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My selection of maternity clothes was the closest I’ve ever come to a capsule wardrobe. So, everything had to do double duty. This shirtdress from The Nines by Hatch would have made the cut — it works for the office, weekend, and everything in between.
Along with typical shirtdress features (collar, button-front), this dress has some maternity-friendly ones like a bump-flattering seam and elastic band at the back waist. As with all shirtdresses, it’s perfect for nursing or pumping. The fresh green floral pattern and fun tie sleeves will take you right into summer.
This dress is available at Target for $36 and comes in sizes XS–XXL. a
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Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Cb says
What is your kid obsessed with these days?
My son is on full-on Lego mode, and would happily build all day, to the point that I’m debating whether we need a screentime-esque limit on Lego as he’s started to grumble when he has to do anything else.
Anon. says
Yep, Legos.
My son is also watching ballet videos obsessively, especially Swan Lake, and re-enacting with self-made costumes and the most excuberant facial expressions.
Anonymous says
As a lifelong student of ballet I love this so much. Time to sign him up for pre-ballet! Our professional ballet school has separate boys’ classes and they are so adorable in their little uniforms.
Anon says
Bluey. When she is not watching it she’s playing Bluey pretend games.
octagon says
OMG yes. the good news is that a single balloon means hours of Keepy-Uppy enjoyment.
Bean74 says
Legos, Magnatiles, and Transformers. As far as obsessions go, these are pretty good. We were also able to leverage the love of Transformers into Letter Bots so we have some stealth phonics work going on, too.
jz says
Construction vehicles. He can pretty much stand and watch a construction crew for an hour or more
Pogo says
We are deep into year 3 of construction obsession with my oldest. Combined with Lego, he’s constantly constructing elaborate playscapes, then knocking them down, then rebuilding. I sometimes look at the stuff he’s created and the attention to detail is so impressive – especially what he builds from existing sets but re-purposed.
To Cb’s point the hardest part is getting him to stop. I have success with giving him a few extra minutes to “check on the crew” in the morning and then at night I ask him to “park the trucks”. Cue meltdowns when while parking some tiny piece falls off and we have to repair the truck.
jz says
oh man, my son is 2.5 so it’s only been going on for 4 months but I don’t see any signs of tapering.
Boston Legal Eagle says
My older one has been listening to and dancing to Michael Jackson songs nonstop. Latest hits have been 2Bad, Billie Jean, Remember the Time, the Way you Make Me Feel and Blood on the Dance Floor (questionable song lyrics, but I don’t think he quite gets it). He’s really got his moves down now.
AwayEmily says
The four-month Hamilton obsession (held by both my 4yo and 6yo) seems to be waning, thank goodness. Honestly their new baby sister comes the closest, which sounds cute but becomes quickly less so when they are loudly arguing about who gets to sit next to her head while she nurses.
Anon says
Haha I read that as your 4 month old was obsessed with Hamilton. That would be a very precocious child ;)
SoAnon says
Encanto. All the time. Great soundtrack, but highly annoying to have “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” stuck in your head while trying to do drafting.
SC says
Legos. Right now, the Lego Technic concrete mixer, which he built last weekend (with my help). On Saturday evening, Kiddo spent 30 minutes lecturing his grandfather about it. His other grandfather is coming by tonight to see it. I’ve definitely thought about screentime-esque limits on Legos–ultimately decided against, but we do use the “Do I need to put away what’s distracting you?” line a lot when it’s time to take a bath or eat dinner.
Also, Connect Four. He’s really good. DH taught Kiddo the strategy/math behind it, and now Kiddo is teaching all the other adults in his life so he has a legit competitor when his dad can’t or won’t play. I lost my first 6 games, the 7th was a draw, but with Kiddo’s instruction, I can beat him some of the time now.
The talk. says
Just wanted to share that this weekend, a discussion with my 6-yr old about egg yolks, egg white, and how chicks come into the eggs led to the question: “How did the sperm cell get to the egg cell in your belly, mama?”
My husband gracefully ducked out (coward!) and I had the pleasure to explain the mechanics. LOL. Let’s just say it went well, and not quite as awkward as I thought.
EDAnon says
I told me kids about how they came from eggs and we ended up Googling egg sizes and comparing them so they could see how small a human egg is. Sometimes I end up in weird spaces with kids!
Momofthree says
My kids were asking me about fleas today and their size came up. Definitely needed to start googling…
Momofthree says
My kids this morning randomly asked me about fleas and how big they were. I’m seriously considering buying them a kids encyclopedia so we look at that instead of googling all the time (or making it up)
Anonymous says
Santa brought my 6 y/o “The Big Book of Why” children’s encyclopedia (sold at Costco!) and it has been a HUUUUUUUGE hit.
