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Commenters were singing the praises of this lovely faux wrap blouse a few weeks ago. Not only is it “hand wash cold,” but it’s nursing and pumping friendly. It’s normally $68, but select colors (including the pictured) are available at Nordstrom for as low as $29. Pleione Faux Wrap Blouse
Sales of note for 11.30.23…
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Limited-Time Sale of 11,000+ items; up to 25% off select women’s coats & jackets (ends 12/6); Nike up to 25% off (ends 12/2); markdowns include big deals on UGG, Natori, Marc Fisher LTD, Vionic and more!
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off sale styles
- Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase, including cashmere; up to 60% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 25% off $125+
- J.Crew – 50% off women’s styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – Up to 70% off everything; free shipping (readers love the cashmere)
- Summersalt – 30% off everything; up to 60% off select styles (this reader-favorite sweater blazer is down to $75)
- Talbots – 30% off entire purchase, including all markdowns — readers love this cashmere boatneck and this cashmere cardigan, as well as their sweater blazers in general
- Zappos – 35,000+ women’s sale items! Check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kid shoe brands on sale.
Kid/Family Sales
- BabyJogger – 25% off 3 items
- Crate & Kids – Toy & gift event: up to 50% off everything; save 10% off full price items
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 50% off everything; extra 30% off sale styles
- Ergobaby – 40% off Omni Breeze Carrier, 25% off Evolve 3-in-1 bouncer, $100 off Metro+ Strollers
- Graco – Up to 30% off car seats
- Strolleria – 25% off Wonderfold wagons, and additional deals on dadada, Cybex, and Peg Perego
- Walmart – Savings on Maxi-Cosi car seats, adventure wagons, rocker recliners, security cameras and more!
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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?
Lyssa says
Does anyone know if there’s a product out there, a pillow or something, to help a toddler sleep in a car seat? My 2-year old’s seat sits him so upright that there’s no real way for him to let his head relax, other than to slump it straight down and sort of hang by the straps. It doesn’t look comfortable at all, and he keeps waking himself up to jerk it up. I’m thinking that there could be a pillow of some sort that might help prop it up in some way (I’m sort of envisioning a backwards and much smaller version of those U-shaped neck pillows people bring on airplanes, but I’m not sure that that would work). I’m hesitant to use anything that’s not designed for this, because I get nervous about breathing issues, and google was no help.
FVNC says
What about something like this? I’ve never used this, but I’ve seen similar products in stores (like Home Goods, Buy Buy Baby, etc.).
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/boppy-infant-and-toddler-head-support-in-pink/1041100011?mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_bedding_&adpos=1o2&creative=39230271949&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiAlvilBRC5ueCzkpXb4kgSJADxop1BakGx3zV1zoGxD4XJHWXrQFyC2WIuCpsli9KSwzPrWhoCxdXw_wcB
FVNC says
Whoops, that was for Lyssa above, of course.
MomAnon says
Why is “hand wash cold” good? I probably would only follow 1 word in those instructions, and it wouldn’t be hand or cold.
Carrie M says
Ha! Yeah, I read “hand wash cold” as I can put this in the delicate cycle when I wash my delicates a couple times a month.
JJ says
I have a lot of Pleione blouses and I can guarantee that they have never been hand washed. They have been run through the washing machine with all my other clothes in cold water, though, to no ill effects (so far).
sfg says
+1
A Pox on My House says
Looking for help/commiseration/ideally, a magic fix – our family has been hit so hard by illness this fall/winter. 9 month old in daycare. Since Thanksgiving, he has had 3 colds, pinkeye, and 3 stomach bugs (one resulting in two trips to the ER and being admitted once for IV fluids). My husband has gotten everything the baby has had and has lost 15 pounds since Thanksgiving from being ill so many times. I have fared better (I think I get some protection from nursing) but caught the stomach bug over the weekend. I know that daycare babies get sick more and that this will get better as he gets older but . . . just . . . this is so sh*tty. We are fanatics about washing hands and wiping down counters. We could do better with eating healthfully, but takeout/pizza is often on the dinner menu unfortunately. One thing I can say is that I am more grateful now than I ever have been for access to medical care and for our health in general. Are we doomed to get sick every two weeks until spring???
mascot says
It gets better. Our pediatrician told us to count on getting sick at least half a dozen times that first year of daycare. And right now you are in the thick of cold and flu season. Even if you can’t eat 100%healthy, try to stay well-hydrated (probably a habit for a nursing mother, but maybe not your husband) and get as much rest as possible.
