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Oooooh: I’m past the bottle stage, but I may have to pick this up anyway — it seems like every time we’re traveling we never have enough places to put all the various plastic cups we bring for the kids, and towel-drying isn’t optimal for things like Zolis… and the idea of bringing a regular drying rack on vacation with us just isn’t that appealing. (I know, crazy!) Note that OXO Tot also has a travel drying rack just for breast pump parts, which I could see being handy if you keep a breast pump at the office. The pictured drying rack is $15 at Amazon. OXO Tot On-the-Go Travel Drying Rack with Bottle Brush
(L-3)
Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Anonymous says
My 38 week old born baby is in the special care nursery while he learns to regulate his sugars (I was diabetic) and his breathing (caucasian males often have issues with this after c sections?). The sugars thing worries me – I feel like if I had been more strict with my own diet he wouldnt be struggling! My GD was a lot better towards the end so I was totally enjoying ice cream before bed, etc (and my sugars seemed fine). Anyways, I miss the little guy and know I should just be happy he is being carefully supervised and cared for, but any other moms go through this? Everyone just keeps emailing congrats he is perfect, and I kind of want to yell back that the little guy is struggling some at the moment and I feel responsible and like I cant help him all at the same time! I am also just thankful he is not on an IV or breathing machine. But… I want my little boy in the room with me!
Clementine says
Hi! My baby was in the NICU (called the Special Care Nursery in the UK, I believe) for several weeks when he was born. Leaving my baby in the NICU was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
Practice self care. Spend as much time skin-to-skin with him. Remind yourself that you made this little human and you did so many things right- try to be kind to yourself with regards to the (irrational) guilt. My experience was different, but I beat myself up so much that I could have done something better to make sure my kiddo didn’t have to be hospitalized.
Page me if you ever want to talk- it’s so lonely to have a NICU baby, nobody ever tells you that part.
anon says
My son was in the NICU for 6 weeks after he was born early. Just try to make the time there feel good. He is where he’s supposed to be, getting care that you can’t give yet. He will be home soon enough (I know the days feel like weeks, but I promise!)
Anon says
Granted I don’t know all of the details, but it is safe to assume that you didn’t cause his health issues. My first had issues regulating his sugars for the first 24 hours (born at 37 weeks via c-section) and I was NOT a gestational diabetic. Maybe your diet would have helped some, but I had no issues with diabetes but my son still had issues at birth. (Side note: I believe he didn’t have the lung issues b/c I have severe asthma and take a steroid inhaler twice a day to treat my asthma. They think it inadvertently helped his lungs mature faster. In other words, otherwise, he’d likely have had the lung issues also.) Hugs!
Night weaning? says
My son was in the special care nursery (Level 2, so not NICU but also not the well baby nursery) for nine days after arriving 5 weeks early. At the time, I had a lot of guilt that I’d somehow sent myself into labor early hauling heavy boxes of baby gear around that week and that my first act as a mom was to fail at carrying my son to term. It was really hard and it took a while to get over that. That said, I 100% agree with everything Clementine says. (Clementine-my little guy was born not too long after yours, and everything you posted here helped me so much!) Self-care is really important. It’s really hard to do, but this is your chance to get your feet under you a little bit: get as much sleep as you can, or at least close your eyes and rest (so hard!), make sure you’re eating and staying hydrated, and focus on recovering so that when it’s time for him to come home, you’re doing as well as you can. Skin to skin is also huge! It made me feel so much better. I built a schedule for the time kiddo was in L2, and every day between the 2 and 5 PM feeds, I’d just cuddle him on my chest and we’d relax together and hang out. We did that other times, too, but it helped to have a set block where I knew it was just baby cuddles and I wasn’t worried about pumping or eating or napping or talking to anyone else. We also tried to soak up as much knowledge as we could from the amazing nurses. We basically framed the time as an all-expenses paid week-long baby care course, courtesy of BCBS, and tried to get as much out of it as we could from that perspective. We still talk about how much we imprinted on those nurses and how so much of our care comes from what they taught us.
It’s so hard, and I remember the guilt so keenly, but now, 7.5 months later, it’s really faded and when I see my kiddo, I don’t see any of that time. I just see my super-awesome wonderful kiddo. Like Clem said, page me if you want to talk. It’s definitely a different experience welcoming a kid into the world with a nursery stay and it’s so challenging. That said, after we got through it, I felt like I could tackle anything baby wanted to throw at me!
Anonymous says
I had gestational diabetes also and my dietitian actually suggested ice cream as a bedtime snack because it provides some protein and calcium. Mommy guilt is hard I know, but take good care of yourself and know that this is not your fault.
