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Ooh: this little number is machine washable, pooch friendly, and pretty — with a high neckline and work-appropriate length? Sign me up. I think it would look great with a white blazer and nude pumps in the summertime, or even with navy tights, tall boots (or pumps), and a boyfriend sweater on a casual fall/spring day. It’s $118, available in sizes XS-XL at Nordstrom. Marc New York by Andrew Marc Pleat Detail Floral Print Shift Dress
(L-2)
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
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- 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?
Going Anon Today says
I think I may be suffering from a hormone-induced bout of the baby-crazies!
My baby is 6 months and I want another baby NOW! Here’s the catch…I start law school in September. I’ve been daydreaming about being pregnant during 1L and having a baby 1L summer. Financially we could swing it (husband has a good job, full tuition scholarship) and we are fortunate to have both my mom and my husband’s mom help with childcare.
We were originally planning to try to have another baby during 3L because I thought there was no way I would want babies close together. But now, 1L summer is starting to look like a good option. I won’t have to take time away from classes, I won’t have to worry about studying for the bar exam, etc.
I’m crazy, right?
Maddie Ross says
While I cannot at all imagine the bone-numbing exhaustion of early pregnancy during the first year of law school, I also am going to go a bit out on a limb and say not totally crazy. I had my daughter two years ago and while part of me wants another, the longer we wait, the more I can think of reasons why I never ever want to be pregnant or do the early baby days again. If you can swing not having a job during 1L summer, it could be a good option. You have to remember though, it can be really hard to perfectly time a pregnancy. Do you have any idea how your school would handle you having to take time away from classes for the birth? Some schools seem better able to accomodate that then others.
LizzieB says
One thing to keep in mind is that 1L year is the MOST important in terms of getting a good job if you are going the traditional route of taking a 2L summer associate position that will hopefully result in an offer for post-graduation. When you are interviewing for 2L summer associate jobs at the beginning of your 2L year, the only grades that interviewers see are your 1L grades. I personally don’t think that I could have done nearly as well 1L year if I had also been 1st trimester exhausted (not to mention 1st trimester exhausted plus running around after a toddler!). However, it is certainly possible that you could get awesome grades 1L year even being pregnant with a toddler, and not having the best 1L grades also doesn’t mean that you will never be considered for a good job. This is just something I never would have known and would have wanted someone to tell me!
Also, total commiseration on hormones making you want ALL of the babies! My first is almost 12 months and I’ve been wanting a second baby since she was around 8 months old. My husband is so not there yet, but I’m hoping that I can bring him around sooner rather than later.
due in june says
If you are planning on going through OCI, remember that 1L grades are very, very important for OCI in the Fall for your 2L summer. I’m at 36 weeks now and frankly can’t imagine having the energy and focus necessary to study enough in the weeks up to finals and then take finals and do well. I basically had narcolepsy my first tri, and my grades would have been terrible. Now I feel ok, but not great. I get tired pretty quickly. Maybe your third tri was easier than mine has been. A friend of mine had *more* energy in her third tri than normal, the lucky duck.
And wouldn’t you have to miss a lot of class for all the check ups at the end?
POSITA says
Instead of losing a summer and risking morning sickness during 1L, I would plan a baby for 2L. You can finish school a semester late and no one will blink at starting firm employment a bit late. I had several friends go this route.
Going Anon Today says
That is a good option!
JEB says
Agree 100%. Also, there have been several articles lately indicating that for health reasons, it’s ideal to wait 18 months between pregnancies. I haven’t looked into them very closely, but also something to consider.
anon says
One of my classmates had her baby at the beginning of what would have been her 2L – she just took the year off, and then graduated a year later. So she was able to have a 1L summer job, and then came back a year later and participated in OCI, got a biglaw job, etc.
I’m not as certain that 1L summer jobs are nearly as important as 1L grades – but I have also been out for nearly 10 years, so things may be different now.
gt says
Sounds reasonable to me – then you’d at least get the chance to spend time with your kids while they’re young.
At a traditional law job, at best you’ll see your kids for an hour in the morning, an hour in the evening, and for parts of a weekend. Husband is also a lawyer, but with more hours than me … he sees the baby in morning during the week (most of the time) and mornings / evenings on the weekend because he usually has to work parts of Saturday and Sunday. Before the baby I worked weekends as well, and also traveled 40-60 % of the time. Post baby, I’ve taken a career hit and now work *only* 50 hours a week so I can get to and from the daycare during their open hours, and I stopped travelling while I was breastfeeding. Baby is now 15 months old and off the b**b, while I’m working to get my career back to where it was before I ‘cut back.’
