CorporetteMoms

Updated: Nov 1, 2018 65 Comments · by

Washable Wednesday: Heritage Military Jacket

Machine-Washable Work Clothes· Recent Recs

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A woman wearing a Heritage Military JacketIt’s always a bit of a challenge to find a nice-looking washable jacket, but I really like this one from Sanctuary — I think it would look great with jeans on the weekend or in a casual office for a very put-together casual look, or I could see wearing it with more conservative sheath dresses and trousers to make them more casual (especially if you’re doing the switch from a conservative to business casual office). It’s $149 at Zappos. Sanctuary Heritage Military Jacket (L-2)

Sales of note for 9.10.24

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

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!

Comments

  1. Butter says

    PSA: The Kiinde Breastfeeding Set is on Zulily today for $65 (everywhere else is $99+). I’ve read some mixed reviews about the system but think I’m going to give it a shot. Also it can be returned, unlike many items on Zulily.

  2. Future Mom says

    In early TTC stages as a would-be new mom. I feel this is an incredibly basic question but I just don’t know…

    My OB of many years with knowledge of extensive family history is at Hospital A , which to date I have still traveled to although it’s far from my house. Hospital B is much closer to home, great reputation, but OB does not affiliate with them. When baby comes, Hospital A is anywhere from 45 to 90 mins away, depending on traffic. What’s a girl to do? Do I use this time, pre-pregnancy, to find a new OB at Hospital B, maybe via OB referral? Any other options?

    • CHJ says

      I’d try to find someone affiliated with the hospital closer to your home. In addition to potentially driving to the hospital in labor, you’ll also have a long drive home on the way back, plus it is nice to be able to send your partner back and forth to your house to pick things up or feed the cat or whatever you need.

      Hospital B sounds like a great option. I’d ask around for recommendations for OBs affiliated with that hospital. Friends, online forums, and even your insurance company can be good resources for finding affiliated doctors.

    • NewMomAnon says

      If it makes you feel any better, a lot of practices have an “on call” system for labor so your OB might not be the one who attends to you during labor. I would try to find someone at Hospital B, or plan to give birth with the on-call doctor at Hospital B even though you go to your regular OB throughout your pregnancy.

      Also consider that you will be going to see your OB a lot during pregnancy – toward the end, I was going multiple times a week. If you have to drive 45 minutes to each appointment, that is a lot of time spent driving (and driving was not my strength at 39 weeks pregnant….).

    • Preemie Mom says

      I would go with the one closer to your house with a great reputation. Your current OB will understand and will probably be helpful in finding you a great new OB, and getting your records transferred. Most people don’t end up in my situation, but my baby had significant NICU time and it would have been much harder to have to travel 45 to 90 minutes, each way, every day, particularly after DH went back to work and I couldn’t drive on my own b/c of the C-section.

    • Tunnel says

      I would try to get recs for an OB with privileges at Hospital B for the reasons the previous posters have said – you will be going there a lot (weekly towards the end of your pregnancy), a shorter drive home from the hospital is a blessing so that you do not have to stress about planning your departure around feeding, etc. But, if you really want to stay at Hospital A, just know that most labors take longer than 90 minutes, so you will very likely not have your baby in the car. Every pregnancy and birth is different and YMMV, but typically you would be fine.

  3. Clementine says

    Hi everyone. This ended up being a semi-therapeutic novel for me, but I do talk about my experience with preterm birth. If that’s something that you’d rather not read about, please skip this.

    You all have been so encouraging and supportive, I just thought I’d give you a little update. After some time on hospital bed rest, adventures with magnesium sulfate and all kinds of stress and situations I never EVER EVER EVER thought I’d face (30 y.0./no chronic health conditions/no family history of preterm birth/ no risk factors for anything adverse in my pregnancy at all/ marathon runner and regular exerciser who genuinely enjoys eating giant organic salads and has a background in Public Health), baby Clem arrived.

