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Sales of note for 3.28.24
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- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
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- Zappos – 37,000+ 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 – 50% off entire site
- Hanna Andersson – 30% off all swim; up to 30% off HannaJams
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off sitewide; 50% off select swim; 50% off kids’ styles
- Old Navy – 50% off Easter deals
- 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?
Anon says
When/how did you decide about timing of kid #2?
Pre-kids we talked about trying again when our first was 9 months so they’d be 18+ months apart. Reasons being: we want them close in age, I’m advance maternal age, we definitely want a 2nd, we weren’t ruling out #3.
We’re now coming up on that time frame. We think we’re more likely to be 2 and done (but aren’t 100% sure). My last pregnancy was thankfully uncomplicated, but kind of sucked due to nausea and fatigue. Delivery went well. We lucked out and #1’s been a great baby. I’m just not sure if I feel ready yet (but am also not sure if I’ll ever feel ready).
anon says
Everyone says that they want kids close together, but I will share that it’s not a rigid line. Even siblings three years apart really will still act like they’re close in age. My kids are just under three years apart and play together for hours and hours. I don’t think you run into the separate interest thing until they’re more like 4.5-5 years apart and even then it’s just a different relationship, not necessarily a bad one. How well they get along is also strongly based on personality and not just age.
If you don’t feel ready, then no rush. Enjoy your baby and the benefits of only having one. I’ve seen many polls on message boards and many find 2.5-3.5 years apart to be an easier age gap anyways. Easier during pregnancy. Less sibling rivalry. More capable older sibling. There’s no rush (unless you’re hitting the bio clock yourself).
Personally I felt far more ready right around when my oldest was approaching 2 and I’d been done bf for a while, but it’s clearly personal.
Anon says
this is just me, but I’ve always thought the idea of 2 under 2 sounds insane to me bc i could not handle it. I know it works wonderfully for some families, but it was not for me. In fact i always wanted like 4 years between my kids, but i actually have twins (so i suppose i ended up with two under two anyway, ha). You should start trying when you’d be ok having another baby 9 months later, while also realizing that you might not get pregnant instantly
Anon says
+1. We eventually decided to be one and done but when we thought we might want two we were planning on a ~3-3.5 year spacing. After 4 years you start to get into divergent interests, but kids who are 3 years apart really don’t interact that differently than kids who are 2 years apart and it’s much more manageable for the parents. Two under 2 by choice seems utterly insane to me, although most of my close friends did it.
Anonymous says
We knew we at least wanted 2 kids, and were hoping for close in age. Shot for about 2 years apart and they ended up very close to 2 years apart. If you’re not feeling totally ready yet, I’d shoot for 2 years apart or more. 18-24 mo is a real language explosion for most kids, and it is helpful if the oldest is at least able to tell you basic needs. If you aren’t opposed but not totally sure yet, maybe calendar out ideal birthdate/mat leave and wait for the corresponding try period. I didn’t do that at all, and honestly two winter babies in a row had some challenges. (Nothing is perfect, and if you were determined to have #2 asap, I’d say just go for it!) But if you want to delay trying until Aug/Sept and revisit how you feel, a lot changes with babies in a few months!
EDAnon says
We aimed for two years apart and they are. There are pros and cons to everything but u was definitely not ready at 9 months postpartum. We started trying at 14 months postpartum. I felt a lot better by then!
CCLA says
Also aimed for 2 years and landed about there, v happy with the gap and totally agree the oldest being quite verbal by then helped a ton. They are super close and best of friends now at 3 and 5.
Anon says
I aimed to have the kids two years apart, but lost my second pregnancy. Now my wo kids are three years apart and it is wonderful.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Mine are 2.5 years apart. In hindsight, I think I would have felt better and less stressed if they were more like 3.5-4 years apart due to my first still being so little when there was another human to take care of. But I’m so glad my second is here, it was more just getting through an intense 2 or so years. Now that they’re 3 and 5.5, the little one can keep up with my older one, so it’s nice to have gotten that over with! Ability to play well together depends a lot more on personality than age difference, which you really can’t control. We had them close together to leave the possibility of a third before I was late 30s, but we’re probably done for many reasons, not the least of which is the pandemic childcare disaster.