MomAnon4This says
My caucasian male son was a planned c-section, until my water broke at 37 weeks, 2 days.
So he came “early” but still full-term — and yes, he was breathing too fast and it correlates with low blood sugar so They took him to the intermedicate care unit – not as intense or needy as NICU, but not the regular nursery. He had to pass 2 tests to show that his blood sugar was regular. He did that very quickly — this is a very standard thing that happens and NOT your fault AT ALL. The mantra I learned with my first son in my Mommy-and-Me class was: “Don’t worry — you WILL ‘mess up’ your kid — they will need therapy, they will write a tell-all memoir, etc. etc. It won’t be because of…. [having low blood sugar and fast breathing when they were born]”. Your child is so new! You have the rest of his life to love him AND mess him up :) All he needs right now is love and care and you are there and are doing the right thing by making sure the experts are tending to him and they will give him to you to love on ASAP. HUGS.
I'm sorry says
You love your baby. You’re a good mom! I’m sorry you’re going through such a tough, emotionally draining experience.
Pregnant forever says
Thanks to everyone who came to my pity party yesterday. I’m still pregnant, now 9 days over! I have a bit of a Sophie’s choice situation.
My moms and I don’t have the greatest relationship. No bad blood, just two very, very different people. She drives me batty. But my kids love her (for now) and she comes up to visit them every month or so, staying overnight. Anyway, she lives about 2 hours away and this AM offered to come up from now until we get home from the hosptial- which could be as long as Sunday if I end up being induced.
Pros:
-she’ll watch my toddler and let me sleep all day
– she’ll be here when/if the baby comes so we don’t have to use our emergency child care plan (it isn’t a great one but it’ll do).
– she might cook (she’s not a great cook)
– she might clean (she’s a slob and not a great cleaner)
Cons
– she drives me batty on a personal level- 4-5 days is a LOT of time.
– she’s not the most physically able (is still recovering from a winter surgery that makes bending/lifting hard) and won’t be super useful in terms of doing stuff I can’t
– she’ll be around when DH gets home and we normally get grown up alone time
Notes:
– She won’t do anything awful like ask to be in the deliver room or insist info some crazy labor dance
– She, in normal times, is not a great houseguest but also not the worlds worst- just messy and not a great adult conversationalist, tends to be overbearing with the kids.
– She was planning to come for an overnight once the baby was here anyway, so this is just an additional 3 days (assuming worst case baby timeline of Friday which is my induction).
So….I’m leaning toward having her come tomorrow but I half know I’ll regret it. She means well, she’s just annoying as $hit and I’m in a very irritable mood.
GCA says
I also love my mom dearly but she can drive me batty by being overly helpless and dependent sometimes, so I completely get you.
Take the help!!! We live in a one-bedroom apartment, so the solution when my son was born last summer was pretty simple – get mom an Airbnb room nearby! She had her own space to retreat to, we had our own space overnight, and I got to take daytime naps and change only a third of the diapers.
CLMom says
The worst week of all the pregnancy, child birth, and now 8 months of parenting was easily the week my mother-in-law stayed with us (two weeks post-partum).
An Airbnb would have helped significantly, however we have an extra room for guest.
Closet Redux says
Ack, you do know that Sophie’s Choice is which of her children to send to the gas chamber at Auschwitz, right? I’m all for hyperbole and cultural reference, but this one seems really off-color. Oof.
Anonymous says
Not OP. Did not know this reference and will educate myself now because of your post – can’t believe I made it 35 years without knowing the background of this reference!
Spirograph says
Yeah, word to the wise: Parents, do not read this book (I haven’t seen the movie. I hear Meryl Streep is fantastic, but no). Especially not while pumping at work. I might have enjoyed it (in a “that’s terrible, but thought provoking, and ugh the Holocaust was really the worst of humanity, wasn’t it?” kind of way) if I’d read it when I was 25, but as a mother? Oh h3ll no. It’s actually a very, very small part of the novel, but not an idea/scene I needed in my head.
Grown up now says
I read it in college and it messed with my head then. Bothers me more as a mom – just not a happy book.
Anonymous says
Take the help but get out of the house alone at least once a day. You’ll be stuck at home a bunch once the baby comes.
Book yourself a pedicure and swing by Starbucks for an iced coffee on the way there. Go to your local swimming pool and soak in the pool. Grab lunch with a friend. Sleep when she takes toddler to the park etc.
Momata says
I’d take the help, but postpone by one day. Enjoy one more day without her and focus on the good parts of not having her there. Then accept the help and SLEEP (which means you won’t be interacting with her anyway).
