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This Seraphine dress is a classic for maternity, and for good reason — it’s flattering, interesting, and easy for both pregnancy and nursing — and it’s even machine washable. Lovely. It’s $89-96 at Amazon. Seraphine Jolene Knot-Front Maternity and Nursing Short Sleeve Dress (L-2) Building a maternity wardrobe for work? Check out our page with more suggestions along both classic and trendy/seasonal lines.Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ 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 – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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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?
Clementine says
This dress is great! I have it and love it.
PSA- you can get it in a nice coral color on A Pea in the Pod for $41 right now. It’s also part of a buy 2 get 1 free on clearance items.
Anon says
Would this actually work for nursing?
MSJ says
I’m planning to enroll my soon to be 1-year-olds in daycare come Sept and am battling second thoughts. They’ve been with their fulltime nanny since 4 months. She’s not perfect (a little too much time talking on the phone, not super physically active), but I trust her completely with her and she really loves the kids and they love her. The daycare is mostly about social stimulation and development as they get older. Because they are twins, they definitely get some but it’s not the structure of a daycare. The price differential of the two is small, and the logistics of daycare are tough but do-able.
If I back out at this point, I lose my deposit, and most likely the chance to get back in again – but I am willing to take that hit if in the best long term interest of the kids. There are several pre-schools in the area that they could start part time at age two, which I could pair with the nanny or maybe an au pair at that time.
I’m still trying to sort out if this is normal jitters, guilt about letting the nanny go (which I should get over) – or if I should trust my gut on this one.
anne-on says
Maybe be mentally prepared to have the nanny on stand by for the inevitable day care germs (times two). I found my son got a lot less sick once he was out of the baby/toddler room simply because at ages 2-3 they aren’t putting everything in their mouth every single second of the day, and they start to understand how to blow/wipe noses/etc. You’ll still get the flu/stomach bug thing with bigger kids in school, but the ear infections/pink eyes/fifth’s disease/roseola/etc. seem to be much more prevalent in the 1-3 yr range.
mascot says
+1 on being prepared for some illness. We got pretty lucky with the daycare illness. Saw some ear infections/pink eye/upper respiratory sick days during his first year of life, but managed to avoid the other stuff. You are going to go through the illness bout whenever you chose to start school. We started pre-k last year at a new school and had to re-adjust to a new set of germs.
I think all the child care options have pros and cons. My friend group has had the full spectrum of options for our same aged kids (SAHM, au pair, nanny, daycare) and I can honestly say that all the kids are doing just fine.
Lulu says
As I understand it, social interaction isn’t a big deal until 2, so I wouldn’t let that be the primary driver. Any playgroups, music classes, etc. the nanny could take the kids to once or twice a week so the get a little more socialized?
That said, if you were really confident about your decision before, this is probably just normal jitters.
Meg Murry says
Yes, I agree that this is probably normal jitters.
The one thing that stands out to me is “not especially active” – as your kids get a little older, having the option to run around and get out their energy will become more important. Our daycare has what is essentially an indoor playground, and the kids literally run around in circles and climb and slide and ride bikes for hours a day – which physically wears them out, and means they crash and sleep hard at night. That could be especially important in wintertime, if you aren’t in a climate conducive to year round outdoor play.
I’m assuming you made up some kind of pro-con list for this switch before, and you were probably heavily focused on your current nanny’s cons. Right now it looks like you are focusing on the daycare cons/nanny pros instead – I think revisiting the list might help you decide if this is the right decision.
Last, I don’t think either decision is going to be a bad one for your kids (its not like you are leaving them to run wild with wolves all day) so make sure you are looking at what would be best for your whole family, not just the kids – if getting to daycare by 6 pm every day or packing the kids up every morning is a major hassle and life interruption, that is a fairly big con, and worth considering for your family overall quality of life.
And if you make the switch to daycare and hate it, other than the hassle, there is no reason why you couldn’t start over with interviewing nannies and finding one that is a better fit for your family and active toddlers rather than infants.
MSJ says
At what age does the physical activity really kick in? We have a pretty big indoor space and plenty of active toys for them to move around in. Should that be sufficient until around age 2 when we would get them in pre-school if we didn’t do the daycare route?
