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Liz Lange has about five maternity blouses like this right now — empire waist, V-neck — and they look great for work. Dress them up with trousers or maternity pencil skirts (like this reader favorite), or dress them down with jeans and a long cardigan. Ladies, which are/were your favorite maternity blouses? The pictured top is $24.99 at Target. Maternity Woven Top Green-Liz Lange® for Target® Building a maternity wardrobe for work? Check out our page with more suggestions along both classic and trendy/seasonal lines. (L-3)Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
JMDS says
Cute top, don’t like this color, but it it available in some other nice colors on the target website. I’ve been very happy with Liz Lange target clothes this pregnancy.
Any recommendations for a lactation consultant in NYC/Westchester? I’m looking for someone who will come into the hospital in NYC, and then to my home in Westchester. I struggled last time, and eventually went to exclusively pumping, and would like more of a helping hand this time to make it work. TIA!
Noelle says
Try Beth Shulman — contact info is easy to find online. I saw three different lactation consultants, and I liked her the best, in terms of both substance and style. Really a nice and warm person. She was also recommended by my Ob/Gyn, and she teaches BFing courses through my ob/gyn’s practice.
Jdubs says
Recommendations for a good beach/pool tote for the whole family? Something big enough to tote 4 towels & sunscreen, extra clothes, etc. Bonus if it is easily washable.
mascot says
We have a couple of mesh beach totes from Target that we use for beach toy and pool toy bags. They are about $10 and spray clean with a hose. For the pool, it will hold a couple of towels, but we generally hand carry our towels since the walk is short. We have a collapsible wagon that we use for the beach.
anon says
+1 (we have about five though, so that we can have a “clean” bag and a “dirty” bag and a “sand toys” bag
JJ says
Lands End canvas tote bags. The extra large ones with long handles (and a zip top if that’s what you prefer). I have two that have been on every beach trip since we’ve been a family and I can just pop them in the washing machine when we’re done.
ANP says
+1 to a long-handled canvas tote. I’m partial to LL Bean but the Lands End ones look great too! We use ours all the time.
Maddie Ross says
I have one of each and actually prefer the Lands End one – it washes better. The LL Bean one is stiffer, which makes my washing machine sound like it’s going to explode.
Erin @ The Busy Girl's Shopping Companion says
I actually try to keep an updated collection of summer totes on my blog:
http://busygirlshopping.com/summer-totes/
I got this one from Target: goo.gl/rcIEFQ. Not washable but huge! Hope this helps!
xoxo – Erin
OB says
Anyone know when is the latest it is advisable to switch OBs? I am 12 weeks with no known risks and am not thrilled with my current doctor.
Sorry if this posts twice. The first time I tried posting it I got a message to slow down because I was posting too fast. Even though this is the first thing I’ve posted in like 6 days…..
Stephanie says
If you’re not happy with your OB I would start looking now. You never know if another OB will be able to see a new patient immediately, and I would think you would want an OB you like before your 20 week ultrasound.
Anonymous says
The earlier the better, but I think the cutoff is something like 30 weeks. I had to switch OBs during my 2nd pregnancy because of a move.
GG says
I switched around 30 weeks with my first pregnancy. I had given my doctor *enough* second chances. It was the best decision I made–I got better care, felt more comfortable, and really trusted the second practice group. Go for it.
DC Mom says
I switched to a midwife practice at 25 weeks and was so much happier. It takes a while to find a good fit.
Meg Murry says
I had my doctor switched on me around 30 weeks – my OB went out on sudden and unexpected leave, and another doctor stepped in to take on his patients. It wasn’t ideal, but the doctor taking over was good enough and everything turned out fine.
I think it’s better to go ahead and switch now, before you have too many more records that need transferred over – at this point, there isn’t much to transfer, right? If you switch later it may be a royal pain getting the records transferred from one place to another, or they may want to repeat certain tests.
But if you really aren’t happy with your doctor, there’s no reason not to switch – heck, one of my friends was so frustrated with her doctor at the end (and had no complications) that she didn’t even bother to call him when she went into labor and just had the doctor on call at the hospital deliver her baby – again, not ideal, but it all turned out fine.
Anonymous says
FYI — the “posting too fast” happens when multiple people are posting at the same time, not when you are actually posting too fast.
IME, 20 weeks was the latest that doctors in NYC would allow me to switch.