    The wee babe decided to come well before his Christmas due date and has been hanging out in the NICU since he was born. All things considered, he’s doing pretty awesome; however, Momma has had some additional challenges.

    After a beautiful, amazing drug-free hospital birth with my wonderful husband and fabulous doula by my side and pushing this kiddo out in less than 5 minutes, I ended up needing a minor procedure which has ended up affecting my milk supply and leaving me with a fever, unable to go to the NICU. I actually went out of my way to preemptively seek out a counselor who has experience moreso with trauma than standard post-partum depression, because I am clearly able to identify that my stressors and things that are impacting me are absolutely real and rational and less like PPD than most women’s experiences.

    For now, I am spending upwards of 6+ hours a day hooked to a hospital grade breast pump and attempting to journal and work through everything that has gone on.

    • NewMomAnon says

      Hugs. Take care of yourself, momma. That sounds like a lot of scary stuff. I am mentally sending you oatmeal cookies and letting you know that any b*milk you provide is valuable, and formula is amazing stuff, so do what you need to do for your own health and/or sanity.

    • Katarina says

      Be kind to yourself, and try not to put too much pressure on yourself wrt milk production. It must be so hard not being able to visit baby Clem.

    • Preemie Mom says

      Huge hugs!!! Congrats on the birth of your LO; I’m so sorry you are unable to be with him and that you are going through so much yourself. If you have any preemie-related questions, I’m happy to serve as a resource – it’s a very scary and isolating time. Do what you need to do right now for yourself and LO; don’t worry about anyone else; and best wishes and best of luck to you – we’re all thinking of you here!

    • Butter says

      Wow, thank you so much for sharing. I hope that you’ll continue to share, and go into as much detail as you feel comfortable with. I’m glad to hear the wee one is doing well, and that it sounds like you are getting the care you need, especially in dealing with the trauma. If things advance to PTS or PTSD, I might give a few pointers that really worked for me after going through a traumatic incident.

      Fwiw, I had a friend go through something similar, except she and baby ended up in different hospitals for the first week after. Several years later, that experience is just a blip in a long line of happy memories.

    • EP-er says

      Oh, honey — I have been there, in almost the exact situation. Your experience is not my experience — that was one of the hardest things I felt I was dealing with: that no one knew what I was going through and know one could tell me how /my/ child would turn out. And we had some bumps along the way and nearly lost him several times. (But my experience isn’t your experience! You might not run into any serious complications!) I’m glad you are seeing a counselor — I wish that I done that sooner. I still get a little melancholy around their birthdays, but it gets better. Pumping every three or fours hours is exhausting, but I clung to that as one of the only things I had control over. I wish I had given myself permission to stop when it was too much and formula feed. Take care of yourself, too. And congratulations! You sure do have a story to tell the baby!

    • Msj says

      Congratulations on your baby. I’m sorry that you’re dealing with this and it’s great that you’ve already sought out help. I know how it can really throw you going from “normal” to everything going wrong. My first experience with that was infertility and then needing Ivf. But then I had a really solid pregnancy until 32 wks when I just accumulated all sorts of issues. I went full term but nearly died in childbirth. When you are blessed to be healthy and active and “do everything right” it’s hard to deal with things going wrong.
      friends who’ve been there and online communities are extremely helpful. In that vein, please do continue to share and I wish you the best in healing and milk making!

    • Clementine says

      Thanks, everyone.

      I’m trying not to stress too much about milk making- we are very lucky that he has access to donor milk through our NICU (side plug- I hope so much to be able to donate milk to give other babies this gift that has been given to me); however, as it is one of the few things I have any degree of control over even in the slightest, I’m pumping like a madwoman.

      I appreciate being able to just share honestly on here, because man- this sucks. And it’s totally true what you said EP-er- nobody *really* understands exactly what my spouse and I are going through. I will say though, sometimes just having other women remind me that sh!t happens is oddly reassuring to me, so thanks.

