ranty. Maybe in my spare time I should see a therapist…
Anonymous says
Oh and add to this the question of whether or not we NEED to get a different vehicle. We have a 2007 Subaru Legacy and a 2013 Toyota Tacoma 4 door. We are both tall people (5’9” and 6’1”) so leg room matters. Will infant car seats with bases fit in either or these cars and allow the people in the front to have adequate leg room? Any info. on this would be helpful.
JJ says
My DH and I are tall people (both 6′ tall) and have two cross-overs. No lie, it’s a squish when the babies are facing backwards. What you can do is look at the seats in the store and find ones that lay more horizontally versus those that are more on a diagonal (and therefore take up less room in front). My impression was that the Chicco seat took up less room than the Peg Peregos that we had.
RR says
I want to give you a hug. Here’s a virtual hug: {{HUGS}}
I’m a mom of twins. They are six now, and I have a new baby. So, I get how you feel. First and foremost, take care of yourself. Devote all free time to sleep. Take naps in your office if you need to. However bad it is now, it’s worse if you make yourself sick. I worked until 35 weeks with my twin pregnancy, and at the end I couldn’t even stand/walk for more than 10 minutes, let alone work 50+ hour weeks. You just can’t. There is a physical limit. Pregnancy is hard. Pregnancy with multiple babies is harder. You need to have a candid conversation with work about your limits and just try the best you can to not feel guilty (my general working mom advice: Make the best decisions you can everyday and try not to feel guilty.)
I suspect that, if you tell your boss you can’t work 50+ hour weeks, hiring someone to help will become a priority. You are right–it is not your fault they choose to run lean. It’s your obligation to be as up front with them as possible regarding your limitations and what you can do so that they can plan accordingly. I think that’s it. You indicate that you might not even come back to work, so what are they going to do if you set reasonable limits? I’d also consider involving your doctor. My doctor generally told me I was fine to work as much as I felt able to do, but I would guess your doctor would be willing to help you define limits that are medically advised given the stress you seem to be under.
I’m not going to disagree with you on the remodel. It’s easier now than after the babies are born (I’m not going to do that whole, “your life is over, it sucks so bad” thing because it’s really not that bad having twin babies, but home repair/maintenance/remodeling just seems like it’s always a bad idea with kids period).
For baby gear, I love the book “Baby Bargains.” It’s not just about bargains. They take like every brand of every baby product you can imagine and rate them, so it’s great for comparing pros/cons of everything. Then I just started with the big stuff and worked my way down to the small stuff. So, figure out cribs, then stroller, then carseats, etc. The baby gear search can actually be fun.
For cars, I think you will be fine with the Legacy and most four-door vehicles. I had a Ford Escape when my twins were babies, and it was fine (and we are 5’8 and 6’1). I just don’t know anything about the Tacoma. There are entire internet forums about fitting carseats in various cars, so if you search “can I fit two infant carseats in the backseat of a four door tacoma?” I’d bet someone has answered that question. You can also go to a baby store like Buy Buy Baby or Babies R Us and they will let you try out fitting the floor models in your vehicle. So that question you can probably answer pretty quickly.
anon says
Baby registry: I second the rec for Baby Bargains. I borrowed my sister’s copy and just picked what she picked or something more affordable. Do you have a friend you trust whose registry you could copy? But honestly, you mainly need carseats, someplace for them to sleep, and bottles (I maintain that this is so your husband can help with feeding regardless of whether you are using formula or breastfeeding. There were some days I just needed a break and would quickly pump a bottle for my husband to feed the baby with). My baby showed up really early very unexpectedly and that’s about all we had on hand and it worked out fine (although I do have to credit my sister for running to Target and buying newborn-sized clothes for me so we could stop borrowing clothes from the NICU). But I definitely would do what you can to get their nursery ready now. Her nursery still isn’t finished and she’s sleeping in a pack and play in our bedroom even though it’s been awhile now. Oops.
The carseats will fit fine, you just might need to move the seats up/lean them forward when you take them in and out. Save a new car for down the road.