Butter says
Hi all, so I’m officially in the second tri and breaking the news to work is on the horizon in the next month or so. Was thinking of telling somewhere between 16-20 weeks, dependent on how my skirts fit and general office morale. The convo on the main site last week about some people apparently being able to tell that someone else is pregnant from the way they look a few minutes after conception had me rolling my eyes, but also wondering when people did start showing in relation to when they told work. So if you wouldn’t mind sharing, when did you tell, how did you tell, and how did it go? Oh and were you showing or worried about showing?
Maddie Ross says
I told around 22 weeks – right after I got the all-clear on the anatomy scan and found out gender. Honestly, I commented on the main thread on this too, I don’t think people were suspicious until right around when I told (I had told my closest girlfriends at the firm though around 12 weeks, so that probably cut down a bit on gossip). I wore my regular, non-maternity pants to the ultrasound at 21 weeks and still could wear all my normal clothes. I had gained maybe 7 pounds, but it was pretty evenly spread everywhere (not just belly), so I honestly think a lot people just thought I was hitting the bread a bit heavy. Every single person that I formally told was very surprised (esp. when I told them how far I was). For what it’s worth, telling people went so much better than I expected. I am at a larger firm, so there is a formal leave policy and people were there to help while I was out, so that helped, too.
B says
I told family at 12 weeks, my boss at 14 weeks, friends at 16 weeks, and everybody else kind of after that. I think it was ‘obvious’ at around 16 weeks for me, but that will depend on your build. I’m 5’5″ and (originally) 140 lbs.
My main objective was for my boss to find out from me, not from office gossip. I feel like I timed it about right.
Good luck with the tell! I know it’s nerve wracking but it feels soooo good to finally be out in the open :) I work in a very male dominated group/company/industry but it actually went great – my boss was very supportive and nonjerky, and I don’t feel like it affected my job assignments or work at all.
Pigpen's Mama says
I told my assistant at about 6 weeks, so if the gossip started, she could deflect, and the partner I work with the most at about 10 weeks because there was a big shakeup in staffing in our practice area and I wanted him to know I was going to be out on leave before he transferred a bunch of stuff my way.
I told the other partners at about 14 weeks, I think — after the genetic tests came back all clear and I was getting enough glances at my waistline from the office gossips. All the men were shocked, while the women I saw every day claimed ‘they knew’. It was a bit earlier than I would have liked, but I knew I wouldn’t have another chance in the next three weeks to get everyone in the office and wanted to inform everyone at the same time and before it was obvious.
That being said, I wasn’t that concerned about negative feedback, the general reaction was that they were happy for me and just glad I wasn’t announcing that I was leaving for another job.
Lulu says
Forgot to mention below that I also told my assistant before my boss (at ~10 weeks) because I had a lot of “dr.” appointments on my calendar, and I told one work friend at ~12 weeks because I was dying to tell someone.
Anonymous says
So much depends on your particular shape and how you carry; you can’t predict it. I am tall and never got particularly big even at the end, but was definitely out of all my regular pants and skirts by 10-12 weeks from bloating. I think if you already knew me well, and were female, you’d have noticed not long after that (strangers and men, particularly older men, took a lot longer as they’re just not paying attention). I will say I noticed my coworker’s 2 pregnancies at 7 and 8 weeks, respectively.
same anonymous says
The Edit button’s gone, apparently. I meant to add that I told my office at 12 weeks, but had told them earlier with a prior pregnancy that ended in miscarriage because I was having severe morning sickness that was going to interfere with travel.
Pigpen's Mama says
That’s pretty much what happened to me. I felt huge at the end, but compared to a lot of women, I wasn’t. But, thanks to bloat and eating carbs to keep morning sickness at bay, I was out of my normal pants well before I thought I would be with a first time pregnancy.
Anon says
I told around 14-15 weeks with twins, basically after a certain doctor’s appointment and when I could no longer manage to wear non-maternity pants. It generally went well. There was one partner I work with a lot who seemed perturbed that I didn’t tell on 12 weeks on the dot, but I can’t imagine he dwelled on that. Just flagging that because there are some people who think you should tell as soon as you’re out of the first trimester, but I say forget them.