      • JJ says

        I’m a day late, so I hope you’re still reading this thread, but congrats on your baby and I’m wishing you all the best! Thank you for sharing your feelings here – I’ll be thinking of you and your baby.

    • Spirograph says

      Congratulations on the birth of your son! I hope he is well enough to come home to you soon, and that you are well enough to go see him even sooner. Meanwhile, continue to take good care of yourself. Internet hugs from me, too.

    • TBK says

      Oh I’m so sorry you’re going through this (and had to do the magnesium to boot!). Mine never went to the NICU but both my twin hospital mom friends had their kids in there and I know it was just a blurry, scary, hard hard hard time. If you feel like pumping isn’t working for you, though, please let yourself let it go. I cried for weeks over not being able to b-feed and now it’s like “oh yeah, that happened” — it was such a tiny part of my kids’ lives even though it seemed like THE most important thing at the time. I only regret not giving up on it sooner. (Of course, if it’s working for you then go for it.) It’s so amazing how safe childbirth is for women in developed countries nowadays, but it’s still a messy dangerous process and I think it can blindside us when it goes wrong (especially since people don’t always talk about it). Congratulations and hope you and the little guy are home safe very soon!

    • Chi Squared says

      Congratulations! I am sorry you can’t go see baby Clem yet, but at least know that she is getting great care. Can your husband visit her and take lots of pics and report back?

      I think breastfeeding is another situation where you have to play the cards you’re dealt. It sounded like you were really good at doing that in terms of your “birth plan” (lack thereof) – apply that attitude to nursing. You are of course doing the best you can, but you might be someone who just doesn’t have adequate supply, whether due to premature birth, the surgery meds, or simply nature. My milk never really came in after an emergency c-section, and I never developed adequate supply despite trying every supplement and trick in the book. It was one more thing I beat myself up about when my baby was in the NICU. I felt like my body totally failed her, and I never really got over that feeling until she came home. I will just repeat: formula is not evil, breastfeeding is not a moral imperative. If you have to supplement, or formula feed, the most important thing is that your baby is getting the nutrition and calories she needs to grow and gain and get out of that NICU!

      If you want reading material, I found the book “Preemies – Second Edition, the Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies” to be a very good resource. I would NOT read it cover to cover, but rather look things up on an ass-needed basis.

      Keep us posted!

  4. AnonAnxiety says

    I cannot keep my mind off the „bad“ things I did after conception & before testing positive. A medium-rare burger! Half a glass of rich wine one evening! Steam room twice! Every other evening, a bottle of non-alcohol beer (which may still contain up to 0.5% as I learned today)! One lunch, tuna loaded with mercury! Two cups of coffee one day!
    I have an appointment with my therapist tomorrow (funny enough, we originally scheduled our series of appointments to work through the challenges of being childless).
    Ready for a reality check – Please tell me I´m overreacting and everything will turn out just fine.

    • Anon S says

      My daughter is 7 mo and the picture of health. After conception and before testing, I got WASTED one night. During my pregnancy I actually drank a cup of coffee a day, sushi, lunch meat etc. (all approved by my OBGYN and I personally was comfortable with it) and she’s fine. :)

      • (was) due in june says

        My OB was also ok with a daily cup of coffee, a weekly tuna sandwich, and the occasional half glass of wine. I didn’t ask about lunchmeat or sushi, but she has been an OB for decades, including when such things weren’t banned, so I doubt she would have forbidden it.

        See Emily Oster’s Expecting Better.

      • Meg Murry says

        I got absolutely wasted 2 days before I realized “hmm, I don’t think I’ve had a period since before Memorial Day and now it’s the 4th of July, um, what?” and took a test expecting it to be negative, but it wasn’t! Not just a little drunk – an all day drinking extravaganza. And my husband and I had been regularly finishing a whole bottle of wine between us with dinner 3-4 nights a week for months, and often had on the days we didn’t have wine. From the time of my first prenatal checkup at about 6 weeks to one month later, I actually lost more than 5 pounds. When my doctor asked me why and should he be concerned about the weight loss, the only answer I could give was that I’d dropped the nightly alcohol and the associated post-drinking snacking in favor of going to bed at 7 pm. That was the easiest 5 lbs I’ve ever lost, and I’ve never managed to repeat it again.

