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ASOS has a number of tops like this, but this particular one is my favorite because the bottom layer is the same color, which makes the top feel more modern and sleek to me, whether you’re pregnant or nursing — the other ones feel like a cami beneath a crop top, or some such. The top looks functional (so many nursing tops fail to both let your baby nurse and keep your bits under wraps!), and at $45 it’s affordable. It’s available in both “khaki” (pictured) and orange, sizes 2-16. ASOS Maternity NURSING Top With Wrap Overlay In Texture (L-2)Sales of note for 3.28.24
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Kid/Family Sales
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- Target – 20% off Easter styles for all; up to 30% off kitchen & dining; BOGO 50% off shoes & slippers for the family;
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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?
Ciao, pues says
Ideas for keeping a toddler busy on a plane? I learned from this list or another that a box of bandaids will entertain a toddler for some time (open box, take out wrapped bandaids, unwrap, peel, stick, unstick, etc.). Other ideas?
Maddie Ross says
If you’re not against technology (and I know, everyone has their own opinion on this), I find that our tablet keeps my LO busy pretty well. We usually toggle through an episode or two something she likes (generally Olivia) and let her play some games. This mixed with eating (fruit snacks, the mini pretzels they give you on planes) gets us through. She loves that she gets apple juice as a treat on planes too, which makes it special.
Shayla says
Depending on how small they are, we would make snack time last by giving one goldfish and hiding it under a cup toy… scoot it around on the tray, make drop over the edge into a hand. It was a good 45min.
Melissa & Doug makes coloring books that use water to paint, link to follow, that worked really well too.
Shayla says
http://www.melissaanddoug.com/water-wow-travel-books-animals
CHJ says
This is a great idea. Ordering one for an upcoming flight. Thanks!
Meg Murry says
Don’t let the kid get ahold of it before the flight though, especially if you also have an older child. My younger son was gifted one of these, and they figured out that it was even more fun to put the whole book under the sink, and “paint” with the water brush all over the house and then re-fill.
Less messy than actual paint, of course – but I’d treat it with the same care as if you were handing a kid actual paint, unless you want the walls of your house “painted” with water, as we learned the hard way.
Ciao, pues says
Love the snack-hiding idea. My kid is not quite coloring yet (she’s 16 months), but those coloring books sound amazing for older toddlers!
CHJ says
These are my favorites for keeping DS content on a plane:
– A magnetic sketch pad.
– Melissa and Doug reusable stickers.
– Small “party pack” containers of Play-Doh, plus a big bag of plastic dinosaurs. Stick the Play-Doh to the seat back tray and the dinosaurs can play in it.
– Lift-the-flap books.
– iPhone game apps. He likes Duckie Deck Collection and Busy Shapes.
I also bring a lot of options and bring them out one at a time, to stretch out their entertainment value as long as possible.
Nonny says
Seconded on the reusable stickers. On our recent trip, the reusable stickers were a big hit.
Ciao, pues says
Perfect time to introduce playdoh! Thanks for these ideas, CHJ, they’re great.
KJ says
When I was a kid and we went on long car trips, my mom would wrap small toys and games in brown paper. She would designate that each package should be opened at a certain time, and we loved opening our “presents.” You could do this with your plane activities and buy yourself some extra time with the unwrapping.
NewMomAnon says
How old? My 16 month old didn’t quite understand sticker books yet and tends to accidentally navigate away from the baby-appropriate apps on my phone (then won’t give it back for me to fix it), but LOVED the plastic cups the plane gave out and spent 40 minutes with a box of crayons and some blank computer paper (she liked to take the crayons out of the box, scribble a little, and then put them back in the box, over and over). I highly recommend the Crayola washable crayons; they come off with water, so you can clean up the tray table after you’re done (also, they are triangular so they don’t roll).
Also, snacks. Lots and lots of snacks. Preferably snacks that consist of many pieces but don’t generate a lot of crumbs (goldfish crackers, little Ritz cracker bites, cereal, etc).
