I always associate Kate Middleton with the brand Seraphine — I believe she’s worn a ton of their dresses during her pregnancies — and I like this springy wrap dress. This navy polka dot version (also the cobalt) version looks classic, flattering, and lovely. It’s $89-$95 at Amazon. Seraphine Polka Dot Mock Wrap Maternity Dress
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Sales of Note…
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – The Half-Yearly Sale has started! See our thoughts here.
- Ann Taylor – $50 off $150; $100 off $250+; extra 30% off all sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 25% off purchase
- Eloquii – 60% off all tops
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off “dressed up” styles (lots of cute dresses!); extra 50% off select sale
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything; 60% off 100s of summer faves; extra 60% off clearance
- Loft – 40% off tops; 30% off full-price styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Talbots – 25-40% off select styles
- Zappos – 28,000+ sale items (for women)! Check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kid shoe brands on sale.
Kid/Family Sales
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off kids’ camp styles; extra 50% off select sale
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off summer pajamas; up to 50% off all baby styles (semi-annual baby event!)
- Carter’s – Summer deals from $5; up to 60% off swim
- Old Navy – 30% off your order; kid/toddler/baby tees $4
- Target – Kids’ swim from $8; summer accessories from $10
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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?
Merabella says
Well I had a pregnancy adventure this weekend. I had food poisoning at 31 weeks. Well, silver lining… at least I know the procedure for checking in to the hospital…
sfg says
Yikes! Glad you’re OK.
KJ says
That sounds awful! I hope you’re feeling better now.
EP-er says
I had food poisoning at 11 weeks…at first, I thought it was just really bad morning sickness, until over half of the people at the wedding reception we were at a few days prior got sick as well. I was cursing my husbands family loudly for a long time. My OB was just worried about me staying hydrated, but I also had a fever. Fast forward three years, when my son when to the dentist for the first time. He asked if I was very ill around 11-12 weeks — because that is when baby teeth are forming & my son had very thin enamel on some of his baby teeth. Cue the loud cursing again! Anyway, I am so sorry that you went through this, Merabella & I hope your hospital stay was short! And hey — 31 weeks! You’re almost there!
Merabella says
Only about 5 hours. So not too bad, but had a bit of a scare that it was atypical pre-eclampsia, and they might have to induce now for the safety of me and the baby. Never in my life have I hoped that it was food poisoning.
But yes, 31/32 weeks, I’m seeing the end. I’m definitely reaching the Kool-Aid man stage- I’m avoiding red so no one starts shouting “Oh Yeah!” at me.
MomAnon4This says
Love the Kool-Aid comment. Took me awhile, then legit LOL
sfg says
I have this dress in 3/4 sleeve and I. Love. It. It hits that nice balance of defining my belly without being totally body con. (Nothing wrong with body con, I like those dresses too, but I think this one is nice for most workplaces because it’s not too clingy.) I took my pre-preg size (which in turn has been consistent with all other Seraphine dresses I’ve tried/purchased).
Nonny says
I have the exact same dress as sfg. It was a staple during my pregnancy – I must have worn it at least once a week. It was so comfortable and washed well. I’ve also been extremely happy with all the other Seraphine items I’ve purchased – two nursing tops, a maternity slip and leggings. They have all been very well made and despite not wanting another child at the moment, I’m almost sad I can’t wear my Seraphine maternity clothes anymore – I enjoyed them that much!
PregLawyer says
How would you compare their sizing to BR or JCrew? FYI – I am 6’0″ and wear a 12 in BR and a 14 in JCrew. Trying to figure out whether to get a 12 or 14.
sfg says
Assuming that your size differential carries to dresses, I’d probably go with your BR size – but, if you order Amazon and you have Prime shipping, you can get free returns with this dress, so I don’t think it hurts to try both if dropping a package with UPS is something that is convenient for you.
Newly pregnant says
I have a Seraphine dress that I love. It’s really comfortable and flattering, and not too body con.
sfg says
LOVE this one!
BKDC says
Gorgeous!
Bottles for Daycare says
If you’re breastfeeding, how did you know how much milk to put in the bottles for the dcp?
CHJ says
I started out by sending too much milk, and then scaling back to what DS was actually drinking. For him, that was 4 oz bottles. On a normal (8:30-5:30) day, he would drink three bottles, but I always sent a fourth bottle for backup just in case.
Maybe send several six ounce bottles and ask your DCP to write down how much your baby eats at each meal?