I would recommend at least 2 years in between, but I also know lots of people who did 2 and under 2.
Anonymous says
This is me too! Our second was an early surprise so they’re 2yrs and 4months. Luckily our oldest has always been mature for her age but she was still so little when he was a newborn. I feel a lot of guilt about that period of time. On the plus side, our second was born pre-pandemic so I wasn’t dealing with a newborn in spring of 2020. And now that they’re 2.5/almost 5 they can both actively play on a playground, go on hikes, etc…they fight almost like twins but it is what it is. I’m also glad we’re out of the baby stage. I couldn’t do 2 under 2.
Clementine says
So, I’ve mentioned on here that I’ve fostered and as such, I have had a lot of different combos. Before having kids, I really liked the idea of kids being close (2 years) apart in age. Now I will say that I think 2.5 years is my favorite gap. They’re close enough to play together but I wasn’t totally worried that the 2.5 year old was going to injure the newborn all the time. Comparing that to having 2 kids 17 months apart… Well, the mental image I will give you is finding the 17 month old having pulled the baby in the bouncy seat alll the way back and ready to catapult the newborn across the room like a trebuchet. It was a really intense period having two who were so little. Did I love it? Yes. Was it hard on me (the kids were fine). Very.
That all being said – Like lots of people on here have mentioned – we make plans and the gods laugh. I ended up with my family (for now, possibly forever) being 2 kids 4 years apart. And… it’s great. They’re amazing. It’s incredible to see how kind my oldest is. Whatever happens, find the joy.
Anon says
We wanted them two years apart… but life happened (huge health issues that led to diagnosis and being immunocompromised, job change, cross country move, loss of the job that prompted the move, Covid while being immunocompromised, new job and finally… vaccines) and they will be five years apart for all of the reasons in my parentheses. For us, this age gap will be so much better. If you’re ambivalent then it just may not be time for you. I wasn’t ready and needed more life stability and then we were ready to go
Anonymous says
I just didn’t go back on BC after kid number one. I was breastfeeding, started ovulating again around 10 months, got pregnant again right around a year. We fortunately were not concerned about the financial aspect of two young kids in daycare, and figured ripping the bandaid off the exhausting diaper and Pre-K years was more our speed than spacing it out. I felt totally fine by then, but I was 29…if you feel like your body has been through the wringer, I’d give it a little longer. There’s research suggesting that it takes a couple years for your body to really replenish itself after pregnancy, even with a healthy diet. Close in age is relative. My oldest is 8.5 and youngest is 5 (with one in the middle) and they are very happily playing together right now. The only thing they’re bummed about age-wise is that they’re too far apart in age to ever play on the same hockey team, because those break down in 2 year increments. :)
AwayEmily says
We wanted them close-ish and they ended up 19 months apart. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, they are now (at 4 and 6) self-professed best friends, and have been since my youngest turned 2. This entire long, sub-zero weekend they have played long, complicated pretend games together with almost no arguing and no parental involvement. I couldn’t ask for a better sibling pair. That being said, I agree with others that luck/personality plays a big part in whether your kids get along or not. I definitely have friends with kids 2-3 years apart whose personalities just don’t click.
In addition, the first year was Really Hard. I *thought* I was ready, but was just totally unprepared for how difficult two under two was. I was so physically and mentally exhausted and did not really feel like I got to enjoy my second’s babyhood, or that magical becoming-a-person stage for my 2yo. I’m now about to have my third and perhaps it is telling that we weren’t ready to start trying until 3.5 years after my second was born.
Re: age, I was 36 when my first was born, 38 when my second was born, and will be 41 for my third. This pregnancy has not been markedly more difficult than my others.
Anonymous says
First year and two under two being really hard is a good point. I do not remember much of my middle child’s baby and toddlerhood (by baby #3 I’d kinda hit a stride, and he was also the easiest of the three and I was fairly sure he’d be my last), except what I have photo/video evidence of.
Also, think hard about your partnership with your spouse, because there is no room for someone not pulling his or her weight with both an infant and a toddler. There’s a lot more room for grace and error with a larger age gap.