I also threw all sorts of random small stuff into my bag; measuring cups, a hinged bracelet, a necklace with big plastic beads, a small jar filled with some dried beans, other small containers that could nest, matchbox cars. Each of those were good for 5-10 minutes apiece. Lots of little activities were the key.
Ciao, pues says
Thanks for this! My kid is 16 months, too, so these seem right on age-wise.
NewMomAnon says
We just discovered the joys of “dress up,” so accessories are very popular toys right now. Ikea art smocks, hats, bangle bracelets, make up brushes, compact mirrors, hair brushes, small purses would all be good small dress up items for confined airplane spaces.
anon says
A roll of blue painters’ tape goes a long way. I spent half an hour sticking tape on my nose once to entertain my 14 month old.
A photo album – I make little photobooks with those free 8X8 coupons on shutterfly.
Also, a little packet of very special treats (like m&ms or gummies or something like that) or a lollipop or even just a coveted snack (yogurt pouches were a big hit among my crew) to pull out to stave off an impending meltdown…
Ciao, pues says
definitely going to dig out the painter’s tape! thanks.
Due in December says
What did you all do to get your affairs in order before/when you had your first kid?
Our situation is pretty straightforward–we’re married, no real assets other than joint emergency fund/future downpayment fund, plus our respective retirement funds (we are each others’ beneficiaries). We both work, both have student loans. We are thrilled to be having our first kid, but honestly, $$ will be quite tight (HCOL area, daycare is expensive, will need to buy a car, OMG what was I thinking!). Still, I figure now is the best time to think about contingency plans. I’m wondering what those of you in similar situations (i.e., not tons of $$ to spend) have done in terms of:
1. Life insurance? Disability insurance?
2. Will/advance directive (esp. in terms of guardianship of child)?
3. Medical directives, powers of attorney?
I’d love to hear any recommendations as to books or other resources as well. I’m just trying to figure out how to go about this research (and hoping, besides insurance, I can use online services for some of this).
Thanks!
Maddie Ross says
We started with disability and life insurance, figuring those to be the most important. We contacted a friend of my husband’s from high school who dealt with insurance and went through him. I don’t know that we got the most affordable plan ever, but we got what we needed and were happy to use a friend for it. Other than that, we are the cobbler’s kids who have no shoes. Both attorneys, but we do not have a will, trust, or any advance directives. My husband’s firm drew up our medical POA and advanced care directive while I was pregnant and I FLIPPED out reading it and got too nervous to sign. While I firmly believe everyone needs these and that I should have done it, and while this won’t work for you now, I would recommend signing the medical stuff before you’re pregnant/not on a hormonal rollercoaster.
(PS – I clearly do not want to work today and am responding to everything…)
Lyssa says
+1 to the cobbler’s kids with no shoes. I *wrote* a will while I was pregnant with my first (2.5 years ago). Have we ever printed it out or signed it? Nope. We’ve since replaced the laptop it was saved on, so I’m not even 100% sure I can access it anymore. Sigh. We have life insurance, but could probably get more.
The guardians that we had chosen (my brother and SIL) have changed circumstances since, too – they had twins and their lives are pretty chaotic now. We’re fortunate to have two large, sane families with several other options who would be great, but that leaves the problem that I don’t know how to choose between those options. Again, sigh.
Maybe I should work on this while I’m on leave. Congrats to you, Due in December.
Due in December says
Thanks so much for the responses thus far! So it’s too late to do this before getting pregnant (!), but it sounds like the prudent thing may be to bite the bullet and find an estate attorney and financial adviser to set these things up.
To that end, I’m open to any recommendations for either of the above in DC…
MomAnon4This says
Bonnie Lawless (that’s her name) in North Bethesda was really great and really reasonable for us when we owned a house and had 1 kid. We got her name from our family friend accountant in Silver Spring.
Due in December says
Thank you for the rec.