As for your boss, that’s tough emotionally. I would say that since you have the option to be a SAHM, just do what you can do and set some boundaries. Talk to your OB about getting a doctor’s note limiting you to a 40 hour workweek. If it doesn’t work for your boss, what is he going to do? Fire you? Then you can collect your severance or unemployment.
Anon says
I just want to second the recommendation for the book Baby Bargains. If you google Lucie’s List, her website has a lot of really great recommendations. I was overwhelmed with the registration process, even after reading Baby Bargains. Lucie’s List has a guide for registering which makes it so easy to register (the guide is only about three pages, and includes links to the items that are recommended). The recommendations seem to overlap with the Baby Bargains book on a number of categories.
anon says
Oh yes, I also love Lucie’s List!
Spirograph says
First, this situation sounds really stressful, so kudos to you for holding it together as well as you have. Rant away if that’s what helps! Second, take some deep breaths, because you are borrowing trouble. When I’m overwhelmed, I tend to find even more things to be overwhelmed about, and I think you might be doing the same thing. My thoughts:
It’s not your job to do your boss’s job. Not sure what industry you’re in, but in my line of work, the work needs to get done by someone…. not necessarily me. If I’m going to be out for 3 months, I don’t need to front-load 3 months worth of work, I just need to make sure I hand it off appropriately. Staffing is management’s issue.
You’re only going to get more tired. Put your foot down now so this doesn’t get worse. I’d never advocate using pregnancy as an excuse to slack off, but asking a woman who’s pregnant with twins to ramp up to 50 hours a week is not a realistic solution, and if your boss doesn’t know better than to ask, you need to stand up for yourself. If they’re that desperate, there’s no way you’ll be fired … and if you were, you’d have a good discrimination case anyway.
Prioritize: You do not need to spend long hours researching/registering for baby gear, or obsessing about your remodel (especially if you are working with a contractor you trust. Maybe hire a designer you trust, too, to help you be decisive with minimum time and effort). If it’s important to you, by all means do it, but if you can 1. delegate or 2. be happy with things that are functional and safe but not PERFECT, I’d go one of those routes.
Remember that going back to work is not an all or nothing proposition. You can go back to work and quit on 7/1/14. You can go back to work and leave as soon as your other vesting options kick in. You can go back and stay “forever.” Or you can not go back. You don’t have to decide right now. You don’t even have to decide before you go on maternity leave… just leave your options open.
Finally, car: Don’t stress about this. You don’t need to rush out and buy a minivan. You can find carseats that have a smaller front-back profile and fit with ample legroom for front-seat residents. My husband and I are the same height as you and your husband, and our infant seat fit with room to spare in our VW Passat. If you get the type of car seat that clicks into a base, the size of your car is even less of an issue, because you don’t have to maneuver inside the car to get the kid in. Once you have a couple squirmy toddlers, you might want something bigger, but your’e good for at least the first 6 months. I also have a tiny 2-door Honda, and even in that, I can fit a Diono Radian with room for me to drive (albeit in the middle, which is not an option if you need two).
TwinsMOM says
1. I’m sorry to hear that you are feeling so overwhelmed. Hugs to you! Growing two babies at once is no joke and the exhaustion is incredible! By 6 weeks I could barely make it to 5pm each day without a nap!
I’m not sure how helpful this is as advice, but when I was pregnant with my twins my OB insisted I cap my hours to 40/week and wrote a note to my HR department stating as such (and was willing to further restrict my hours/put my on disability if I felt I needed it). I found it was helpful with my boss to have a “medical” order back up my need to set limits, especially since I was in the middle of a deal involving lots of late nights and there was just no way I was going to keep my eyes open past 8pm. I also explained to my boss that the more I pushed myself too much the greater the chance I’d be out early and for longer either on bed rest or with preemies in the NICU. Your obligation here is to keep those babies growing healthily for as long as you can!