Anon says
We were just in Florence with a preschooler and it seemed like such a kid-friendly place I thought I’d share here, since I know people sometimes ask for travel recs. Italians love kids, the food is obviously very kid-friendly (and you can use the promise of gelato to bribe them into things like art museums they might not be super enthusiastic about 😉) and Florence is very compact and easily walkable even for little legs. I don’t know, maybe it was just euphoria at traveling internationally for the first time in 3 years, but this was our best family trip ever by a long shot. I couldn’t believe how much fun we all had.
Anonymous says
How old are your kids? I’d love to do an Italy trip in the next few years, but mine are young (3 and due to be born next month). Wondering if I should wait until they are maybe 4 & 7 or older to do a bigger trip like that.
Anon says
I only have one; she just turned 4. We didn’t travel by plane between ages 2 and 3.5 because of the pandemic, but I think 1-2 are hard ages for travel. I would say maybe go in the next year while the little one is still a baby or wait until they’re 3 and 6?
Piper Dreamer says
How long did you spend there? Is 4-5 days enough or do you recommend a whole week? Trying to book our big trip this summer after 3 years of not traveling and am getting anxious with all the different covid restrictions…
Anon says
4-5 days should be plenty. We had six nights/five full days and used one of the full days to take a day trip to an agriturismo in the countryside for a kid-friendly pasta making class + lunch and wine + olive oil tasting (the place is called Al Gelso Bianco and I highly recommend if anyone is looking for a Tuscan agriturismo!). Even with only four full days in Florence our fourth day felt a little unnecessary. Not in a bad way, we did a gelato making class in the morning and had a chill afternoon shopping, walking around and eating gelato, so it was fun. But three full days is what you need to see the major tourist highlights. We did one museum each day (Galileo, Accademia, Uffizi).
Cb says
Oh lovely! I felt similarly about an Easter trip to Berlin. Everything was kid-friendly, lots of playparks, a big city but walkable and public transport was great fun for son (20 months when we went),
Anon says
The comment issues persist.
anon says
And I’m now having them on the main s*te too
Anonymous says
Yup.
Anon says
(Hopefully) Fun question: Did you find out the sex of the baby when you were pregnant? Why or why not?
Anon says
Yes, we did the NIPT test and found out the sex that way at 10 or 11 weeks. It was later “confirmed” by ultrasound (but the ultrasound tech said the NIPT test is more accurate). I trend anxious and like knowing things, it helps me feel in control. It didn’t really matter – obviously newborns are newborns regardless of their sex, and I actually bought some blue clothes and no pink clothes because I don’t really go in for gender stereotypes. But I just like knowing and having that information to mentally prepare. My mom found out when she pushed me out (apparently in the mid-80s you didn’t get an ultrasound unless there was a medical issue with the pregnancy) and that seems so scary to me.
Bean74 says
I did! I felt like there are so many unknowns in pregnancy that this was one thing I could know. My kiddo also was apparently very proud of what he had so in almost every ultrasound he positioned himself in a way that made it impossible to miss that he was a male.
My sister never found out with her four kids. Her reasoning was that life hands us so many unpleasant surprises that this would be a pleasant surprise to look forward to during those uncomfortable moments in pregnancy.
No wrong answer here!
Anon says
we did not. and i was pregnant with twins. we could’ve had two girls, two boys or a boy and a girl. not finding out is actually outside of character for me because I am typically a Type A planner. I didn’t find out for a few different reasons – my parents didn’t find out with me or my sister, despite being a type A planner I do like some types of surprises and I feel like everything else in life is so scripted these days, i’m jewish and subscribe to the old superstition that you shouldn’t really have baby stuff in your home until the baby comes, so i’m not sure how the information would’ve helped me plan anyway, so many people seem to end up induced or with scheduled c sections, i wanted some element of surprise, and this last reason is a bit hard to admit, but i really really wanted at least one girl and thought if i had two boys and found out in the moment of delivery, i’d just be so happy that it wouldn’t matter. (ended up with two girls). once they learned we were having twins people generally thought i was nuts, but I would make the same decision again. if it had been up to DH we would’ve found out, but in the end i think he also enjoyed being surprised.
Anonymous says
Yes. Because I have no patience and hate surprises :D.
EDAnon says
+1. Childbirth came with enough surprises for me. I was happy to learn early.
Anonymous says
+2. Although I was superstitious and still bought mostly gender-neutral stuff and refused to take the tags off any of the gendered things until the baby was home.
Anon says
I’m also very superstitious. I didn’t take the tags off anything until the baby was home, and we bought as little as we possibly could. We bought anything that was necessary for the first couple weeks but waited to buy all the fun stuff like nursery decor and cute clothes until the baby was here.
Anon says
Me too. I mean I was still surprised when I found out, I just didn’t needlessly delay the surprise.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Same here. Found out both times (both boys). There is so much unknown about babies and parenthood that I wanted just one extra bit of information, even if in the end, that information doesn’t tell you much about who these babies will turn out to be (my boys have very different personalities). It helps with name picking too.
Anon says
Yes. I would have been happy to wait until the birth, but it was important to my husband to help him bond with the baby and visualize what it would be like once they arrived. Note: he legit didn’t care the sex, he just wanted to know which one.