Thanks everyone for weighing in! I really appreciate the perspectives.
anne-on says
We started doing a local kids gym program at 1.5 yrs, and daycare also did a weekly ‘gym’ program, which was mainly focused on gross motor skills. Aside from the ‘exhaust the kids so they sleep’ angle, it was also really helpful to teach/encourage my kid to run, jump, ride a tricycle, climb, etc. He was naturally pretty cautious (and we weren’t encouraging him to jump from sofas at home!) so those skills weren’t something he would have acquired very quickly without some focus on them.
KJ says
What is your hesitation about daycare? Is it the logistics or are you worried about quality of care?
MSJ says
Part logistics (getting them out of the house, making it back for pickup – will be a hustle, illness, backup care) and part just having them out of the house for so long (7am-6pm most days) in a new environment when they are already comfortable with the nanny. The center seems good, is a local institution and my friend used it for a while and was happy with it.
I’ve been ambivalent about it since the start. My husband has been pushing it more because of the socialization/structure, which I am less concerned about at this age, but would want to put them in at least part time pre-school at 2.
Meg Murry says
If your husband is pushing for the change harder, is he on board with handling some of the logistics (drop offs or pick-ups, taking vacation days or finding a backup if kids are too sick for daycare,etc)? Its perfectly valid for you to push back that the socialization/structure is not worth the upheaval to your life if it is going to fall more heavily on you.
That said, I love our daycare and probably wouldn’t want to go to a nanny system- but we have an amazingly high quality daycare and nannies aren’t common in our area so it would be difficult for me to find one that I trusted and could afford – YMMV.
Other says
I’ve done all manners of care (daycare, private nanny, nanny-share and preschool). I think the biggest thing is being ready and willing to change if it’s not working (giving it a good trial period, of course – transitions are always tough). We had a not-so-great nanny with my son, and I described her very much the way you described yours. She loved my child and I trusted her, but she did not excel at engaging or playing with my child. There was nothing “fireable” in her behavior, but I also wasn’t super thrilled with her care. It mattered more to me as my son got older, and I knew it would only get worse as he got more active.
From that perspective, I think you’ll be a lot happier with daycare. The kids will be far more engaged and have more activities. However, with that said, if it’s not working for your family, don’t be afraid to try another nanny. My older daughter really, really, really did not take to daycare, and it was a terrible transition for her (we also put her in daycare around 1 year after a year at home with a nanny). As she’s gotten a little older, I can see more clearly why. She could not nap and she absolutely needed the downtime (it really impacted her behavior and was a huge struggle for her), and she can be very introverted (whether daycare would have socialized this out of her is another topic, of course). After a two month trial period at daycare, we ended up putting her in a nannyshare until 2, when we felt she was ready for a part-time school/part-time at home with the nannyshare. She went on to thrive at school, which was unexpected after her first go-around at daycare. I’m glad we waited until she was a little more ready.
For our younger son, we ended up terminating the so-so nanny, and hiring someone who is far more engaging with our son. Even though it’s the same structure (nanny), it’s a completely different day for him. She gets him out and about, goes to classes, hosts playdates, etc. The other nanny had no interest in any of those activities. Ironically, I think our son would have thrived in a daycare environment from the beginning – super social, loves the activity, etc. – but we were a little a gun-shy after the first failed attempt with our daughter. We’ll enroll him in the preschool earlier than our daughter went for that reason.
TL; dr – know your kiddos. If the daycare environment doesn’t work for them, don’t be afraid to change it. Give it a fair shot, but keep in mind that there are other nannies if it doesn’t work out.
Other says
Also, to the extent daycare seems to be a silver bullet for socialization, at least regarding my daughter – daycare seemed to increase her natural tendency towards introversion. It was overwhelming for her, and not being able to nap made it far, far worse. I almost kept her in daycare in the hopes that the environment would eventually get rid of the shyness, and I’m so glad I didn’t – it came more organically/happily when we tried again after 2. By 2, she was more mature, and rather than completely freaking her out, school made her confident and more outgoing.