Lulu says
I told at around 15 weeks. I had wanted to wait until 16 weeks but at about 13 weeks, it was clear that the “big boss” had figured it out because I was showing (a little bit–think “bump watch”) in certain outfits. (FYI–do not wear wrap dresses in your first trimester–they are forgiving, sure, but they also make the bump pretty obvious.) I almost told her that day out of guilt, but really wanted to wait until we got some test results back. Once I heard from the dr. that everything was okay, I just called her up and asked if she had a couple minutes, and then went up to her office and said I was pregnant. It was fine, but as I said, she had already figured it out. She wasn’t able to tell me anything about leave or anything (not even who to talk to) but she also didn’t ask me questions about my plans.
After I told her, I went around and told the partners that I work for. Basically I just said “I’m pregnant, it shouldn’t affect any upcoming deadlines/projects, but I want you to know that I will be out on leave starting around Thanksgiving.” Everyone told me congratulations and asked a few little questions and/or told me how much my life was going to change. Of them, only one of them had figured it out and I suspect that it was because we (like me and the big boss) had worked together a lot for the past three years; the people who I hadn’t worked with as intensely or for as long didn’t have a clue.
I was 20 weeks and 2 days when I could no longer fit into my regular clothes and started wearing things that were a little more “maternity” in style. For the two months prior I just would buy a new, non-maternity dress each week in a larger size and/or slightly more forgiving shape so that I would be comfortable, but it wouldn’t make people suspicious, and put anything in storage that I thought might tip people off (except that wrap dress!). Some of the non-maternity clothes I can still wear at 24 weeks, but mostly I don’t because of comfort. It’s amazing how much your body changes each week once you reach the halfway mark!
I definitely would not have been able to wait until 20 weeks, but 16-18 weeks might have worked if I had worn different cut dresses pre-pregnancy.
Ciao, pues says
I told at 16 weeks. I was super nervous, but everyone in my office was happy for me. I told the big boss first so that she heard directly from me, then the second in command, then everyone else. With the big boss, I asked if I could step into her office and said, “I have happy news: I’m expecting a baby in (month).” Strategy was to tell her how she’s going to feel (happy!) get right to the point so she’s not jumping to conclusions, and tell her when so that she knows how long I’ll be around.
Clementine says
I ended up telling at 15 weeks with big boss first and then rest of my coworkers within a day or two. I wasn’t planning on telling for another few weeks; however, a perfect storm of office power dynamics meant that I had to tell multiple managers on the same day. Because of staggered vacation schedules, I basically had to tell at either 15 weeks or wait until 20+ weeks.
Coworkers were genuinely surprised at 15 weeks.
I am 20 weeks now and could probably still hide it if I wanted to, but I did start looking noticably pregnant about a week ago (19 weeks). I am tall and carried very little weight in my belly area, so any changes were pretty obvious.
TK says
I told at work 13 weeks, earlier than I wanted to but at the time I was in a position that required 80% travel scheduled several months ahead, and I wanted to stop flying at 7 months. I told the partners first, and came armed with a plan : I will be unable to fly beginning on __ date but will continue to travel by car until __ date; I should not be scheduled for any hearings after 36 weeks, I anticipate returning to work on __ date and can scheduled for hearings beginning __ days after return, etc.) I tried to keep it brief and professional, since none of my proposed dates were up for negotiation. They were displeased but I think they appreciated that I had a plan. I then went around and personally told the other attorneys (there were 7 of them) since the reduction in my travel schedule affected their workloads. They were largely supportive, at least to my face. The following week a sent a memo to the rest of the office so no one would wonder why I had been left off of the schedule for a 4 month period of time.
At the time I announced, I felt like I’d been showing for weeks but no one one else had noticed. I began showing in earnest around 16 / 17 weeks. My style is mostly pencil skirts / fitted tops – if I wore a different style, I could have hid it longer if necessary, maybe up to 20 weeks. For reference, I’m a 4/6 and tall.
Meg Murry says
I didn’t “show” for a while, and I was able to wear clothes in a size or two up, but my two closest female co-workers that each already had 2 kids guessed fairly early on (like 4-6 weeks) based on my behaviors, whereas my younger single co-workers were genuinely suprised when I told them. Same with me, I was able to guess that my co-worker was pregnant at 4-6 weeks, although I didn’t say anything until she told us all “officially”, although in her case she had mentioned that she and her husband were planning to try at some point that year.
The “tells” that I’ve seen or that gave me away:
-Giving up caffeine suddenly or turning down after 1 coffee
-Coming in late after “appointments”
-Turning down lunches out, or ordering items completely different than their usual at lunches out
-Nibbling on saltines at the desk all morning/all day
-Suddenly changing up your usual at happy hour
and of course, the biggest one – either hearing someone being sick in the ladies room more than once, or seeing the person rushing to the ladies in a hurry looking green/pale relatively often.