Anonymous says
Criteria we considered were me feeling fully recovered physically, which took at least 2 years (rough delivery), and both of us caught up on sleep enough to make a rational decision. Our baseline hope starting out was 2.5-4 years apart (my sibling and I are 3.5 and I thought it was ideal). I had a miscarriage before our oldest and each of those pregnancies took us 7-9 months to conceive, so we started trying not long after oldest turned 2 and ended up with kids 3.5 years apart. I was 36, so AMA but we figured we had some time. We love this age difference. The kids play together really well, really are best friends, and have done so since the youngest was 12-18 mo. Only one kid in diapers at a time, oldest was old enough to be gentle with a baby, etc. close enough they have many similar interests.
Anon says
It’s hard to give good advice without knowing where in “advanced maternal age” you fall (35? 41? different advice), as well as what you mean by “not ready” to have another yet.
My general advice is, unless there are compelling reasons not to, wait a year between pregnancies. This aligns with medical advice and the experience of a LOT of women I know – you start feeling markedly better around the one-year mark. Unless you’re on the high end of AMA, the extra few months likely won’t make a difference between having two kids and three. Arguably, it might even help you have three, because healing properly between pregnancies will make it easier to have three.
Mm says
How’s everyone doing? Daycare is closed due to quarantine and LO and I have covid. I may have actually reached a breaking point. I feel so lonely in this, even knowing so many parents are going through it (or worse).
Anon says
Sorry to hear that, hope everyone recovers quickly. We haven’t yet gotten Covid but we’ve had only seven full days of daycare since Thanksgiving. Omicron hasn’t yet begun to peak in my state, so I’m expecting basically no childcare until late February. I think I will have quit or been fired by then and it’s also really hard on my extroverted 4 year old who is suffering a lot with no one to play with.
GCA says
wrt today’s featured product, the only thing that’s blurred in my life is a sense of time.
we’re on a third preschool quarantine in five weeks! for the entire month of december, kid 2 was in daycare for six days! this is 2020 again, just with an added layer of unpredictability! if i sound deranged it’s because i am.
Cb says
Oh I am so sorry. We are doing ok here, but I’m not travelling until the end of the month and I think things will go pear shape when I’m gone half the week. Either I get covid and get stuck, or they get covid here. We’ve been doing some more social things to stave off the January blues – I went for a midday walk with a friend, we went to the beach with some pals, a post nursery playdate tomorrow. I feel like Omicron is inevitable (1/20 people have it in my country) so while I am not dining indoors or going to yoga class, we aren’t not going to fully lockdown again? We will see a small number of people, largely outdoors, and test regularly.
My mother in laws both have it and are really unwell. And I’m totally overwhelmed with work, the end of one teaching term and the start of a new one…
Anon says
I’m sorry to hear that! Me and my daughter (1) had covid last week as well. I was asymptomatic and my daughter got had diarrhea/vomitting symptoms. It was gross but she/we got through it. We can’t return to daycare until sometime next week – whenever we got PCR test results back. Our appointments are this weekend, the earliest I could get them scheduled last week. Also have a 4 yr old who is home and healthy and bouncing off the walls.
I’m in a slow period right now so I’m basically just managing emails and attending some meetings. Definitely not putting in anywhere close to 40 hours.
EDAnon says
You’re allowed to be unhappy even if others have it worse! It is so hard. My kids are back after exposure/closure but I am waiting for it to happen again.
All of our kid KN94 masks haven’t arrived yet. Little one is too young to be vaxxed.
Anonymous says
I’m sorry. Hope everyone recovers quickly. The past two years have been so incredibly isolating, agree. When my child had COVID before vaccines were widely available, the most lovely thing that anyone did for us was my vaccinated, HCW SIL offered to help us with the kids. We did not end up taking her up on it, but just knowing she was available and willing and we had that human connection in case my spouse and I got really sick…
Anon says
Thought this community would appreciate this. https://twitter.com/jenniheissel/status/1482015945480544256
????? over here.
anonamama says
Hahahahaha. Same. We should play this on Fridays!
