CorporetteMoms

Updated: Oct 3, 2023 129 Comments · by

Accessory Tuesday: The Day Glove

Recent Recs

This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A pair of tan flats

The Day Glove is one of Everlane’s most iconic shoes, and it’s easy to see why!

This wear-all-day flat is made from supple leather that molds to your foot. It works for your 9-to-5 wardrobe as well as your off-duty one. It also comes in 11 neutral hues — it’ll be easy to find one (or two) that work for you. Note that like many of Everlane’s shoes, these run small and narrow.

This flat is $135 at Everlane.

Sales of note for 9.10.24

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

Kid/Family Sales

  • Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
  • Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
  • J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
  • Old Navy – 40% off everything
  • Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs

About Ann

Ann is a working mom, a longtime reader of Corporette and CorporetteMoms, and has been writing our morning fashion advice for working moms since November 2020! She has a daughter (born winter 2014) and a son (born fall 2019) and is a public interest lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Comments

  1. anon says

    Please help with the hair of my 4 yo, who is the product of white me and a mixed race (white/Mexican/Navajo) sp3rm donor. Most of the time his hair is like mine – fine, straight, mostly manageable. But recently he’s decided to grow it out long, and now sometimes the texture completely changes on us in ways I don’t know how to deal with, so he ends up with lots of tangles or frizz. This happens after bath (we wash hair 2-3x/week) or if he rubs his head vigorously on something (why, child?). Do I want a post-bath leave-in conditioner here? Any kinds of brushes I should avoid? Help!

    • Cb says

      I’d use a tangle teaser with conditioner in the bath to get out the tangles. This is what I use on my long and unruly hair.

      • More Sleep Would Be Nice says

        +1 – I am a WOC with curly hair (2B/3C if you end up looking at curl types) and the tangle teaser on wet hair is the way. My DS #1 has mostly DH’s hair type (a lot of straight, fine hair) but just enough texture to get tangles after rolling around in bed all night. I have to wet his hair and use the tangle teaser or wet dry brush.

        Also, unless your DS is bothered by it, don’t worry too much about frizz – it’s just a part of having texture in your hair. I say this after a whole journey I’ve been on accepting my texture and the pros/cons of it. :)

        • op says

          Your kid’s hair sounds exactly like what I’m seeing, so thank you! And yeah, the frizz is what it is. He doesn’t mind it, and occasionally thinks it’s kind of fun that he can “turn my hair into a cloud!” The tangles, though…

          • More Sleep Would Be Nice says

            Aww, that’s so sweet! :) Yeah definitely wet his head and then use one of the brushes mentioned.

            Another tip that other posters mention – oiling hair is a sure way to not have tangles as it keeps the hair “wet”. We usually let this sit overnight and through the day (unlike his Mom, he’s not embarrassed by having oily hair at school :)), and then shampoo it out in the evening.

        • Anon for This says

          Aww! I have mixed race kiddos – one has 3a hair, the other has 3b hair.

          I think a leave in conditioner would help keep his hair moisturized. There’s one from shea moisture kids that’s not bad but I like the Aunt Jackie’s kids baby curls and knot having it products better. Agree with the recommendation to try co-washing (aka use conditioner not shampoo) in between shampoos.

    • Anon says

      I’ve found the Wet Brush to be the best at getting tangles out of wet or dry hair without too much pain. I also use a spray leave in conditioner. Satin pillow cases can help with frizz/tangles overnight.

    • anon says

      Assuming he’s not at a preschool where allergies to these are a concern, try a bit of coconut oil or jojoba oil as a leave-in hair product.

      Also, is it possible to step down hair washing to once a week?

      • AIMS says

        Agree on the frequency. We wash hair once a week unless there is a reason like chlorine from the pool or actual dirt (from the sandbox, etc.).
        And yes to conditioner or a 2-in-1.

      • op says

        I wish we could wash less. We used to do 1x/week but had to step it up with increased general filthiness from the preschool sandbox.

        • Anonymous says

          is it dirt that needs soap to get out? a wash thats mostly water and then a little conditioner and a comb through is better than a full shampooing. sulfate free shampoo also strips less of the oils off (but will not get silicones from many conditioners off).
          I have hair that is somewhere between curly and wavey and tangles easily. I wash twice a week, once with a mild sulfate shampoo and once with a sulfate free. A good trim to get off any split ends also makes a bit difference to tangles.

