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Washable Workwear Wednesday: Short Sleeve Eyelet Dress

Machine-Washable Work Clothes· Recent Recs

A woman wearing a Short Sleeve Eyelet Dress I really like this summery dress from Target’s Ava & Viv line. I like that the eyelets are only on the puffed sleeves, and the rest of the dress is solid, for a more restrained look. The fuller skirt and V-neck are flattering. For the summer, I love that this dress is 100% cotton for comfort and washability. It also comes in five colors, with my two favorites being blue and black (natch). The dress is $29.99, in sizes X–4X. Short Sleeve Eyelet Dress  Two options in straight sizes are this dress from Michael Michael Kors and this one from Express.  Looking for other washable workwear? See all of our recent recommendations for washable clothes for work, or check out our roundup of the best brands for washable workwear. This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Sales of Note…

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

Kid/Family Sales

  • J.Crew – 25-40% off kids’ styles; extra 50% off select sale
  • Lands’ End – Up to 40% off your order
  • Hanna Andersson – 30% off all kids’ & baby clothing; PJs on sale from $25; up to 75% off clearance
  • Carter’s – Rule the School Sale: Up to 50% off; up to 40% off baby essentials
  • Old Navy – 50% off back-to-school styles; 30% off your order, even clearance
  • Target – Backpacks from $7.99; toddler & kids’ uniforms on sale from $5
  • Pottery Barn Baby – Summer sale: up to 50% off
  • Nordstrom – Limited time sales on brands like Maxi-Cosi and Bugaboo.
  • Strolleria – Free infant seat car adapter with any Thule stroller; 30% off all Peg-Perego gear in our exclusive Incanto Collection

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About April

April is a working mom, a longtime reader of CorporetteMoms, and wrote our morning fashion advice for working moms from April 2018 to October 2020. She has one child (born 2/17!) and she’s a public interest lawyer in NYC.

Comments

  1. Anon says

    Thank you to all those who chimed in yesterday about our challenges with our twins. DH and I think it would be helpful if they each had a few of their own items that are just theirs, but how does this work in households where kids share a room? Anyone with two kids- what are the “rules” with the items that are theirs?

    • Anon says

      I posted yesterday, but our twins share a room and everything in their room is shared, but in the living room/play room they both have a small box that they’re allowed to fill with whatever they want to have as just theirs.

      • OP says

        and is the other twin just not allowed to touch those items when playing? i do think it would be really helpful for mine to have something htat is just theirs.

        • Anon says

          Yep, anything in the red box can only be touched by Twin A and anything in the blue box can only be touched by Twin B.

    • Anon says

      My 7yo girl and almost 5yo boy have shared a room since the beginning. Pretty much everything is shared. If there is a special toy they aren’t ready to share, it can live on their bed or on the headboard. We do have a rule that everyone’s bed is their personal space, so you can’t touch anything or go on/in it without permission (dog included).

      Our sharing “rules”are basically if you want to play with something in use, you ask for a turn. The other person can say in 5 min, in 1 hour, or whatever, but if it’s all day then the asker gets it the following morning. (You don’t have to share just because someone wants it, but you do have to be considerate.)

      • Spirograph says

        This is basically our approach, too. All 3 of my kids share a room. If someone gets something new and special (eg birthday present), we make sure he/she has a chance to play with it first. Kids have spots in or near their bed to keep things that aren’t for free use by others, and most of the time that’s respected. If there’s a dispute over toys that have become public domain, unless they’re coming to blows, I usually let the kids settle among themselves — there are a couple DT songs that I’ve found useful:
        You can have a turn, and then I’ll get it back
        You’re big enough, you’re big enough to think of what to do (my response to tattling)

    • AwayEmily says

      I was not around yesterday. We don’t have twins but we have kids < 2 years apart. Our sharing method is taken directly from what they do at daycare — the kids have zero toys (except their loveys) that are "only" theirs. If a kid wants a toy the other one is using, they ask "can I have it when you're done?" The other kid says "yes" (if they do not say yes, we enforce them saying yes, but they say yes 99% of the time). Then, the kid has to wait until they are done. One important part of this is NOT forcing the kid to give up the toy until they are ready. In fact, we explicitly say "you can play with it as long as you want." However, I will often pay some extra attention to the kid who wants the toy and/or suggest they play with something else so they don't have a total meltdown. I think this works because kids' attention spans are just not that long. I don't think anyone has ever had to wait for more than like 90 seconds for a toy.

    • Anon says

      Our kids are 19 months apart (4 and 6 now), share a room, and all toys are essentially shared. There are some toys that naturally feel like one’s more than the other’s based on interests, but that has happened naturally rather than an engineered designation, and in the event the other expresses interest in one of those the regular sharing rules etc. apply. Even loveys and stuffed animals over the years have swapped back and forth as one of their favorites at random. There has been a rare occassion where they each get the same toy, like we were on a trip and they both chose a stuffie squirrel as the toy they wanted when each allowed one, so in that case we designate one for each, but since they both have one there are no back and forth issues.

  2. Anonymous says

    Our daycare made it through a whole 2 days of being open before having to shut for 14 days because someone tested positive. There were under 25 people in the building and we’re not in a current hot spot, so mostly just bad luck, but it really drives home that daycare (and schools) aren’t going to be reliable this fall.

    Those 2 days were the happiest I’ve seen my children and the easiest bedtimes we’ve had in months, though!

    • Clementine says

      Oh NOOOO!

      Best wishes to you – and everyone – trying to navigate the impossible.

    • Anon says

      Oh my. I’m sorry to hear this. Where are you located? Is it a national chain?

    • Realist says

      This is such a nightmare. Every time I hear “we should prioritize safely reopening schools” without any commitment for funding or other community sacrifice (like, maybe gyms can’t be open so schools can?) I want to tear my hair out.

      Currently listening to my asthmatic child cough and cough from summer allergies and… we’ll be homeschooling this fall. I hate it but I guess we are lucky because we can do it.

    • Pogo says

      Wow, thanks for sharing. This is such a good point – good backup care is going to be critical.

      • Boston Legal Eagle says

        Just curious what everyone is thinking of for back-up care in this situation? We typically have my dad come for sick days but that’s not going to work if both kids are home for 14 days. Emergency nanny (would they be willing to work sporadically and with a kid who’s quarantining)? Parents switching off again?

        • TheElms says

          None of the agencies I’ve called in the DC area will send a back up emergency nanny if the reason you need the nanny is because your daycare is closed as a result of possible Covid exposure. It makes sense but it makes the return to daycare so hard.