Ciao, pues says
At first I would send bottles in the amounts that I pumped, figuring that I wanted her to replicate amount/ frequency that she would otherwise get from me. But, after settling back to work I think I was not pumping as much as she could get direct (so frustrating that there’s no way to know for sure), so I would send what I pumped, plus 1oz. In the end, I followed the dcp’s lead since she had a good read on what was typical. This is what we did:
When my kid was 4 months old, we sent her with three 3oz bottles for an 8-5 day. Our dcp suggested upping the amount to 5oz, so that the baby could eat more but less frequently. We settled on sending two 5oz bottles, though she still usually split the first bottle (half before her morning nap, half after). Now, at 13 months, that’s still how much she drinks (of cow’s milk now) even with a good appetite for solids.
mascot says
I’d check with your DCP to understand what their policies are on re-using an unfinished bottle for the next feeding as well as mixing any back-up bottles or formula – some of this can vary by state rules/ center policies and you don’t want them tossing milk.
Milk says
Dang. My son eats four 4oz bottles between 8:30 and 3:00. I nurse him again around 4:30, then again at 6:30 or so. He eats twice at night – 1:30 and 3:30, and sometimes again at 5:30 if he won’t go back to sleep. He is 4 months. This suddenly seems like a ton of food.
noob says
In my not-so-vast experience (ie talking to other moms in my new moms group) the amount of milk consumed seems to vary so much. As I posed below, by 6 month old has 3 5oz bottles at day care and usually nurses 3 times (morning, evening, night). I’m estimating she gets anywhere from 25-30 oz of milk a day. But I have friends with babies who drink 20+ oz at day care and then nurse all night long.
CHJ says
This exactly. It varies so much from baby to baby. One of DS’s buddies would drink four 6 oz bottles every day in the infant room. Now he drinks so much cow’s milk in the toddler room that his parents have to bring extra gallons of milk to daycare just for him. He’s healthy, my son is healthy – they’re just individual little people doing their thing.
Milk says
ha – that makes sense :) thanks for the follow-up. Since he is still waking up at night, I was considering adding more to his day bottles to see if it would help his nights (hoping it was a hunger issue), but it already sounds like he’s on the higher end of the consumption scale. I think it’s far more likely that it’s a sleep association issue, which is far harder to fix. Alas. Another thing to add to my list to ask the doc. about.
Ciao, pues says
FWIW, I get the sense that my kid (the two 5oz bottles from above) is a light eater. Most other parents I know send more than we do!
noob says
My almost 6 month old goes with 3 5oz bottles and a 2-3 oz extra. She’s there from ~ 7:30/8 to 5/5:30, and usually takes the extra bottle about half the time.
I started off with 3 4oz bottles for every 2-3 hours, plus a ‘backup’ 2 oz bottle if she was hungry at the end of the day. DCP suggested 5 oz in a bottle, which based on my internet research was a lot for a 4 month old. However, when either my husband or I fed her from a bottle, she didn’t seem happy with just 4 oz. It may be because she usually only nurses once in the middle of the night.
KJ says
Trial and error. We started out with 5 four-ounce bottles and moved to 4 five-ounce bottles. Once she started eating solids, she dropped a bottle, and we went to 3 six-ounce bottles. Our daycare throws out any milk leftover at the end of a bottle, so we tried not the make them too big or too small.
Carrie M says
KellyMom has some helpful info on this. Go to the breastfeeding section, then pumping/employment. One of the links is “how much expressed milk will my baby need.”
I started with sending four 4-oz bottles. Daycare really pressured me to bring more because baby seemed hungry. So around 4.5 months, I upped her to four 5-oz bottles. She was usually at daycare from 8-5 so, at least according to KellyMom, this was on the higher end of amount of milk to send. But it’s what worked for baby. Around 7 months, once she was eating more solids and was more distractible and active, we switched her to three 6-oz bottles. That’s what she is still taking at almost a year, though we’ve started to mix whole milk in so we can switch her entirely to whole milk soon.
So my two cents would be to start off based on the KellyMom calculator, but don’t be afraid to increase or decrease the amounts or number of bottles to best suit your baby.
Anon says
I followed kellymom too. DD did 4 oz bottles of pumped milk from 4 mos to weaning around 11-12 mos. I think every 3-4 hours, but it’s been over a year, so that part I don’t remember. It worked fine. Those who are used to formula fed babies tend to disbelieve that volume consumption does not increase.
K. says
I can’t believe how much you all are pumping! I usually average about six ounces per day and usually just send what I pump the previous day, with extra on Mon. from the weekend. I’m a teacher and only pump twice a day. My daughter just reversed cycled. We co-sleep and she gets most of her milk at night. Fortunately my MIL watches her, so I don’t have policies to meet and she is super vigilant at not wasting any milk and making it work
I just thought I’d share since my experience is so different.
Also, for what its worth, my daughter refused a bottle completely for the first four weeks I worked-even though we had worked on it earlier to no avail– so the transition to reverse cycling happened pretty naturally (and quickly!).
BKDC says
My provider requests that we send 4 4-oz bottles. Our son will have between 3-4 bottles from 7:30-5:30 (I nurse before/after drop off and pick up). Any unused bottles go back the next day.