      • Anon says

        Just pointing out that this is a pretty insensitive question. Maybe it’s a long-term friend of OPs who’s willing to be part of the child’s life. Maybe it’s an anonymous donor who had other key qualities she was looking for. Maybe it’s just the donor that was on sale at the sperm bank because there were only a few vials left and IUI/IVF are already expensive enough that paying $800 per vial wasn’t feasible. Either way, it really doesn’t matter to you.

          • Different Anon says

            What the person above is saying is that it’s none of your business. Don’t ask people probing personal questions you would never ask them in person?

        • Anon says

          I thought maybe it was an ex who was not involved in the kid’s life and is now thought of as just a donor. Lots of options.

    • Anon says

      If you want his long curly hair to look neat and tangle free you will need to wash it (or at least wet it and comb it with a wide-tooth comb) in the morning every day before school. If you are washing it at night then it will be tangled and frizzy by morning. All the advice above about washing hair 1x/week, oils, etc may work for adult women, but not preschool boys who play hard. You have to wash the dirt and sweat from the hair at least every other day. BTW I am a brown person who has curly hair.

      • Anon says

        And by “wash” I mean with shampoo. Washing with conditioner only, using leave-in conditioner, oil treatment, etc is not for fine hair. It will make his hair look greasy. He probably has Type 2 hair and most of the advice by the other commenters doesn’t apply to his hair.

    • Anon says

      This post is so odd. Why not simply say that DS has long hair that tangles and gets frizzy, without going into details about how he was conceived and the ethnicities of the sperm donor? Also, why are you letting your four-year old choose a hairstyle that is difficult for you to manage?

      • HSAL says

        Ethnicity is relevant because someone of that ethnicity might have different advice. Manner of conception is relevant because it means she can’t get advice from the biological father, who likely has the same hair type.

      • Anon says

        This is such a strange response? I took it as relevant information b/c a “donor” is unlikely to be present in the child’s life, so she is unable to look to the person who genetically contributed to the hair type for assistance in managing the child’s hair. Also, even at 4, I had children who were very, very opinionated on things like hairstyle and clothing. It could be part of his identity, and she wants to be respectful of that.

      • Anon says

        I thought it was fine and not weird at all! I don’t understand the critique.

      • Anon says

        I’m glad OP was comfortable sharing ethnicity and conception details- thank you! It is truly not anyone’s business to ask or question, but I think hearing about the variety of family structures helps normalize everyone’s story.
        I know some folks think that posting something makes it open season for all kinds of comments, but I hope the people on this board are kind and polite enough to just take in the information as needed and accept all the ways that we form families.

    • Miz Swizz says

      If the tangles are concentrated at the ends of his hair, he may need a trim. As the ends get damaged, they’re more prone to tangling. A continuous spray bottle will help rewet and I like a comb to detangle hair.

  2. Gifts for public school teachers? says

    My daughter started kindergarten with a long term sub while her regular teacher was on mat leave. The sub is leaving soon, and we’d like to get her a gift, but I’m not sure what is allowed/appropriate. If it were a daycare teacher, I’d do a card with a note from us and drawing from kiddo plus a $25 Target gift card, but I know there are strict limits about what public school teachers can accept in terms of cash and cash equivalents. Anyone know if this is ok or have a suggestion for what would be better?

    • Gifts for public school teachers? says

      Oh and there isn’t a room mom or anything like that yet. Sub has not unreasonably differed these things to the regular teacher.

      • Anon says

        Even if there’s not a room parent, do you have contact with other parents? We use class Whatsapp groups to coordinate these things and just send in one larger gift card.

    • Anonymous says

      My mom is a 2nd grade teacher and likes getting gift cards over stuff (coffee mugs, candles, etc.) a note and drawing are nice too.

    • anon says

      Gift cards are fine in my district. We’ve done cash before too. I wouldn’t worry about this, feel free to give a gift card as you plan.

    • Anon says

      That sounds good. A $25 gift card and note is what I did for my kids’ long-term subs.

  3. Anon says

    Has anyone here read The Husbands by Chandler Baker? I just finished it and thought it was so great. The premise is that it’s basically a modern day, gender-flipped Stepford Wives and the author has a lot of funny and spot-on commentary about how much of the mental load moms still carry, even when the dad is a “good” involved dad. I found it really hard to put down and thought others here might enjoy it.