If I had to do it over, I’d definitely consider having kids during law school, when I had the freedom to work my schedule around my kids rather than the other way around. Could also avoid paying full-time infant daycare (~35k year in my area.)
Going Anon Today says
You confirmed what I was thinking. I’m worried that it will be harder to manage a newborn with a traditional law job than it would be to manage a newborn during law school.
Manhattanite says
You get maternity leave from a traditional law job and often a part time schedule for a while. Don’t kid yourself that one option is better than another. Both paths are difficult and both are doable. And it’s not always possible to plan.
But as for wanting another baby when the first is only 8 months, remember that your baby is tricking you. Very soon that child will have a mind of its own and have all new needs.
anonymous says
Had my first kid shortly after graduating from law school, so my thoughts from pregnancy during 3L year (and subsequent pregnancies while working FT):
I think that unless there’s a compelling medical/age issue, it’d be better to wait. I found 1L utterly draining–you are learning a whole new way of thinking/writing/analyzing, and it’s tough. I can’t imagine doing this with a toddler, let alone with a toddler and pregnant (and I had very easy pregnancies). It’s also the most important year for grades–good grades impact both law review/journal outcomes, as well as your job prospects for 2L summer and thus beyond. And there’s no doubt that people will look askance if you forego a summer job 1L year, although TBH most legal 1L internships are BS if we are being honest (welcome to the frustrating world where the legal profession makes you jump through unnecessary hoops–see: 3L year, bar exam, etc.). So there’s the concern that pregnancy will affect 1L grades/experience, and then missing 1L summer internship/employment will also adversely affect your 2L job prospects.
Plus, there’s your ability to focus on school with a toddler and baby close in age. While a lot of law school feels pointless, doing a good job there is still important–it’s professional school, and the people you’re with there are likely ones you’ll come across for the rest of your career. Having just attending a 20th law school reunion, if you think people don’t remember all the little details from law school: wrong. It’s different than ugrad, and while it’s possible to have a light footprint there, I found the skills and relationships you build outside the classroom (clinics, journal, even extracurricular and social events) are the most important part of school over the long term.
There’s the cost. Even if you have scholarships and a partner with enough money, kids are expensive. While the flexibility of school is great for little ones, I’d say to give school the time you’d need, at a minimum you’d have to have FT care for both–nanny or daycare.
And now that I’ve got a few kids myself, I’ll add that while I found one kid a transition, moving from one to two kids totally kicked our butts. My second pregnancy was definitely easy in objective terms, but it was far more draining than my first–I was starting from a place of much greater exhaustion, thanks to baby no. 1. With two kids, you are at best playing man-t0-man. Instead of being able to focus on a baby, you’re juggling a baby and a young toddler who probably doesn’t understand why you no longer can give him/her all your attention. That fades pretty quickly, but just trying to keep everyone fed, clean, and somewhat entertained is pretty hard. Should anyone be less than a perfect sleeper, and it can become a catatonic parent disaster pretty quickly. When the kids get a little older, you’ll get the benefit of them (hopefully) playing together and needing you less, but that takes a while (i.e., more than a year, or most of the remaining time you’d have in law school).
I get the WANT BABY thing (obviously, since I’ve got a small gaggle myself) but give it a bit–every time I was beyond consumed and staring longingly at little ones on the street, after a while the manic nature of that feeling passed. D*mn hormones/evolutionary biology. I think that feeling ebbs and flows, particularly if you’ve currently got a little one and are BFing.
I agree that law school, depending on the situation, could be a great time for a baby, but I’d consider taking time off–I sat for the February bar, instead of the July bar, so effectively started working 3/4 months later than my peers but was able to take a long unpaid maternity leave. I already had a job lined up and they were happy to let me start later; having some job security also helped me a great deal, plus kiddo was older and fully transitioned to daycare. As mentioned, taking a break in your 2L year is also a good way to structure it.