PregAnon says
I will be 12 weeks on Thursday. I am STILL suffering with this “all day sickness.” I’ve tried everything. Zofran, all forms of ginger, preggie pops, crackers, fruit, cheeze its, water, gatorade, jasmine tea….OJ…cranberry juice…
Nothing works. Some days I’m ok and I can get 1 or maybe 1.5 meals in me, other days (like today) not even water wants to stay in. Of course, I saw some inconclusive evidence online that Zofran may not be the best idea in the first trimester (unconfirmed, but the FDA is now also warning it can cause serotonin syndrome, which I really don’t want!).
I’m a mess. I’m too tired to be at work, but I’m here because I have a lot to do and the other attorney that is supposed to support me ISN’T, and gives me a really hard time when I work from home even though I have an accommodation on file that work from home is fine. I’m just trying to grit my teeth and make it a couple more weeks and hope this goes away!
noob says
I hate to add one more thing to try — but did you try unisom + b12 at night?
And sorry you’re still feeling so cruddy, everything you mentioned was what kept the nausea at bay for me (and why I gained 10 lbs my first trimester!)
PregAnon says
I’m glad you added that! My OB suggested it but it totally flew out of my head. Duh. Preg brain. I’ll pick some up on the way home. I’m open to anything!
JMDS says
Ugh. Sorry. Nothing worked all that well for me the first time around. I think that unisom +b12 combo is also available through your doctor in the US now.
Have you tried acupuncture? Its expensive (although your insurance may pay some) but could help. I still had “morning sickness” until week 16 with weekly acupuncture and daily reglan, but it could help. Hopefully you are almost at the end of this. The Second Trimester (or end of morning sickness) really does get more comfortable and enjoyable.
POSITA says
I think everyone has to find their own thing that works. I ate pounds and pounds of baby carrots to keep the sickness manageable. It wasn’t ever really better, but I wasn’t puking as long as I was eating carrots.
Just take it hour by hour. It seems endless now but it will slowly let up.
sfg says
I’m so sorry – mine has ebbed and flowed the whole time (34+ weeks now), but I never had a problem with keeping enough fluids down, so definitely touch base with your doctor again if you haven’t already. Unisom + B12 and Reglan didn’t work for me, but are worth trying if you haven’t tried them. It definitely got more manageable by 17 weeks for me.
anonymom says
Ugh, that just stinks. I can relate: I got pregnant at the end of my 1L year and had hyperemesis throughout the summer and my 2L fall semester (yay for cite-checks and note-writing!), while working part-time and commuting 2 hours per day. I managed to survive and deliver a large and healthy baby.
Nothing completely took away the nausea and exhaustion, but here’s what helped me to muddle through:
– Phenergan at night to reduce baby’s exposure to Zofran. My OB also said that alternating the two drugs might improve their effectiveness.
– Taking Zofran and Phenergan on a strict schedule to stay ahead of the nausea instead of waiting until I was throwing up.
– Using the dissolving Zofran tablets instead of the kind you swallow.
– Eating small amounts of protein frequently. I carried around cheese sticks and little packets of nuts at all times.
– Eating a vegetarian diet with as little added sugar as possible. The nurse practitioner at my doctor’s office told me to drink ginger ale and milkshakes, but I found through trial and error that sugar just made things much worse. Same with chicken soup.
– Drinking only 1% milk, ice-cold carbonated water, or hot decaffeinated tea. Still water made me puke.
– Not eating and drinking in the same sitting.
– Quitting prenatal vitamins. Instead I took 2 Flintstones chewables plus a separate DHA supplement each day (with dr’s approval).
– Treating anemia with a slow-release iron tablet (as recommended by my doctor to minimize iron-related nausea).
Of course, your mileage may vary.
Hang in there. The fact that your nausea and fatigue have not magically abated at the end of the first trimester doesn’t mean things won’t gradually get better. Although I was sick for the entire 9 months, I began to have a little more energy and to feel a little less queasy around 20 weeks or so.
PregAnon says
Thanks! I’ve given up on the pre-natals, but I’m eating fruit at least once a day, that seems to stay in sometimes, and I think I’ll go back to the gummi prenatals from Costco – probably not the best, but better than nothing! Ice cold seems to work better, you’re right about that.
Makes sense about staying ahead with the drugs – I’m just nervous about taking that much Zofran. Probably needless worry, but there it is!
AlsoPreggo says
This may or may not make you feel better, but I didn’t feel better at 12 weeks, but did feel much better by 13. 12 weeks isn’t a magic number for everyone but relief could be just around the corner! Hang in there!
KJ says
We all know pumping is the worst, but did anyone feel sad to stop? I’m doing an offsite training next week, and I told myself if I got into the course I would stop pumping that week. My baby will be 11 months, I’m down to 1 session a day anyway, and the facility has given me a really hard time about pumping accommodations in the past. I should be ecstatic to be done, but I just feel like I want to cry.