In retrospect, it was nice to know! We will find out for subsequent pregnancies as well.
Mary Moo Cow says
I did, both times. I toyed with not, especially for the first baby, but ultimately decided I couldn’t wait. For the second baby, one reason for finding out was to know whether we could pass on the 2 years worth of definitely girl clothes and accept boy hand me downs from my sister. I’m glad I did: we picked names and I went wild with nursery and clothes.
Realist says
Nope, we did not find out. I had seen a study showing that labor went faster when you didn’t know. It also just seemed like the natural way to do things. I knew I was going to have *feelings* about either gender and definitely had a preference. I thought my hormonal post labor body was probably best equipped to deal with those feelings. I think I was right. Our baby was the gender I would have picked if I could have, though I had convinced myself the baby was the other gender. After waiting so long to meet the baby I would have fallen in love either way.
I felt really good about our decision, but our families were super weird about it. DH kept saying ‘you can’t even know gender yet because that doesn’t always follow body parts.’ But people acted like they couldn’t get ready to greet and welcome the baby unless they knew what was between its legs, which I just don’t get.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
We didn’t find out with our first, and my MIL was so perplexed. She even at one point was like “I told everyone at work that I bought XYZ for my new grandkid and I’m just DONE now.” Um…DONE with what? Sorry it was so taxing for you to wait? Ugh.
Second pregnancy was a surprise, and not entirely a welcome one for DH, so we opted to find out. It was early 2020 and there had been far too many unknowns by then. :)
Realist says
It was so so weird how poorly people responded when we said “We don’t know, it will be a surprise.” At some point, we started borrowing the joke “Don’t know yet, but we’re hoping for a puppy!”
So Anon says
I did not find out with my first, which I think was a giant push-back against how controlled everything else in my life felt at the time. I was in biglaw and have a super controlling mother, so it felt freeing to just say we didn’t know and embrace the surprise. With my second, we found out at the anatomy scan but didn’t tell anyone. My oldest is a boy, and my second is a girl. I relished knowing that I was having a girl and keeping that to myself. I also didn’t want a huge influx of all things girly and pink. I guess the joke is on me because my now 8 year old wears pink every single day.
DLC says
Oh what a fun question!
We did not find out for first and third baby because I liked the idea of being surprised when they arrived. Also… (slightly sad note), after having a couple miscarriages before my second and third kids, I think I just wanted as little information as possible and to take growing a new baby one day at a time.
With my first, I didn’t even have a scan until five months and I remember the ultrasound tech saying, “Well the baby’s so squished up tightly in there I probably couldn’t tell you if you did want to know.”
We were not planning on finding out with the second, but we moved halfway through the pregnancy and my original OB gave me a stack of paperwork to take to my new OB and the baby’s sex was on the first page of the packet!!! I remember being slightly irked because old OB knew that we wanted to keep the sex a surprise.
Cb says
Nope. I think b/c I secretly wanted a girl and I thought I might be sad if I knew I was having a boy ahead of time. Versus them handing you a baby and saying “it’s a boy!” and you’re overwhelmed by the amazing presence of this new baby, that you don’t care.
Anon says
Ha I also wanted a girl and felt I needed to find out early so I didn’t burst into tears in the delivery room if they handed me a son. I know if I had time to get used to it I would have been delighted with a boy, but I’m someone who needs to be prepared for things like that.
Anonymous says
+1 I needed time to process it for myself. I super love my son and don’t wish I had a daughter instead, but I wouldn’t have wanted to find out how I felt while also having the stress of those first days with a newborn.
Anonymous says
I found out because I wanted a girl and I wanted to be able to process any disappointment over having a boy in advance.
Anon says
+1. I didn’t find out with my first, a boy, and ended up super disappointed/had trouble bonding. I’ve since had two more boys and found out both times to avoid that! I’ve been able to process while pregnant and be totally excited for birth
CCLA says
We did not. I am a planner and initially thought we would, but DH suggested that there wasn’t really anything we needed to know for planning (we were very much not into gendered colors) and that it could be a really fun surprise. I was persuaded and very pleased, we opted to be surprised for both of our two! Super fun, but I know we are in the minority.
Anonymous says
Yes for the first two (boy, then girl), then let #3 be a surprise (boy). I loved having the surprise to look forward to, but will admit that the practical reasons many people choose to find out were a non-issue since I already had one of each.
jz says
Yes because i’m too lazy to try to come up with 2 names. clothingwise we bought unisex stuff anyway
Anon says
No to the first – we knew it would be a fun surprise, either way. Yes to second – we had held on to All The Things from first, and wanted to give away any non-neutral clothes.
Cornellian. says
I did not with my five year old, and am not with my current pregnancy. I didn’t want to start pushing strong gender roles on the kid before they even came out, and I thought it was a fun surprise. It also comes with (for me) the added bonus of people giving you more neutral clothing/etc, which is more up my alley and easier to pass on or hand down to siblings. No regrets.