Pregnant forever says
That’s what I was thinking of pitching to DH. Maybe have her come up midday tmw in time to wrangle the older after camp, then it’s weds/thurs with me, and fri/sat full kid duty while DH and i evict the baby.
Meg Murry says
I’d also take the help for tomorrow or Thursday, and plan to have her do most of the kid entertaining while you avoid her – take advantage of her being there so you can sleep, or go float in the pool, or “run errands” (which could be a trip to the grocery store or library followed by leisurely solo ice cream eating in your car).
Are you in suburbia/car country and does she drive? Even if she can’t bend/lift, could you send her out of the house with the toddler for a while?
Pregnant forever says
Yup, we are in the burbs. I could send her out, It’s just sooo gross and hot here that all the default options (i.e. Playgrounds, even splash parks) are miserable even when not pregnant.
Meg Murry says
What about sending her to the public library with the toddler? Or could she not get the kid in and out of her carseat? Send her to the grocery store or Target (with a kid or two) for not heavy items that you could stock up on like toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex? Have her take the 2 kids out for pizza while you and DH have some quiet time at home?
Even if she can’t really cook, if she can make your toddler PB&J and scrambled eggs so you don’t have to get up, I’d consider that a win.
Frozen Peach says
Or can you leave her with kids and you get out? When I was miserably pregnant in miserable heat, the best remedy was finding large, heavily air-conditioned retail spaces and walking. Kept my mind off things. Agreed with Meg that floating in the pool or solo eating in your car may be your best bet.
Anon in NYC says
Yes! Leave her with the kids at home and go to the mall and sit in the heavily air conditioned food court. Or find a Barnes and Noble (or a library) and hang out in one of their chairs and read a book.
EB0220 says
Book a massage. Leave kids at home with her. Go to massage. Have a nice lunch. Have baby. This approach worked perfectly for me 1 year and 360 days ago.
Applesauce says
Recommendations for a light, portable umbrella stroller? Preferably one that has a basket and a carrying handle and isn’t too expensive. Our regular stroller is the City Mini and we love it, but it barely fits in grandma’s tiny car and it takes up a ton of space on the bus when I need to take public transit somewhere. Our daughter is 8 months now and rarely naps in the stroller anymore (sad development, but she started napping like a champ in her crib the same time she started fighting stroller naps) so I think she’s ready for an umbrella stroller on occasion. Thanks all :)
mascot says
Look at the Uppa Baby strollers and the Joovy. We loved our Uppa G-Luxe, but if you don’t care about recline, the G-Lite might fit your needs.
Anonymous says
+1 We love our G-Luxe. It was our everyday stroller when we lived in Manhattan.
G Luxe What What says
I love the G Luxe (I live in Chicago) and love it.
AIMS says
My mom bought the summer infant 3D lite to keep at her house and it’s pretty great for what you describe. The basket is a bit of a pain to get to, but that’s my only criticism. It reclines if a nap does happen, it’s very lightweight, easy to fold, has a shoulder strap, good canopy, and it even has a cup holder which our much more expensive UB does not. We’re actually debating getting another one for ourselves but I don’t know if it’s really necessary. I think the umbrella strolller was around $70 with a bed bath and beyond 20 percent off coupon, and I think you can sometimes find it for even less on Amazon.
MDMom says
Yes I’ve heard good things about the summer infant one. I have the joovy groove ultralight and really like it. Its more expensive though, I think $160 (we used a gift card for most of it so I’m not sure). It reclines, which was important to me, and has cupholders (parent and child) and I think some kind of basket. It’s around 10 or 11 lb I think and easy to carry with the shoulder strap. It’s not particularly “small” while folded but I don’t think any of the full featured umbrellas are.
ChiLaw says
We have the Summer Infant 3D Lite and it is GREAT. SO maneuverable, so light. Honestly we barely use the carrying strap, and yeah the basket is a little hard to reach, but it’s still our everyday stroller. We’ve had it for about 8 months now and we use it literally almost every day and it’s holing up well. There’s one for $65 on Amazon right now.
Applesauce says
The summer infant one looks exactly perfect and available for $86 from Amazon Canada! Excellent, thank you. (All strollers in Canada are 1.5-2x their cost in the US, just like everything else, hooray.)
AEK says
Ditto on 3D Lite.
Pregnant forever says
We have the $15 one from babies r us. Actually, we have 3 of them- one for each car and one for grandmas. Downside is no storage basket, but I don’t need that anymore generally. If I do, it’s a big outing and we bring the Big Stroller. If it’s the mall, I bring a big purse with a few diapers and a bottle and hook it on the handle if need be.