JJ says
I literally posted this same question on the regular C-r*tte board two years ago. Short answer: it gets better. Unfortunately, you do just have to weather through it and this year the cold/flu season has been horrible. Even though both my daycare kids are relatively hardy now, we were flattened by stomach bugs and the flu (even though we all got the shot) the first half of December.
My oldest is 3 now and has been in daycare since he was 15 months old. The first year was rough – more ear infections and colds than I can count. But he rarely gets sick now. Going through all the colds/viruses is a price you’re going to pay now in daycare or when your son starts preschool, unfortunately.
When you’re in the thick of it, try your best to eat healthy, but don’t feel any guilt about takeout or frozen pizza. Having sick kids, sick parents, and two working parents means that you just need to focus on survival for the time being.
RR says
It gets better. Just hang in there. My 6 year olds essentially never get sick. I literally cannot remember the last time either had a sick day–maybe one last school year in the fall of 2013? And this is after my daughter had so many ear infections that she had tubes by 18 months. My husband and I only catch something from them maybe once a year–usually a mild cold. We are experiencing the suffering again now with our youngest, who is 16 months and seems to have a cold a month and pass most of them on to one or the other of us, but the light at the end of the tunnel is shining brightly. It may suck until spring, but then it will be exponentially better from that point forward (and it probably won’t suck as bad clear through to spring–this is a really bad time for illness).
EB0220 says
My older daughter was sick constantly from 6-14 months. This is prime time for chewing on things, so the daycare just can’t keep up with all of the cleaning. And about 6 months is when the immunity from mama wears off (although they still get antibodies from breastmilk). Unfortunately, you just have to survive. I remember one particularly terrible month (I think my daughter was 11 months) where I took something like 10 sick days in the month because we both kept getting sick. The good news is that she has been very healthy since she got ear tubes at 14 months. She’s now almost 3 and I think she’s had a few colds and a couple of 24 hr stomach bugs since then.
CPA Lady says
It is unbelievably wretched. My 4 month old has been in daycare for a month, one week of which she was home for holidays, and she’s had to leave daycare three times to go to the doctor. And of course if she runs a fever of over 100, she cant go back the next day either. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she gets sick this frequently during tax season.
The pediatrician told me that the first cold and flu season in daycare, a child will likely get something new every 7-10 days, but for the next year it will be half as often, and the next year half as often again. Allegedly by the time a kid gets to kindergarten they have very strong immune systems. He also pointed out that if you pull your kid out of daycare because the first year is so hard, your kid’s immune system development will pause, and she’ll just get sick that often again once they are in school. And I’d frankly rather have a sick baby, than have a kid who has to miss a ton of school because she’s always sick. So it’s not a matter of IF your kid will get sick, it’s WHEN. I don’t know if I explained that as well as he did, but it made me at least feel better knowing that having a constantly sick kid is temporary.
Carrie M says
Commiseration here. Our house has been sick this entire month. I was home 2 days last week with our 10.5 month old because she was sent home from daycare with “fevers” and, of course, my husband was traveling for work. And I just got over strep throat myself.
Not sure how effective this will be, but yesterday I wiped my entire house down with Clorox – every light switch, door knob, faucet handle, table, chairs, toys, drawers, cabinets, crib slats, high chair, car seats, phones, remotes — everything we touch that couldn’t go in the washing machine or dishwasher. I’ve started washing our pillow cases, sheets, and crib sheets more often (twice a week instead of once). I’ve been putting her bottle nipples and sippy cups in the dishwasher every night (usually I just hand wash), and just changed out our toothbrushes.
Even if this doesn’t help any of us get healthy, it felt good to do it and made me feel like I was getting rid of germs!
Anonyc says
Just wanted to second the sentiment that it gets better, but also that it totally sucks. I’ve had three kids sick nearly constantly since Thanksgiving, which according to the other parents I kibbetz with at drop off for school/daycare/preschool is normal for this particular winter. Basically just wanted to add that I think this year’s crop of illnesses is especially tough.