        • anne-on says

          I think parents switching off is going to be the only way to do it. Au pairs are a no-go, the in-person emergency nanny services I’ve spoken to are wary of sending ‘fill in’ nannies in these cases (how do you tell flu from covid?!?) and if you need help because of a covid shut down I think you’re just SOL.
          It is going to be a really rough year for working parents.

        • AnotherAnon says

          I’ve decided that if day care closes I’ll WFH. If my company has an issue with that: nuts to them. At this point, I don’t care if I get fired. I’ll find a different job. No one is advocating for me or my kid. I’m going to do whatever is necessary to survive.

          • Anonymous says

            Heck yeah, AnotherAnon! I completely agree. Apparently, we all have to look out for ourselves.

          • Pogo says

            Absolutely. One of my reports (who is in Europe) didn’t feel comfortable sending her daughter back to nursery even though it is open and was basically like, can I work from home indefinitely unless I need to be in the office to physically do something? And I said of course – which is the directive from our upper management. Most of us (people who do 99% of their work just on the computer) will not be going back until there is a vaccine. It surprises me that not all companies are doing this.

        • OP says

          Parents switching off is what we’re doing (aka the same as we’d been doing since March anyway). The infected person wasn’t in my kids’ classrooms, so they weren’t exposed, but I don’t know if a nanny agency would take my word about that.

          • Anon says

            No offense but I wouldn’t want you coming to work if your kid was in a daycare that had a case. This is all so impossible. Actually, based on what you have to attest to in order to go into my office, both you and your husband would have to stay home the 14 days.

          • Anonymous says

            We’re all remote still so it’s a moot point, but my office’s rules only ask about symptoms or confirmed cases in your household, so it would technically be allowed.

        • Pogo says

          My mom would be our backup care, like she was for a big chunk of the current daycare closure. Not ideal, but don’t know what else to do.

          I’ll also be on maternity leave for the whole fall semester so worst case (no school and/or daycare) I just wrangle a toddler and a baby (which I get is a thing that people do willingly all the time just… not what I envisioned) and then DH will stack his leave after that so realistically worst case scenario we could make it the whole school year between that and my mom helping. It’s so far from what I had imagined for our life with a new baby and preschooler, but we’re actually really lucky in this regard.

    • Anonymous says

      This is just not sustainable. I have no solutions, so no right not chime in. But it is just not sustainable.

      • 11:07 Anon says

        I do have to wonder though if priorities will shift once the school year starts. In my state, daycares were never mandated to close, although some did. Folks who were working from home were asked to keep their kids home for about 8 weeks. Most did, and some still are. But with respect to schools, right now there’s less of a need to prioritize them over restaurants and bars because in most areas, school isn’t even in session. In fall, folks typically get out of their summer routines and stick around home more. Hopefully, there might be a natural progression to go out less when school starts and if big shutdowns occur again, school won’t be the first thing to go.

        • Anon says

          School has to be the first thing to go because it costs money for the government to run and doesn’t make money.

          Parents made sure that the government knew that our kids were expendable after Sandy Hook. This is a democracy and we brought this on ourselves.

    • Realist says

      This article plus Ed Yong’s fantastic pieces on Covid finally had me hit “subscribe” to The Atlantic yesterday.

  4. Cb says

    My son started at a childminder (small in-home daycare) last week and has had so many potty accidents. We potty trained a week before lockdown but have only been at home/at the park ever since. He’s pretty good at home, he’ll run straight to the potty, the occasional accident if we’re out or if someone is silly and ties the drawstrings of his trousers. Is this just normal adjustment? Any tips?
    We brought his little potty from home and he seems otherwise really happy there. He and her 8 year old son play Thomas for hours, and he’s figured out how to scam snacks off the husband (a chef at a fancy Indian restaurant). I’m terrified the childminder will tell us he can’t come back because he was supposed to be potty trained as she doesn’t have nappy changing facilities.

    • AnotherAnon says

      My 3 y/o experienced this both during quarantine (suddenly “needing” me to help him climb on the potty) and upon return to day care (lots of accidents). He had been fully potty trained for six months prior to quarantine. His was a combination of routine adjustment and laziness (I’m busy playing; I can hold it). DT “when you have to go potty STOP and go right away” on repeat. For about a week I packed extra clothes for day care and they were extra vigilant. Failing that, could there be something “scary” about the toilet at her house? It is bigger, louder, taller? Maybe you could get him a fun potty seat just for her house? Mine actually became more comfortable going potty at day care than at home because he got special attention during potty time. Not sure if that’s possible for her to provide, or if your little is motivated by that.

    • octagon says

      Is he afraid/anxious to tell the teacher when he has to go? You might practice how he could get the attention of the teacher, and also work with the teacher so that she explicitly tells him it’s okay to go. Also, see if she will make sure that he goes at set intervals t least to start. Is the different toilet/bathroom setup bothering him?

    • Anonymous says

      Have her remind him to go at regular intervals. A couple hours after he arrives, 1/2 hour after any snack time, before they go outside to play etc.

    • katy says

      We had literally the same experience my son’s first week back to daycare (He spent 1 week at daycare in potty training mode before it shut down). One day that week, he pooped his pants 3 times in 1 day (like how is that possible!!). The second week was much better. SO bare with it?? I think it is pretty normal. Sending a potty insert helped a lot. Make sure that she is reminding him to go AND enforcing the reminders. Our baby sitter uses a timer to say in 2 mins you will go to the bathroom and he is usually pretty compliant. He might be just excited for the simulation and be forgetting to listen to his body.
      he is doing much better now at daycare (knock on wood)… but had a TON of accidents over the long weekend at home with mom and dad. (sigh)…..

  5. Clementine says

    To the poster yesterday who was lamenting about shoe prices: Once you figure out what brand fits your kid’s foot and what you like, start just stalking sales on sites like 6pm and amazon and the brand website. I am fiercely brand loyal to keens as summer shoes, and I know that getting them for under $30 is a good deal. Once you figure out roughly what size your kid will be for the summer, it’s easy to just keep an eye out and buy ahead.

    I just got Hunter boots for less than $30 each, I bought my kiddo who wears Stride Rites sneakers for $20 and in a pinch know that Nordstrom Rack usually has good shoes for not too much.

    My kids also usually have 2 pair of shoes + boots… but sometimes I might have one of those pairs in half a size up (and they’re just my backup shoes) to get myself a little more time.