Anon says
You can find out and not tell people. That’s what we did.
GCA says
We did that as well, with both kids! Found out for name planning purposes, but kept it under wraps mostly because we hated the crazy gendered baby stuff. Bonus – it was fun to drive people nuts with it.
Anon says
I did not with my first. I figured it didn’t make a difference, it would be a fun surprise, it would be exciting through labor and delivery, all those things others mentioned. I also liked the idea of keeping everything super gender neutral so it could be reused if we had another baby.
With my second, we found out. I was really surprised to be pregnant, a bit scared, and knew it would be our last one. Something about being able to have the “final” picture of our family was really helpful.
Lyssa says
Oh, I have lots of thoughts on this!
I did find out, at the 20 week US for my first and with the genetic test (~13 weeks) for the second. Obviously everyone should do what they want, but I always thought the idea of wanting to be surprised was a little absurd – you’ll be surprised whenever they tell you, and you’ll certainly have enough to keep your interest on the delivery day without that surprise.
All that said, I think finding out at 20 wks was nicer – I had a strong hope with no.2, so I wanted to find out as early as possible so I would have plenty of time to get over it if it wasn’t my preference. But, since it was still so early, I wasn’t really able to tell a lot of people or celebrate, and it made the 20 wk scan seem a bit anti-climactic. At 20 wks; you’re sort of at a slog in pregnancy anyway, you’re past the initial excitement, but still pretty far from the due date. So it’s a really nice thing to look forward to and get excited about.
Spirograph says
yes, no, yes. For the first, DH really wanted to know because he just doesn’t like to sit on knowable surprises and I was fairly indifferent, so the ultrasound tech told us during the 20 week ultrasound and it was…. anti-climactic. My dad didn’t want to know ahead of time, so I spent the next 4 months switching gender pronouns at random when referring to the baby. That was annoying.
We didn’t find out for the second, who turned out to be a girl, because I wanted to be surprised. That turned out anti-climactic too, because L&D was a little nuts (another story for another day) and I remember having to literally say “will someone please tell me whether I just gave birth to a boy or a girl?!” and then she didn’t have a name for like 3 days because we’d thought she would be a boy. Also, I was mystified in general that she was a girl – very similar to how I felt when I found out #1 was a boy, it’s just that I had to process it when the baby was already here.
After both of those experiences, we did it best the third time — had the doctor write down the s3x and seal it in an envelope after blood test. We debated for a while, but decided we’d rather be surprised when we could react to it on our own terms and independently of whatever might be going on in L&D, so we made a date night out of opening together.
Anon says
Currently pregnant with my first and not finding out. I hate how gendered baby stuff is, and really wanted to resist that both so that we could have re-usable clothes and toys but also so that our child will have a slightly better chance of being the one to tell us who they are rather than vice versa (I know, I know, the timing won’t really work out before they know their preferred gender, but generally feel this way about all manifestations of their preferences and personality). I’m also very very type A and always have a plan, but felt like this is one big part of life that I need to just embrace the unknown and take the surprise – which I’m very excited for! We also struggled to get pregnant so part of me is just embracing my gratitude for what’s coming and willingness to take it in any form. My husband would have preferred to find out and has said he wants to if we have other children, though I would prefer not to for any kids.
Anonymous says
This is actually a super type A response, not at all relaxed. I don’t want to know the baby’s sex because I want to control how the concept of gender is presented to it.
Anon says
Yeah, I also hate the assumption in this comment that if you find out sex you’re going to go all-in on gender stereotypes. We knew we were having a girl but bought literally nothing pink or overtly “girly,” and neither did our friends and family (and if you think your friends & family won’t respect your wishes for gender neutral clothes and toys you can simply not disclose the baby’s sex to people). Now at 4 she wears pretty much all pink and unicorns and sparkles but that is completely her choice, not ours.
Anonymous says
Yeah, I find that a lot of people who wait to find out act all sanctimonious about how gender is a construct and they don’t care (which I agree with despite having found out the s3x for my kids), but then in the next breath are all “it was such a fun surprise and got us through labor!” Which is it? Unimportant or the single most important thing you’re waiting to meet your baby to find out? I feel like waiting to find out actually makes the s3x of the baby out to be the most defining characteristic of the child at birth.
Anonymous says
Did not find out on baby #1 because I hate how gender based everything is and I wanted gender neutral. Had a girl.
Did find out on second pregnancy (twins), but DH and I did not tell anyone and did not tell them that we knew. We had a lot of arguments about the name for our first and I wanted to avoid arguing about names we didn’t need. Both boys.
Anon says
we did! i feel like there are enough surprises with babies. And after our first, I wanted to be able to tell older siblings so they could adjust to the idea since they had strong preferences and if baby wasn’t the preferred sex, i didn’t want an immediate disappointment to be the reaction to baby brother or sister’s arrival. Very glad I did this. We never told the kids “we’re having a baby!” We always told them “you’re getting a baby sister/brother!”