MSJ says
We got life insurance before starting to try for kids as I think it is very difficult to get a policy while pregnant. So you may have to wait on this until after you deliver – although others do chime in and correct me if I am wrong. I just got a second policy 6 months after the kids were born as we were slightly under-insured.
I did the will and advanced directive, etc 7 months pregnant – so now is a great time. And not to be morbid, but delivery is a major medical event so it is wise to have this stuff sorted in advance. The financial advisor I spoke to for the life insurance suggested an estate lawyer to take care of all the legal documents. Much of what I read (including on the main s*te), suggests not to go the DIY route on this stuff. It cost me $850 in NYC for a full set of documents for myself and my husband (items 2 and 3 on your list).
None of this stuff is fun and it is a pain to pay money for, but it’s a huge relief to get it all settled well in advance of the baby arriving.
Momata says
I started getting life insurance before I got pregnant and the carrier took forever, so I ended up having to get a second physical while 7 months pregnant. The only difference ended up being my BMI (obviously) but it didn’t change my rate, and the carrier said if it had I could have sought an amendment once I lost the weight. So I wouldn’t be too discouraged from obtaining life insurance while pregnant if you aren’t experiencing any complications and had a margin to work with in your pre-pregnancy BMI.
anon says
We got life insurance while I was pregnant and it was no problem – the pregnancy didn’t factor into it at all. I was a little annoyed that my “official” weight was 25 lb up from normal, but they didn’t care and it didn’t change my category.
Spirograph says
I ended up needing to re-do everything once I was not pregnant, because the carrier took forever and they would not start a policy within x weeks (I don’t remember how many, but I was around 7-8 months) of my due date.
To the original question:
Husband and I both have life insurance and disability insurance through work, but we got additional term life policies to bring our coverage up to a level that would actually maintain quality of life through kids vacating the nest.
We still don’t have a will, guardianship, or trust, even though we have talked through all of that stuff and both have free legal services for this through work… I remind myself a couple times a month and never get around to actually doing anything about it. *adding to calendar AGAIN*
Katarina says
I was unable to get life insurance while pregnant at all, although I did not call around for different companies. I got it at six weeks postpartum, although my weight was definitely still higher. My weight was higher than normal, but my blood pressure was good, and it had been high during pregnancy. We have a lot of life insurance. We still don’t have a will, although we have talked to the relevant people about guardianship, both who we want and who we do not want, although we have several good options.
POSITA says
My husband’s company offers a legal services benefit so we signed up when I was pregnant. It was a couple of hundred dollars and covered basic legal documents with a small co-pay. We called an attorney on their list of providers, met with him for an hour to outline our assets, he emailed us everything to review, and then we came back once to sign the documents in front of a notary. It was really easy. We have wills, medical directives, and revocable, pour-over trusts, etc. He knew just what we needed.
I’m an attorney, but practice in a very different area of law. I was happy to have someone who has standard forms and does this stuff every day put together our documents. It’s not rocket science, but you don’t want to get it wrong either.
We also upped our life insurance through our employers when open enrollment came around.
anne-on says
My husband and I both have life insurance/ADD/disability through work. Our financial planner actually told me that I’ve got more coverage than I need, but its so cheap through my job and I’m so nervous that I prefer to be oversubscribed.
We bought our house about 3 months after our son was born and after that had the same attorney draw up simple wills, named our guardians, named the people executing our estate (not the same as our guardians), and had a simple medical directive/power of attorney done. All of that was maybe thousand or two? Basically we didn’t have anything complicated to consider, and the part that took the longest was deciding on guardians/executors and asking those folks if they were ok with those roles.
We also liked having an attorney in place locally who family could go to in case anything happened to us. We also use him as an emergency contact when we both travel together without our son (as in – if anything happens to us, call this lawyer).
mascot says
Get disability insurance before you get pregnant. We got life insurance after the baby was born (pregnancy/post pregnancy apparently skews cholesterol/weight/blood pressure readings, but I still got good rates even if my medical exam looked wonky.)
For learning about advance directives, see here http://www.nhdd.org/public-resources#where-can-i-get-an-advance-directive.