    • anon says

      +1. It gets simpler when you figure out which brands fit your kids best. I often buy ahead for pricier items, like winter boots and Keen sandals.

    • Anonymous says

      I hesitate to recommend this because I always end up second guessing it, but I got one of these foot measuring things to facilitate online shoe shopping when my son was young. http://squatchi.com/

      He’s 8 and I’m still trying to figure out what brands fit him. He has small feet for his age but absurdly high arches, which rules out a lot. We have to get longer laces for his sneakers, and we buy wides to try to allow more room, but it is still tricky. Any advice is welcome!

    • Cb says

      I am still horrified by shoe prices, especially since my son hates boots and loves mud. We need 4 pairs of shoes to see us through, and he’s been through 3 sizes since Christmas. I’ve been buying cheapy sneakers off Amazon to see us through as he inevitably wears holes in the toes by using his feet as breaks. Do the fancier pairs really hold up better than Cat & Jack, etc?

      • AwayEmily says

        We get exclusively Saucony Kids Jazz sneakers, which are $35 on Zappos. They last us through two kids and come in half sizes. I guess that is more expensive than Target but very worth it to us.

        • Anonymous says

          We liked Sacuony Jazz too but my son wore them out by the time he outgrew them. Maybe he’s just hard on shoes? We also never really have more than one pair of regular shoes at a time. (We do usually have rain boots and either snow boots or sandals/water shoes). When they get wet, I dry them over night. We live in NYC so admittedly our mud potential is fairly low.

      • Pogo says

        Yes, we buy the “Merill Kids Trail Quest” sneaker and it holds up to my kid who uses his feet as brakes on the balance bike extensively as well. It’s usually $40 but I think MIL has found it on “shoebuy” or one of those other sites for closer to $35.

        • Cb says

          Ah, maybe I need to buy one pair of sturdy shoes and designate them the cycling shoes (I swear, he thinks the hand break is decorative). He can easily go through 2 pairs of shoes in a day and everything takes ages to dry in Scotland.
          He’d love those as that’s what I wear.

    • Pogo says

      Agreed, I buy the same 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of sandals, and 1 pair of crocs every year. And by I buy, I mean I send the link to grandparents who purchase it for birthday or christmas.

      I seem to have gotten lucky with a slow-growing footed kiddo, though. I realize 1 size a year may not hold for very long.

    • Anon says

      Omg why do people think this such an issue? There are plenty of affordable toddler shoes out there. You are shopping in the wrong places if you think you must shell out a ton of money for kids shoes.

      • Anon says

        You could have shared where you shop rather than doing whatever it is you’re doing, you know.

  6. DLC says

    For families that have started taking daytrips with their kids – what do you do about bathrooms? I’m COVID-unemployed and have decided for my sanity being home with three kids, I need to have some bigger outings to look forward to. Most places we would go (beaches, parks, hiking trails, botanical gardens), are not opening their facilities, even though the outdoor areas are open – and truth be told, I think I would still feel a little squeamish about using the public bathrooms that are open. Am I being irrational? I’ve thought about taking our potty with us (but I guess I would still have to dump the pee somewhere), just having them pee in the woods, but not sure if I’m over-thinking this or missing some other solution? Or if you would use public bathrooms?

    • anne-on says

      What I’ve read online from articles basically suggests a few approaches – try to use the outdoors (nature pees!) as much as possible, with older kids insist on a mask in bathrooms (gloves as well if you can get them) and coach them on how to touch as few items as possible. For younger kids instruct them to touch nothing – mom does it all – you open the door, cover the toilet in paper, get them toilet paper, flush, turn on the taps, give them soap, get them paper towels, etc. and then everyone uses hand sanitizer afterwards (even after washing).

    • Anon says

      We’ve just been using public bathrooms. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Be quick. Stay away from crowds. In and out.

      • Anonymous says

        Same. We have done some long drives that required rest stops. Preference for big turnpike bathrooms over tiny gas station ones. Masks on at all times, wash hands, sanitize hands again once we get back to the car.

      • Pogo says

        +1, have used at the beach. I just keep repeating “don’t touch anything!” which is standard even during non-COVID times. It is required by law to wear a mask here so I always do when in public anyway.

    • NYCer says

      I would use (and have used) the public bathrooms without worrying. Wear your mask while in the bathroom and wash your hands thoroughly.

      [This is coming from someone who is not squeamish about public bathrooms at all during normal times though.]

      • LittleBigLaw says

        Love the potette for little kids! We keep one in our car, and use for roadtrips and outdoor activities. Once you run out of the bags it comes with, plastic grocery bags with a few paper towels in the bottom work just fine. We’ve also used without the bags in a pinch with my girls – sort of an “assisted nature pee”;)

    • Anonymous says

      We haven’t done daytrips yet, but we’ll go out on errands as a family. DH or I will run into the store while the other stays behind with kiddo in the car. We have her go before we leave the house, so it hasn’t been an issue yet. But, we have a back-up pull-up in the car. She is potty trained and has been for nearly two years, but she wears pull ups at night and wouldn’t throw a fit about putting one on and going in it quick.

    • Anon says

      I have a five gallon bucket with an attachable toilet seat that I leave in my minivan. I only knew it existed because my blue-collar husband and his employees often have them in their work vehicles, unrelated to covid.

      I like it because I don’t have to worry about whether bathrooms are open or how clean they are. My 4 year old was often difficult in public restrooms in pre-covid times (scared of falling in), but she is comfortable sitting on the bucket. Plus my baby can just sit in the car seat while we are doing our business – I hate dealing with a stroller, etc in a stall.

    • FVNC says

      We’ve been hiking lots, and our kids have just peed in the woods. The only downside is, they’re so comfortable going outside now, they think the world is their toilet. As evidenced by my 3 yr old pulling his pants down to go on the playground at daycare last week. Thankfully his teacher thought it was funny!

      • Spirograph says

        omg so true. I discovered several weeks ago that my daughter and her neighbor friend were relieving themselves (#1 and #2!!!) behind the shed in our backyard.

    • anon says

      For our preschooler we take her potty with us. You can use diaper to soak up the pee for easy clean up.

    • Anonymous says

      Honestly the 5 year old just holds it unless we are truly in the woods and so we keep trips to a morning or afternoon . One time we used a ventilated public vault toilet.

  7. Masks for L&D says

    I posted yesterday but it got stuck in mod, so trying again: I’m due in a few weeks and just found out that I will have to wear a mask in the hospital 24/7 (even during labor, sleeping, etc.) I’m pro-mask generally, but the idea of pushing with a mask on is really stressing me out. Anyone have recommendations for very lightweight, comfortable masks?