My older two kids, who have been through years of daycare and preschool (apart from this year’s Sickmageddon), are normally are extremely healthy. Someone says of kids that you either pay early (daycare) or late (kindergarten), but you’ll pay someday.
Good luck!
ANP says
So — this is a bit unconventional, but we also suffered SO. MANY. ILLNESSES. from daycare bugs (plus I work in a school, so the combination was brutal!). And then we started taking my youngest to see a chiropractor for his chronic ear infections as a last-ditch effort to avoid having tubes inserted in his ears and…voila! We have not had a major bout of illness in our house (1 round of pneumonia, but very, very mild) in over a year — coincidentally, beginning with the time we all started going in for regular adjustments.
YMMV, and it’s important to find a good chiropractor. But I’m now an evangelist for this kind of stuff! It is supposed to help with overall health so there you go. Anecdotally, I’m having a much better pregnancy too this time around (with my 3rd) and I attribute a lot of it to my chiro as well.
FVNC says
One of my coworkers also swears by this. His three kids have not had a single ear infection since they started seeing their chiropractor, although I don’t know about their overall health. I haven’t tried it myself yet; thankfully kiddo has had only a couple ear infections over the past year.
anonmama says
Seconded, heartily and with exclamation points!!!! Can’t say enough good things about how chiropractic helps our family’s health.
anne-on says
Commiseration. Our pediatrician told us that even healthy kids catch 1-2 colds a month this time of year, and toddlers in daycare seem to get every last thing. My son was sick so much his first two years it is a minor miracle I’m still employed! Our tips in addition to wiping/cloroxing/handwashing – humidifer for their room, nasal saline spray and/or nosefrida to help get the gunk out, elevate their bed with towels/blankets to help baby breathe, and just cut yourself a lot of slack. We had ear tubes and a tonsillectomy, both helped a lot, but obviously avoiding surgery is preferable!
JJ says
Echoing that my oldest has had a tonsillectomy and ear tubes and those made the biggest difference. And also, the humidifier helps SO MUCH keeping nasal gunk from turning into ear infections. I also use California Baby Eucalyptus Ease bubble bath and essential oils with my kids. It smells great and the eucalyptus really clears out my sinuses, so I’m hoping it does the same with them.
Meg Murry says
This has been a terrible year for colds and flu. I got hit really hard, as did my 7 year old who is normally super healthy (after a terrible first year in daycare with near-constant croup), and my 2 year old’s nose has not stopped running all winter.
Tips that have worked for us:
1)Give the baby your most recently pumped milk when you can, instead of freezing the most recent and giving him the months old stuff from your freezer. That way, if you have any resistance to what is going around if you caught it, you are giving those antibodies to him. At the recommendation of my LC, we sent the previous day’s pumped milk to daycare each day, then froze what I brought home on Fridays and only used older frozen milk on Mondays to rotate the freezer stock.
2) Breastmilk for everyone! My fellow bf moms swre by it as an all purpose curative, putting drops of it in the ears and eyes of older kids with ear infections and pinkeye, and if nothing else, it certainly can’t hurt. I never convinced my husband to drink it (I suggested he put an oz in his coffee or cereal), but I gave it to my older son in a medicine cup with chocolate milk powder. It can’t hurt, and it might help.
3) As soon as you or H feel a little sick, GO TO BED. Don’t power through it at work – you’ll just drag out the semi-sick blech feeling for a long time, and probably wind up needing to take a sick day anyway. I’ve found that taking one sick day and sleeping all day as soon as I feel a fever coming on means that I will only be out for 1-2 days – my coworkers that keep dragging themselves to work are working at 1/2 speed and then still wind up taking 1-2 days later when they just can’t shake the flu and are exhausted.
4) Talk to your ped about flu mist for next year. Mine recommended flu mist over a flu shot for my 2 year old, and although he’s had a runny nose, he never got the full on flu this year, unlike the rest of our family. The CDC says flu mist is more effective than the shot in 2-8 year olds.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/faq/index.htm
But on a positive note – it should get better next year. And the next. And this winter is more than half over, right?
Carrie M says
To piggy-back off of this discussion: any suggestions for when a baby (10.5 mo) coughs so hard she throws up? Just feed her less? Yesterday, she threw up a good amount (nearly an ounce I would guess) probably 1.5 hours after having drank a 5-ounce bottle. She hasn’t been that hungry while sick, so I hate to scale back feeding her when she’s already eating so much less than she normally would.