    • Anonymous says

      I read it. I thought it was ok, but (spoiler alert) did not like the ending, where it seems like the conclusion is “oh well! This is just how life will always be! Men are such dummies!” Maybe I’m naive but I’m still hopeful we’re moving towards more equity in relationships. My husband is light years ahead of his father and my father in carrying his load in the household (honestly I think he does more than half based on a little quiz that was posted on here a few years ago), although I think the mental load I carry makes us more equal.

      • Anon says

        Huh, I interpreted the ending differently. I thought the last few lines pointed in a very different direction. I do agree that we’re moving towards more equality and I’m fortunate to be in a similar marriage where my husband does more of the day to day stuff so taking on more of the mental load feels fair to me (I would much rather remember to make doctor’s appointments and buy kids’ clothes than cook dinner every night) but I still found the book pretty relatable. She’s also a former lawyer and I enjoyed her observations about law firm life, although I haven’t been in that world in a long time and left before I had kids.

  4. Amy says

    I absolutely cannot get over the fact that these shoes look like uncircumcised p*nises.

  5. AIMS says

    Speaking of these shoes (and no, I don’t see *that*), are they really a no go if you don’t have narrow feet? I was looking for new flats and these are kind of what I had in mind but my feet definitely run wide at the toe box.

    • Bette says

      I have avg width feet and cannot wear everlane shoes because they are too narrow.

      • Cerulean says

        Yes, I’ve twice ordered Everlane shoes and had to return. They run really narrow.

    • Betsy says

      I tried everything to get a pair to stretch enough to fit my feet and it was an absolute no go. My feet are very average, Everlane shoes are the only ones I’ve ever tried that were too narrow.

    • Anon says

      I have wide feet and I have these in my usual size. I don’t find them uncomfortable probably because there is some give. YMMV, though!

      • anon says

        +1, also have wide feet at the toebox (but narrow heels) and these fit me quite well. very comfy and go with everything.

  6. anonamama says

    Has anyone ordered from Baltic Born? I have a black-tie gala to attend 10/20 (when I’ll be 20 weeks) and looking at the Olivia Maxi, Nova Shimmer, Layla Tulle Maxi.. I love Sachin & Babi styles, but way out of budget. Any other suggestions welcome!

    • Anonymous says

      Yes and I generally like most of what I’ve gotten but beware they only give store credit for returns.

    • Anonymous says

      Yes, ordered a bridesmaid dress from there and it was fine. Also got a pair of pants to get free shipping and I love them more than expected!

  7. Anon says

    If you (or sisters, friends, etc) had Covid during pregnancy and baby was healthy; can you please share your story? I’m sure they exist but google is only returning the bad outcomes and I’m nervous.

    • Anon says

      I know tons of people who had Covid while pregnant and the babies were all fine. I think the vaccine mitigates the risk of bad outcomes a lot, so assuming you’ve been vaccinated at some point I wouldn’t worry.

      • NYCer says

        +1. I even had one friend who was unvaccinated and had it. She and baby (who is now 2+) are fine.

      • OP says

        Thank you! Yes vaccinated every single time I could, including about one week ago… right before I got sick

      • anon says

        +1. I was actually pregnant during the early days of Covid (pre vaccine) and many moms in my baby group got Covid without ever having been vaccinated. All babies turned out fine.

    • Anon says

      SIL had covid while pregnant with my nephew in second trimester. Nephew is turning 2 later this month and has been very healthy compared to my kid who was born just before Covid really became prevalent. Along with hitting all of the normal developmental milestones. He’s been a really “easy” baby/toddler. Including being super easy to put down for naps in the afternoon at home on the weekends.

    • Anonymous says

      My friend had it while pregnant and everything turned out perfectly fine. I would be in contact with your doctor about how to handle any fever—that would be my only real concern, and I’m sure your doctor can advise you as to how to handle it safely. Feel better soon!

    • Anon says

      There are a lot of things that are really worrying on a population level that are still really unlikely to affect any one individual. A lot of what Google returns is the population level concern since even a slight risk increasing can be an issue for healthcare systems and other systems, but at the same time, the odds may be very much in any individual’s favor.

    • anon says

      I have many examples of close contacts (coworkers, family and friends) that were a-ok. I can think of 5 off the top of my head. The most dire of which is my best friend who got it at 37 weeks in Dec 2020. She was a front line physician and got it on the job. She was intubated pretty quickly because it was really severe but recovered almost just as quickly and the baby was ultimately delivered v a g inally and did not require any extraordinary intervention beyond fluids and the obvious intubation. Baby was a-ok and is now a very happy almost 3-year old.