        My son is perfectly healthy despite my less than ideal alcohol consumption. Lots of women have been in your shoes and not “followed the rules” and been fine. Plenty of woman have also followed every rule and still had things go wrong. Don’t beat yourself up, although I know it’s hard right now when you feel like “following the rules” is the only thing you can control in an out of control time.

    • Clementine says

      Girl, you’re doing awesome.

      And trust me when I say that even IF you had avoided all of those things, you STILL can’t guarantee that nothing will happen.

      Honestly, crack addicts have healthy babies all the time and perfectly healthy women have sh!t happen. Just the fact that you give a poop puts you in like the top 15% of conscientious pregnant ladies.

    • anon says

      Totally overreacting. As an anecdote, friend of mine went on a bachelorette party to Vegas and got trashed on booze, ate gobs of sushi, hung out at the spa, and drank lots of coffee for hangovers while what turned out to be three or four weeks pregnant. She had a great time. Her baby is fine.

      That early, the embryo is literally just a cluster of cells that multiplies, so even if your activities killed off a few cells, which is in and of itself unlikely, it really truly doesn’t matter because the cells that remain just keep doing their multiplying thing and still ends up with the number of cells it needs to move into the next developmental phase.

      I had a few half glasses of wine spaced out over my pregnancy. Baby is fine. My OB said a daily cup of coffee and a tuna sandwich once a week are totally fine.

      Remember that the French drink throughout, the Europeans drink coffee throughout, and the Japanese eat sushi throughout. Their babies are fine.

      Please buy Emily Oster’s Expecting Better. She really breaks down the science behind risks associated with alcohol, mercury, caffeine, etc. It’s the only book I recommend to friends. But good on you for getting on top of anxiety early. There are anti-anxiety medications safe to take while pregnant if that becomes necessary as well.

    • Maddie Ross says

      You are over-reacting. I voluntarily did all of those things AFTER I found I was pregnant (well, except the steam room, but I never had access to one).

    • Mary says

      I realized I was pregnant because I drank a ton of champagne, picked a fight with my husband, and wandered into a sketchy neighborhood to catch a cab. This was not normal behavior for me – yay new hormones!

      And I drank coffee all the way through pregnany and pretty sure you should still order that burger medium rare because well done, ew?

    • NewMomAnon says

      I had three glasses of wine one night after conception but before the positive test. It was a while ago, so I may not be remembering this correctly, but the placenta doesn’t form for a while and there is no exchange of maternal blood/nutrients to the baby for some period of time that I think corresponds with the positive test. So those things probably aren’t going to impact your pregnancy at all. (My kiddo is a healthy, sweet, and wild toddler now)

      Also, as a momma with anxiety – I read Emily Oster’s book, and found that I just couldn’t let myself follow it for my own pregnancy because I knew it would send my anxiety sky-high. If that’s your situation too, feel free to follow all the dietary restrictions you want. I had friends who ate raw fish and drank wine and ate lunch meat while pregnant; I heated my lunch meat, ate cooked sushi (tempura, shrimp), avoided alcohol, and took the pysch meds that I needed even though they carried a slight increased risk of some birth defects; I had a friend who avoided any produce that had ever had a food-borne illness recall, kept a salad spinner in her office so she could re-wash salads served at work, and avoided any cheese that didn’t have packaging just in case it was not pasteurized. All of those are valid choices.

    • rakma says

      I found Expecting Better by Emily Oster to be really great for realistic information on all of the ever increasing list of prohibitions. If you’re the type of person who is calmed by more information, this might be helpful to you.