PEN says
We have had the coughing to vomiting too. Ped said it is no big deal. I always offer my 9 mo water afterwards–just to try to replace the lost fluids and because he likes it. Otherwise, I let him nurse how much and when he wants to (when I am home with him) and am trying to ride it out.
Lorelai Gilmore says
My daughter did this all the time. My suggestions are to treat the cough, not the vomit – the vomit is just a result of coughing. Don’t feed her less – that won’t fix the problem. Once my daughter was older, we tried to 1) help her sleep propped up on pillows, or 2) help her sleep on her stomach, both of which prevent the post-nasal drip that triggers the cough/vomit reaction. When your baby does cough, try offering water or other liquids (in a cup) to help quell the coughing and soothe her throat.
Lyssa says
I’ll echo the commiseration. We (including poor pregnant me) had it across the house in both November and December, (little guy was a champ for being sick on Christmas, though), even without day care. I think that there’s really just not much that can be done, but it does suck.
Burgher says
Yes, it definitely does get better. The first two winters through daycare were brutal. I’m probably asking for it by writing this, but my 2 1/2 year old has not been sick once this winter.
Anonymous says
Not sure if these are appropriate for your family but once I started using a Neti pot twice a day and taking cod liver oil I stopped catching stuff.
Jen says
On balance- I have a 15 month old. She started daycare at 11 weeks (Jan of last year). Had one NASTY cold from 13-16 weeks. Since then, she’s had 3 ear infections, a drippy nose for much of fall, and a few chest colds. That’s it. Her daycare is not particularly crazy on cleaning (as in, her health is not due to their hospital like cleanliness).
PregAnon says
Just wanted to thank everyone for their nausea advice! I saw my OB yesterday and she wrote me an Rx for Zofran. SO MUCH BETTER. For the acne, she said use benzoyl peroxide. I saw my dermatologist and he injected the bad ones on my face, which are almost gone today.
I’m also totally stocked up on ginger and peppermint tea, assorted hard candy, and fruit, which seems to help. I’m not 100% better, but I’m at least at work and functional, and I got to sleep last night. I’m actually not as far along as I thought, either. I thought about 7.5 weeks, and I’m actually 6 weeks 6 days today. But they found the yolk sac and the little embryo and saw a heart beat and everything. Crazy! I know it isn’t 100% yet, and things can still happen, but that sounds pretty good, right?
Philanthropy Girl says
Yay! Glad you’re feeling more functional.
Yes – seeing a heartbeat at that point, especially, is very good – it’s actually associated with decreased risk of miscarriage.
Isn’t amazing how fast all that comes together?
K. says
For acne during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, I originally got this sulfur medication made for pregnant women, but it was pretty expensive. For the last six months, I’ve made my own using Burt’s Bees belly butter and then 10% powdered sulfur and my skin is the clearest it has ever been–plus the sulfur really doesn’t smell. I had always used retinol A for acne, but it was a no-go during pregnancy.
LLC says
I like the idea of this top for pumping. It’s my first day back at work after maternity leave (sob!) and I feel so awkward running the loud pump in my office and washing all the parts in our shared kitchen. Hoping to get over my embarrassment soon!!
POSITA says
Don’t wash at work. Get a Tupperware and put all the pieces in the Tupperware in the refrigerator between pumping sessions. Just wash the Tupperware with the pump parts every night at home. Best trick ever.
POSITA says
Oh, and hold strong on your first day— it’s the toughest! It does get better.
JJ says
Absolutely. And buy multiple sets of pump parts so you’re not spending all your nights washing and drying them (because you’ll be busy enough with bottles).
Philanthropy Girl says
+1 to all of this.
Hang in there – it gets easier.
anne-on says
Ditto. And honestly I rinsed the parts at home and then just stuck them in the microwave sterilizer bags. It was faster and less fiddly when I was already dealing with washing bottles.
Katarina says
I put my parts in a ziplock bag in the fridge between pumping sessions. I had two sets of parts, and ran them through the dishwasher each night. I am sure I wasted a lot of water, but it was worth it to me. I did the same with bottles. I also got a mini-fridge for my office.