    • Anon says

      I had COVID a few weeks ago and will be 18 weeks pregnant tomorrow. So far so good. Three friends have also had COVID during their pregnancies, one in the first trimester at like 6 weeks and the other two in the third tri I believe. All babies are completely happy and healthy. When I called the nurse line freaking out that I had COVID they did not seem remotely concerned.

    • Anonymous says

      So I was just at the OB and this is what he told me – at the population level, the blood pressure issues and clots are real and concerning. He said these past 3yrs were the hardest of his career. But the earlier variants (Delta and Omicron) took the hardest toll in terms of pre-eclampsia, clots, stillbirths. It seems much milder now that we all have some immunity.

    • Emma says

      I was really worried about this when I was pregnant (a little more than a year ago) and my OBGYN told me all of her patients who had it were fine, except in the very early days of the pandemic when it was really bad and people weren’t vaccinated yet and some people had to give birth with very restricted breathing capabilities. These days, I think the risk is very low.

    • Anonymous says

      I had Covid in the second trimester and my son is fine. He’s meeting all of his milestones and is a delightful child. For what it’s worth, pretty much everyone I know who was pregnant at the same time as me had Covid while pregnant (kids in daycare etc) and no one has had any adverse outcomes.

      I don’t know what the current guidance is on paxlovid but my symptoms were mild so I didn’t take it. It was recommended at the time for severe symptoms.

      I see a high risk OB (MFM) for other reasons and they were not worried. As others have said, statistically speaking, you will be fine. And I still found this reassuring as someone who once was on the very bad end of population level statistics (1 in 1,000 women get cancer while pregnant, myself included).

    • Anon says

      I had it last year while pregnant in second trimester. I also had it the week after getting my booster, so I figure my 6 month old now has extra immunity? The biggest impact on me was that I really gave myself a lot of time off to fully recover and did not work out for 4-6 weeks. In retrospect, I never regained the cardio I lost and it feels like a bigger hole to climb out of (not “bouncing back” more concerned with climbing stairs without losing breath!).

    • Anon says

      Yes. I had covid third trimester despite being boosted. I was 34 weeks pregnant. I basically laid in bed for the entire week and felt very very sick. I had a residual cough for the rest of pregnancy that was really bad with some severe chest pains. I landed in the ER because the pain was so bad—had to get a CT but all was fine.

      My son is almost a year old and otherwise healthy (a congenital issue unrelated to covid that is sooo manageable). Born at 39 weeks—emergency c section bc I didn’t dilate fully. You will most likely be fine! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

    • Vicky Austin says

      Countless cousins, babies all born normally & healthy as can be now. Take good care of yourself!

    • Anon says

      My baby was perfectly fine, however I now have permanent pelvic floor damage. Look up pelvic floor pt-recommend ways to cough and rest! Ask your doctor for antibodies! OBs simply are not concerned about the long term effects on your body and I learned this the hard way.

  8. Anon says

    Anyone want to help me shop for family photos? I’m looking for dresses or interesting tops (not matching, but ideally coordinated) for me and my 5 year old daughter. DH will wear jeans and a sweater in a color that coordinates with our outfits. I prefer an Old Navy/Target/JCF price point but can go higher if necessary. It may be 80 degrees outside when we take the photos, but we’re dressing for fall weather so no rufflepuff or things like that.

    • OOO says

      My formula for our triangle family is for me to wear Color #1, DH to wear Color #2, and DS to wear Colors 1&2. We took family photos last weekend in 80 degree weather. I wore a short sleeve burgundy dress, DH wore a navy linen shirt, and DS wore a navy/red plaid shirt. The colors still read “fall” though we chose styles/fabrics that kept us cool.

  9. Anon says

    Crowd sourcing: Good stories about ST progress!

    DD will be 3 later this year, is only speaking in sentences when prompted, and is often hard to understand (e.g. “pumpkin” sounds like “mumkin”, “Water” sounds like “wawa” or “mama”). We are re-starting ST later this month with a private provider as she technically wasn’t delayed enough for early intervention. FWIW – the ST’s eval a few months back showed she was on the lower end of normal and would benefit from services :)

    • Anon318 says

      My otherwise typically-developing DD recently graduated from speech therapy. At age 3 she had a severe fronting issue that we assumed would resolve on its own, but she began to get very frustrated when people didn’t understand her, so we had her evaluated to avoid self esteem issues. She was in the 2nd percentile for articulation and I felt horrible! However, her speech therapist was amazing and she made huge progress in a very short amount of time. Each child progresses on their own time table and we spent almost a year trying to properly form the “S” sound even though other milestones came very quickly. Overall, I’m so very glad we did it. Good luck!