CPA Lady says
I have and love the Graco Literider. Big basket, good cup-holder for me, folds with one hand.
anon says
In NYC I think the go-tos in this category are the Uppa Baby G-Lite or G-Luxe or one of the more basic Maclarens. For the bus you want something that can be folded quickly and easily, ideally with one hand so you can hold your baby while doing it. We have a Britax B-Agile and an ancient, very basic Maclaren (volo I think?). I definitely prefer the Maclaren on the bus. The shoulder strap is a big help for holding a child, stroller, and your bag while paying bus fare. The B-Agile is easier to push one handed. Neither has spectacular storage capacity, but I think that is par for the course for a compact lightweight stroller.
Amelia Bedelia says
McClaren!!!! I love it so much.
NewMomAnon says
I have the Inglesina Net and I like it. I looked at the Joovy, MacLaren, Uppababy, Mountain Buggy, and SummerInfant umbrella strollers (I also have the $20 Cosco one, which is what it is). The Inglesina was $149 on sale on Amazon, it reclines, has a cup holder (only one, not reachable by kid in the stroller), and a big-ish basket for an umbrella stroller. It also has a UPF 50 sunvisor that is at least as large as the Uppababy.
What tipped me into the Inglesina was how small it’s footprint is when folded, the carry strap, and the fact that it has a stand so it doesn’t need to be propped against a wall when folded. The Uppababy, Joovy and MacLaren were all bigger when folded (not by much, but they were bigger). The Mountain Buggy was my next choice; it folds much differently (down into a briefcase size).
The Uppababy has a finger pull mechanism to fold; it was jammed on the model I viewed, which also turned me off (but probably was due to being a store model that got a lot of inexperienced users). The Inglesina has a two-step fold mechanism; you pop up a lever with your foot and then step down on another lever while folding it. It’s OK now that I’ve learned how to use it, but wasn’t the most intuitive at first.
RR says
We love our Uppababy G-Lite. Took it to Disney, wrangled it on and off of buses, and it was great. Super light, but still great sun protection, a big basket, and comfortable maneuverability.
shortperson says
the mountain buggy nano is fabulous
Sip and see? says
X posted from the main site…
I’m pregnant with my second (due soon!) did not have and do not want a shower. Do not need anything :-)
I have a ton of friends and family that will want to meet the new nugget. Is a sip-and-see something you plan yourself? What are the general logistics? Is it a casual email invite with a 1-2 hour party with food? More like an open house? Is it typically at the moms home (i.e. Do I have to clean? :-)). More formal with paper invites? Do I state NO GIFTS!! Or is that implied? Small stuff (outfits/books/onesies/food) of course would be fine but I don’t need any traditional baby shower stuff.
Do I only invite local people? Or like a baby shower do out of town aunts/grandmas get invited too?
Have never been to one but love the idea. Also….can I call it something else? Not wild on the sip-and-see name.
Anonymous says
I went to a very informal one of these at a classmate’s apartment. I think her husband actually sent out the e-mail. I think it had the subject line “Cheers for [Baby’s Name]!” Alternatively, how about sending an e-mail/evite/paperless post with something like, “Come Meet [Baby’s Name]!” The one I went to was sort of an open house for maybe 2 hours. There was food and champagne, but nothing fancy. It was very relaxed and merry, which felt just right. If I were doing this, I would probably want to host it at my place, which would feel more laid back and less formal, but I would definitely spring for having it cleaned by a professional. If you know someone well enough that it’s not awkward asking and/or money is tight, how about asking for a baby gift of a professional house-cleaning prior to this party? Also, if you don’t specify no gifts, you will definitely receive gifts. If people know you well, I would assume they wouldn’t buy you superfluous baby gifts, like bouncers and so forth, right? Congratulations!
Sip and See says
We have biweekly cleaners that come on Thursday. Maybe I’ll ask if they can come Friday instead one week and have it sat AM before we mess up the house any worse.
I may be switching them to weekly for the first month or two PP, we’ll see…
Meg Murry says
The other option if you don’t want to clean and you have local family that is set up well, you could ask if one of them could host a party/bbq. That’s what we typically do in my family where everyone is local – the grandparents will hold a picnic/bbq/potluck and invite the family, with the understanding that the family with the new baby would be stopping by sometime in the X:00 to Y:00 range.
Basically, I think it depends which would stress you out more – having people at your house, but not having to worry about packing up and dragging yourselves out of the house; or having to pack up and go to a family member’s house, but then when you are *done* you could just leave.
CPA Lady says
The only sip & see I’ve been to was at the house of a good friend of the new mom. I think there was a FB invite. The new mom’s parents were there, but no other extended family. It was mostly for local friends. Lots of families with kids. It was a 1-2 hour casual house party with low key snacks (veg tray, hummus, cheese & crackers), tea, lemonade, and a champagne punch. I think no-gifts is implied, but you could always put it in the invite.