2. As for getting ready, I think it is completely normal to be overwhelmed! We were living in a tiny condo when we got the news we were having twins, so we very quickly had to buy a house, move and buy a car before I got too big to do anything! I relied on my mom a lot to help us get ready – I was too overwhelmed to be picky and just let her pick a lot of baby stuff out. It was hard to let go of controlling and picking everything out but at the end of the day I just didn’t have the energy to make the millions of little decisions getting set up for twins required. I also relied heavily on a good friend who had twins a few years older than me – she was an invaluable resource for figuring out what/how many of everything we’d need. Is there someone who could help you out?
3. Try not to think about whether or not you will go back to work now. You will probably have a much better idea of what you want to do after the babies arrive and a lot may depend on how they do, whether they come early, whether they are in the NICU for while, how nursing is going, etc. I surprised myself in how I excited I was to get back to the office and mentally did much better once I was back at work.
4. Not sure about your specific cars (we have a Subaru Outback that was fine with the two car seats) but you can go to Buy Buy Baby or Babies R Us and try different seats out in your cars before you purchase to make sure they fit with enough legroom.
Good luck! I won’t sugar coat a twin pregnancy, but have two toddlers who are now starting to be the best of friends is an amazing (and beyond adorable) experience.
buckeyeesq says
Currently 34.5 weeks pregnant with twins, so rather than advice from the other side, it’s advice from a little further along. First, I wouldn’t assume now that you’ll have to go on bed rest–my doctor doesn’t think I’ll have to, and another woman in my office who had twins didn’t. Which is not to say that you won’t, but no use worrying until you get closer. Second, on cars, I had a SmartCar so we had to get a new car, and my husband is 6’2 and I’m 5’11, so something compact wasn’t going to work. We’re small-car people, though, and finally settled on a 36 month lease of a big car. That way we didn’t get stuck with a car we didn’t want for the next 8 years, and it’s big enough that it should fit for a few years–when you’re looking to see what will work, consider that most people switch to a larger car seat when the babies are a year old, but that the recommendation is that it remain rear facing for several months–totally would not have thought of this when we were looking for cars, but luckily a friend told me. So you’ll probably need even a little more room than what the infant seat takes up–I would think one of the baby stores could give you advice about what the next level of car seat would be so that you can try it as well. Finally, as others have said, take care of yourself! My pregnancy has been pretty easy, until a few weeks ago when I got bronchitis. I wasn’t taking it easy enough when I first got sick and thought I could fight through. I missed nearly a week of work, and now I’m going on a third week of strained/sprained ribs from coughing, and I’m concerned I’ll be miserable and sleeping badly for the rest of the pregnancy. Looking back, I should have been taking better care of myself to prevent being run down and getting sick in the first place.
Good luck!
RR says
That’s a really good point. By 6-9 months, you will probably want to switch them to convertible seats, rear-facing. Some of them are huge. Grab something like a Britax Advocate and see if it fits in your cars rear-facing. If it does, anything else (including infant carseats) will be fine. Even if it doesn’t, there are lots of smaller-profile options.
pockets says
You’re probably sick of hearing this, but you really don’t need anything for a newborn aside from a) footed one-pieces; b) carseat; c) diapers; d) velcro/snap swaddles; and e) bottles. And they’ll give you diapers at the hospital. You don’t even really need a stroller, you can make do with baby carriers for a while and you’re not really going that many places for the first few weeks. If you really want a stroller get a double snap-and-go and re-assess once babies are here.
I have a compact car (it might even be sub-compact) and the Cybex Aton carseat juuuuust fits, so it should be no problem in your car.
Anonymous says
Even swaddles are optional.
I’d throw in place to put baby (bassinet/crib) but you can definitely make do with a drawer or something.
@ Sleep Training Questions (Paging Nonny) says
Hi, it’s Nonny! Sorry to have missed your post yesterday – it was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and not a work day, so I didn’t go near my computer.
You got lots of great advice but here are my thoughts, as a complete non-expert but someone who recently went through exactly the same thing as you.