      • OP says

        Thank you! DD was on the lower end of normal for walking (started at ~19 months) and had some other minor, non-developmental challenges as a baby, so I also am always on alert (this is my own issue).

        I looked up fronting and this sounds very similar to the challenge DD has – our former (virtual) ST said that DD just needs 6-9 months of in-person drilling on sounds and should be in good shape, so I’m hopeful!

    • Anon says

      Speech is great! My kid is 3.5, deaf with a cochlear implant, and has been in speech since infancy – because of that she’s never had a language delay, only difficulty with articulation.

      That said, your kids speech seems . . . pretty normal and I don’t know if I’d do ST if my kid was on the lower end of normal. There’s a lot of SLPs on Instagram who share tips and tricks to help boost your kid’s speech skills. My deaf kid had her intelligibility explode between 3 and 3.25, with almost no speech therapy (summer break for the school district).

    • SBJ says

      One of my kids is in ST-they were a very intense thumb sucker and it was affecting their speech, with one particularly noticeable impact being an inability to pronounce a key sound in their name. Like a previous poster, we started with an eye towards improving self-esteem: kiddo was getting frustrated that adults couldn’t understand their name and I didn’t want that continuing into kindergarten (this kiddo is also my most sensitive one and was noticeably feeling the impact of the name thing). Speech has been great! Kiddo quit thumb sucking, can say their name no problem, and as a side benefit, our speech therapist really thinks about social-emotional growth and has snuck in a lot of life lessons and helped kiddo’s confidence grow overall. It’s been a net positive experience for us. The hardest part for me is keeping us on track with the homework (3 kids; life is busy!), so our progress is slower than it should be but that’s an us thing, not a ST thing!

    • Emilia says

      Our son (now 4) was like this for a long time. Started talking on the later side, didn’t talk much, was hard to understand for people other than his parents. Somewhere around age 3.5 he started to improve, and then he finally started nursery school and has totally blossomed in just a few weeks.

      For comparison, our daughter spoke early and had a huge vocabulary, very expressive. BUT was still very hard to understand, to a much greater degree than our son ever was. She ended up getting 2+ years of speech therapy, which has pretty much done the trick.

      All anecdotal and nonscientific, but I wouldn’t worry too much about your son if he seems like he is hearing normal and his speech is improving with time, even if he isn’t as advanced as you’d like him to be.

    • Anon says

      My daughter made a lot of progress in speech therapy, although her issue was just enunciation not vocab/grammar (she was talking up a storm, it was just hard to understand) and for 2 year olds the mispronunciations you mentioned sound pretty normal. My DD is 5 now and we’re unsure whether or not to continue – we stopped private therapy at the end of July when she started kindergarten and she is supposed to be evaluated by her school for in-school services although their 60 day deadline is coming up in a couple weeks and there’s been no movement as far as we know, and even if she qualifies, services will be more limited than what she was having before, so we may need to restart private therapy at some point.

      I assume you had hearing tested as part of speech therapy, but if not you should. My daughter has chronic fluid in her ears that was causing hearing loss and presumably affecting speech. We’re working with an ENT now, but we’re now eight months after the hearing loss was diagnosed and it still hasn’t been fixed (we had a 6+ month wait just to see an ENT…) so I’d recommend starting ASAP because none of this stuff works itself out quickly, and the sooner you can resolve hearing loss (if it exists) the faster speech will return to normal. Apparently at 5, it will be pretty hard for her to unlearn errors even once the hearing loss is reversed.

      Good luck. I know speech therapy is relatively mild as far as special needs go, but this whole thing has been quiet mentally taxing for us and has cost us thousands of dollars (we have “good” state government health insurance, but speech therapy isn’t covered) and I had to use FMLA at work to cover the weekly appointments.

      • OP says

        Thank you! The school-based supports seem really tough to navigate even in the best of districts. I’ll be thinking of you.

        We had DD’s hearing tested and she saw an ENT just to rule out any related issues per our ped and old ST’s orders, and DD didn’t have any hearing loss, fluid build-up, etc.