Sorry for the rambling novel. Clearly I got thoughts, as they say.
quailison says
I just had a baby the spring of my 3L year (I graduate on Monday! Wooo!) and honestly, I think that’s the only time I could have swung it without taking a semester off. Here’s my thoughts:
1) Not only do I think a 1L summer internship is important for getting a 2L summer firm job, I found the experience very important in figuring out what kind of law I want to practice. I think I will be a happier lawyer because I got a range of experiences in law school and over summers and so have a better idea of what I’m getting into. It also gave me great contacts – I wouldn’t have my clerkship if it weren’t for my 1L summer job.
2) Taking a semester off is less of a big deal than you think it is now. If I was doing it again, I would strongly consider this option. I would do that rather than skip a summer internship.
3) Similarly, taking time off from classes wasn’t that big of a deal. I had an easy delivery about two weeks into the semester and found I could make it back to class after two weeks, for about 8 hours of class in total in two hour stretches. I was on a reduced courseload because of the kid, and my professors were great about taking me off the cold-call list if I emailed saying I had a no-sleep night.
4) As for wanting another baby – well, I posted the exact same thing about 6 weeks after my son was born! I’m giving it time because of the hormones and not wanting kids close together. But good to know it might strike again in 3 months…
Anyway, enjoy law school. I hope you have fellow law students with kids because it’s been really fun to have a community of law school parents/older students – the best friends I have here.
Carrie M says
I don’t think you’re crazy. I’ll say four things, and I know there are other regular posters who had kids in law school and will have better advice to offer you.
One: I felt the same when my baby was about that age, in part because she was changing so much and I missed having a newborn. That feeling has passed (a bit). So it could be hormones.
Two: some people really like having kids close in age. Weigh the pro’s and con’s as objectively as you can. This could be the right choice for your family, and it’s awesome that you have the help from grandmoms and are financially stable. Try not to worry about whether this seems “crazy” to others; do what’s best for you and your family.
Three: I think having a legal internship during my 1L summer helped me get a law firm gig for my 2L summer, which led me to a full-time firm gig post-graduation. So that’s something to consider, depending on what you want to do post-grad. I also found first semester of 2L year really busy – interviewing for 2L summer jobs, law review, classes, other extracurrics. So while the summer may be a great time to have a newborn, your plate will be very full in the fall. Just something to plan for.
Four: It can be hard to time pregnancies…so even if you decide this is the timing you want, the universe may have other plans for you. So be prepared to manage your expectations if things don’t happen the way you want.
pockets says
I want to reiterate #3. A job during the summer after 1L can be very important. On the other hand, I’m not sure there is a better time during law school to have a baby/take care of a newborn.
due in june says
Me too. I definitely needed my 1L summer job to leverage into my 2L biglaw job, which I still have all these years later.
Going Anon Today says
All good points, thank you!
Not working during 1L is a concern of mine. I have a lot to think about.
Anna says
Hi everyone, there was a very helpful post a few weeks ago about the frustrations of trying to conceive and not having it happen right away. I was hoping you all could provide a little perspective- I’m 30, off the pill since December after having been on one form of birth control of another for about 10 years, and trying to get pregnant and not go insane in the process. My periods are pretty regular, so there is nothing obvious wrong. How long did it take everyone? My doctor strongly emphasized not worrying if it didn’t happen right away, but it gets harder and harder as friends get pregnant around me. Advice? Commiseration?
due in june says
Are you using an ovulation test kit? I was on hormonal birth control for a dozen years, then went off and my periods were about a 29 day cycle. A friend recommended using an ovulation test kit and it turns out I was not a day 14 ovulator as I had assumed, so attempts around day 14 were, in retrospect, pointless. Once we used the test kits and learned when go time actually was, it happened very quickly.
rakma says
It took us ~1 year of being off BC and 6 months of temperature charting and scheduling. (I recommend Taking Control of your Fertility, even if you don’t use/read everything in it, it filled in a lot of holes I had in fertility education)
I was not always great about not stressing over getting pregnant, but what helped was scheduling things that took my mind off it. I focused on a new work project, took a continuing ed class at a local college, and in general tried to stay busy so I didn’t dwell.
Newly pregnant says
It took us about 7-8 months (although I’d been off hormonal BC for a few years). I would recommend the ovulation test kits as well. I’ve heard from friends who used them that they helped – not necessarily immediate pregnancies, more quickly than without them. I didn’t use them, and if I ever want to get pregnant again I will buy those right away.
anne-on says
I had was off the pill for 6 months before we started trying, and I’d been charting my cycles that whole time so I knew when I was ovulating/fertile/etc. I traveled a lot for work, so I started using an ovulation kit as soon as we started really trying and got pregnant after 3 months of trying. I’m very type-A, so that approach worked best for me.