I second the recommendation to have an estate lawyer help with the will/trust. It’s too important to DIY, IMO. Many lawyers offer the healthcare advance directives as part of a will package.
KaLuLo says
I’m due at the end of July – we are in the process of getting our documents in order. We are getting a will, medical directives, power of attorney, and establishing the terms of a trust for baby in the event of our deaths as we do have some assets (i.e. all the documents the estate attorney recommended). This is running us about $1200 all in. I’m still figuring out life insurance for husband, I have a policy though my office.
If you have the money to have someone do this, I highly recommend just paying someone. Besides actually finding an attorney (we used someone recommended by a friend), the process was so quick and painless for us – answer questions about how you want your estate handled and the people responsible and then we’re going back in a couple weeks to review documents and sign.
NewMomAnon says
Cobbler’s kids, no shoes – my plan was to get a will going shortly after the baby was born, but with the divorce, it all got much more complicated (and much more important, I know).
We did both get term life insurance; it’s really, really cheap. Like, together we pay less than $250 a month for a lot of coverage (I think $2M each). They will still issue a policy up until 12 weeks if you are pregnant, so you might still be able to get it if you are due in December. We opted out of whole life because we’ve both got pretty well-funded retirement accounts, so hopefully we won’t need coverage after age 60 (when the term life expires). Whole life is much more expensive.
Disability is a good idea too; we didn’t get around to it before the chaos set in, but I am still planning to do it especially now that I’m single.
Also, DO A BUDGET and incorporate daycare expenses and unpaid time off, if you are at a company that has a set number of vacation days. And compare your health insurance benefits and pick one for family benefits. Also look at FSA/HSA options for daycare and health insurance costs. That $5K pretax benefit was really helpful for us.
And if that isn’t enough, maybe talk to your tax return preparer about whether you need to change your tax withholdings post-child. We forgot to do that and wound up with a big tax refund, which is nice…but the cash would have been helpful on an ongoing basis.
Follow up question says
Is anyone here a federal employee, and if so, for life insurance, have you gone with the FEGLI option?
NewMomAnon says
I was a federal employee for a while, and my memory of FEGLI was (a) the benefits were limited to some multiple of your salary and (b) the pricing was about the same as the pricing is in my current (non-governmental) employer sponsored insurance. If both of those memories are true, then my investment advisor said that private term life insurance is cheaper and more comprehensive. Maybe not cheaper immediately if you are relatively young, but the prices rise over time with employer life insurance but are locked in with private life insurance. So by the time I was 45, the employer sponsored life insurance was significantly more expensive than my private term life insurance, if I locked in my private insurance rate around age 30.
KJ says
I am a fed. Our financial planner advised us that FEGLI is very expensive for the coverage that you get, so we canceled it and got private insurance.
M in LA says
This only helps California folks, but, the California bar website has a Simple Will Form that is valid in CA: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/SimpleWill.aspx
I looked into hiring a trust and estates attorney but honestly the retainer would have wiped out about a third of our cash reserves. ;)
(former) preg 3L says
I keep checking this page today and I keep looking wistfully at your post, thinking, ah I remember when I was in that position. Now, things are so different. So, I mean, plan to the extent you can, but just love the heck out of that baby. Congrats!
Due in December says
Aw, thank you! We’re still in the place where we’re halfway excited/thrilled, halfway panicked/terrified. I think I’m trying my best to plan everything I *feel* in control of before the baby comes.
ADE says
Any advice on how we can manage to take our 1 year old to the beach without carrying 101 bags (toys, towels, clothes, diaper supplies, etc.). And any recommendations on beach bags??
JJ says
Lands End canvas tote bags. The extra large with the long handles will hold everything you need. I’ve had mine for over 10 years now and have taken it on countless beach trips (or trips, period). Once the trip is over, toss it in the washer and dryer and all the sand is gone.
