Family Friday: A Medium-Sized Jigsaw Puzzle
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Happy Friday, ladies! May everyone have a lovely Labor Day weekend. For today’s family pick, we’re doing a puzzle from Melissa and Doug — I actually got this exact one for my son. Here’s what I’ve noticed about puzzles: they either have 3-12 pieces, or they have 500-1000. I went on a hunt to find a medium sized puzzle, and found a few from Melissa and Doug with 60-100 pieces; this turns out to be the perfect size for my 6 year old’s attention span for puzzles. (This probably varies widely based on kid; one friend’s child was doing 1000-piece puzzles when he was three, but neither of my boys are really into them.) This one is $6 at Amazon. Melissa & Doug 60 Piece Land of Dinosaurs Jigsaw Puzzle
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Sales of note for 3/21/25
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off: Free People, AllSaints, AG, and more
- Ann Taylor – 25% off suiting + 25% off tops & sweaters + extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + 20% off
- Eloquii – 50% off elevated essentials + extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 25% off select linen & cashmere + up to 50% off select styles + extra 40% off sale
- J.Crew Factory – Friends & Family Sale: Extra 15% off your purchase + extra 50% off clearance + 50-60% off spring faves
- M.M.LaFleur – Flash Sale: Get the Ultimate Jardigan for $198 on sale; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Buy 1 get 1 50% off everything, includes markdowns
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?
Bigger babies need to eat as much, but not as often– they have bigger stomachs that can store more milk at a time. Encouraging a schedule (nurse on both sides so baby actually fills up) encourages the sleep needed for brain development.
Also, babies use most of their calories to grow, not to be active. The older they get the slower they grow. Preschool kids actually eat fewer calories than young toddlers, because their growth slows down. This isn’t true of babies, but basically a baby needs as many calories as a newborn (unless they are having a growth spurt) because they are growing slower. Bigger babies also expend less energy regulating their body temperature.
So bigger babies eat less often and generally (barring growth spurts, illness, etc.) need about the same calories as their newborn selves.
Ah – I combo fed so the extra food was just formula.
His cluster feeding seems to last between 6 and 10pm, with a brief break for a bath.
Will he cluster-feed in the evening if you let him? My snacker slept much better when I just stayed up and let her eat every 15 minutes or so from 9:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. After that she’d sleep for a few solid hours.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on night feeds and co sleeping. The baby wouldn’t settle in his bassinet last night but passed out in our bed so my husband stayed up and watched TV until midnight and kept an eye on us while we slept. I then took over and send him to the couch around 2. The three solid hours made a huge difference. Baby spent the rest of the night in his cot and in my arms.
Someone asked about night feeds – we are still feeding rather frequently despite his size. He is a snacker and would happily eat for five or ten minutes every hour or so.
Unless he has a specific health need, I’d just let the daycare overfeed. Others may disagree, but our thought is that if she’s healthy, and daycare’s happy, that’s the best combo. They give her way more milk than we do at home, but eh, she’s well cared for and her needs are met, so we just run with it.
My 5 month old just started daycare this week! Everything’s going smoothly, except they contacted me yesterday to tell me he had “run out of milk” – which meant he had finished the three 4 oz bottles I had sent in with him (had one at 9, one at 11 and one at 3). They were concerned he’s not getting enough because he wasn’t napping very well. But my lactation consultant had recommended a total of 12 oz and indicated that this wouldn’t change much over his first year (though she did warn me that many daycares overfeed babies). Also, my husband was home with him for the last month and the 3 bottles were never a problem. Anyone have a similar experience or advice? I really don’t want to overfeed him and I also want to start off on the right foot with his caregivers.
I need to vent here so I don’t take it out on my DH. Starting this weekend, DH will be working most Friday nights and long Saturdays for the next three months. Then he’s so worn down from a full work week + weekend, that he needs at least Sunday morning to recover. Which, you guessed it — means lots of solo parenting with two kids. This has been our fall schedule for literally years and it has not gotten easier as the kids get older. Being ‘on’ all the time is exhausting and this introvert gets zero time alone unless I park my kids in front of a screen and pray that they don’t need me for something. Or someone takes mercy on me and invites my oldest for a play date. All the house stuff, grocery shopping, you name it, falls to me. This whole week I’ve had terrible anxiety because I KNOW how hard the next few months are going to be. This is the nature of my DH’s work, it isn’t going to change, and I’ve let him know many times how much I hate it and resent it. So he feels guilty, too, and neither of us is happy. He tries his best to relieve the burden from me and give me a break right before a long weekend, but it’s not enough. I feel so bad for struggling with the demands of solo parenting. What kind of mom does that make me? I love my kids, and I love being with my kids, but doing nearly full weekends alone after working full-time during the week is my tipping point. I even find myself getting more frustrated with my oldest kid because it seems like he should be less needy while I deal with the toddler, which I realize is completely unfair and crappy of me. DH has been able to negotiate some comp time/flex time during the week to take care of things at home (this is a new thing), but that doesn’t help me during the moment, you know?
I just got around to reading the post from a few weeks ago about healthy school lunches, and several of you said you give cubed tofu for lunch. Any good recipes? I highly doubt my kids will eat it plain, but they will (sometimes) eat it with a marinade. Would love ideas!
Pumping on a plane – give me all your tips!
Flying for pleasure (as opposed to business), but without baby.
I have a hands free pumping bra which I plan to wear (as opposed to putting it on just for pumping like I normally do), battery pack, freezeable Packit bag, and the quick clean wipes. Planning to just wear a nursing shirt and do it at my seat (esp if I upgrade to a seat with an outlet – is that worth it?). Bathroom seems gross.
Can any folks speak to how effective Spanish-immersion preschool is or is not?
We are considering sending daughter from 2 years old to kindergarten. However, it is worth the extra money (reasonable, but it still adds up), and the extra 10-15 min out of my way from the office?
For reference, we do not speak Spanish at home, however we do use basic vocabulary like agua, perro, etc. And we own a shelf of English/Spanish books (i.e. Good Night Moon/Buenas Noche Luna).
Ideas on weaning my 2.5 year old from his thumb? My son never sucks this thumb when he’s awake and running around, but does so as he is falling asleep (he then removes his thumb once he actually falls asleep, so anywhere from 10 – 30 minutes later). I know that sucking one’s thumb can detrimentally impact teeth. Is this something I should be concerned about? Advice on getting him to stop? He already has a lovey that he needs for bed, he clutches that AND sucks his thumb to sleep.
My 5 year old likes these, too. Good pick!