Msj says
I am generally over my embarrassment but it still is awkward explaining to a male client at a big bank I need access to a lactation room or bathroom before our meeting. It would be one thing if it were an all day thing but unfortunately I have lots of one hour back to back meetings and no time to go back to my office in between.
Msj says
On the subject of pumping, has anyone tried the Arden bra by dairy fairy or the simple wishes nursing /pumping bra combo? I currently use the simple wishes bustier but it adds some time to the setup routine by having to partially undress to get it on and off again once I’m done. I’d love to be able to just clip my flanges on my normal bra for hands free pumping but need it to be supportive enough to be work appropriate
Philanthropy Girl says
I don’t know how busty you are – but neither of those provided enough support and shape for me to wear under my work clothes and look appropriate. I have the Simple Wishes bustier and the Elomi nursing bra, but I was unsuccessful in finding anything to do double duty.
Msj says
Thanks for confirming my suspicions. Too good to be true!
In House Lobbyist says
I would just wear my regular nursing bras and then use front zip hands free bra over that. At least I didn’t have to take off the nursing bra that way.
JMDS says
Any advice for my sleep struggling almost 10 month old??
Before teething started, he was up 1 time a night for a quick diaper change, snuggle, and back to sleep. We had some rough nights with teething, and then he was getting back into a good routine of only being up 1-2 times a night, and then going back quickly with a quick snuggle and waking at 6:30.
Over the holidays, it was crazy. He would wake multiple times, we would hold him back to sleep and then he would immediately wake up when you put him down, and then he would be up for a 2-3 hour stretch just completely wide awake.
Now that he is back in his routine (nanny is back from vacation, and husband and I are both back to work) it is somewhat better, but he is still waking 3-4 times a night, it takes a while to get him back to sleep, and then he is waking up for good around 5:45, but still tired.
We don’t rock him to sleep, but do hold him until he nods off. We use white noise, blackout shades, and he sleeps in a zipadeezip (which he loves). He uses a pacifier, but previously didn’t mind if he lost it during the night. He also night weaned himself (from formula) around 5 months. Co-sleeping isn’t relaxing to him (it just makes him want to play) and my husband isn’t really a fan anyway. I don’t really want to let him cry, but I’m not sure what else to do — other than try and wait this phase out. He has pretty decent separation anxiety right now, and is drooling up a storm so I think his top two teeth are coming in, so I am hoping it is just a phase. Any advice, or commiseration?
Maddie Ross says
Hi, I think you’re me. We did all of that with our daughter too, only difference was she was in to co-sleeping in the morning with us. We finally bit the bullet and sleep trained. Best.thing.ever. She puts herself to sleep now – sometimes laying in bed for a few minutes first singing and talking to her stuffies – and mostly sleeps through the night. We sometimes get an early wake-up (like 4:30 or so), but no more true middle of hte night wakings. We did cry it out, and frankly for us, it worked after 2 nights. I would definitely read up on it first and have a conversation with your partner about your plan and tolerance levels, but it honestly was not so bad at all.
Maddie Ross says
Oh, I should mention we did not do extinction method (of which there are a couple). With our daughter, seeing us just made it worse. We put her down, told her we loved her and it was time to sleep, and then left till morning. We watched on a video monitor to make sure things were ok and we would have intervened if she tried to climb out of bed or something (she was still too little to do that safely), but otherwise, we let her be. It’s amazing how every little thing we do to calm them at night becomes a crutch for them, but how quickly they can break them if they have to.
PEN says
We just did the same thing this week with my 9 mo. Great sleeper previously, but since the holidays things have jut fallen apart. Did a strict CIO two nights ago. Closed the door at bedtime (7pm) with the plan not go to him until 6 am. He cried for an hour when we put him down and then again from 4 am-5 am. We woke him up at 8. Last night he cried for less than 5 mins and again had to wake him up at 8. It is hard, though I tolerate it much better than my husband. We read Weissbluth’s book beforehand.
JMDS says
Thanks ladies. After another rough night, I think I am going to finally cave and do CIO this weekend. I think my husband will tolerate it better than me (and hopefully our neighbors can deal also).
NewMomAnon says
JMDS: I suggest starting Thursday night, actually – it’s manageable to do one day of work on sub-par sleep. You’ll likely have a rocky night then Friday too – you can trade off naps on Saturday when you’ll be at your lowest energy. But usually by the third night, babies catch on so you can hopefully get a decent night’s sleep on Saturday and catch up with some naps on Sunday.