        So based on all of the kind responses and anecdata here it seems like time will also help. Our ST will be 2x/month – new ST recommended 1x/month but I thought more frequency would be helpful (obviously not for logistical reasons) at least initially.

  10. Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch... Again! says

    These look like jazz shoes! If this is trendy, I’ll bust out my high school capezios from the back of storage… A 5, 6, 7, 8!

    • Amelia Pond says

      That’s it! They look like those slip on jazz shoes from discount dance I never wore because we had the ones with laces. Good memories :)

  11. Anon318 says

    Has anyone purchased Kizik shoes for your kid (or yourself)? How have they held up? Are the soles rubber or that foam-like substance on the All in Motion shoes that my kids run through so quickly? Thanks in advance!

    • Anon. says

      My husband has some and likes them. I’ve been thinking about them for the kids but the price point is making me pause. The sole is mostly foam but with rubber at the toe and heel on the bottom.

      • Anon318 says

        Thanks for this. The price point was exactly what was making me hesitate, especially without knowing the make up of the soles. I think DS needs a full rubber sole, so if I’m going to spend the money I’ll probably go with Skechers or the On Cloud kids shoes.

    • Lily says

      I have two pairs and I’m obsessed. I hate having to bend down to put on shoes, especially now that I have kids. I wish I’d had them when I was heavily pregnant. One of the pairs I have (more athletic type sneakers, in white) have done well in the washing machine. The other pair is a more casual sneaker (leather-ish material) that I walked all around Europe in and felt both on-trend and comfortable.

      For me, the value is there.

      That said, I haven’t bought them for my kids because they grow out of shoes every 6 months if not more frequently. If they were at the $40 price range, I would probably spring for them because it would make getting out the door in the morning a bit faster.

    • CCLA says

      I have some and think they’re fine. I have kept them around mostly for errands, super easy to get out the door and I appreciate that (but I do need to re-tie them every 2-3 weeks to keep them snug enough for my taste). I don’t love the foam in the base and find that my soles get a little tired after wearing the shoes all day. I might reorder a different style just because the convenience is huge for some days, but they haven’t turned into my daily default pair.

    • Anon says

      I may be in the minority, but I found Kiziks to be the most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. I found the standard shoes to run narrow– to the point that I felt like my feet were in a vise. When I ordered the wide shoe, my foot slipped back and forth in the shoe and hit the toe box badly. I also found them to have little to no arch support, and even though the sole is large, it is a hard rubber with no cushioning.

      They are also very stingy with returns, so I could not return the shoes. (I’ve never had shoes I needed to return after wearing that are so bad I had to throw them away.)

    • RR says

      Yes. I have two pair. My daughter has one. I bought my mom a pair. I love them, and they hold up great. I wore my first pair immediately on a trip to Italy and walked a hundred miles in them. I’m still wearing them two years later. My daughter is really hard on her shoes, and they are holding up great. I highly recommend them. I’m getting ready to buy my third pair.

      • Anon says

        Same. They’ve held up well for her. I was a little sad about how well they held up for me, so I just bought a second pair anyway.

  12. Anon says

    Can anyone recommend a choline supplement? I don’t think I’m getting enough in my diet and I’d like to hit the targets during this pregnancy. My prenatal vitamin doesn’t have that much in it either.

    • Anonymous says

      Are you not able to eat eggs? I think one egg has your RDV of choline.

      • Anon says

        Recommended intake for pregnancy is 450 mg (although this is considered too low by emerging research – over 900 mg has been shown to be beneficial in an RCT) and one egg has about 150 mg.

    • anon says

      Take Sunflower Lecethin, it’s got lots of choline in it. And then keep it on hand for when you’re nursing, since it’s great for preventing clogs, as well. I use NOW brand.

  13. Anon says

    Returning to work after a 12 week maternity leave and I have 1 week where I can ease back in, but need to give my boss a schedule. All in person, normal hours are 8-5, baby will be in daycare. What would be most helpful? I’m thinking starting at 9 am the first few days and leaving at 3 or 4 the rest of the week.

    • Anon says

      Honestly I think the most helpful thing would be to start back at work on a Wednesday so you don’t have to do a whole week the first week back. I didn’t think it was an issue to do a whole day the first day back, but ymmv. Also, if you have the option of doing a little bit of daycare earlier, that might also be helpful (half day?) so that it’s not the first day of that too. Good luck!