      Also, in the days before a positive pregnancy test, the embryo is not sharing your blood supply–that doesn’t happen until the placenta is formed, weeks after implantation. So baby did not enjoy any of that burger, but I sure hope you did.

      You’re doing fine.

      • TBK says

        This. My OB friend told me when I was TTC that I didn’t have to change my behavior until after I tested positive because the baby wouldn’t be sharing my blood supply until then.

    • Lyssa says

      You’re totally overreacting. :)

      Other than the steam room, I did all of those things (in moderation) throughout two pregnancies, and had two very healthy youngsters.

    • MomAnon4This says

      You’re over-reacting.
      In the first chapter of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” – it is asked, “I did cocaine before I found out I was pregnant. Will it hurt my baby?”
      The answer: no.

      You’re FINE. The baby is FINE. It is SO LITTLE. You canNOT change the past– not now, not when the babe is born (see traumatic birth story above), at kindergarten, not at his/her wedding. It will be OK. It will be fine.

    • Mrs. Jones says

      Do not worry. I drank coffee daily, drank occasional wine, practiced hot yoga, ate lunch meat and unpasteurized cheese, and our son has been healthy and developing just fine (knock on wood).

    • Anonymous says

      I second (third?) “Expecting Better!” Most of this stuff is total bullsh!t (Rare burger can give you salmonella which, while not pleasant and needs to be treated in hospital for pregnant women, is not actually dangerous for you or baby. But somehow salmonella foods get lumped in with possible listeria threats which are actually dangerous). Also there is a period of time BEFORE the zygote begins growing a placenta where nothing you eat or drink CAN get to the baby.

      The one thing that might effect the baby on your list is the steam room — it can cause neural tube defects / spina bifida. BUT! There are very good screening tests. So since you know you may have elevated your risk slightly you can talk to your OB about getting very thorough screening.

      You should try working on your worry now though — you don’t want to be this freaked out for the next 18 years about your kid!

    • Anonymous says

      I had no idea I was pregnant so I went on an adventure vacation requiring two vaccines and malaria pills. I climbed a volcano, rode around in a jeep in bumpy roadless wilderness and ate all kinds of stuff including coffee. Probably didn’t consume alcohol but I did everything else. Baby is fine. Sometimes I like to think the adventure gave him superpowers.

  5. NewMomAnon says

    Has anyone dealt with asthma in a toddler? After several scary respitory illnesses, the doc said it sounds like asthma and gave us an albuterol nebulizer and some steroids to try. Kiddo slept through the night for the first time in a week, but she still sounds crackly and has a cough.

    Also, the drug warnings seemed to indicate that she shouldn’t go to daycare while taking the steriods (well, it said she should avoid anyone with a contagious illness, which is basically every one of her daycare friends). I took her to school anyway because the doctor hadn’t said anything about that.

    • POSITA says

      Our doctor refuses to even think about diagnosing asthma in a toddler. It’s just too early to know.

      That said, asthma runs in my family and my toddler has an albuterol inhaler. We use it whenever she has a cough and it helps a ton. We treat with albuterol early in an illness to try to avoid needing steroids rather than waiting for things to get worse. As an asthmatic myself who wasn’t diagnosed until my teen years, I know how much an inhaler helps and I don’t hesitate to use it. She gets treated every few hours around the clock when she’s having trouble.

      My toddler’s potential asthma has really been no big deal to us, but asthma comes in many forms. My brother was hospitalized for asthma a few times as a toddler–basic albuterol doesn’t cut it for him. I’d find a good doctor who will help you figure out how to treat her breathing in such a way that she can recover from illnesses without progressing to the point that she needs steroids on a routine basis. She may grow out of it. She may not. But there is no reason not to have her treated if she needs it now.