My obgyn was also on board with us seeking fertility testing if no results after 6 months of trying with using cycle tracking/ovulation predictors, so that made me feel better about identifying any issues quickly.
FWIW says
Dang, it just ate my whole reply.
Hi! I’m basically you- 29 1/2, been on BC or an IUD for 10 years-ish. 5 months was our lucky number. Due to work travel, I went off BC in June of 2014 but it took until April of 15 to get a positive. I’m now 7 weeks.
I started freaking out slightly after 3 months, but in the end I think it just helped me realize how much I wanted to be a parent. I used OPK’s for a few months in the beginning, tracked CM on an app (well, my husband did, actually- he liked being involved), and read TCOYF. I got to know my cycle really well and ultimately it happened.
PregLawyer says
I’m you! I am 30. I went off the pill a few months before my 29th birthday, after being on it for 10+ years. We started trying about 3 months after being off the pill. We tried 4 months without doing any ovulation testing, then got a digital ovulation kit. Got pregnant after 3 months of monitoring ovulation
So, 7 months total. I should also note that my period didn’t become regular until about 5 months after going off the pill.
Anna says
Thank you so much everyone. We haven’t used the tracker yet but I think that’s the next step, just for my peace of mind so I know if/when I’m ovulating. I can’t tell you how helpful it is to hear other people’s experiences with this!!
JJ says
Agreed on ovulation trackers (we used Clear Blue and it works well). The first thing that I learned when I used mine was that I ovulate later in my cycle and we had been missing it for months prior to learning that.
kc esq says
You can also buy really cheap pee-on ovulation sticks at earlypregnancytests dot com or something like that. I used those after trying for a few months and realized that ovulation was happening a few days later than I thought — and made twins that month!
due in june says
That’s what I used. Clear Blue pee on a stick.
Chronic Overachiever says
I did a similar approach to anne-on and conceived in 4 months.
Burgher says
I went off BC the month before my 28th birthday (my ideal year for baby #1 in my mind, thinking it would happen immediately due to family history of crazy fertility). I gave birth to baby #1 a couple weeks after my 30th birthday (so over a year after starting to “not actively prevent”, then actively trying, then charting). I had an early miscarriage in there, too.
Bri says
Hi, all – I am 24 weeks pregnant, and have noticed a substantial decrease in my baby’s movement over the past 2 days. I had my regular check-up 3 days ago, and the baby had a strong heartbeat. I still feel her move occasionally, but not nearly as much as before. Has this happened to any of you? Am I crazy for thinking about calling my doctor, after I just had a check-up and all seemed well? Thanks in advance for any responses.
Newly pregnant says
I experienced this around 29 weeks. You are not crazy and you should call your doctor. My doctor said that fetal movement can be inconsistent up until about 30 weeks but still sent me for a fetal non-stress test. Basically they hook you up to the monitors what you’ll have on during labor for about 20-30 minutes and they get an output of the baby’s heartbeat and movement. They gave me a little button that was also linked to the machine and I was supposed to push it every time I felt her move. It quickly became apparent to me that she was moving a ton and I was just not feeling a lot of the smaller movement (this may be in part because I have an anterior placenta). They also took a look at my amniotic fluid levels with a quick ultrasound and while they were looking at her I saw her hit me but couldn’t feel it. The whole thing was very reassuring to me.
Watermelon says
Call your doctor. So much of pregnancy can be normal or a problem–it’s better to have a doctor assess than wish you’d called your doctor.
CHJ says
I agree, this is a call your doctor thing. I remember the standards for fetal movement being quite low, but your doctor will be able to tell you how much fetal movement you should be feeling at this stage and if you need to come in for a closer check.
working momz says
Call. But also try drinking a little juice and lying on your left side.
PregLawyer says
I agree that you should call the doc, but also don’t make yourself sick with worry. Baby’s probably fine. I’m 33 weeks now, and baby’s movement definitely goes through cycles. Some days he’s crazy, and then he’ll kind of go radio silent for a day or two. I went in for a NST on one of the slow days and they tested everything and it was all fine.