Honestly, a male co-worker told me his wife was expecting, and even that wasn’t all that surprising, given that he also recently had a lot of appointments to go to, and has been listening to our conversations about our kids with more interest, etc. Not that I was going around saying “I think X is going to have a baby soon” – because I don’t gossip like that, and heaven help me if I was wrong and it was something the opposite like he and his wife just found out they couldn’t have kids, but I wasn’t surprised when he told me, just happy for him.
Chances are, if anyone in your office already knows, it is people who have kids already – but they will still act politely surprised when you tell them.
I never “came out” to the whole office at once – I told my boss and technician almost immediately, because I had to due to the projects I was working on (I couldn’t work with some of the chemicals I would have been exposed to directly, so I had to explain why I was delegating more of the hands on work to the technician than usual), and the rest of my group around the 12 week mark – but then I just let the gossip tree do its job, and told other people only as it came up.
MDMom says
I told family at 14 weeks, work at 16, and friends a few days later. I wasn’t showing noticeably (to others) and probably could have gotten around with waiting until 20 weeks or so, and next time I probably will (except maybe I won’t be able to because I hear you show earlier with 2nd pregnancies). It went fine. I told my direct boss in person, then emailed my team of immediate coworkers. My boss replied with a congrats and a cc to the “big boss” or something like that.
I felt an obligation to give my boss a heads up re upcoming maternity leave, so that’s why I didn’t wait too long. I think 20 weeks is a reasonable time to tell, if you can make it that long without showing.
Anon says
I let the partners at my office know around 11-12 weeks. I had wanted to wait a couple more weeks to let people at work know but i work in a very small office and one of my co-workers announced she was leaving, quite suddenly. People were making long-term staffing plans to make sure her work was covered and it felt unfair to let them do that and then announce my pregnancy just 2-3 weeks later. I told the rest of the office right after I told the partners b/c my office is small and it didn’t make sense to keep it quiet in my mind, at that point. Most people were surprised although I did get one comment of, “obviously you were pregnant.” But i don’t think I really started showing til about 16 weeks or so.
lucy stone says
I miscarried at 13 weeks earlier this year and did not tell my bosses (I report to a governing body) I was pregnant prior to the miscarriage. They all seemed genuinely surprised when I explained why I would be out of the office for a week and I doubt they suspected anything. I had planned to tell at 16 weeks.
Clementine says
Hey! I’ve been thinking of you for the past couple of months.
How are ya doing?
lucy stone says
A lot better than I was, thanks!
NewMomAnon says
I had wanted to tell at 16 weeks, but gained weight and bloat early (seriously, needed to use the hair tie trick at 8 weeks and was in maternity pants at 12 weeks). I’m short and had a thyroid issue that wasn’t well managed early in the pregnancy, thus the size changes. I was showing and people knew, and I had should have told earlier than I did, but I waited until about 13-14 weeks and then felt guilty that I hadn’t told earlier. Everyone was really supportive.
Butter says
Thanks for all the responses! I think I’m going to shoot for somewhere in the 16-18 week range. It does feel like a huge step – on one hand I can’t wait to get it over with as it’s really stressful keeping it a secret, on the other it feels silly to rush it. But I do want to tell before many people guess, and can understand why some people might be miffed I didn’t say anything earlier for planning purposes. Anyway I really appreciate everyone sharing their stories.
Maddie Ross says
Just my opinion as a “late teller,” but I honestly don’t buy the “people need to know for planning purposes” thing, though maybe it’s just me and my office. People give two weeks notice and you know what, things get handled. You move things around. You find coverage. You get extensions. The idea that anyone needed to know 6 months in advance about my personal plans irked me. And I wanted to keep my hands on the choicest work as long as possible. Not to mention I feel like when I find out super early with people who aren’t my best friends/family members, I sorta feel like they are pregnant forever. Like why haven’t you popped that kid out yet forever.
Natasha says
I told my bosses when it was past 12 weeks, confirmed with an ultrasound and came up semi-organically in conversation or was a private-ish discussion. Both pregnancies I probably told them around 14-16 weeks. My first pregnancy was a m/c so I had extra appointments early on with the 2nd pregnancy, so my boss was actually relieved that I didn’t have a negative health issue, and had already suspected. I guess I’ve been super lucky that all my bosses have been really good fathers with small children and working wives and get it, so I’ve never felt like it was anything I’d need or want to hide.