I went months experiencing numerous wakings each night, and kept a detailed log (which is slightly depressing reading!). However, I wasn’t working at that point – I was still on maternity leave, so even though I wasn’t happy about it, I could take it. I even lasted almost 2 months after maternity leave ended before I decided that we needed to do serious sleep training – I just hit a breaking point. You will know when you hit yours.
FWIW, I have heard that tanking up on solids before bedtime actually does nothing – but it sounds like you do need to work on transferring more of your baby’s calorie intake to the daytime vs nighttime. I can’t speak to whether or not you should sleep train at this point, but I would have been reluctant to sleep train before I had a sense that my little one was mostly nursing for comfort in the night and not because she was actually hungry.
As to my own progress, we are still working on things using the Sleep Lady. Within a week we have gone from 5 or 6 wakings per night to 1 or 2. I have also eliminated my daughter’s late evening dream feed, so now only feed her at her first waking after midnight – which last night didn’t happen until 3:30am. I’ve noticed that she doesn’t really seem to eat much at that one so I’ll be working on eliminating it within a week or two. The main issue we are still facing is that she tends to wake up very early (like, 5:00 or 5:15) and then doesn’t want to go back to sleep. But we are being very strict about not taking her out of her crib until 6:00, when I do a really dramatic morning wake-up, so hopefully that will improve over time.
I’m not saying it has all been a piece of cake, and there is still a fair bit of crying when she wakes up in the middle of the night and is trying to figure out how to get back to sleep. But it is taking less and less time for my daughter to do so and we are moving further and further away from her crib. I am just appreciative that both I and she are getting more sleep, for longer periods. Last night I got to sleep for 5 hours straight. Amazing. I can take that.
ECR says
We are thinking of switching my daughter to a convertible car seat (she’s 6 months, but in 97th percentile for height and weight). Does anyone have experience with the Britax click tight convertible seats? I know they are just coming out on the market, but wondering if anyone has taken them for a test drive at a Big Box Store. Do they live up to the hype?
Related question: we don’t know if we can fit the convertible rear facing in our car, a VW Golf GTI. Does anyone have experience with smaller cars and rear facing convertibles?
Also, recommendations for a larger car? We’re contemplating another kid in the not-too-distant future, so would a mini-SUV or station wagon be best?
anon says
No advice on the convertible car seat, but I think SUV v. station wagon is really a personal perference. Think about getting getting your baby/kid in and out of carseats. Some people prefer to bend down to the wagon, others prefer to lift into the SUV. Same for getting baby gear (bulky strollers, pack and play, etc.) in and out of the trunk.
Maddie Ross says
No idea about the Britax click tight, but we have a Britax marathon and love it. It’s in a VW CC, which I understand to be even tighter/harder to fit than the Golf because of the buckety-ness of the seats. Car Seats For Littles is a great site if you are searching for a specific vehicle (or just g**gle, which will probably take you there, too).
Spirograph says
I said this above, but Diono Radian (with the foam angle-adjuster thing) was the best I found for convertible rear-facing seat in small car.
As for SUV / station wagon… we looked into both of these recently before ultimatelysticking with a sedan for now and punting the decision to the next car upgrade. I liked the small SUVs/crossovers better because I hate having to hunch over to put kids in car seats. My favorites that we test drove were Acura and VW models, but overall I was pretty depressed with how expensive – both in outright cost and cost of ownership – that type of car is.
mascot says
We loved our Britax Boulevard. We used latch to install and it was super easy. We don’t move the car seats around to different cars very often so I don’t know that paying money for supposed easier/faster install makes a lot of sense. We had it rear facing in a Fusion. The Golf might be tight; you’d have to try it. It’s not a small car seat, so the Radian might be best for if you need the smaller footprint. Overall, we’ve been pleased with the Britax and how well it has held up.
We have an SUV and a sedan. The SUV is much easier for stowing baby gear, changing diapers/clothes in the cargo area (so hard in bucket seats), getting the kid in the car, etc.