Boston Legal Eagle says
We totally should! 0 days so far this week but it’s a holiday today for both school and daycare. A different class at the daycare is shut this week so we’ll see how the rest of the week goes…
EDAnon says
Two weeks ago: ?????
Last week: ?????
The only thing bringing me joy right now is that I am really good at Wordle (and my kids do have care today!).
Anon says
I like Wordle too! I saw someone say it’s the banana bread of Omicron and it’s so true.
Anon4this says
Daily COVID WWYD. My sister-in-law was in town for the weekend (came here Saturday, stayed with us), tested positive on a Binax on Sunday (extremely faint line, but we are counting this as a positive) and negative on PCR on Friday. Has a sore throat since Friday. Kids saw her all weekend. One kids is vaccinated, the other one is not (under 5). No kids have symptoms. Sister in law is isolating in the house now in one room (delayed her flight back) since Sunday. How long do I keep both from school? Would it be a terrible idea to test to go to school daily with Binax (or even schedule PCR) after ~3+ days of exposure, at least for my vaccinated child? What if one of us or her husband who is here too tests positive? DO I kick them out to an apartment to avoid quarantine (we are in a place where we can easily throw $$ at the problem but they are not so it may be awkward to offer to pay?).
Also any ideas on how to survive with this many people, other than noon martinis??? SO much cooking and cleaning and childcare and both my spouse and I have very intense jobs.
Anon says
I can’t speak to the other questions but I would 1,000% throw money at the problem and pay/kick her and her husband into an apartment for their quarantine. For everyone’s sake. I had Covid a couple of weeks ago with my daughter and trying to stay confined to 1 room was deeply miserable. I bet she’d much prefer a nice apartment with a kitchen so she can be more self sufficient. Plus then you don’t have to worry about exposures and the extra chores of 10 day houseguests.
anon says
+1 on sending the guests to another home at my expense and providing for grocery delivery for them.
If kid who is vaccinated is in a class with children who are also all 5 and up and school policies/local health guidance allowed, I’d continue sending the child to school, but do a daily home test before school each day.
I’d keep child under 5 home for however many days is required since the last exposure (the local health department requires this for this age group where I am, but, even if they didn’t, I wouldn’t send an unvaccinated, exposed kid to be with a bunch of other unvaccinated children).
I’d also turn on air purifiers and open windows as much as possible to reduce the chances of more spread in case you/spouse/kids were infected.
Survival: do you have anyone who can engage the children via FaceTime? Can you get food delivered?
EDAnon says
I would kick them out (offer to pay!). It will be nicer for them and you.
I would not send my kids to care until the PCR results come back negative (or not). But I am all for test to stay, too. I would follow your school policies, though.
Anon4this says
If we do a PCR, when would be a good time to do it? Technically they were last exposed Sunday and started on Saturday, but still in the same house (it’s a large house). They say 3-5 days post-exposure from Omicron but not sure how it all plays out when you were exposed over two days and still have the sick house guest at home but isolating.
EDAnon says
I would do it Thursday/Friday since the exposure day was Sunday. I know that doesn’t help with the school week.
Anonymous says
Oh my goodness, that sounds like a lot. I would pay for your SIL and her spouse to quarantine and recover somewhere else. Get them grocery and meal delivery.
As for the quarantine, does your school have a policy? For my unvaxxed kids (under 5), that would be a 10 day quarantine from day of last contact with the positive person (or when the positive person’s isolation period ended, if constantly together).
Anon says
My daughter’s school policy is that if she doesn’t develop symptoms, then she can go…. but I also don’t want to blindly follow a policy if it’s going to get a bunch of people sick.
anon4this says
And my son’s daycare requires a negative test to come back after exposure. Initially they said PCR but now they are saying Binax is ok (I am happy to do both). But I am trying to figure out when would be the time to get him tested, given that it’s multiple days of exposure and the sick house guest is isolating now but still in the same house. I am all for following the policy but also want to make sure I actually think about it too and don’t test too soon.
Anon says
I think you have to follow your school’s policies. Ours doesn’t allow kids to come to school when a household member is positive. But yes, kick them out to an apartment and offer to pay.