      • MomAnon4This says

        Agreed. It’s usually called RAD (forget what it stands for) or mild asthma. It’s OK. We find that the weather – extreme heat, extreme cold – is more of a trigger than anything else. We had the nebulizer, too. The worst part is that they have to sit still for it. Just put on a 30 minute episode of a cartoon on Netflix – those are about 20-25 minutes and last almost exactly as long as the nebulizer medicine.

        It’s all right.

      • NewMomAnon says

        Yes, our ped said he couldn’t make an official diagnosis until she is older, but given the family history and the number of incidents, he suggested trying the nebulizer. Part of me is relieved to maybe have an answer after rushing her into the doctor several times concerned about pneumonia, and I hope that knowing what it is can help me manage it going forward. It’s been a scary few months.

      • anne-on says

        Yup, my son gets RAD when he has a cold, or when its extremely cold/dry or very hot/humid. Honestly buying the nebulizer and having the drugs in the house makes us feel so.much.better than before when we tried the steaming up the bathroom/humidifer tricks. My son’s been using the nebulizer since he was 1.5 and loves it since its about the only time he gets to watch an extra half hour or so of cartoons!

  6. Mary says

    In keeping with todays theme, I know Lands End dresses and pants are often highlighted here and popular – but which are your favorites for workwear? Sleeveless sheath? The pants? Trying to buy more basics and also tired of dry cleaning bills…

  7. What sweet h*ll is this...... says

    I am 6 1/2 months pregnant and have the special h*ll of having to shop for a bridesmaid dress (long! chiffon!) that I will need to wear around 8 weeks postpartum. I was a size 6 before getting pregnant (an exaggerated pear) and tried on some dresses this weekend and could get into a size 12, I’m thinking a size 10 or 12 might be the way to go, but would appreciate any advice from anyone on the topic. I realize this differs for everyone and that it will probably be a total crapshoot that will only be saved with tailoring and spanx, but thought I would ask anyway.

    • CHJ says

      You have my condolences! What a unique and special torture. The nice thing about long chiffon dresses is that they tend to be more flowy and forgiving than a more structured dress, so that will be good. At that stage post-partum, I was more concerned about my huge, out of control chest, so I’d look for a dress that will accommodate a bra. For your stomach, something fitted around your ribs will be more comfortable than something that is fitted across your waist. If you can, it might be worthwhile to wait and order a bunch of dresses in various sizes from a big retailer (J. Crew, Nordstrom) at the last minute, but I can imagine a bride not wanting that kind of uncertainty.

      Here are a few ideas that I think would work:

      http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/monique-lhuillier-bridesmaids-sleeveless-ruched-chiffon-dress-nordstrom-exclusive/4006880?origin=category-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=GUNMETAL&resultback=3700

      http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/donna-morgan-giselle-pleated-chiffon-gown/3793722?origin=category-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=GULFSTREAM&resultback=1500

      [Ed. note: Link was deleted because it was broken, sorry!]

    • Anonymous says

      Ha, similarly, 4 weeks postpartum I was 4 sizes larger than pre-pregnancy (from a 4 to an 8), in large part because my top half got SO MUCH BIGGER than I expected (nearly B to somewhere larger than DDD). Can you rent something? Or go shopping one month postpartum?

    • rakma says

      Is there a maternity dress in that style/brand/color? At my last goo-round as a bridesmaid, I learned that the maternity sizing for non-form fitting bridesmaid dresses only differs from the regular sizing in the proportion of bust to waist measurements– there’s more room the bust of a size 10 maternity than a size 10 regular, but the rest of it is about the same. If you’re concerned about coverage, that may be a solution.

      Also, see if you can order some extra fabric in the same color as the dress. Tailors can do magical things with a little extra matching fabric.

    • NewMomAnon says

      Yeah, can you wait until a few weeks before the wedding? My bust grew a lot postpartum, my tummy shrunk but not all the way (and stayed pretty wiggly for a while, so I was not comfortable with anything clinging), and my hips stayed about where they were during pregnancy. I would recommend a long flowy dress with an empire waist to give you room in the belly/hips, allowing for a bigger bust (if you’ll be nursing; if you are not planning to nurse, maybe your bust will have abated by 8 weeks postpartum?) but my ribcage expanded considerably in the last few months of pregnancy and stayed that way, so an empire waist would have been a crapshoot too.