Spirograph says
I had a nanny until my son was about 1, and he has been in daycare since then. New-ish baby has been in daycare from the get-go. The logistics differences are definitely the hardest part, and if they will be a big hassle for you (especially with twins!) I might delay daycare a little longer. But if you go ahead with daycare, it will almost certainly be fine. Starting somewhere new is always an adjustment, but I’m sure your children will be just as happy in a few weeks, and you’ll figure out a routine that is workable, if not as convenient as the nanny was.
Both my kids love daycare, and I love sending them there. My son is naturally very shy in new situations, and I feel like daycare has helped mediate that. Also, our nanny was much like yours – very loving, not very active – and honestly I cannot imagine the nightmare that would be my 2 year old if he were still with her instead of running all his energy out at daycare every day (but you probably have at least another 6 months before that becomes an issue). One more good thing about daycare vs. nanny : If I take the day off, I get the house to myself. I always hated staying home when the nanny and my son where around. It was awkward and not relaxing.
tk says
Never had a nanny so I can’t compare, but my 17 month old LOVES daycare. Every morning on our drive in, as we get closer to the school he starts hooting and clapping – he seriously loves it. He gets to run around at full speed for 10 hours a day in a safe environment.
Yes, the morning routine is a bit of a hassle but much easier now that he’s out of the nursing / bottles stage – once a week I bring in more diapers and extra clothes, the center provides meals. While he’s missed a few days for illness (dreaded pink eye) I’ve never had to arrange backup care because the caregiver got sick.
He gets to do all kinds of art projects that wouldn’t occur to me to plan, every Tuesday is ‘sprinkler day,’ he has friends he’s excited to see, and his language skills (from being around the bigger kids, as well as adults who intentionally work on language development) are advanced compared to the non-daycare kids I know.
Babyweight says
Yes, we went through a phase around this age when my daughter would cry at pick up! Yes, time to go home and the tears would start.
anon says
I have my just 2-year-old twins in part-time daycare and I think it’s really good. Especially with multiples, I feel like the temptation to pacify a cranky kid with TV is strong — I definitely go there on the weekends faster than I should. We are by no means a TV-free home (see above), but I really like knowing that whenever they are at daycare, they are engaging with the real world, and TV isn’t an option. Plus they do crafts, sing songs, dance, and basically have a great time. The cons are that I have to dress them before I go instead of leaving them in PJs and I hate packing their food.
anon says
Another pro-daycare mama. My kids have all been in daycares from infancy and we went from being very neutral (in the daycare v. nanny conundrum) to very pro-daycare for our kids. Others have identified the cons (getting over the new germs/sickness stuff, although your kids are a little older so it might not be as bad; logistics; the transition) and those are real. I’ll also add that even as pro-daycare as I am, I think Other is totally right: not for all kids. Some can’t handle the new germ environment and have constant sickness, others aren’t ready for the social scene. No worries and agree: if something is really not working after a decent period of time, don’t be afraid to switch it up.
For us, it has been a great experience. Our kids were able to learn social skills from a young age (sharing, taking turns, listening), and I think the sooner you start learning those, the better. They also got full days without screens; I therefore don’t sweat much TV time on the weekends. I also don’t spend much time ever planning playdates, because they get so much peer interaction at school. Now that my kids are older, I have less agita throwing them into new situations (camp, for instance) because I think they’ve developed pretty good transition skills.
One thing that I found great about being in a care facility, especially with my first, was that the teachers were in-house experts–they taught me a bunch, from small (it’s time to switch to sippy cups) to large (your child is on track in development for physical, social, and language). The latter is one point I think is worth considering: a colleague whose child was home with a nanny for the first few years noted that she thought her son’s developmental issues (I forget whether they were speech or something else, like a spectrum diagnosis) would have been flagged far earlier were her child in daycare, and they could have started with treatment sooner. Obviously anecdata =/= data, but I’ve realized over the years from drop-offs/pick-ups and other school friend interaction that I have a better appreciation for the range of normal for a lot of kid development and behavioral stuff, and the school environment is great if there are issues at helping you find the services you may need (starting around age 4 I began seeing helpers for kids with IEPs, for instance).