Meg Murry says
One thing to consider for upgrading a car is if you will ever be carrying extra kids or other adults. We upgraded from a 2 door car to 4 door before kid #2 was born, so we thought it was great to have so.much.room! But with 2 kids in car seats, there isn’t room in the car for a 5th person -adult or kid in car seat, which gets annoying to try to schedule play dates or coordinate sharing rides to soccer. Its a little better now that my oldest and his friends can go in backless booster. I’m not an advocate of huge SUVs “just in case” you need to haul a bunch of people, but I do wish our primary car could hold another person without taking my oldest (technically illegally) out of his booster seat.
mascot says
I have 3rd row seats in my SUV, but since both the 2nd and 3rd row are bench seats, they are hard to get in and out of. Practically impossible if there is a car seat in the 2nd row.
RR says
No advice on the click tight. I rarely take my carseats out, so ease of taking them in and out isn’t a big issue for me. But, I will say I’ve loved every Britax seat we’ve owned (and we’ve owned 4 Boulevards and 2 Advocates over the years–twins and two cars), so I would definitely recommend the brand.
JJ says
We bought Britax Advocate convertible seats and love them. Unabashedly. I can’t recommend them enough.
Personal preference is most important for SUV or station wagon. Like I said above – we’re both six feet tall and I’m usually in heels for work, so I wanted an SUV simply because it’s much easier to load the kids into and out of. It’s difficult enough for me to bend down and get into cars, much less load squirmy toddlers, while I’m in a pencil skirt and in heels into one. Our SUVs are crossovers and only have two rows, so the car seats take up almost the entire back seat.
In House Lobbyist says
We loved all of our Britax car seats – 3 cars with 2 in car seats plus grandparents equals a lot of car seats. We also have 2 Recaros that are very slim and work great in a truck. We transitioned from the infant seats with both around 6 months but I can see the infant carriers being easier with twins. Also Amazon is your friend.
Anon - Maternity Coat says
I have been on the hunt for a maternity coat. I am due in late December, so I feel that I will not get a ton of use out of the coat and don’t want to spend a lot of money. I saw one at Old Navy and they’re doing a 25% off sale right now, making the coat about $59, free shipping. I don’t shop at Old Navy too often, but I have noticed that their prices fluctuate quite a bit depending on what sales are going on. Does anyone know if Old Navy runs any better promotions? I think $59 for a coat is not too bad, but if I can get a better price, given it’s limited usefulness, I’d prefer that. I will post the link in the comment below.
Anon - Maternity Coat says
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=50200&vid=1&pid=105952002
sfg says
In my experience, Old Navy discounts max out around 30%, so not much better. I’m not sure how often they run it, though it seems like just about every week you can get at least 20%.
NewMomAnon says
I had an Old Navy maternity coat (was due last January) and it ran VERY small. Like, it barely fit even when I went home from the hospital with the baby. I spent $35 on it, but it was a down puffy coat. I was SO HOT by the time I gave birth, and then didn’t leave the house after baby was born for a while, so it didn’t get worn much. I would personally hold off on buying a coat, and then check a consignment store if you find you need one. Also look for a cape or shawl instead; someone gave me a big fleece cape and I wore that quite a bit.
Anonymous says
have one of these. hideous and cheap. I refuse to buy anything more expensive though.
you can probably get one of these for cheap on kijiji or craigslist
pockets says
Baby born in February during polar vortex winter last year and I didn’t buy a maternity coat (probably the only item of maternity clothing I didn’t buy). I wore my husband’s North Face fleece zipped up over my belly and then wore my own parka on top of that, unzipped, and then added a big scarf. It wasn’t pretty but it worked.