Pigpen's Mama says
It seems conventional wisdom is to not let co-workers, bosses, and (if relevant) clients know if your availability is regularly affected by something child-or-pregnancy related — absent maybe big emergencies. E.g, not saying you’re out on maternity leave in your out-of-office email, or not saying the reason you won’t be available via email or phone from 4:30 – 7 pm every night because you’re picking up your child and putting him to bed.
I understand the purpose is so that work doesn’t think you’re not a devoted employee, but I wonder if this works against us in the long run. Maybe it’s too idealistic of me, but I would think that showing that you can have a family, especially with young kids, and still be a productive, responsive, quality employee, would work to remove, or at least diminish, the stigma that comes with being a working mom.
Of course, this is very much a ‘know your office and clients’ sort of thing. I’ve kept this in mind when I let partners and clients know about how and why my availability has changed in the last year.
I thought it would be interesting to see what other ‘working moms’ thought and what your experiences have been.
LSC says
I make no effort to hide my priorities in life. I do a great job at work, so there is no need to question my value as an employee. But I am straightforward about not being available at certain times because of my kiddo. I think it’s important to normalize the idea that we have families and that those things take precedence. No one else will do it for us, so I try to do my part to get the message out there that parents can and should be able to balance it all and have boundaries when necessary.
anon says
I think it is harmful to women and families to hide the fact that the reason they are unavailable is family-related. The culture of 24-hr availability (even when there’s no emergency) won’t change if we hide the fact that we have other commitments.
That said, I don’t think it should be necessary to say why you’re unavailable for 3hrs 95% of the time regardless of the reason. And I only know one woman who tried to hide her maternity leave (I.e., not indicating she was OOF for more than a few days) and everyone thought she was crazy. But I have seen that male associates who take paternity leave don’t disclose it. Not sure if anyone else judges them but I certain do.
anon says
I didn’t put maternity leave on my OOO response, more because I did not need every single person who emailed me to know that I was out for that reason. If I were out on medical leave for other reasons, I would not have put medical leave or “I had surgery” in there, either. That said, I told clients and opp counsel as needed that I would be out and the reason. They were only congratulatory.
hoola hoopa says
Not in law. Work for parent-friendly company.
To the larger world, I don’t make my kids the reason for my contact hours. I am reachable from X to Y, without explanation that it’s because I have children or need to do pick up, etc. I think everyone, parent or not, should be able to create boundaries and that it actually hurts everyone – parents and non-parents in different ways – if it’s seen as something parents have to do but others don’t.
To closer contacts or at specific instances, I am open about ‘I need to leave at X time for daycare pick up tonight’ or ‘I’ll have limited availability because I’m home with a sick child.’
Spirograph says
Also not in law, or an industry that expects me to be available 24/7, and I agree with all of this. My direct supervisor is a mom, and I am very comfortable telling her the kid-related reasons for my scheduling. My close coworkers also generally know, but to everyone else I just stick to the facts. I don’t make up an alternate reason I need to leave at 4:30, I just say I need to. The end. Sometimes my kid isn’t even the reason, I just want to meet up with a friend I haven’t seen in a while, or go to the gym or whatever.. as far as I’m concerned those are equally valid reasons; it all boils down to the fact that I have a personal life and it is important to me. Everyone deserves that, parent or not.
NewMomAnon says
For me, it depends on the person, which means I don’t have a blanket out of office message I can post for family time. Some partners clearly feel like you should be able to work while managing children (conference calls on the way home from daycare pickup, e-mail convos during dinner because kid is in the high chair so your hands are free, etc). Either my kiddo is higher maintenance than most or I’m not very good at managing the multitasking, but it just doesn’t work for me. For those folks, I don’t tell them why; I just say I’ve got a “hard stop” and will be unavailable for 2 hours. For most of my other colleagues, they understand that the 2 hour window between daycare drop off and bedtime and sacred, and it’s like magic if I say I need to leave for daycare pickup; the calls end, the e-mails stop, and everything picks back up at 8.