Also, in those earlier weeks, you still have a good amount of space for the baby to move around. She could have turned toward your back, making it harder for you to feel the movements.
anon says
Agree with the drinking a little juice (give it five or ten minutes to kick in), but also agree with calling. There’s no reason not to – that’s why you pay your doctor, after all.
due in june says
This happened to me around 27 weeks too. I called my doctor and a family member who is a very experienced obgyn. They both said to go to the hospital immediately for a fetal stress test. After an hour of monitoring at the hospital, it turns out she was fine and moving normally, just hanging out in a spot I couldn’t feel as well. Family member said that 98% of the time, these perceived drops in movement are just misperceptions due to where the baby has moved to and the baby is perfectly fine, but in 2% of cases, there IS something wrong, so it’s important to go get checked out at the hospital where they can do something about it if there is in fact an issue. The very nice and reassuring nurse also said that if this happens again to try drinking orange juice first and see if baby reacts.
That hospital visit ended up being pretty expensive, but I am glad I went.
Bri says
Thanks, all!
pockets says
I think I should start a blog called “Advice my Mother in Law Gave Me About Buying a House.”
Last night, it was that we should buy a bigger apt because it’s nice when people come over that they don’t have to sit with all of our daughter’s toys (really? I thought tiny and cramped was the way to go. You’re telling me that more space is better? I never thought of that!)
Prior gems include that we should “really save our money” so future us could afford a place that was better than the place we were thinking of buying (I had previously been spending all my money on lollipops and silly string, I never thought to save it. Thanks for the tip!) and that we shouldn’t move to the neighborhood we were thinking of moving to because it had a terrible school district (turns out that she thought the neighborhood was in the wrong district and – miraculously – had no opinions regarding the school district we were actually moving to).
PinkKeyboard says
My Mother just recently accepted that our house wasn’t a horrible move. We’ve been in the house for about 9 months and my husband has refinished hardwoods, replaced 2 rooms of flooring, put in new trim for half the house, installed 4 windows himself, we’ve had 5 others replaced….. she thinks we aren’t making much progress.
Newly pregnant says
Ha! I sometimes feel like I should start a blog called “Why Must I Parent My 30-Year Old Brother.” He has been living as an expat for the past several years and has managed to scrape together a pretty decent existence despite a lack of a “real” or traditional career path. He has had what I would consider a series of freelance-type jobs, where he doesn’t have a set day-to-day schedule. He has decided, however, that he wants to move back home to our HCOL area. Great! Except he doesn’t have a plan. Any plan. For how to make money (he doesn’t want to continue doing what he’s doing), for how to get a job (he doesn’t have a resume), what to do with his pets (he wants to bring them back with him but isn’t sure where they’ll live since my mother doesn’t want them in the house due to allergies)… the list goes on and on. I’ve been asking him to think about these things since he first mentioned his desire to move back, and he has done absolutely nothing and yet still whines to me about how his cats will be devastated if he has to give them to our grandmother for a few months while he gets his feet under him. I’ve tried to be sympathetic, despite repeating myself over and over again, and I finally just gave him some tough love this morning.
KJ says
Haha, your MIL and my MIL should hang out. The first time the ILs visited our new house, they referred to it as our starter house and told us not to spend too much money fixing it up. They scoffed at the idea that my SIL and her husband and baby could ever visit us because the house is too small – nevermind that we have a guest room with its own bathroom. They recently offered to give us money if we need it to buy a new, bigger house. We love our house! It’s not giant, but it’s just the right size for us and in a fantastic location! Stop crapping all over our lovely little house!
PinkKeyboard says
Oh goodness. The house we were renting before we bought was 1400 sq ft with 3 beds 2 baths and I was constantly told “Thank God you don’t have kids. That house has no room….I mean it’s fine for just the two of you…..” Please ignore the 3 bedrooms and the fact that most of the neighborhood had kids.
CHJ says
My MIL called us in a panic because she had “figured out” that our house was actually in a bad school district in a neighboring town, not the school district in our town. Google maps told her.
She also offered us money to cut down all the trees in the (beautiful, Walden-esque) woods behind our house because they look like “a pigsty.”
MSJ says
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The Onion’s take on our nation’s sorry state of maternity leave: http://www.theonion.com/video/report-many-companies-now-offering-women-permanent-37140
EB0220 says
I felt the same about the John Oliver bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIhKAQX5izw&fb_action_ids=10206819241747582&fb_action_types=og.shares&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B700021806788012%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.shares%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D