EB0220 says
This was a particularly tough time for sleep with my daughter. He isn’t showing any signs of an ear infection, right? Is he congested or anything? If he’s pretty healthy, you could try changing things up. Try giving him a bottle – maybe he’s having a growth spurt. Try putting him down without the zipadeezip – maybe he’s ready to move around more.
JMDS says
No, I don’t think it is medical. We were just at the doctor for his 9 month checkup, and everything was good. I think it could be a slight growth spurt, as he is hungry at 5am and then wants to go back to sleep, but that doesn’t explain the middle of the night waking (last night he was up from 11:30-12:30, then 3, then 5, and it took two tries to get him back to sleep until 7:30).
NewMomAnon says
Well, I don’t know if you followed my saga – I dealt with a kiddo who was waking constantly at night around 10-11 months old. I tried “gentle” sleep training, i.e., staying with her while she cried, and it did not help. I finally broke down and gave her a little pep talk one night, then closed the door and let her cry it out. It took us 2 nights, and she has been putting herself to sleep and sleeping 11+ hours straight every night for the last several weeks. It was like magic….I had no idea it would be so amazing. I had fought sleep-training, but now I realize that it’s just facilitating learning a really important skill that they can’t learn if you’re around. I would really suggest trying it for 3 days; if it doesn’t work, you’ll all be tired but it’s not long enough to damage your relationship. If it does work, you’ll be so much happier.
EB0220 says
Anyone have major motivation problems while breastfeeding/pumping? I love breastfeeding because it’s super convenient and I love having a built-in excuse for long cuddles with my kiddo. I just hate pumping. It’s not fun at all, but I keep doing it because I want to be able to keep nursing when I’m with her. Anyone have any good motivational ideas? Little treats at major milestones? Something?? Would love your thoughts! I am currently pumping three times a day. Twice would be more pleasant, but I’m struggling with my supply.
Anonymous says
I have no tips, but I’ve managed to keep pumping for a year now. One of the main motivations was that I do love breastfeeding and my daughter loves breastfeeding and I knew that if I stopped pumping my supply would dwindle and I probably would not be able to continue breastfeeding at night and on the weekends. I also didn’t want to deal with having to buy formula.
I guess to me, the nursing is the reward, but its hard and its a struggle every day. I bitch about it a lot!
Ciao, pues says
I had the same experience: loved nursing; loathed pumping (also 3x/day). I just stopped pumping at 12months and am SSSSOOOO happy! Still nursing my little one first and last of the day, but was very happy to buy that first jug of whole milk for her daytime bottles.
As for motivation, I have a few ideas:
(1) take a video of the baby (or have your partner/caregiver send one) and treat yourself to watching it during pumping sessions (also potentially good for supply to look at photos/vids while pumping). Seeing a new vid or pic during those times was fun.
(2) save time-wasting/ indulgent activities for pumping time (like reading this site).
(3) treat yo self. i promised myself one professional massage per month while pumping. It ended up being more like one every 3 months b/c my time was so limited, but it was great motivation, and helped with bad posture formed from hunching to nurse and slouching to pump. And to celebrate being done, i am buying myself a very pumping-unfriendly dress (no wrap front/ no pull up/pull down access).
Good luck!
hoola hoopa says
+1 for special time wasters / indulgencies during pumping times. Reading a real book for a block of uninterrupted time was a treat for me. A friend cut out all treats except for during pumping. She’d save her slice of cake from the retirement party for her pumping slot, for example.
Msj says
In the same boat!
anon says
Sooooo…. anyone else have itchy, flaky nipples during pregnancy? And if so, any tried and true remedies? I’m in my third tri and experiencing a bit of leakage here and there but there doesn’t seem to be any correlation.
hoola hoopa says
I’d apply lanolin, starting with once a day.
Vera says
Happened to me, too. You can try olive or coconut oil (but your bra may get a bit greasy, beware) or a nipple cream — lanolin is standard and also recommended for breastfeeding (along with the oils), or if you don’t want to use an animal product, something called Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Cream or Butter (what I used, I’m sure there are alternatives; sold at Whole Foods and on Amazon).
Merabella says
Yep! Me too! I’ve been putting aquafor on them. I might grab some lanolin at some point, but so far the ointment has been enough.