Another pro is to get tapped into a parenting network of sorts–you can learn a lot from fellow working parents (from where is the best swim lesson, to what fun kid activity is coming up, to whether anyone has a good pediatric ophthalmologist, etc.). Those networks can be very helpful in life; I have great affection for the families I’ve met through my kids’ schools, and some have turned into wonderful sources of knowledge, babysitter recs, and weekend hangout buddies.
The logistics are a challenge, but eventually you’ll develop a rhythm and get better at it. I remember how hard it was to get myself and one kid out the door to daycare, and now there are (too many) days where I’ve got to get three kids to three different schools..and I usually can do it without disaster, so have faith that you’ll build up those muscles. Agree that if your husband is the primary pusher for this change, then he should shoulder a commensurate amount of the logistics.
tl;dr–I vote try it out.
Anon S says
Good morning ladies – Need advice on how to request to go part time. I am a mid level associate in a big city at a big law firm. I’m scheduled to go back to work in October after my maternity leave. I would like to ask for a reduced hours schedule. Ideally, I want 60%. My husband is also a mid level associate at a different law firm. There’s no way that we can make it work with our daughter if we both work full time. A few questions: (1) when do I approach the head of my group with this request? (2) How do I go about asking for it? I was thinking of suggesting that I try a 60% schedule for a period of 6 months and then we can check in at that time to see if it is working. Any advice or personal experiences would be great. There have been women in my group who’ve worked reduced schedules, but they’ve done 80%. I need less than that based on our personal situation. The firm’s HR manual says that “the Firm expects to be able to grant the request of such a lawyer or professional who is in good standing and requests to work a balanced schedule of at least 60% (with compensation reduced commensurately) for up to six months within the first year following the birth or adoption of a child.” However, I realize that what’s written in policies aren’t always put into action, so I doubt the head of our group (who is a male, but who has 4 children so he is a family man) is aware that the 60% for 6 months is a policy.
Thanks in advance for any guidance!
Spirograph says
I’m not in law, so take this with a grain of salt, but…
Don’t overthink this too much. I was so worried about requesting an 80% schedule, and once I finally worked up the nerve to broach the subject with my supervisors, they were all so supportive that I kicked myself for not doing it much sooner. Literally, I said, “I’d like to reduce to a 4 day workweek, is that ok, and how do I do it?” on Monday, and by Friday everything was ready for me to pick a start date for my “part time” status.
Good luck! Reducing my hours is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made; it’s made a world of difference in my stress level and mental/physical health.
anon says
When I requested an 80% schedule for the first few months after I was back from mat leave, I asked the partner who is my local boss by email about 6 weeks before my return, and referenced “The Firm Work/ Life Balance Policy”. He said, sure, no problem, so I then emailed my firmwide boss and the appropriate administrative officer essentially the same email, but noting that my local boss had expressed his approval.
I think these requests are generally well-received — the firm likes that you are taking the pay hit, instead of just trying to use your recent maternity leave as an excuse to slack. I’m not saying that is what those returning from mat leave do, but I was told in so many words that it was respected that I “had some skin in the game” of seeking a balance. Which is frustrating in other ways, but works in your situation.
Meg Murry says
Can you ask the other women in your group how their request was received, and if they went for 80% and were happy with it or if they asked for 60% and were pushed up to 80%?
What would you want to do after the 60%? Since the 60% seems to have a 6 month time limit, any chance some of them are at 80% for longer term instead of only 60% for 6 months?
If you get pushback on going down to 60%, could you and husband both go down to 80%?
mascot says
Is there no other plan for a post-leave ramp up period? My old biglaw firm had a policy that it would reduce your billable expectations by 20% for the first 3? months following your leave. You didn’t have to ask for this; it just auto-adjusted your targets.
I’d do some more digging into how the part-time arrangements work for others in your firm. I think law isn’t the most conducive to part-time schedules.
Anon says
I asked about 3 wks before I was scheduled to return. No need to ask earlier. You don’t owe it to anyone and it’s not going to change the answer. And many people will just be relieved you’re returning at all. Good luck making it work! Ask to talk to other associates who are on reduced hours so you can get tips. It’s a fine line to walk where you want respect for your boundaries but not paternalistic over-protection that will kill your career.