    Alternatively, has anyone had a baby recently and had to wear a mask during labor? Tips? I’m torn on cloth vs. paper.

    • Pogo says

      Following, though I get to take mine off during pushing (the nurse I spoke with says all in the room at that time get super gowned up anyway, so that’s why it’s allowed) and I’m still 8w out so things could change.

      I’m wondering if the Athleta ones would be good – they’re supposedly like an athletic/wicking fabric?

    • Anon says

      I was in L&D ward yesterday (not giving birth – got sent there by my OB for a few tests – all is well and I’m back home).

      When we entered the hospital (wearing our own cloth masks), we were told that we needed to stop at a special desk before proceeding to the elevators to get the disposable paper hospital masks. So I would check with your hospital as to whether your “own masks” are permitted, or if you have to wear the ones they give you.

      If I were you, I’d start wearing a mask for a few hours a day in large chunks of time, just to get used to it.

      • Masks for L&D says

        Our hospital allows you to bring your own mask. They have them available if you don’t, but prefer that people bring their own so they can conserve their supply.

      • Masks for L&D says

        Wearing a mask now for long periods of time is good advice. I should probably do that, but I’m so uncomfortable by this point as it is that I can’t bring myself to make things worse until I have to.

        • katy says

          +1 – that really really sucks, but unfortunately probably the best bet is to get used to it. Good luck!!

    • AnonATL says

      When are you due and where are you located? My hospital in Metro-Atlanta is testing upon admission and then not requiring masks if you are negative. I believe they also said if you test positive, you do not have to push in a mask, and the nurses/doctors would be fully covered but I’m not 100% sure there.
      I know things can change in the next 4 weeks before I’m due, but that’s policy as of today.

      I would suggest some of the athletic masks. I think Under Armour makes some now as well. Would probably be a little easier to breathe through than the traditional cotton masks. Good luck!

      • Masks for L&D says

        Midwest city, not a hotspot or anything. I have to get tested upon admission too, and masks are required 24/7 even if you are negative. (If you’re positive, your spouse can’t even be there, so that’s obviously a lot worse.) It’s very stressful. I’m due anytime now and there’s no indication the policy will be changing.

    • Anonymous says

      The disposable masks are much more breathable and lightweight than any cloth masks, so I would go for that. Plus they are much more effective, which seems important in the hospital environment.

      • Anonymous says

        +1. I had to go to the ER in June and spent nearly 8 hours there for testing, etc. I wore a disposable mask they gave me (in my hurry to get to the ER, I had forgotten to grab a cloth one) and it wasn’t that bad at all. I would definitely recommend the disposable in this situation.

    • Anon says

      I dont know how they are handling this now, but both of my babies had their heart rates dip during contractions so I ended up in an oxygen mask while pushing with both. It may be worth asking your OB if you can request an O2 mask if you feel suffocated while pushing. It still goes over your nose and mouth, but actually helps with breathing.

      • TheElms says

        Same I was on oxygen pretty much the entire time I was in labor, but ymmv because I ended up having a c-section when baby stopped doing well during and between contractions.

    • Masks says

      I just delivered a week ago and didn’t find wearing a mask during delivery to be that bad. My hospital is requiring everyone to wear a disposable surgical mask even if you bring your own. The surgical masks were much lighter and breathable than the cloth masks I have. I felt a little light headed at one point and, after confirming that everyone in the room was comfortable with it, the nurse helping me through contractions told me to take it off for a bit. If she hadn’t, I think I would have been okay keeping it on.

      My husband and I didn’t have to wear them when no one else was in the room, of course, so after delivery we only wore them for 20 minutes or so at a time when nurses and doctors came by to check on us, do infant screenings, etc.

      We’re in a major metro area that was a hotspot but now has things under much better control, and our government and institutions are working very hard to keep it that way.

      Good luck! My husband and I were pretty anxious about delivering at the hospital but we had a really great experience despite all the restrictions.

      • Masks for L&D says

        Thank you! This makes me feel better. We do have a box of disposable ones, so maybe I will plan to take those instead of wearing my usual cloth. We are supposed to wear them even when no one is in the room, but there’s part of me that is like — will they even know as long as I have it right there to put on when they come in? (Is that terrible?)

        • Anon says

          I want to say that I fully support wearing masks in normal circumstances, but wearing one while in labor is a hell of an ask. The local hospitals here have policies that everyone should wear masks during labor aside from pushing but ladies in our local parenting group pointed out that it’s not actually required and not everyone did end up wearing one the entire time. If you’re uncomfortable talk to the nurse about taking it off when they’re not in the room – they may not care, especially if you’ve tested negative and have been self-isolating.

          • LadyNFS says

            I wore a mask while in labor in NYC in peak pandemic time. In the weeks leading up to delivery, I had to wear a mask at the OB’s office for fetal monitoring and had panic attacks during monitoring. I feared having to wear a fetal monitor and a mask for hours and hours during labor. I ended up doing a lot of meditation and visualization to prepare for wearing a mask and it helped. I also did most of my laboring at home with my doula on the phone and zoom so that I could be mask free (YMMV and I realize this is not an option for everyone, but wanted to put it out there). When the time came, labored at home for most of it and went to the hospital strictly to have the baby – it was about 2.5 hours from my arrival to delivery so my time in a mask was limited for L&D. I had to push wearing a mask as well but at that point, I hardly noticed. It was not pleasant, but there are ways that you can mentally prepare and cope in advance. In the moment, you will likely be focused on so many other things than a mask. After my son was born, during the skin to skin bonding time DH and I were allowed to take our masks off (of course, by that time, my COVID results were back as negative, so that could have also attributed to the maskless time). Good luck!

  8. Pogo says

    Cute kid stories?

    My 3yo has started pretending he can read, and will scrutinize a new book cover and then pronounce what he thinks the title is: “This book is called….T-rex fire truck!” and then I read the actual title and say, “It’s called Dinosaur Rescue, sweetie.” and he responds, again, pretending to read: “Right… Dinosaur Rescue!” For books he knows really well he will say the memorized words as he turns the pages. It’s adorable.

    • Cb says

      My son is doing the same thing lately, but he’s got Thomas memorized so can say ‘Thomas is Sodor’s number one…’ He’s also just been really snuggly and if he sees me with a blanket on sitting at my desk, will run over to give me a cuddle and warm me up. He’s such a little love bug. My friends’ kids are all going through an aggressive play phase and our play tends to be him pretending to be a baby otter so I can cuddle him and scratch his back.