NewMomAnon says
Ah yes, that was my other dirty secret – I wore my husband’s coat when I really needed to wear a warm winter coat that zipped. Basically, I wore my fleece cape when I needed something somewhat attractive that covered my tummy, my unzipped Old Navy coat when I was just walking to and from the car, and my husband’s coat for taking the dog outside. And wore no coat at all if the temperature was above 15 degrees…
Maddie Ross says
Ladies – Friday is my daughter’s last day at the daycare she’s attended since I went back to work after maternity leave (sniff!). We’re only moving her because we’ve moved across town and cannot realistically make the commute work long term. I’d love to do something for the teachers as a whole at the center (not just her current teachers, who I’m giving extra $$) as they have all loved on her and been so kind to her. Any suggestions? They have a breakroom, so I thought perhaps donuts or muffins or something? Other thoughts? I cannot reasonably tip out 20+ teachers, or I totally would!
CHJ says
Could you talk to the center director about ordering in lunch for everyone? I’m thinking something like Panera that will do a variety of sandwiches and cookies. I’m sure donuts and coffee would be appreciated too!
mascot says
Do you have Chik-fil-a near you? The chicken minis platters are a huge hit. I’ve done Edible Arrangements for a daycare too.
Anonymous says
+324 for edible arragements
Carrie M says
What about flowers with a note like thank you for helping me grow? I did this for my daughter’s previous daycare, but since there were only three teachers, I did individual plants.
Anonymous says
DH and I had basically agreed to what we would do with expectant child. We had made arrangements, including a deposit at a daycare for when I was scheduled to go back to work. Now DH wants to take parental leave as well, he is suggesting 6 months, which is more than what I am taking.
A lot of this is really annoying for me; we had discussed the issue a long time ago and he was clear he didn’t want any leave. He’s refused to go to birth classes, parenting classes or doctor appointments. All purchases for the child have been from my account, including the non-refundable child care deposit. DH says he wants to “bond” with the child.
We have also scheduled two vacations and home renovations and payments on a recently purchased vehicle to think about. I do not see us affording a 1 salary lifestyle. Neither of us gets any kind of “top-off pay” from our employers if we take leave. I am okay with DH taking the same amount of leave that I am, we can budget for that.
Thoughts?
Meg Murry says
Will the daycare allow you to push your deposit back to a later start date?
Is baby already here? Or is this in anticipation of the birth? If baby is already born or soon to be born, I can see dad having a change of heart now that baby is here and not just a hypothetical.
Could you counter propose with 3 months? Has he asked at work if they will even allow 6 months?
Sarabeth says
Honestly, this specific issue sounds like the least of your concerns, and your husband is acting like an ass. Why on earth are all baby related things your financial responsibility? Why is your husband not doing any of the work to prepare for having a kid?
I’m all for bonding time, and am a strong advocate for fathers spending some time as primary caregivers. I think that arrangement does wonders for sharing the burden of parenting equally over the long haul, and if my husband’s job had offered 6 months leave (even unpaid) we would have tried our best to make it work financially. But I think this issue is a red herring.
ETA: Also, given his disinterest in baby preparation, I’d be worried that he will change his mind about the desirability of being home all day with a 3 or 4 month old.
Spirograph says
I totally understand your frustration, but it’s great that your husband seems to have gotten more on board and is interested in staying home for a while. Did he handle everything well up to this point? No, absolutely not. But without knowing the whole dynamic, I would take his change of heart at face value… it sounds you are “keeping score” a little with keeping track of how much time and money you’ve put in, and how much “return on investment” you’re getting with maternity leave vs his pre-birth contributions and his “return.” That’s not going to work in the long-term; it’s going to drive you both crazy. I think counseling could really help you both sort out how you’re both adjusting to parenthood, and help you work out your family finances (I am baffled by the baby expenses coming out of one person’s account thing).
My husband took almost 3 months off after I went back to work, and it was fantastic. He bonded with our son and gained confidence in his ability to take care of him alone, which has only helped absolutely every other aspect of our lives ever since. Plus, I didn’t have the added stress of leaving my 3-month old with a stranger while I was trying to get back into the swing of things at work. For us, permanently cutting back to a single income would require some major budget maneuvering and is not something we want to take on, but we were ok with falling back on savings knowing it was a temporary situation. If you can make any more time with single income work financially, I’d definitely go for it.