Night weaning? says
I did this and we just called it a “Weclome [Baby’s Name]”. A friend was the official “hostess” but it was at our house (I had our cleaning people come the day before and just let it go at that), we bought sweet treats and coffee and had it as an open house. Minimal decorations (some balloons, some photos of the kiddo since it happened 3.5 months after he was born, some festive paper puffs hanging in the windows) and that was it. It was a lot of fun and I really liked it being low-key. We did a Paperless Post invite (they have a whole sip-and-see category), so it was cute but easy and my friend could track RSVPs easily. We didn’t explicitly say no gifts, so a lot of people brought small things, but not everyone. As a decidedly not a baby shower type of person, I thought it was a great way to do things!
CLMom says
Janie & Jack – how did it take me so long to discover this brand?! Absolutely adorbs!
Any suggestions on where/how to buy at a reduced price?
mascot says
1) They have outlet stores that have decent quality, especially since kids only wear the clothes for a season or two 2) There are occasional sales/coupons (it’s part of the Gymboree family) 3) consignment sales and shops.
Seven weeks says
Please give me your best tips for surviving first trimester nausea at work. I am not actually throwing up but I feel so sick all the time. I am already using ginger chews and eating small, frequent meals when I can stomach it. But it’s taking so much out of me and making me way less productive.
NewMomAnon says
Can you work from home a bunch until you feel better? I found that I had to almost constantly eat saltines or those Diamond nut thins to keep the nausea at bay, but I think I got a light version that was easy to handle.
ChiLaw says
Ugh, my sympathies. I spent [a long time, don’t want to be discouraging] just feeling like I had the world’s worst hangover — never throwing up, but always about to.
What are you snacking on? For some people, I know that salty carbs were the trick (saltines?), for me it had to be protein (so. many. almonds.) and one friends swore by cheese. I know it’s awful but you really will feel better if you find things you can eat — I’ve read that an empty stomach leads to more nausea. Are you staying hydrated? What about a ginger tea, if you’re sick of ginger chews?
Anonymous says
Definitely try all kinds of snacks until you find what works for you. All carbs and especially sugar made it worse for me. I carried around cheese sticks and packets of nuts.
Anon in NYC says
For me, it was carbs + water. Bread, saltines, Ritz crackers, anything carb-y really. Also, mint tea.
Famouscait says
+1 all this for me. And also hard peppermint candies – the red stripey ones.
Ally McBeal says
For me it was plain bagels. I couldn’t handle anything salty and couldn’t really handle protein. But bagels were my best friend. Lemon helped a little.
Anonymous says
I recommend getting out into the fresh air for a walk around the block as often as possible. I always felt so much better on weekends, and I think it was all the fresh air and exercise. Agree with everyone on the saltines. Thank goodness for saltines. Maybe saltines + peanut butter so you aren’t filling up only on carbs? I ate this so often during my first trimesters.
Maddie Ross says
Ice cold water with lemon, lemon candy, and frozen lemonades were my friends. The sour helped settle my stomach for some reason.
Katala says
Hugs. It’s hard. And it will end but I know from recent experience those weeks feel endless especially when you have to hide it.
I did try to eat often but that was hard at my new job. What helped the most was a prescription for dicleglis (sp?). Same as you, no throwing up but constant nausea and it worked better, with less fatigue, than my attempt with unisom + b12(? Forget the number) which is the same ingredients but didn’t work for me. Just something to consider.
And congrats!
RDC says
This is gross, but … what helped me was actually greasy food, which sounds nauseating on its own, but somehow it really helped if I got in a substantial second-breakfast/brunch. I usually got sausage and hash browns or tater tots off from the cafeteria at work. For whatever reason that would help with the nausea in the morning and make it possible to function more or less normally the rest of the day.
I think first trimester is the hardest, especially if you haven’t told coworkers, since you feel absolutely miserable but are also trying to cover it up. Late in the pregnancy you might feel terrible again, but then at least everyone is super sympathetic. It gets much easier – hang in there!
JP says
At 20 weeks, I am still puking occasionally, and my first trimester was MISERABLE. Second the above that diclegis is a miracle drug. It is super duper safe–I think it’s Category A–and the nausea doesn’t go away, but it becomes more manageable. I’m still on it.
That said, I developed a lot of very specific coping-type strategies at work since I still felt pretty awful. Different things work for everyone. But this is what worked for me.