      • Pogo says

        Haha yes, mine is always “Baby [animal]” and I am “Mommy [animal]”. Sometimes I forget which animal I am supposed to be, but I always get corrected promptly. Last week it was quite elaborate, we had a den and he helped me “hunt” (we were lions).

        • katy says

          Our animal identities also seem to change minute to minute – eagle / bat / tiger etc. Also Sheldon the Tortoise and the lady who takes care of him (from our zoo). (+1 for getting the puppy / bear whatever to do something the kid won’t…. dinosaurs take big bites of vegetables and meat / little bears need to have clean hands, little bat can fly to the table etc.)

          A couple weeks ago he had a weird rug burn on his belly and we had a few days of being robins (because his belly was red).

          Yesterday he told me that “maybe you should mix things up” (and clean the mirrors in the masterbath before his bathroom).

          He also has been telling me that he “likes my outfit” every time I wear a dress.

          Finally he is obsessed with the wicked witch in wizard of oz and can do a perfect cackle of “i’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too”

    • Spirograph says

      My 3 year old has two books memorized and “reads” them to me, too. Somehow it just tickles me to hear him recite stylized prose, “‘Get down from there!’ said he, stomping his foot mightily!”

      We did sparklers for 4th of July, and the memory of the sheer joy on my kids’ faces is keeping me going this week.

    • Anon says

      So cute!
      So yesterday, my eight year old was wearing these Capri leggings that I’d never seen before. And I asked her where they came from and she said, “They were with my clothes.” And then I checked the tag and they were her brother’s 2T yoga pants! I guess my husband still gets clothes mixed up when he folds the laundry- but i’m grateful for him doing the laundry so I only gave him a mild ribbing about it.

    • Anonymous says

      My 5 yo (not yet in kinder) wrote a note to his stuffies (stuffed animals) yesterday. It was a few random letters, which he explained to me could be read backwards or forwards, and he signed it “BY DAD.” Not only does it make my heart so happy that he could write that (he resists writing or even coloring normally) but I love how he explained to me that he signed it BY DAD “since I am dad to my stuffies.”

      • GCA says

        That is adorable! My 5yo rising K’er woke up at goodness knows what ungodly hour the other day, but by the time he roused me out of bed at 6.30, he had made himself a whole bunch of art and made me a card that said ‘MOM OT’. (TO MOM, but backwards.)

    • Anon. says

      My 3-yr old follows me to the bathroom and then reads me a story while I go.

    • GCA says

      Adorable! I love when they memorize the book and pretend to ‘read’. (It’s very confusing when they are actually learning to read though – my 5yo has various books committed to memory and just recites them instead of actually reading the words.)

  9. Runner says

    How do you prove yourself during a pandemic and wfh? I took a job that was a big leap for me professionally— #3 at a state govt agency — in November and was getting my feet under me when covid hit. At first the pandemic response was taking up all my time, as we set up new processes and dealt with crises. I would give myself a B on that — did my part, made one large mistake, but showed my mettle.

    Now things have settled down and we are still all wfh, but I am more than six months in and feeling like the honeymoon is over. Larger projects are really hard to get off the ground, new depts that I have taken over are…easily running around me…and my motivation is low. This was a dream job for me and I can’t figure out how to make an impact. My boss thinks the world of me and gave me a glowing review, but if he leaves (as agency heads seem to do) I don’t really know what I’ll have to show for myself for my first year. Any thoughts/advice/commiseration? It’s feeling more and more tempting to watch trashy tv instead of trying to work.

    • Eek says

      I think making it through this period relatively unscathed is a good goal at this point. As long as you’re coming off as engaged, responsive, and making the best of a bad situation (all of which are really challenging if you’re anything like me right now), I think that’s about all you can do. These are strange times!

    • More Sleep Would Be Nice says

      Hey – no advice, just in a similar position. Started a “dream” job in January and….feeling all the things you are. Nothing is exciting, everything just seems like a task, I think because we’re all managing so much at once with limited/no childcare. Just trying to get through the days, value-add, etc. right now is so hard, when I just want to curl up with a “saucy” novel :) I will say the 2 weeks we sent DS back to daycare before we had to pull him out due to COVID going wild in our city (and his daycare…) was much better on the motivation front.

    • Anon says

      I think most people are phoning it in right now. It is hard to stay motivated.

      What has helped me in the past is to make personal career goals I would be proud to add to my resume, things that would round out my experience or allow me to learn more. You could try to make a list and go from there, but I wouldn’t fault you for delivering B-level work.

  10. LittleBigLaw says

    Our DD’s private school is planning to return to the classroom FT in August but is also offering an “at home” option where a teacher will come to students’ homes a couple times a week for about an hour and leave self-paced assignments for the rest of the time. DD will only be in kindergarten, and I’m glad the school is offering this as an alternative to online, virtual learning for her age group. She was in PreK there last spring, and they did online for all when school shut down in March. It was a mess, and I think DD would do a lot better with one-on-one in-person instruction. Because we’re in a Southern hotspot with very poor projections for controlling spread this fall, we’re strongly considering signing up for the at home option. While the school is taking some precautions for classroom instruction, they’re not requiring masks for her age, not reducing class sizes, and not increasing outside time, etc. Still, I worry that DD will miss out on important social interactions/bonding, that she won’t be getting everything she needs to learn to read during her first year of “real” school, and that we’d still be paying the same tuition for less value (there’s no discount for choosing the at home option). We can swap back halfway through the semester if it isn’t working for us, but it’s possible the school won’t still be having in-person classes by October anyway so this might be our best chance for her to go to school in person this year. Very few people we know are considering the at home option, but our current work situation makes it feasible for us. We have to commit one way or the other by mid-July. What would you do?

    • Anonymous says

      If you choose the in-person option, what happens when the school ends up closing? Do those kids then get in-home instruction, or do they get on-line instruction only?

    • anon says

      I have an incoming kindergartener too, so I get it, but this sounds like an insane plan on the school’s part. Sending a teacher out to their students’ homes seems super weird, and would put teachers in a terrible position if they don’t feel comfortable doing so for health reasons or simply because, you know, boundaries. That said, the school also is being reckless and foolish by not doing even basic things to keep everyone safe while in a school building. Neither is a good look. In your position, I would seriously be questioning whether this is the school you want your daughter to be, period.