Momofthree says
Yes for all three (although I didn’t find out until the 20 week anatomy scan). Honestly for me, I needed some sort of boost/ happy surprise after weeks of nausea and heartburn. It felt like a reward to get me through the last 20 weeks.
Momofthree says
I found out with all three, although not until the anatomy scan. I found it slightly exciting to find out the sex & not anti-climactic. I also needed some boost and excitement after weeks of exhaustion, heartburn and nausea. It was the reward I needed in the middle of the 40 weeks.
Pogo says
Yes. I’m a planner. You’re either surprised at the u/s or surprised at birth, so I didn’t feel it “ruined” it for me.
anonM says
I did, with both. If you want to know but you don’t want a bunch of needlessly gendered things (especially if this is your first and you plan on having more — you may not want every single thing in pink/blue/etc.) — you could always wait to find out until AFTER your shower (or tell family AT the shower).
anonn says
this is fun!Found ou at 20 weeks with my first, I could not understand how anyone could be surprised, then wanted to be surprised for my 2nd. Girl then boy. I’ve been terrified to have a boy bc of my brothers so I think it was helpful to not spend 20+weeks worrying about raising a son. My daughter was devastated, she wanted a sister so bad. So I think it may have been better to have the time to get her used to the idea, though she probably would have just told us we were lying. But, the real surprise was his bright red hair, I should have seen it coming based on my husband’s family, but I just didn’t ha!
Anon says
I am from a huge southern family and found out early that we were having the prodigal first grandson. Much ado ensued – carrying on of old names, lots of gendered clothing, “man” of the family comments, etc. — few years go by, and our prodigal son is now our prodigal daughter!! You just never know!
With our subsequent child, we found out the s*x at 20 weeks, as like many posted above, I wanted to bond with the baby. It was interesting, though, after having a transgender child, we did give our second child some space and time to make sure the gender matched the s*x.
Anonymous says
This is an interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. I hope your huge southern family has been supportive of your firstborn’s gender identity
Anon says
Yes, via NIPT. I wanted to pick out a name for the baby. I’ve watched other people who didn’t know the sex beforehand and often, having a name for either sex doesn’t really work out. I liked having a few months to try out the name for pur baby, liked googling it to make sure it wasn’t a book character or something, ensuring that the initials and monogram weren’t embarrassing, etc.
My parents opted to not how until birth, and they gave me a name I hate. They basically decided this in the hospital. My mother wanted a middle name for me that I would have liked, but was in a pain induced haze and got overruled. Did not want to do that to a kid.
Anonymous says
We chose to NOT find out for both kids. And I am the biggest planner/Type A personality. Not finding out for Kiddo #2 was very difficult (had boxes and boxes of boy-leaning clothes), but so glad we stuck with it.
Finding out the gender after hours and hours of labor was the best surprise and reward ever. You’re 100% happy with what you get in the delivery room! Knew there would be a hint of sadness and thoughts of what could have been if we found out during the pregnancy.
Anon says
I don’t agree with “You’re 100% happy with what you get in the delivery room.” It depends a lot on your personality. I wanted a girl and knew I would be disappointed with a boy. I wanted to process that disappoint in advance so I could be fully excited and overjoyed when I met my child, instead of having my baby placed in my arms while feeling twinges of gender disappointment. I am 100% confident that finding out in advance was the right thing for me.
Clementine says
Today was off to a good start. Then at 8:30 AM, I got the call from school that the 2 year old had thrown up. (90% sure it was a mistimed cough during breakfast that caused her to toss her just consumed cookies.)
So, you know what I did? I took a sick day. And now I’m going to watch this crappy Netflix series and casually watch my work email and basically take a mental health day. Because I’m realizing that the epic hoops I’m jumping through to make sure I never need to take a sick day is setting an unreasonable expectation for my staff.
Mary Moo Cow says
Good for you!
Cb says
Well done! I’ve really admired bosses who have said “Sorry, have a sick kid…” and it made me feel empowered to do the same.
Anonymous says
+1. Even better if you don’t respond to e-mail.
Clementine says
I intentionally left my ‘sent from my iPhone’ note on today so that my staff see that I’m just triaging on my phone vs. truly working.
Anonymous says
That’s funny–I purposely took that note off so my staff wouldn’t think I expect them to answer e-mails from their phones.
Pogo says
Thank you for this reminder. We had I think one week of full-time care and then today had to keep the baby home because of fever over the weekend (and still 101F at 2am). And our afternoon/evening nanny starts her 8 weeks of having to work extra hours at her other job which cuts 1-2 hours off the end of our days (crying emoji).
I think I’m going to try a new strategy on these days by being more chill/relaxed/less “on” during the day so I can hopefully put in an hour or two after bedtime. Vs trying to parent and work full time and being so wiped at the end of the day I pass out. We’ll see lol.