No Face says
My kid’s school district explicitly allows fully vaccinated students to attend school when a household member is positive, unless the kid has symptoms. I would absolutely keep sending my vaccinated kid to school. I don’t know my daycare requires, but I would do whatever they allowed as far as sending my kid!
Getting an airbnb sounds like a good idea too.
Party Animal says
Anyone here who experienced precipitous labor (under 3 hours)? If so, what were any subsequent births like? I had precipitous labor with #1 (about 2 hours of labor total) and am due with #2 in 10 weeks. I see my OB on Thursday and am considering asking for an induction, but would love some anecdata about others’ experiences.
EDAnon says
I am going to be honest, which may not be comforting. I was induced both times, as a note. Once labor started, I had my first in 45 minutes. My second was born is about 7 minutes. The second labor was intense (and unintentionally unmedicated due to to the speed).
Party Animal says
Thank you for your honesty- this really helps (and is kind of what I’m expecting). My first was also unintentionally unmedicated due to speed. Do you mind if I ask- Was your first medicated? With your second, I assume they started the induction before you were able to get any pain meds? Can I ask what method of induction they used?
EDAnon says
My first was medicated (just in time!). Both inductions started without it medicine (I was 0 cm). The second time, I asked for it as soon as I was 4cm (but not truly in labor) and there was a staffing issue/emergency and they didn’t get there to do it until labor started (which was maybe an hour later).
The first time was just miso. The second time they skipped the miso and it was just pitocin because they thought they could control that better (turn it down if it got too intense). And they did turn it down but it was too late.
Anon says
You had an induction as a first time mom that took 45 minutes?! Mine took 11 hours and all the nurses kept saying how fast that was for a first time mom and they couldn’t believe I was progressing so fast.
EDAnon says
That was labor – it took longer to get my labor started. About 8 hours. I have some kind of weird body that labor doesn’t start then it starts crazy fast.
Anonymous says
I did not but my friend did. For the second she went to the hospital after her first contraction, hospital was 15 mins away, and she had the baby in arms within 20 mins there. The doctors/nurses were ready to go knowing she had precipitous labor.
AwayEmily says
I did not but one of my best friends did…her water broke at 32 weeks with her first, she was hospitalized for a week to get the baby ready, and when labor did start, it was only two hours. With her second, she had her first contraction at 7:30pm and had the baby at 9pm (at 36 weeks). Both kiddos are totally fine. She did not have time for an epidural for either birth.
Anon says
So I had precipitous labour with my second. Honestly, this is something that makes me very nervous for to have a third. I was not induced for either. First birth took about eight hours and while it wasn’t fun, it was fine (medication free, minimal tearing). Second birth was so much worse. The intensity and the pain were just ratcheted right up. I’d definitely discuss with your doctor, because birth can be so much better! Also, I’m also worried about, like, making it to the hospital/giving birth in a parking lot…
Party Animal says
Thanks for this. I had the same hesitation about having another before we decided to go for #2. Definitely feeling nervous now. It’s validating to hear someone else express the same concerns though. It drives me crazy when people make the “you’re so lucky” comments- like….not really. IYKYK I guess!
Mondays says
I also had a precipitous 1st labor but am not sure how induction would work with my 2nd. The baby could still come before 39 weeks- as the first did- and I thought the standard guidance now is not to induce before 39 weeks.
Boston Legal Eagle says
My 3 year old could play with Play Doh for hours. But man is it messy! I’m always finding little bits in the rug or dried up everywhere. And my kids like to mix colors so we only give them one or two playdohs at a time. Do any kids out there actually keep the colors intact like they show on the picture?!
And that’s my Play Doh rant of the day.
Anon says
Yes, I have a kid with what I suspect are OCD tendencies who will never mix Play Doh colors. I wish she would!
Anonymous says
I vividly recall in preschool nearly 40 years ago, all of us trying to mix all the colors together as quickly as possible to make this dark purple color!
Anon says
My child uses playdoh like modeling clay and loves for her creations to dry, so yes it is a constant battle. If she must play on the floor (as opposed to at her play kitchen or at the desk where I try to steer her) then she plays on top of one of the silicone cookie sheet liners (and when she was younger, actually in a rimmed baking sheet with the liner). That helps a lot with containing the mess, but doesn’t solve the color mixing. After one particularly tearful day, we spend a lot of time talking each time about how if you mix them, you can’t unmix them though, and that tempers her enthusiasm for mixing.