For maternity leave – I said that I was on maternity leave in my out of office response. I think if you’re vague, some people will assume you’ll pick up the e-mails when you’re next available; if you say “maternity leave” and a return date, they are on notice that they may need to find someone else to respond (although I did a pretty good job of forwarding and responding to e-mails during leave because I got so few). I tend to be pretty specific in my out of office responses though; saying whether I’m checking e-mails, when I’ll respond (on X day/when I can/ at Y time), and who they can contact if they need immediate assistance.
anonymama says
I haven’t generally seen anyone, man or women, post out of office messages that specific, unless it is a work-related reason (at trial, etc.) For anything personal, people just say “unavailable, out of office” or “checking email periodically, may take longer than normal to respond.” If it’s someone that you regularly discuss personal stuff with, then I think it’s no big deal to tell the reason, but it seems more professional to not mention why, just what the implications are for whoever is trying to contact you (will respond after 8pm or whatever). To me it seems like you are trying to justify it, almost like asking for permission, if you include the reason why. Also, it should be okay to have to take time away from work for whatever personal reasons, and it shouldn’t matter if it’s to put your kids to bed or to train for a marathon.
mascot says
I think I mentioned maternity leave in my out of office msg. I wanted it to be clear that I wasn’t abiding to any sort of timeline in responding to emails. I’ve heard that some companies turn off their employees access to email during a leave to ensure that they aren’t working in violation of the short term disability policy terms.
Within reason, I try to not set up the expectation that I will respond to non-emergent emails/calls after work hours. I am also unapologetic about having to attend to kid related functions.
lucy stone says
One of my oldest and best friends just had a baby. What were some of the best gifts you received as a new parent? She unfortunately lives across the country due to military service, so I can’t go visit and watch the baby while she showers or make her dinner. I’d still like to do something nice. Help!
JEB says
Meal delivery!
sfg says
+100
mascot says
Amazon gift card. Awesome for ordering diapers and other baby gear while sitting on the couch. If she doesn’t have Amazon Prime, that is a useful membership too.
Tunnel says
+1
Natasha says
I think it also depends on the person’s family. We received so so so many blankets and hand knit items for my 1st that it’s more than I can use with the 2nd kid. They are gorgeous and appreciated, of course, but there are quite a few I’ve never even pulled out of the drawer due to sheer number. (we have like 15 aunts between the two of us)
Now my favorite gifts to give new moms are little consumable or easily lost items such as binkies and binkie leashes, baby lotion, boogie wipes, etc. That stuff adds up.
If all else fails, I agree that you can’t go wrong with an Amazon gift card or prime membership!
Erin @ The Busy Girl's Shopping Companion says
I agree on the Amazon gift card! But I also honestly loved the cute / unique clothing and gifts I received that I wouldn’t have spent money on myself … I personally like a bunch of stuff from Mud Pie or Brimmer Baby the best. I also think a new robe / slippers / comfy blanket for mom is appreciated. Or a cute initial necklace / bracelet for her? Hope this helps!
NewMomAnon says
A gift certificate for a postpartum massage. I was so sore after giving birth, the massage felt like heaven.
Anonymous says
Baby quilts were actually the things we found the most surprisingly useful. We received two (handmade by family friends! but also available on etsy) and have used them all day, every day, for five months. Keep the spit-up off the carpet, have pretty patterns for the baby to look at, etc. I would never have thought to use one, but they are SO DARN USEFUL.
Meg Murry says
If she lives across the country from you, is it a different time zone? If so, and she is nursing, being able to talk to you on the phone at times that everyone in her life is either sleeping or at work is really valuable. I had lots of long talks with my best friend across the country when it was midnight- 2 am and my baby was cluster feeding, but it was only 9 pm on the west coast. She could also call me on her lunch break at noon, when it was 3 pm at my house and I’d been alone with only a crying infant for company for 6 hours.
Same with running text conversations if she doesn’t want to wake the baby.
If she has a registry, you can also check with her to see if there is anything left on it, and ask her if she really wants/needs those items or if she was just registry padding. For good friends, I try to get one item that is more splurge-y/indugle-y like really expensive swaddling blankets that I wouldn’t pay for myself, and one boring and practical item that no one buys because it’s not fun or cute like wipes, plain spit-up rags or a nose-sucker.
Moms on the Hill says
Has anyone in the Capitol Hill area in DC had success getting on the Moms on the Hill listserv? Any tips? I unfortunately don’t know any one to recommend me (one of the reasons I want to join is none of my friends in the area have kids), and my e-mail requests to join have not really worked.
I know it’s late in the day, so I’ll repost tomorrow…