Anon says
Just commenting so I can read comments. Blerghhhh
anonM says
I’ll try that too
Anonymous says
same
Anon says
+1
Test says
+1
Anon says
doot doot doot
Momofthree says
Sorry for all of the double comments today. They weren’t showing up and then they both did!
anon says
same
Anon says
i live in a non super cold climate. pandemic permitting, we hope to visit family in the NY and DC areas over Thanksgiving and Winter Break (yes i’m planning way ahead). Does anyone have coat recommendations that would suffice? Ideally ones that are car seat safe.
Spirograph says
This is unhelpful, but true: temps in DC over winter break can be anywhere from 10-70 degrees F. NY on average is colder, I would worry less about the coat (other than getting one that leaves room for layers) and more about making sure you have good scarf, hat, and mittens.
anon says
Get a puffer from Primary or Uniqlo. Use a fleece blanket in the car or stroller. Layer with a fleece or sweatshirt if it’s chilly. Add a hat, mittens and boots for more warmth.
Anon. says
In the car seat, kids shouldn’t wear a coat, ever. Please read this: https://thecarseatlady.com/warmandsafe/
What you can do is have your child wear a thin fleece jacket over a long-sleeve shirt. You can put the thick outerwear jacket on top of your buckled-in child.
Anon says
NY is usually pretty mild through Christmas, and I imagine DC is warmer. You don’t need a down jacket or anything. I usually wear a wool coat when we visit my in-laws at Christmas time. You can often just get away with a fleece or thick sweatshirt around Thanksgiving.
Kids shouldn’t wear coats in car seats. If you’re in the city itself, I imagine you’re pretty much exclusively using cabs/Lyfts which will be heated when you get in them so you just remove the coat when you get in the car and put it on when you get out. If you’re staying with family and it’s very cold, you may need to warm up the car for a couple minutes before the kids get in, but if the car is kept in a garage you can usually just get straight into the car coat-less on all but the most bitterly cold days. I am in the Midwest which tends to be colder than NY and we don’t wear coats in the car ever.
Anon says
I find the patagonia puffer jackets super helpful for cold days in my warm climate and for trips like this. They’re car seat safe. Would need to layer up for a truly cold day, but they are pretty solid!
Anon says
+1 but only some Patagonia puffers are car seat safe – such as the nano puff or down sweater.
AnonATL says
We visited my in-laws in Minneapolis when it was single digits at thanksgiving, and my kid was fine in his Columbia Steens jacket with a sweatshirt underneath and warm pants. Granted he runs hot, but it worked for us in those temps and here in Georgia for less cold days. When we were walking to the park, we tucked a blanket around him in the stroller.
They have quite a few options on sale now and even warmer puffers if you go that route.
Anon says
I usually buy REI’s own brand of puffer coats. They’re warmer and nicer quality (650 down fill) but still only like $50. They’re thin enough that it should be safe to buckle then in with the jacket open (straps against clothing rather than over the front of a zipped jacket). Otherwise just toss one of those many baby blankets people give you that you don’t know what to do with over the carseats.
Electric toothbrush for kids? says
Do you have recommendations for an electric, rechargeable toothbrush with exchangeable brush heads for kids?
EDAnon says
We use the Oral B ones from Target. One is Frozen themed. The other one is not but is the same type.
Anonymous says
We use these as well. Frozen and Spider-Man.
Anon says
We use the sonicare for kids ones. Pretty sure I got it from Costco but then I had to order the different sized brush heads from them directly because the kind it came with I think were too big for her as a little kid.
The app that they make is ahhmazing and really motivates kiddo (4) to brush (I thought it was nonsense, but she adores “my little guy” that looks like one of the furry beasts from the cricket wireless commercials). Her toothbrush syncs to the app, which is helpful, but it also has a manual setting so I’m sure you can use the app with any toothbrush.
anon says
our Oral B Frozen one died in less than a year, so we’ve switched to a Sonicare one that has an app (like $50 on the River site), my daughter (4.5) is obsessed and brushes her teeth the full 2 minutes every time. she got it at Christmas and is still loving it.
Anon says
My daughter’s daycare has an outdoor play area that is covered in black plastic or rubber tiles. It looks like asphalt but is softer. Her shoes are a mess immediately after playing on this surface and are clear black/worn within a few weeks of purchase. Anyone else experience this? Any recommendations for shoes that will withstand this? Some of the black comes off with washing, but most of it does not. It is also wearing through the toe of the shoes as well (maybe my kid just drags her toes a lot??).
anonM says
Sounds annoying (and might get pretty hot in the summer?). I got my kids Keen sneakers (one of them is this style: Big Kids’ Knotch Hollow Double Strap Sneaker) in part because the other sneakers I got DS quickly got holes in the toes too. The Keen sneakers have these covered toes that have so far been holding up well. They might turn all black but at least they won’t get shredded.
Anonymous says
I’d get black sneakers. My daughter has had several pairs of black Nikes over the years. Mostly to go with her winter wardrobe that is 75% black leggings.
anonamama says
Happy first day of Spring! Unofficial reminder to start taking your allergy meds, haha. We’re potty training 2.5 yo this weekend with the Oh Crap method. Would love any tricks, lessons learned, things to buy on Amazon, etc, from this braintrust.