AwayEmily says
We only allow Play Doh in the basement (not a finished basement, a creepy spider-filled cement basement where we set up a kids table we found on the side of the street. It’s where Play Doh/kinetic sand/anything with glitter/paint gets done).
I can’t stand play-doh. the color mixing thing, the leaving the tops off thing, the weird feeling it makes on your hands…shudder. I do like kinetic sand tho.
Anon says
We play it a lot at the big kitchen table. I usually let crumbs dry on floor then sweep. If mixing bothers you, try the similar paint trick- only give them a few tubs of complementary colors at a time (like green, blue, white). But otherwise I let it go and figure when they care they’ll find a way not to mix. Until then it’s allowing them to be creative and learn about making new colors.
Anonymous says
We do homemade play dough – it lasts 10x longer and feels better on your hands. I only do one color at a time. My kids don’t care. We do it at the table (wood floors) and wait for it to dry to sweep up. We also do play dough and kinetic sand a LOT outside whenever temperatures are tolerable without gloves. They love doing it at their kid sized picnic table.
Clementine says
Very minor complaint in the grand scheme of things, but my kids won’t eat casseroles or crock pot meals or anything that seems to be a ‘oh! I can make this whole meal ahead’ scenario.
They eat veggies and adore foods like hummus… but I’m really frustrated that the meals like ‘kid friendly chicken ranch crockpot meal!’ get a big old ‘NOPE’. My mom is kind of being a jerk about it… which is particularly annoying considering she catered to my picky eating dad and sister for YEARS. I wasn’t allowed to cook eggs because my sister complained about the smell. And what’s really funny is… my mom does the same things and NOPEs right out of crock pot meals. She is the queen of complaining that it’s mushy.
Bless my husband, his mom is a total 1950’s cook, so shredded something with cream of something with carb is his jam.
Today’s rant comes from a failed attempt at making my life easier. Commiseration?
Anon says
My child (4.5) eats nothing other than yogurt, waffles, pancakes, peanut butter, bread, marshmallows, chocolate, certain crackers (but not goldfish), chicken nuggets (specific ones, of course), McDonald’s french fries (not other french fries), apples, apple sauce, lime popsicles, ground beef (cooked with garlic, ginger and soy sauce only, but don’t let her see the soy sauce, because she doesn’t know she likes it) and rice (but not rice by itself) and sometimes grapes. As of this week bananas are acceptable for the first time in 2 years, but only if she “eats them like a monkey” (meaning out of the peel like Curious George).
We are pushing a you have to try one new thing a day (really like every 3 days) and she has spit out a tiny piece of the following each and every time: sweet potato fries, clementines, cheese quesadilla, pizza, non-preferred brand chicken nuggets, plain spaghetti, fish sticks, pork chop, mexican rice, taco meat, cheese, bbq meatballs, and homemade turkey noodle soup. It’s like kid, I know you can’t possibly dislike all of those things and it’s just in your head or a power struggle, but I repeat over and over again that food is not a battle.
IT IS A STRUGGLE.
Anon says
My 4 year old eats similar of maybe even less than yours. Pizza, mac and cheese, bagels with cream cheese, French fries, oatmeal, canned chicken mixed with mayo (but only on a bagel), strawberries, grapes, apples and applesauce, sometimes blueberries or peaches. She dies not touch veggies or meat other than the canned chicken.
Clementine says
Ugh, total TOTAL commiseration. My line is ‘you don’t need to like it, you just need to try it and not make faces or sounds.’
My kids are really only picky when it comes to sauces/things mixed together. I keep waiting for it to get better…
Anon says
I am like your kids. I “got better” around age 30.
CCLA says
Thank you for making me feel not alone! 5yo here and the list is similar, maybe a little shorter – here is is a specific kind of chicken with certain spices that DH makes 1-2x a week. Chicken nuggets? Forget about it. Pizza? No way. Mostly healthy food but good grief the list is short. It actually got shorter so we started OT for it a couple of months ago. Jury is out…
Anonymous says
My kids don’t like “crockpot dump” meals either. It kills me. Something about all the foods being mixed together. Things we do have success with in the crockpot is pulled BBQ Chicken or BBQ pork, chicken noodle soup (roast a chicken Sunday, use leftovers for soup Monday), or a beef stew. We eat a lot of soups.