ETA: I’ve counted and we have four of these bags. One designated beach bag, one personalized bag for daycare for each boy (2), and one bag for packing to go to grandparents’ houses overnight or to take to swim lessons.
pockets says
you could get a cart: http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Beach-Wonder-Wheeler-Wide/dp/B002DPSCB4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433261529&sr=8-1&keywords=beach+cart
We also got these chairs, which are light, easily carried as a backpack, and have a storage pouch that is fairly large and can hold the towels, sunscreen, diaper changing clutch, and other flattish/light things.
http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-backpack-chair-blue/-/A-16293086#prodSlot=medium_1_22&term=lawn+chair
mascot says
We have a folding wagon that works great for the beach. Holds chairs, bags, kids, etc. We have two mesh beach totes from Target. One holds the pool stuff, one holds the beach stuff. For beach toys, go to a discount store and get a couple of simple buckets/plastic cups and a variety of wooden spoons. The sand molds and plastic shovels just frustrated my child and were annoying to keep up with. Use ziplock bags for sunscreen, phones, keys, etc.
I also like to put my child in a super bright suit/rash guard so I can easily see them in the water (east coast beach dweller, varying shades of brown sand and darker water)
NewMomAnon says
I am winning today. I decided that a new pair of pants I’d ordered were a little too small but didn’t want to mail them back to the Gap and do an exchange that way, so I brought them back to the store. At the store, the clerk said they were even cheaper on the website now, so it would be best to return them and buy them online again. When I went to the website, they were cheaper but not eligible for free shipping unless I added something – and then I noticed that they had a promo code for 40% off T-shirts and 30% off everything else.
Long story short – I ordered the pants and a t-shirt, got free shipping and a discount, and paid less for both items than I had originally spent on the pants. Win.
pockets says
A few weeks back someone posted a link to a mom’s blog with activities to do with toddlers during the day. Anyone remember the blog (or have a similar blog post they could share)?
ETA: the reason I need this is because I am trying to find activities/crafts for the nanny to do with my 16 month old during the day. So, if anyone has any activity ideas, I would also appreciate that.
Ciao, pues says
I have an app from Zero to Three (a great early learning org– good facebook presence, too) called “Let’s Play” that has a ton of activities broken out by age and activity type.
sfg says
Fun At Home With Kids is one of them – she has a book as well.
KJ says
I have found some good ideas on Pinterest, but, like with anything on pinterest, you have to wade through a lot of crap. I also like the Gymboree Play and Learn book.
That said, can someone explain why any time I look for “play” ideas online, the vast majority of it is for “sensory play?” Is this something I am supposed to be doing? Spending a lot of time making things that feel weird for my toddler to touch? Rainbow spaghetti? Cloud dough? Gluten-free play dough? Do kids not get enough “sensory” experiences in their regular lives or something?
hoola hoopa says
I wonder the same thing re sensory play. I completely understand for OT, but as standard do-around-the-house playtime, I don’t understand it. Based on the volume of pins on pinterest, I’m guessing it’s not all OT. I think it’s just a label that’s attractive to some parents because it sound productive or educational. My kids play with playdough and I put rice in the water table during the winter… but I don’t give it a special category.
MomAnon4This says
My daycare provider insisted it made kids smarter? I don’t know. I just thought of it as including kids of all ages, and making sure they experience the world around them.
k. says
Why are all nursing tops modeled on pregnant women?!!
Anon says
I’m sitting with one of my 13 week old twins in the picu at Children’s Hospital right now. We’re on day 4. He got RSV and went downhill so quickly! He is doing much better now, I’ve never felt such relief. Hoping his twin doesn’t come down with it too.
Respiratory season should be about over but just wanted to warn everyone of the symptoms of RSV and bronchiolitis as it took me by surprise. I thought, oh it’s just a cold, he’s coughing a little but he’s okay. The telltale sign of bronchiolitis is how they’re breathing. Watch for labored and/or fast breathing. Signs of labored breathing include, flared nostrils, chest sucking in near ribs, chest sucking in near collarbone.
Angelika says
I just recently moved into a residence without a security system.