Cb says
Now with the added bonus of “Allergies or Omicron?”
Mary Moo Cow says
We followed “Potty Training in 3 Days” which is similar. Gently, don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t go well. Our first child was about 2.5 and took to it like a dream. With our second child, we tried at 2.5 and it was a disaster. On day 5, MIL was so frustrated she put her in a diaper. I didn’t blame her. So, we waited 4 more months, tried again, and she had it pretty well by day 4.
One tenant of “Potty Training in 3 Days” is that parents have to be ready, too, and it’s just such a calm, gentle, encouraging tone: you can do this as a family! Her method also encourages no TV or screens for 3 days, which seems like a nightmare, but actually was doable. New books to read (a few a day), a few new puzzles or easy toys, meals that are already prepared or easy to fix, and an understanding that both parents are hands on except for designated meal prep and breaks was key for us. So was good weather for outside time! (3 Days has kids wear underwear from the beginning so that they are not having to learn underwear down the road.) We hung a presentation-size piece of paper in each bathroom with a big pack of stickers kids had picked out, and that was more encouraging for one kid than the other. With the second kid, we caved and used candy as a bribe for the second go-round.
Good luck! I hope it goes well, but if it doesn’t, no one failed.
Anonymous says
The suggestion to load up on juice didn’t work for us, it made her too hydrated and less aware of when she was peeing.Gets lots of little potties to have around within reach, the ikea ones are basic but only like $10 each on amazon. Try to keep them off the furniture, it’s way easier to clean up pee from the floor. Make sure constipation isn’t an issue, because that will make the whole process a million times more traumatic.
Good luck! It was a harrowing 3 days for us but totally worked despite the despair we felt at the end of day 2, and we used the same method for our second child as well.
AwayEmily says
We did Oh Crap too and my advice would be to take it with a grain of salt, lean on the lovely people here for advice if things to sideways, and NOT to do the night training that the book recommends. I think kids night train when they are biologically ready and her “wake them up in the middle of the night” regimen seems completely insane (we all get little enough sleep as it is!). My daughter was day potty-trained at 26 months and started waking up dry just after she turned 5. We took off her night pull-ups and she hasn’t had one accident since. Much easier approach IMO.
Anon says
Agreed, night training is a biological thing that just happens when it happens. My daughter is extremely strong-willed and made up her mind not to be potty trained, so she day-trained late and was dry overnight first. Night training happens independent of any parental involvement, in my experience.
Boston Legal Eagle says
+2 Definitely do not worry about night “training.” Kids get there at different times. My 3 year old wakes up dry more nights than my almost 6 year old. Both day trained (with Oh Crap!) at 2.5. I think it’s in the range of normal to not be night ready until 9/10.
Anonymous says
Yes, much to my chagrin, my 7 year old still wets the bed at least once a week, and did it more often than not until at least 6.5. Waking her up for a “dream pee” does not help a bit. She’s been day trained since 2.5-3ish.
Anon says
Thanks for the reminder!
Just trained our 2.5 year old about a month ago. It seems cheesy but we did have luck with a ten dollar progress chart with magnets (ours was unicorn theme) from Amazon. They have a ton of them. It only really held interest the first day day or two. But it provided a good amount of motivation in the beginning. I really liked using magnets on a chart versus small prizes or treats as a reward. We also keep an Elmo uses the potty book with sounds/buttons in the bathroom. The sounds as a distraction are helpful for my kid. I wish I had stocked up on more books with potty training as a theme before hand. I also keep a set of toys in the bathroom that are only for “potty time”. The favorite/most useful being a pop it fidget toy. Good Luck!
Anonymous says
Jumping in on this one – any books for kids that you all would recommend? I thought we were still at LEAST 6 mos out from this, but the ped thinks kiddo is showing signs of readiness.
Cornellian says
How do I get through first trimester fatigue? I feel like it’s not even fatigue that resting or sleeping fixes, it almost feels like I’m at the bottom of a deep pool or someone is on top of my chest.
I remember it being bad last time around, but I can’t remember how I got through it. The only thing I can come up with is: be five years younger. Anything else?
Anonymous says
Have you been tested for anemia? That was my problem.
Cornellian says
Hmm. Not during this pregnancy. I was tested in December during my last pregnancy (ectopic) and I was fine, but perhaps it’s fallen. I get tested when I give blood and I usually pass, but barely, so that could be part of it. I was assuming my prenatal would take care of that…
Spirograph says
this. Vitamin D deficiency can also make you feel this way
Anonymous says
And B12.
Anonymous says
Work from home as much as you can and take strategic naps. Drink the caffeine that you’re allowed/comfortable having. For me that was a small coffee in the morning and an iced latte in the afternoon totaling right around 200 mg caffeine. Drink lots of iced cold water. And echoing the previous commenter, get tested for anemia.