1) In a liter bottle, mix 2/3 seltzer and 1/3 natural lemonade (in fridge section of supermarket) and bring it to work. Get ice from the ice machine once you’re at work. All day long, pour the lemonade/seltzer over ice and drink while it’s cold. Drinking a liter of fluid will make you feel better, the bubbles in the seltzer make you burp and temporarily relieves the pukey feeling, and the cold and sourness helps the fluids go down and quell nausea.
2) Tortilla chips or kettle potato chips plus cold ginger ale helped get me started on eating when I was so nauseous and knew that eating was the only thing that would relieve the nausea
3) Keep things as cold as possible. Things taste less strong when they are cold. So if you’re eating string cheese (a staple food for me), keep it very well-chilled because you can just kind of force it down without tasting the cheesy-ness.
4) PB&J–usually I am a whole-grain bread, natural peanut butter, interesting jam kind of girl, but Jif peanut butter and Smuckers jam on white bread was a mainstay. I cut it into quarters and ate the quarters throughout the day before I was actually hungry. Once I got hungry, it was all over!
5) Not a food thing, but–figure out the times of day when you feel the best, and either don’t make any meetings during that time (so you can get work done), or schedule important meetings at that time (so you can concentrate in them). Guard that time fiercely. Doing that helped me maintain productivity even when I felt terrible for most of the day.
Hang in there! And you will have plenty of time to give the baby good food when it’s really packing on weight–right now, just try to get through the day.
Frozen Peach says
It is so hard. Here’s my arsenal list.
– hot peppermint tea with tons of sugar
-peppermint oil on a kleenex to sniff
-jolly ranchers (really helped with on the go nausea and blocking out undesirable smells)
-small amounts of bland nuts like macadamias or cashews
-chug a protein drink first thing in the morning (this is a magic bullet). I love the svelte ones because their texture is smooth and easy to choke down.
-zofran can be a miracle drug
-blood sugar drops will definitely make the nausea worse. very, very cold ginger ale/sprite/classic coke can be a good quick fix to that one.
-if you are getting dehydrated, head straight for urgent care for fluids and a vitamin panel. It can happen fast, especially if you’ve been on a plane, and builds on itself in terms of the nausea.
CPA Lady says
It’s terrible but it will pass. And you will on some level get used to it in the mean time. I had the verge-of-barfing all day long from weeks 7-14 and mild periodic nausea from weeks 14-16. Then it vanished. I cried out of happiness and relief multiple times after it vanished. It helped to have an office friend who knew what was going on, just so I could complain when I felt particularly awful. I told my office BFF and my office roommate way before I told anyone else.
In terms of foods, different things helped at different times. I ate a ludicrous number of apples, which I never liked before, and don’t particularly care for anymore. Something about them being sweet and tart helped. I could also eat beef jerky. And lemon flavored skittles. Ginger, peppermint, and anything bread-related made me gag and I could hardly force down dry crackers. During the 7-14 week time span, it didn’t get better, but I got better able to emotionally cope with it, if that makes sense. It became a normal part of life so I wasn’t so overwhelmed and depressed by it.
Anonymous says
1/2 tab of unisom + 10 mgs B6 the night before. I could only find 25 mgs of the B6 on Amazon, so I just used a pill cutter and figured 12.5 mgs would be ok.
It worked so well Every ten days or so I’d figure I must be better and I’d skip a night. Then spend 24 hours eating pretzel sticks.
Night weaning? says
Anyone have any advice on night weaning? Kiddo is 7.5 months and has been down to a brief nurse once a night for a long time now, but our lives have been in upheaval (cross country move, temporary housing, two week trip home trucking around to see family, move to permanent housing…) and I haven’t really been motivated to drop that last night nurse, since it hasn’t bothered me and honestly I kind of like the snuggles. He also seems to need it-when I’ve tried to cut back too much, we all suffer through multiple wake-ups and he’s clearly hungry by the time I finally nurse him again. Then again, I know he’s capable of sleeping through the night because he’s done it on his own a handful of times since about 4 months.
Is this something he’ll just drop on his own and I should stop worrying about it? He’s a pretty easy going kiddo, so my instinct kind of says yes. That said, I’m not keen on night nursing too too much longer, so I do want to encourage us towards dropping that feed. Any advice appreciated!
Momata says
I think once a night at this age is still appropriate, especially since you say he still needs it because he’s hungry. I night weaned my older child of that final 4am feed at around a year. My second child is coming up on a year and is dropping it himself. (I’d force the issue but I don’t want his crying to wake up his sister.).
Anonymous says
He’ll probably drop it in the next month or two. Now that he’s on solids – offer lots of opportunities to eat in the daytime and he’ll start to fill up more from solids.
Unless it really bothers you, I’d leave it and let him drop it on his own.