      • anon says

        (I realize this sounds really harsh and I know none of us has a great option right now. To be clear, I’m judging the school, not you personally.)

        • LittleBigLaw says

          No offense taken. It IS insane. I don’t want to send her to school if it’s not safe. I don’t want to pay for school we’re not getting. I don’t really want to fight with the school to get out of our contract because the other options in our area are also bad. The public school will likely be doing a hybrid 2 day program, and the other private school options handled lockdown even worse than ours. We wouldn’t choose any of those options in normal times, but we’re definitely disappointed at the way our school has handled the situation so far.

          • Anonymous says

            I would send her to school as much as possible. Or fight not to. But don’t pay full price for basically nothing

          • anon says

            How do you feel about sending her in-person, wearing a mask? (I realize it’s much harder when others aren’t doing the same.)

  11. Runner says

    How do you prove yourself during a pandemic? I took a dream/stretch job in November (#3 at a state agency) and was just getting my feet under me when covid hit. At first it was crazy and I was involved in our covid response and it was exhausting but full of learning opportunities. I had some victories but was involved in a mistake that cost us a lot in political capital.

    Now we’ve stood up our processes and things have slowed down and become more predictable, and of course my six month honeymoon on this job is over. It is so hard to figure out what is normal, what is our culture, and how to change things when I can’t see folks and can’t have in person informal conversations. I’ve taken over a department that is proving difficult to manage and am starting to wonder if I’ll be able to have any large victories by the time my boss leaves (as agency heads tend to do — I don’t expect him to be here in two years and he himself would say that). I got a glowing review recently but I really feel like I need some real accomplishments to point to and it’s hard to imagine getting anything significant done in the next year. The whole thing makes me want to curl up in bed and watch trashy tv (which I could do!) instead of try.

    Advice or commiseration? I so appreciate this community for the mom and working woman wisdom.

  12. More Sleep Would Be Nice says

    Hey y’all. Two sleep/bed related questions:

    1. DS is 2.5 and sleeps in a PnP. He is definitely too big overall for it, but he is a cozy sleeper so it generally works. The problem is, our new home has wood floors and the PnP tends to move very easily (likely because DS is too big for it), which is a problem because DS usually spends 45 minutes talking to his stuffed animals/singing/moving around before going to sleep for the night. Any suggestions on how to secure the PnP?

    2. We also know that the PnP has run it’s course for him, and we want to transition him to a toddler bed to also free up PnP for DS #2 later this year. Any suggestions? Looking for something with railing that isn’t too high. I want to avoid the temptation of him getting out as much as possible since he does well overall. I do like the Montessori style beds but saw one online for $600 which seems way overpriced….

    Thank you in advance!

    • Cb says

      We just moved my son to a twin (Ikea Hemnes) and just added a rail. I didn’t want to buy an intermediate bed for just a few years. I was worried as he was very cozy in his cot and I didn’t want to disrupt his good sleep but he’s transitioned like a champ. He fell out once (onto the crash pad I set up on the floor) but barely woke up.

    • Lana Del Raygun says

      If you want a Montessori-style floor bed, you can easily make one from an Ikea Kura by putting the slats in the bottom instead of the top. But kids can climb out of them — that’s the point.

      • OP says

        Touche, and “duh” on my part. I guess I just liked the idea of him being close to floor/less injury but I now see that a regular bed with right railing would do the trick.

    • Anonanonanon says

      For both of mine, I did a mattress on the floor to start (yes, they can get out, but I child-proofed the room and for both, it took them an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize they could get out). When I lived in a home with a hard floor I put a shaggy rug next to the bed. Then, they upgraded to mattress on a box spring. Then, the actual bed frame was added. I would worry with a low railing that they’d try to climb it and fall and get hurt.

    • CCLA says

      We moved our older DD straight to twin bed, but instead of a rail or directly on the floor, got a very low frame (like 3 inches off the ground). Hers is crate and barrel but lots of companies offer the same. She rolled off a few times without incident in the early days. It’s nice to be able to climb right in for snuggles or reading without a rail to deal with and was easy for her to get in and out of when potty training. Just another option to consider.

      • Pogo says

        +1, mine will be going to a full sized platform bed low to the ground. He is in a toddler bed now because his crib converted, but crib will be going to baby brother soon. He had issues with getting out of bed as a bedtime stall tactic for about a week in the beginning, and then he regressed during covidmageddon, but he’s fine now.

        He falls out occasionally but rarely wakes up – he will sleep on the floor for hours sometimes before he wakes up, looks around, and stumbles back into bed. He also kinda slithers out, rather than falls – like his legs are hanging off, then he slides a bit further, til he finally is all the way off the bed. Most of the time he does not wake up!

    • Anonymous says

      Busunge bed from Ikea. Use it in the toddler mattress size then expand it to the twin bed size when he’s a bit older. It was perfect for my cozy sleeper who was constantly cuddled into a corner of her crib. The headboard curving around the top of the bed provides a great cuddling nook.

    • Anonymous says

      My just turned 2 y/o has been out of her crib since 18 months. First to a full bed and now in a twin. Bed rails + step stool for access.

  13. Question says

    DH and I have a 21 month old. Pre-pandemic, he was in an in-home daycare, but she was planning to retire at the end of the school year. So he’s been home with me for the last several months (while I’ve been WFH) and was planning to start at a daycare center in the fall. My mom has offered to quit her job and watch him full time. My relationship with her is…complicated. My sister has cut ties with her, and I set hard boundaries with her given her narcissistic tendencies. However, she’s awesome with tiny kids; she was a teacher back in the day and is very good at taking care of the physical needs of little kids. It’s when the kids get older that her judgment/negativity/selfishness starts to get in the way, IMO. Are we crazy to consider accepting my mom’s offer? For further info, DH and I also have an 8 year old. As of now, her school is planning to return part-time next month, but we are actively considering other schools/options for her. The pros of accepting my mom’s offer are the cost (she said we could just pay her a little), the reliability of not worrying about COVID at a daycare center and/or the center shutting down, the fact that she could also watch our 8 year old if needed, we would have no concerns about the care she would provide for our toddler, and we have no idea what to expect at the new daycare center we found (although our neighbor’s kids go there and they love it). DH and I are also considering a 3rd child, and if we do, her providing daycare for both little ones would save us tons of money. On the other hand, the cons would be my relationship with her (this would mean seeing her every day and allowing her to be much more involved in our lives than I would prefer), her proximity to us (I routinely WFH at least one day per week and she lives about 25 minutes from us, but she lives fairly close to my office), and the fact that there are no other kids there for our toddler to play with. Can y’all please help me think this through?