      If not, buy several sizes but only if the return policy is generous. And shapewear! All the shapewear.

    • Anon says

      There is just no way to know at this stage what is going to come afterwards. At 8 weeks PP I was quadruple my pre-preg bra size, but mostly back to normal everywhere else. Chiffon sounds like a nightmare fabric for leaky nursing boobs. I’d buy in an 8 or 10 and wait to tailor until a couple weeks before the wedding.

  8. Finding a nanny says

    How did you all go about finding a nanny? I have heard of care.com but just wondering if there is some magical site or network that I just don’t know about, aside from hanging out at the park and trying to convince someone to come work with me and my future kiddo (kidding!) Appreciate any info this group has to offer!

    • Anonymous says

      Check if your city has an online group for parents — for example, Brooklyn has a few (Park Slope Parents is an amazing resource even if you’re nowhere near Brooklyn, with a guide for how to hire a nanny), as is the Brooklyn Heights Yah00 Group — and see if anyone is looking to get rid of their nanny. If you’re still pregnant, try going to new mom classes/activities (e.g., yoga, Gymboree, etc.) to see if there are flyers posted by nannies. Your best bet will be finding a nanny whose current employer-family is helping her find a new job, either because the employer-family is moving or the children have grown and are starting school. You may have better luck finding a nanny at the beginning of the summer (when many children go to summer camp) or at the beginning of the next school year (if you can take that much leave).

    • sfg says

      Found our first via care.com and second via a personal recommendation from a neighbor on Nextdoor. I also interviewed nannies recommended via my local mom’s group.

    • Anon says

      A friend has had 5 nannies over the course of 10 years and found 2 via a nanny agency, then switched to Care.com for the last 3 to avoid the high agency fees. She has loved all except 1 of them.

  9. Pregnancy and makeup? says

    My husband thinks that most pregnant women stop wearing makeup. Am I crazy if I keep wearing makeup and just switch to “better” products (as defined by the Environmental Working Group)?

    • NewMomAnon says

      I wore exactly the same makeup I always wore. Sometimes a little more of it because I looked like cr*p. Honestly, the air I was breathing in my downtown residence and workplace was probably worse for the baby than what little residue my kiddo was getting from my makeup. I know some moms also stop wearing deoderant while nursing, and I did not do that either (well, not intentionally, but deoderant didn’t work for me while nursing so I probably could’ve – sorry for the TMI).

    • Meg Murry says

      I think some pregnant women (ahem, me) give up on everyday makeup not because of concerns due to pregnancy, but due to the fact that we were just feeling too tired or too blah or care – or because it got scrubbed off when I washed my face after I threw up. When I was feeling better, I actually probably more more makeup than usual, because I was so tired of wearing the same handful of maternity clothes and I needed to do something fun, and I wasn’t going to get that from my outfits. It also helped me look like a gave a crap in general when I was going to customer meetings, etc, and couldn’t really bring my A game with my clothes.

      I also suspect that your husband is like a lot of guys who think a lot of women “don’t wear any makeup” who actually are wearing it, just using a more natural look and not dramatic sparkles or dark eyeliner o r lipstick, etc.

      If you want to look into makeup rated better from EWG, go for it, but outside of a handful of things that aren’t recommended (retinols, AHAs and some of the heavy duty acne treatments are the only ones I can think of) I don’t know that it makes much of a difference – or that you’ll find that you’ll find a lot of greenwashing but not a lot of hard data on why one product or ingredient is safer than another.

    • Katarina says

      During my first pregnancy I started wearing makeup regularly, because my skin was so bad. My OB said any topical OTC product was fine.

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