Anons says
Weissbluth, who is a CIO guy, says some b-fed kiddos do much better with one night feeding through about 9 months (usually around 4am, I think). So if you are OK with it, you could keep it up and see what happens in a couple of months. Precious Little Sleep has a few good blog pages on night weaning if you head that direction, either now or a few months from now.
Artemis says
Do you just nurse baby at his bedtime and then when he wakes up that once?
If so, try a dream feed at YOUR bedtime–this was a huge amazing thing for me when someone suggested it. So, for example, I used to nurse my kids at their bedtime–around 7:30 p.m. at that age. Then I would nurse them again at my bedtime, even if they weren’t asking for it–so that would be anytime between 10 p.m. and midnight depending on the night. That then can push baby “over the hump” of needing a 4 a.m. or similar feed, and I found it easier to wean from that one. Then baby is still getting the overnight feed and snuggles, but you are more in control of the schedule and your sleep.
Anon MN says
It should end on its own pretty soon here. He sounds just like my first, who stopped that last night feed around 9-10 months. I started to send my husband in as the first line of defense. He would rock/cuddle/etc as needed. If my son didn’t settle he knew he was hungry and brought him to me. This helped us dropped to one night feed over multiples, I feel like that last one just went on its own around 9-10 months. That was two years ago though, and I have mom brain, so don’t exactly remember . . .
Anonymous says
My kiddo is a generally good sleeper (self-trained at 9 weeks, sleeps through six nights out of seven) and whenever I’ve let her nurse at night (vacation time zone shifts, co-sleeping, etc.) she will keep waking up to nurse at that time each night until I suck it up and just walk her to sleep. The next night she always sleeps through.
At one point the doctor did suggest giving an evening bottle (expressed or formula) because my kiddo nurses three times in the three hours before bed. If your little guy is hungry that might help.
In House Lobbyist says
Any advice for giving up the pacifier? The dentist said she has to stop now so we did cold turkey last night and she cried for an hour. We read the Pacifiers Are Not Forever book and I got her a new stuffed animal which she loved but as soon as it was time to get in bed the crying began. Any other advice besides just keep at it? I planned to do a big pack up pacifiers for new babies party on her birthday next month but the dentist scared us so bad we went cold turkey.
Anonymous says
How old is she? Can you keep for falling asleep only? Like it lives in the bed?
I’m surprised by the advice to drop it. Our dentist said it was fine as long as use was minimal (not all day, just to fall asleep) and dropped it by the time adult teeth started to come in.
We’ve kept going because I’m worried that if we try to force a stop before she’s ready that she will switch to sucking her thumb which is much harder to break.
Speech pathologist didn’t have concerns with nighttime use – daytime use was discouraged because it can interfere with speech development.
CHJ says
My friends recently did this with their son (almost 3). They told him that if he was willing to give up his pacifiers, the “pacifier fairy” would come and leave him a toy in exchange for the pacifiers. He got to pick the toy in advance (which was a big crane truck in his case). It worked and he happily surrendered his pacifiers.
Anon MN says
Agree with the above, depending on age and type of use, you may not need to drop. I have heard minimal nighttime use is fine until adult teeth come in. We limited to the crib starting around 13 months but he’s 2 years 7 months now and still uses it to fall asleep. I read some reasearch articles (more psych based) that showed that kids are psycologically ready to completely kick the habit between the ages of 3 to 4, which makes sense, since that is the average age of weaning around the world.
Sorry, no practical advice. I’ll be in your shoes in a year or two, but hoping he will be open to it as he will be older.
In House Lobbyist says
She’s turning 3 in two weeks. At 2 we limited it to only naptimes and bedtimes. But yeah the dentist had a fit a yesterday and said it was changing the shape of her jaw. In the middle all the crying, I promised her a ballet class since she is a big girl now and she had to be 3 anyway. So now I’m looking for ballet classes to start ASAP. She kept saying “No big girl, I am a baby”. And yes I am worried about finger sucking now since she is bad to keep her fingers in her mouth anyway. I may have to bribe her with finger nail polish which she loves. It will be sad if her nails are painted more than mine!
EP-er says
If you commit to cold turkey, follow through & throw them all out. Then they just aren’t available any more and there will be tears but you will all get past this. We were successful with this, but it was heartbreaking seeing the kiddos search under their bed & the couch trying to find one that is hiding.
Another thing you can try is to cut the tip off the end of the paci. Then it is like a straw & you just suck air… we tried this first & she kept throwing the defective one away. It just made her more mad that it was broken. Of course, she was only 2 when we broke the habit. It was affecting her teeth (which straightened out when she stopped sucking.)