    • Cb says

      Don’t do it! My mom and I have a good relationship but it would not survive her being in my house everyday. If your relationship is more difficult than that, and especially if you struggle with boundaries, etc, I can’t imagine this working.

    • Eek says

      Six months ago I would’ve said no way. But at this point, I’d do it, personally. Desperate times and all that.

    • Anon says

      if you had a good relationship with your mom i would say go for it and this sounds amazing, but in your case I would say no. what does your mom do professionally? does she get benefits through her job? this just sounds like it has the potential to work well for a bit and then to blow up in your faces.

    • AnotherAnon says

      Something you didn’t address is whether your mom can actually afford to retire right now. That would be my first consideration. I also have a complicated relationship with my mom (maybe every daughter does) and I would not allow her to be my full time child care. Even thinking about the mental spaced I’d have to allocate to things like: deciding whether to ignore or address her passive/aggressive comments, discussing why she must enforce rules with our kid that she thinks are silly, reminding her that she cannot use my kid to gang up on me…it’s exhausting. What do you mean by “when kids get older”? To me, that’s a red flag for your eight year old. I would encourage you to think really hard about how much this is going to impact your everyday life, especially since you WFH sometimes. IME, it’s much easier to address boundaries and child care issues with a relative stranger than it is with your family (and I’ve been to a lot of therapy re boundaries). It’s such a hard decision but that’s my two cents.

    • anne-on says

      Do you have my mom? We went with daycare and au pair over grandma care for a reason….but seriously – if there are ANY other options, I would not do it. I would 1000% pay more money (and endure the abuse from my mom about hiring someone else) instead of having to bite my tongue and cater to her moods/demands because she is our only caregiver.
      Also – how will she be with your 8-yr old? That’s about the age when they go from cute and malleable to individuals who talk back (which is exactly what my narcissistic mother deals with worst of all). I can deal with that NOW (after time and therapy) but I would absolutely go ballistic if she tried any of her behaviors on my older kid (shaming, name calling, rigidity, enforcing of rules that no longer apply given their age/enforced baby-ing – ie, supervising them in bathroom/shower situations, not allowing them to chose their own outfits, cutting food up and etc.) and then throwing tantrums/yelling/punishing the child when push back arises. An adult woman throwing a yelling/screaming/physically violent tantrum and then giving an elementary school aged child the silent treatment is awful, and not something I realized was NOT ok until I was an adult. My mom would 100% do the same to my child now if left in charge and it is a major reason why she is not allowed to BE in charge of my kiddo.

          • anne-on says

            I broke down in full on ugly sobs after reading ‘will I ever be good enough’ about daughters of narcissistic’s mothers because it explained EVERYTHING my mom did that the rest of my family brushed off or didn’t see (full on narc charm offensive outside the house). It really is fairly wild how standard the typical behaviors are but man it is REALLY hard to spot them when you’re IN it (and you, know, a minor child…).
            I should really loan it to my poor SIL who is now getting it secondhand (she has a relatively normal family of origin who understand boundaries and is just steamrolled by my family).

    • Boston Legal Eagle says

      In ordinary times, I would say no but these are not ordinary times so it’s a tough call. The negatives of having her watch your kids and especially to quit her job to do so is that it may lead to a situation where she feels like she’s doing you this huge favor and may keep reminding you over and over of it. And it will be hard to enforce your rules because she’s family and “she’s doing you a favor.” If a paid nanny or daycare didn’t work out, you can switch, but with your mom… that will be awkward. This is a tough dynamic in the best of families but one where you have issues with her yourself, I imagine those boundary issues will just be magnified. And agree with the concerns about your 8 eight year old – how will your mom act with her?

      On the positives side, if you think she will be reliable, then that is a good, consistent care option for your toddler. I would try your best to ignore any comments she makes and try not to take anything personally (hard when it’s your parent!)

    • Anonanonanon says

      Don’t do it. Accepting free or below-market-rate help from someone like that WILL have strings attached, and I think you know that. Also, people like that know they’re in the position of power because you’re reliant on childcare and she will threaten to not show up or will flake on you at some point, likely on a day it really matters. Then, if you discuss with her how not OK it was, she will remind you that she’s doing YOU the favour and remind you how much she sacrificed (even though it was her idea) and how ungrateful you are (even though she said she WANTED to do it) etc. People like that thrive on being the injured/abused party that no one appreciates and everyone takes advantage of, but they soldier through like a martyr (in their version of it anyway).
      Also, do you trust her not to stress out your older one?

    • Anon says

      What will you do if she retires and gives you childcare, and you just can’t stand it after a while? She already made a big sacrifice, which makes it very difficult to change your mind in the future.

    • Pogo says

      I would only do it if you are fully prepared to have another option. We used my mom for PT care for 13 weeks and it was … a lot, for all of us. You do not want to feel indebted to her; she will be doing you a favor and there will be strings attached if you cannot secure another option. I get along pretty well with my mom and we still had plenty of issues. Mostly with what she let our son get away with, which we definitely accepted as part of the deal, but it’s taking time now to undo those habits, etc. I also did not want her to feel like we were keeping her from enjoying her retirement, which could definitely be an issue with your mom as well (and yes, I get that right now no one is going on a cruise to the Bahamas, but my parents have a place on the Cape where I knew they’d rather be once it got nice).

      That said, she’s still my backup care for this fall if/when sh*t hits the fan again. These are tough times, you just want to take a real hard look at everything you’re getting into.

    • Anonymous says

      God, no, but yes.

      I have your mother as my mother. I have 3 kids. In normal times they are cared for by daycare, preschool, elem school + part time sitter.

      My mom is a headache and a half. She’s a narcissist that is good with kids until they can start to have their own opinions about her—- which is about age 4.5-6.

      But she’s been a rock for us during the pandemic. She takes the kids 8:30-1 almost every day. She’s going to be backup care for when the schools close.

      If we had someone we could trust to show up and maintain relatively reasonable social distancing, we would. But we don’t. Is it perfect? Heck no. But it is better than dealing with trying to manage 2 jobs and 3 kids.

      As soon as normalcy resumes we are going to have to deal with “weaning” off her. But for now, she gets to play savior and enjoy the young grandkids, and our lives don’t fall apart.