CHJ says
Yes! I never thought I would be sad to kick the pump, but I was. End of an era! I haven’t pumped in half a year, and just today I was walking past the pumping room and got a little wistful. It’s not that I liked the process of pumping, but it does represent the baby days (and the days that I got to take several 20 minute breaks to read my Kindle in peace!)
CHJ says
Also, if you feel like stopping because it’s time, then go for it. If you feel like you have to stop because the off-site location is giving you a hard time, you could always not pump during this off-site and pump again when you get back to your normal routine. Do whatever feels best to you.
Milk says
Agree with this. If it’s going to be really hard to find a spot to pump, maybe just pump in the morning before the conference or at night after? I assume yo have a private place to stay at night? Even if you dump, you’ll keep production up and then can stop on your own terms.
KJ says
Thanks guys. The course is local, so I will be nursing morning and night still. Do you think it’s possible to take a week off of pumping and then have enough of a supply to start up again? I guess I can just play it by ear.
anonymama says
The supply might dip for a bit but if you go back to pumping regularly at your normal time it should come back.
MomAnon4This says
Yes. I was in an online group, Yahoo! Groups called PumpMoms, and when I first joined I’d see people writing these Odes and Essays saying goodbye to their pumps, and it was so weird.
Then… it happened to me about 11 months, too… I totally wrote an email essay and it really helped. I’ve sent it to a few new moms I know, and they’ve actually really appreciated it. You might want to try it, think of it as advice to a new pumping mom or to a younger you. Or, write a letter to your kid. It’s a transition. Some cultures have huge celebrations at weaning times.
noob says
Bah, I thought I was doing okay with the transition back to work, but a month in and I’m missing my baby. Which means I’m not as focused at work, so I can’t get out of here on the early side to go pick her up.
And this is totally contradictory to the way I felt yesterday afternoon, when I told my husband that I didn’t want him and the baby to come with me when I went to the mall for an hour. He didn’t take it well, but was over his snit when got home. Baby slept the whole time. And I got done what I needed and wanted to get done.
KJ says
Don’t beat yourself up – a month is not a very long time to adjust. It definitely took me a while. I remember missing my baby so much but also being relieved to get out to the grocery store by myself and lingering there with a cup of coffee and a magazine. Give it a little more time and keep communicating with your husband about what you need. It’s not easy!
Meg Murry says
Yes – my favorite parenting some e-card quote is along the lines of: “motherhood: when going on family vacation feels like work and going to the grocery store by yourself feels like vacation”
Enjoy those brief minutes to yourself where no one is clinging to you, yelling for you or waiting your response to their email. They are few and far between. And then at work – write down your “gotta do today’s” and then your “gotta do so I won’t be here all night tomorrow” and then Pomodoro like crazy
noob says
Thanks — it’s just good to hear that this is all ‘normal’. I keep reminding myself that we’re all still adjusting to this new normal.
Anon says
Any ideas on camis for maternity wrap dresses? I do not need another layer over my belly, but wrap necklines are too low for my obscenely large (for my tastes) pregnant b**bs.
Nonny says
Bravado has br@s that have a modest neckline and could be used in lieu of camis for this purpose. They come in a variety of colours so you might find something that suits your needs there. Plus their br@s are super comfortable. Perhaps something to look into?
anon says
Going back to work next Monday after 8 weeks of maternity leave. I received a promotion right before I went on leave so going back to a new job. Starting to get nervous…juggling a new job and a kid! Any recommendations or tips for a morning routine?
Manhattanite says
Good luck! Take it easy on yourself expectation-wise. 8 wks is still tiny and the routine that works next week is not necessarily what will work at 12 wks. If you’re pumping, do your best to put yourself in a situation where you can relax. I found that pumping at the office was a different beast than pumping at home. If you are not, appreciate the freedom you bought yourself. And know that it will get easier every week.
Meg Murry says
Are you a morning person? I am so, so not – so I do everything I can the night before, before I go to bed, and make lists for what I can’t. Pads of post it notes all around the house so I can stick a post it to the door is helpful.
If your list of what you need to carry out the door exceeds 3-5 things (in my case – laptop bag, pump bag, lunch bag, car keys, phone) consider a checklist – one of my friends put one in a luggage tag on her bag so she could always look at it.
Outsource to your husband as much as possible – start working on transitioning some of those things to him this week so he isn’t hit like a ton of bricks on Monday with a crazy to-do list. Consider trying to get yourself out the door Thursday or Friday at the time you would have to leave and see how it goes, even if you just take baby to Target instead of daycare.
Merabella says
That luggage tag idea is BRILLIANT!
Anonymous says
I went back after 8 weeks. Currently on week 11. Try and focus on doing your best and don’t be to hard on yourself. Treat yourself well.