I love the idea of trading up pacis for ballet, though! Maybe take her to pick out a leotard & tell her she can trade the paci for it? Good luck – you’ll make it through this one!
anon for this says
I just need to vent. Partner just told me I have to unexpectedly stay late at the office tonight. And my kid’s big boy furniture was just delivered today, but I won’t be able to be there for bedtime. And I worked past bedtime last night. Feeling like a crappy mom even though I know it’s not a big deal.
Anon says
Hugs.
You know what? The money you earned at that job bought your kid that awesome big boy furniture. You picked out something lovely for him. You are a great mom.
JayJay says
Agreed. Hugs. Being a working mom is hard. You are a good mom.
mascot says
This. Bonus- if he’s too geared up to sleep because he is so excited about the new furniture that smells different and is casting some funny shadows on the wall, well, you don’t have to play the get back in bed whack-a-mole game.
ChiLaw says
That really sucks. Can they put off the transition to Big Boy furniture for one night, so you can be there for tucking in and such in the new bed?
OP says
Sadly, no. Furniture was assembled and there’s nowhere else for kid to sleep.
Lurker says
How far do you live from work? If I have to stay late without warning, I usually have to go home and let my dog out and come back. Could you be gone for an hour or two if you come back?
Maternity leave coverage says
Question about maternity leave coverage: I work in a three person team – while I am the most junior, both my Senior Colleague and I report directly to our boss (meaning I don’t report to the person the second person on my team who is senior to me, but junior to my boss). Senior Colleague and I work together on nearly all of our projects — there is very little that is specifically mine or his.
My leave is, unfortunately, poorly timed with our busy season and both senior colleague and I believe that senior colleague is going to need assistance during my leave. We’ve mentioned this issue to our boss in the past, who seems less convinced of the need support during my leave, but has not completely ruled it out. At this point, whose responsibility is it to push the issue with our boss? I tend to think it is the responsibility of my senior colleague, as the projects on which he’ll need help are projects for which we share responsibility (I think I’d feel differently if they were solely my projects). However, senior colleague seems reluctant to raise the issue with boss and seems content to just tell me how much he is going to need assistance. Should I be the one raising this with boss?
Faye says
Not in law, but it’s not on you to plan your coverage. Your boss plans the coverage, and you do what you can to support the boss’s plan. (You help train someone, you align your documents, etc) But that is part of why Boss is paid, to plan the workload of your team.
You might want to say to Boss at your next 1:1 “I’m starting to think about prepping for my leave, you know it’s just X months away! Do you have any thoughts yet on who might cover my work – I’ll leave a different level of details if it’s Colleague (who already has background on projects) vs Temp Hire (who won’t know our filing system or big deadlines or whatever).”
Pogo says
This could be an IVF first… So, I’m super duped bloated (ER is in less than 24 hours) and a coworker said, “So, congratulations are in order?” And stupid me, I’m like, For what?!?
“You’re pregnant?”
I literally almost burst into tears (my estrogen is sky-high, people). Why would you ever assume someone is pregnant. She backtracked being like, oh no you’re not fat, you’re just.. you’re usually always so slim and …
I mean yes, I DO look four months pregnant from bloating. But I was telling myself no one noticed.
I am also the most un-pregnant person on the planet. Ugh.
Edna Mazur says
WTF is wrong with people!?!? I wonder if it would have been better to burst into tears, teach this person a lesson.
Good luck on your procedure, I hope you can ignore insensitive people and focus on what matters right now!
buffybot says
Oh Pogo – that is so, so terrible. It constantly shocks me how ridiculously out of touch people are. I had a handful of colleagues comment about how I was “still drinking” at a work social event last week and someone actually made the “tick tock!” sound effect. I mean, really.
I know we want to be completely professional at work, but I don’t think it would have been the worst thing in the world to actually burst into tears when provoked in such a manner — perhaps then the idiot would actually learn.
Anyway, best of luck with your egg retrieval and the “embryo Hunger Games” that follow. I am going to be in your shoes shortly — just had a whispered conversation with my RE’s nurse about setting up an IVF consult on the assumption that this final round of IUI will probably not pan out either. Yay open plan offices.
JP says
WHAT?!?! Ugh, people suck. I hope you made her feel a little bit horrible so that she will never, ever do that to anyone again.
I am sending you so many internet hugs right now.
You can do this! The worst part (all the shots and endless monitoring and appointments and bloating) is over. And it sounds like you did your trigger last night, so just visualize all those ripening eggs and concentrate on how close you actually are to being pregnant, even though I’m sure it feels like it will be forever and a day until the FET. In the scope of how long you’re waited to get to this point, it is a blink.
xoxoxoxoxo