      I suspect we will be paying for this down there road (figuratively). FWIW we have paid her about $1k/month and a $500 grocery card. We would be paying way more for a nanny but I am super super worried she will try to make this work forever so we want to be careful. She gets alimony from my dad, and is currently COVID unemployed so she isn’t in financial trouble or anything.

  14. Anon says

    Has any attorney here taken 2+ years away from work with kids and then successfully returned to practice law in some capacity?

    I was in the midst of taking what I though was going to be 6ish months off of work when the pandemic hit. Now I may be pregnant again (oops) and am worried I will not be able to find a job while pregnant in this economy. That would mean I would end up being away from work for appx 2 years. I don’t want to be a SAHM :(

    • Anon says

      i haven’t but an old colleague did. her daughter had Leukemia and I think the number of medical appointments, days where they had to keep her home from school due to being immunocompromised, etc. made it unsustainable and fortunately the family was ok on one income. when the child’s health fortunately stabilized she returned to the working world. there are a lot of return to work programs out there. i don’t know what kind of law you practice, but even if you are pregnant, stay in touch with your network, maybe see if there is any remote legal related pro bono work you can do

    • Anonymous says

      I know a couple of women who have done this. The two most successful had really defined practices both before and after and chose to do kind of a ‘ramp back in’ way.

      One did/does Real Estate law and basically dropped out except to do ‘overflow’ work for a local practice when they needed an extra set of hands. She transitioned back when her younger kids were elementary school aged (they’re now in high school/college) and ended up transitioning in as a prior partner transitioned out (retirement). I know she was really happy with how it worked and continues to enjoy her job. She is now very involved in some local housing justice issues and was able to fill her need of ‘interesting and exciting stuff that ignites my passion’ with that – also added when her kids became more self sufficient.

      The other woman I’m thinking of had at least some experience in family law and ramped ‘back in’ working with a local domestic violence victims’ advocacy group (which is how I met her). She used that for networking and was very successful in getting back into the workplace.

      • Anonymous II says

        I have also seen more women have more success when they can keep a toe in their field. I’m sure that looks different for different people, but examples include: doing contract work for a firm, doing a small amount of legal work for a client (basically freelancing for them part time), pro bono work (this can be harder for some fields), staying active in a bar section (writing articles, moderating meetings, etc.). Keeping in touch with a network always helps.

  15. Anonymous says

    Y’all, my in-laws want to come visit us in two weeks for my kid’s birthday. Which is fine with me, they have been really wanting to see our kid, and they will stay in a hotel 1 block from us, so I’m not that concerned. But I’m afraid that just the small added stress of them coming might send me over the edge, when we’ve already been cooped up working from home with a toddler for 4 months. And at this point they have not said how long they are staying. Send cookies and good thoughts!!

    • Pogo says

      you’re not wrong to be stressed. my inlaws finally came after not seeing us since February and it was …. a lot. I definitely broke down into tears a couple times. They do not understand that “working from home” means I am still working full time and that my child has turned into a gremlin due to covid isolation.

      all the wine!

  16. anon says

    Betsy DeVos just called out a local school system by name (Fairfax County) for their 2 day in person / 2 days remote learning hybrid plan, calling for 5 day in person instruction. Trump also tweeted that schools shouldn’t follow the CDC guidelines and is apparently threatening to withhold federal funding for schools that don’t go back fully in person. Are schools going to ditch the hybrid plan? File a lawsuit? Ugh. Just what parents need–more uncertainty. Parents here are supposed to elect for the hybrid model or distance learning within the next 12 days. And I had just stared figuring out childcare.

    • octagon says

      DeVos can suck an egg. She and Trump don’t seem to have any actual plans to keep teachers and children safe other than flinging the doors open and hoping for the best.

      Instead of threatening funding, why aren’t they making tests available for all children, teachers and staff on an ongoing basis so people can stay safe? Why aren’t they giving grants to states to help modernize buildings to enable better HVAC systems?

      • Anonymous says

        cosign. I’m across the border in MoCo and worried that Fairfax’s proximity means we’ll see a similar approach, but DeVos’s comments missed the point. I am on team open-the-schools as much as possible, but I still want it to be done intelligently and with options for people (teachers and parents) uncomfortable with the risk it presents. That Atlantic article linked above does a good job making the point about how schools are essential infrastructure but no one thought to treat them like that until now. What I’m seeing from the administration is not “schools are essential so let’s give the states the support they need to get them open,” it’s more stupid political pot-stirring. And frankly, it’s probably too late to save the fall semester at this point.

        Side note, my mom is a teacher, and she doesn’t want a better HVAC system, she wants the d@mn thing turned off so she can keep her classroom windows open.

      • Anonymous says

        +1. It is one thing to stand there and say that reopening schools is a priority, quite another to give schools and communities the vast amount of resources that they need to actually pull off school reopenings safely. For one, don’t open bars and gyms because each community can only be running so many risks in so many places before cases start to get out of control. And instead they are threatening to cut funds to schools. The whole fed response can suck an egg. I. Am. Livid. And I entirely blame the GOP, even though I am a registered GOP voter.

        • Anon says

          Parents told politicians that it was cool to kill our kids after Sandy Hook. We didn’t strike or shut down our places of work or demanded change, we shrugged and said, ‘It won’t happen here.’ We’ll, it’s here. We brought this on ourselves.

    • Anon says

      On the positive side, I just learned that Trump has zero authority to cut off school funding. It’s an empty threat. Fortunately he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, once again. Just hot air.

  17. AnotherAnon says

    Help, please. My “bright, indirect sunlight” potted plants need more light. I have an orchid and a pilea pepermoiades. They’re on my window box (facing East), but that’s mostly shaded by a tall bush/tree outside. We live in a hot, humid environment and my yard has lots of trees. Do I put them on a sunny windowsill or just set them outside and move them around til they’re happy? I’m bad at this. Googling around just gives very vague advice. “Give them more sunlight, but not too much! No direct sunlight.”

    • Anonymous says

      My pilea is thriving about 3 feet from a western facing window. I have more pups than I know what to do with and the plant itself is over a foot tall and wide. I also give it fertilizer monthly spring-late summer.

    • Anon says

      Direct sunlight is when there’s an actual sun beam on them for most of the day, if that helps. I was confused until someone told me that. I would maybe move them to a window that isn’t in shade all day but also not one where you can see the sun beaming on the floor.

  18. Anonymous says

    I vote sunny windowsill, first. Going from partial shade and AC to outside heat and humidity might be a shock, but if the sunny windowsill doesn’t do the trick you could try that next. My orchids live in a south-facing windowbox, and are happy there.

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