Clementine says
Yeah, the ‘mixed together’ thing is also their hangup. You know, they will eat pulled chicken from the crock pot, with Hawaiian rolls and coleslaw even. Stew is a nope, but chicken noodle soup works, especially with grilled cheese on the side.
We eat a lot of sheet pan meals, a lot of tacos for the kids/taco salads for the adults, a lot of dishes where I cook all the components separately so the kids can eat all the pieces not mixed together. Fine, but not as easy as just… grabbing a bag out of the freezer, dumping it in the crock pot in the morning and dinner is done when I get home.
I’m on Pinterest and keep seeing all these ‘kid friendly make ahead meals’ and it kills me that my kids will eat none of them.
AwayEmily says
The anti-mixing thing drives me nuts. The kids like pasta, peas, chicken, and cheese. But mixing together pasta, peas, and chicken with a cheese sauce? HORROR OF HORRORS.
Clementine says
Is there a kid memo about this? I did hear once (Milk Street Radio, I think) that it’s actually evolutionary – kids who only ate things they knew were ‘safe’ also weren’t eating random poison berries in the woods. So I tell myself that they’re just highly evolved.
(No, that doesn’t make it better)
Cb says
Oh yeah, my kid won’t eat those either, but too be fair, I think they are mushy and gross. He will eat lentil soup, with carrots, tomatoes, and celery.
Clementine says
Lentil soup does sound good…
Anonymous says
Yeah, my older child doesn’t really eat anything saucy. Whenever I do things like google “kid friendly easy meal” our of desperation, there is basically nothing she will eat. We do a lot of make your own rice/noodle bowl, but I find that’s a lot of prep that isn’t necessarily stuff you can do ahead of time. If I make lasagna, I just leave some of the noodles plain and she can have noodles + plain cheese + steamed or raw veggie. So definitely commiseration.
Clementine says
Yep. I do the same. And just like AwayEmily, these monsters will eat the cheese, the broccoli, the chicken, and the pasta. Separately presented and not touching.
Some days it feels like anything that would make my life easier, they reject.
Cb says
Do you ever find it exhausting to exist in the world as a woman / parent? Just got mom shamed by 3 women, who based on their location were likely moms themselves, for daring to cycle my kid from nursery, lit up like a Christmas tree, cycling sedately
on a shared use path. Because I was endangering my child and “might hit a dog”. Like I like how on the transport hierarchy, my child and I are definitely below dogs…I love dogs, I don’t want to run over dogs, help me do that by using glow collars and leads if your dog is likely to jump at me.
Clementine says
That’s truly bananas. Some people are just weird.
Also, WHAT? Is this a real concern? That a woman probably cycling at a very leisurely pace is going to hit a dog? Bless them that they don’t have actual things to worry about.
Cb says
Right? The 4 year old in the bike seat serves as a natural limiter to my (not very fast) speed and I’m a super considerate cyclist. Like maybe people should keep dogs on a lead if they aren’t sufficiently trained to come to heel when told?
Anon says
Oh man, they sound like people that rarely are out doing things like riding a bike. What a weird thing to say!
Cb says
It was a very clear New Year’s resolution thing – they were walking three abreast, yacking away so I had to ding my bell multiple times and call ahead, wearing matching tops with no lights or reflectors…Like good on them for getting exercise but that doesn’t mean you own the trail.
GCA says
Goodness, some people have forgotten how to exist in the world! It’s been a long few years…
Anon says
They knew they were in the wrong and were looking for a way to blame you. I was once running in an area with a very clear instruction that all animals must be leashed. When a “gentle” unleashed dog lunged at me and I jumped away, one owner started making fun of me for being in the walking part of my run/walk and the other told me I needed meds. No, you need to stop making it other people’s fault that you can’t follow basic manners on the trail. Which, in my old age, is what I tell people.