    • Tea/Coffee says

      I would do every other day the first week. Because that eliminates the “ugh it’s been a long day and the baby’s tired and I’m hungry and now i need to make bottles for tomorrow and pack the estimate babe and whoops i forgot to eat dinner” slog. For the first few days you can just leave all that prep stuff for the next day!

    • AwayEmily says

      If it’s possible, I would let your baby take their first nap at home (whether this is possible will depend on your baby’s schedule…at that age mine was waking up at like 5:30am and then taking their first nap from 7:15 – 8:45 or so. At least with my kids, getting a solid first nap in made their day go a lot better. But YMMV! (we need a kid version of that…YKMV!)

      • Anon says

        +1, my kid is a night owl and always has been, but at that age she was up by 6 am to nurse and then went right back to sleep until 8 or 9 am. She was home with DH, but if she’d been in daycare we definitely wouldn’t have taken her there until she woke up from her ‘second sleep’ as we called it – it was really more of an extension of her night than a nap. (This was actually a pretty great schedule for me, because I went into work right after the feed and was able to leave super early, but it didn’t last that long.)

  14. Mid-40s ADD? says

    Has anyone experienced emerging symptoms of ADD in their mid-40s, and if so how did you address? I read that perimenopause and menopause can make symptoms more obvious due to dropping estrogen levels. I’m not “officially” perimenopausal according to my not-very-sympathetic GP but things are starting to get irregular and I just having such difficulty focusing lately.

    • Anonymous says

      I don’t think it’s ADD, I think the scatter-brained effect of perimemopause is just a thing. Some things that can help focus is severely limiting time of your phone, especially scrolling or social media. It’s destroying all of our attention spans. You could try to transfer to a midwife to get more holistic care or seek out homeopathic remedies to the peri menopause symptoms. I find that mushroom “coffee”, I use Rhyze, with cordiceps/lions mane helps with focus.

      • Anon says

        Yeah, brain fog is a huge perimenopause and menopause symptom, and one I definitely am noticing in my late 30s. I would assume it’s that and not ADD.

    • Anon says

      For me this was in my 30s. I needed thorough medical investigation and treatment. Sleep disruptions, vitamin deficiencies, and endocrine imbalances can all flare up ADD really badly and take it from manageable to unmanageable, and in people without ADD, sleep disruptions can mimic it. It sounds like you’re not talking about the brain fog that some people are getting these days, but a more sympathetic doctor might have some more ideas.

  15. Anon says

    Newly Postpartum Nightgown Rec’s:
    I’m officially to the point where I probably should have a hospital bag packed for baby #2. Due date is later this month.
    Any recommendations on dark nightgowns for wearing at the hospital, post delivery?
    I had my oldest 4 years ago and had good luck with the Stars Above button down nightgowns from Target at the time.
    I was looking at buying a new one last weekend and the material feels different and is also really see through.
    I’ve looked on Amazon a bit, and most of the reviews were pretty mixed about quality.
    I’m hoping someone has a favorite they’re wanting to recommend.

    • Clementine says

      A girlfriend with gorgeous ‘look at this beautiful mom cradling her newborn’ in hospital pics wore Posh Peanut.

    • Anon says

      Kindred bravely makes a button down nightgown. Their material is great. Pricier than stars above.

    • Vicky Austin says

      I have two:
      -Labor and delivery gown from the FridaMom kit, donated from a friend who didn’t use it. Has buttons in back for epidural, in front for nursing access, and pockets (which you can also hang your catheter bag on, ha). I wore this in the hospital after changing out of the hospital gown I gave birth in and still sleep in it sometimes. It’s very comfy.
      -Old Navy nursing nightgown – they don’t seem to have the same one anymore, but I’ve been happy with it so you may check there.

      And I saw a couple button-front nightshirts at J. Crew that I was half coveting, so you may look there as well. My BFF had a gown from a brand called Lila that she wore and loved and even felt pretty in.

    • Anon says

      I like Ekouaer on Amazon. I’ve been pleased with the quality for the price. I gave birth a month ago to my second and they’ve held up well.

      • Anonymous says

        +1 I loved mine so much, I purchased them in 4 more colors. Perfect for nursing, but I can also run errands in them in a pinch. Still wearing mine around the house months later

  16. Anon says

    I’m so excited right now that I just have to share: I just discovered that the daycare we’ll be sending our infant to has a bike path option to get to it! I thought there was no way biking would be possible, but it turns out there is a spur off the main bike trail (a rail-to-trail) that goes right by the daycare. Once our kid is old enough, this would be AMAZING. We were already dreading the very trafficky drive…

    • Cb says

      Ah, love it! I didn’t cycle with a kid on the back until the pandemic and wish I had done it sooner. We both loved it, shouting out hellos to dog walkers we passed. I got a muff thing for the bike seat to keep him a bit warmer. It’s such a nice way to decompress from school/work.

      Now he’s 6 and faster than me on our daily bike rides to and from school.

    • OOO says

      Congrats! Most parents at our daycare bike their kids to school. Start looking at bike trailers if you don’t already have one. I didn’t expect them to be so expensive. We ended up getting the basic Burley bee and it works great for us, but if the bike path isn’t paved you may want a fancier model with shock absorption. You can get a good deal on a used one.

  17. anon says

    im about to tell my work I am expecting (I’m near the end of my 16th week). It’s my first and I am nervous!! Send me your good vibes please!

    • Emma says

      it’s going to be ok! I got pregnant shortly after starting a new job and was so nervous to tell them. But my boss and team were nothing but supportive.

  18. Anonymous says

    I must be too old for these shoes because to me they look like Trotters or some other frumpy grandma shoe. I suppose they are meant to be worn by those on the cusp between late millennial and early GenZ, with a boxy cropped t-shirt that shows a sliver of flabby belly above high-waisted rigid jeans with big thighs and tapered legs. In other words, the underemployed waitresses at the local corner bar and grill filled with giant TVs. No thank you.

  19. Anonymous says

    WWYD. My daughter is a sports loving kid who is…destined for intramurals. She loves to okay, isn’t a superstar, but is a good team player.

    She wanted to get better at basketball and I signed her up for a clinic which, as it turns out, is all boys. I emailed in advance and they said there were a handful of other girls, but…there are not.

    It’s grades 3-5. She’s 4th grader. She has about 10 boys from her class/grade in the clinic but she’s not the kind of kid that hangs out with the boys generally. “Some of them are not all that annoying but most of them are.”

    I’m here now and she’s clearly not happy being the only girl. Short of recruiting a pal, which I am also doing, should I let her quit?

    I’m watching her play and she’s having fun despite herself. There are 3 high school girls working as coaches and they are doting on her, really trying hard to make her feel comfortable in a gym full of boys.

    I can’t tell if I should just let her quit (I’m sure that’s what she will say she wants to do) or encourage her to do one or two more sessions. There are only six and one is on her bday and I’ve already bought her (surprise) preseason ball tix for that day so she’ll miss it.

    Thoughts?

    • Anon says

      I would let her quit if she wants to, yes. Not necessarily because of the lack of girls, although that certainly doesn’t help, but mainly just because she’s not enjoying it.

      As an aside, I think basketball is an especially hard sport for kids who don’t have natural talent. There are a lot of other sports that are going to be friendlier to kids who are enthusiastic but not superstar athletes (I have a kid like this too). My husband has been teaching our kid basketball one on one and we’ve seen a huge amount of improvement in her individual skills, but there’s no way I’d sign her up for a clinic or league at this point – I know it would just end in a flood of tears when she wasn’t as good as the other kids. So if she’s interested in improving her basketball skills specifically you might have better luck just letting her practice at home.

      • Anonymous says

        OP here. She was in the town league (8 teams of 3/4th graders) last year. I guess I mean she’s mediocre for the league- not destined for travel which becomes an option this year, or club, but that’s fine by her!

    • Anon says

      I would encourage her to try another session, and maybe encourage her to lean on the coaches. My daughter would love the attention from older girls. But only if it’s not too much of a pain. I probably would cave if there were tears or if it was at an inconvenient time (for me).

      • Anonymous says

        OP here. The girl coaches were amazing and basically lightly peer pressured her to be back. I asked what she thought and she said she already told the coaches she’d be back.

        We also talked about how she does have kids she knows there, they’re just all boys. And she said she’d rather boys she knows and gets along with than a room full of girls she didn’t know at all.

        And, her best boy friend from preschool was there and at the end was like “(name) is here?! What?! I have to be in her group next time.” Which made me happy and made her smile when I told her.

        I do feel terrible though.

ABOUT

WORK WITH US

SERIOUS STUFF