Anon says
It’s so hard. But, really I think you just need to get through it. I found my second pregnancy was much worse (taking care of a Toddler while exhausted is no joke). It also lasted until nearly 16 weeks – but it does finally get better! Work from home if possible. Sit and relax as much as possible. Go to bed early. Try to eat as healthy as possible and stay hydrated!
Cornellian says
Thanks, all. I looked back on my January b12 paperwork and it was great. I also looked at my prenatal vitamin, and am going to add a straight up iron supplement at a different time of day. I’ll have to ask my midwife about vitamin D. I’ve had that deficiency before but my prenatal has quite a bit of the D so it seems like it shouldn’t be that??
Anonymous says
If you add more iron, you may want to add in Colace (stool softener, not laxative) if you tend toward constipated. My OB approved me taking it every day for the length of my pregnancy, but you may want to ask. Iron can be reaaaaaaaallllllllllly constipating.
Cornellian says
I started psyllium husk a few days ago… hopefully that’s enough? ugh.
Anonymous says
My OB recommended Slow Fe because it’s easy on the digestive system. It was the only iron supplement that didn’t make me vomit, and it didn’t cause constipation either.
Octo(ber)Mom says
Coming in late to add that taking my prenatal and an iron supplement at night have really helped – no nausea from the pills at least.
Lyssa says
Random recommendation: My kids discovered this absurd game show on Netflix over the weekend called “Is It Cake?” Bakers make cakes that are very realistic renditions of things that are not cake (hamburgers, tacos, purses, shoes) and contestants have to guess whether it is real or cake. Everything’s presented with maximum suspense and excitement, and I have to admit, it was really fun to watch and get into along with the kids.
So Anon says
We found this too and it was absurdly fun. Also – this is the amount of drama I need when watching TV. I just can’t handle big feelings in shows right now. Life is full of enough actual heartache and life happening that I want to get super into whether or not the shoe is cake and then be totally surprised.
anon says
OMG this. I just decided to take the plunge and start This Is Us while I was down and out with covid. I just…. cannot. I got like 5 episodes in and I’m done. I don’t need that kind of extra drama in my world. I want to decide if it’s a shoe or a cake.
anon says
Oh, this 100%. I haven’t been able to stomach dramatic TV shows for years, really. I have so little time to watch TV. When I actually get the chance, I want escapism, not something heavy.
Anonymous says
We watched it too! Fair warning that it has some foul language.
Rain boots says
Rain boot suggestions for young toddlers? Mine loooooves her Bogs snow boots so much that when I showed her some rain boots I’d ordered, and let her try them on, she burst into tears and went running for her snow boots. I don’t think she likes the feel of rubber boots going up to her calf.
anon says
Bogs make great rain boots! I just buy the ones that aren’t super intense for really, really cold temps.
Anonymous says
Do you meant the rubbery ones or the neoprene ones? I’m thinking the neoprene ones would actually work, thanks! I think she hated the stiff rubbery boots.
Anonymous says
I thought Bogs were rain boots?
Anonymous says
She has the intense snow boots. We live in the upper Midwest. They’re way too warm for spring puddle jumping.
Anonymous says
Bogs definitely makes rain boots. But for anyone looking for other recommendations– we loooove our Crocs brand rain boots. Especially when my daughter was a young toddler, the regular rainboots were just way too heavy/clunky. The Crocs boots are super light weight and comfortable. Added bonus- she could put them on by herself way before she could manage that with any other shoes.
Anon says
People like Crocs brand – they seem lightweight. Honestly, rain boots always seem to end up full of water for my puddle stompers, so I just put them in Native shoes (or other waterproof ones) once the weather warms up. Until then they wear their Bogs
jz says
I hated Crocs – they were so stiff and hard to put on
Boston Legal Eagle says
I’ve bought Lonecone for my kids. My kids (especially the older one, who runs a lot) get blisters from wearing rain boots for too long, so I tend to stick them in long socks or pants when wearing them.
Anonymous says
In my experience lonecone do not hold up well. My older child had very fast growing feet so didn’t wear any one size for long – a few months- and even so they are breaking either before being handed down or immediately thereafter.
Anon says
Totes Cirrus from target. Super lightweight and very durable. Kiddo wears them on sunny days. Plus they’re pink.
Anonymous says
I know this has been mentioned, but what’s the best lightweight travel car seat once my kid is too tall for rear facing in the Scenera Next? He’s still under 3 so we’d like to keep him rear facing if possible.
Anon says
Cosco Finale is the one that’s recommended here a lot but it doesn’t do rear-facing. YMMV but we have been a lot more relaxed about car seat safety when traveling. Planes are far safer than cars and we don’t typically spend a lot of time driving at our destination, so cumulatively the risk at home is far greater. We make sure things at home are as safe as they can be given height/weight limits, but for travel our attitude is that we have to meet legal minimum of the place we’re traveling and that’s it – I don’t know any jurisdiction that mandates rear-facing beyond age 2.
Anonymous says
I recently researched this and found the Evenflo Tribute as an option. I haven’t actually tried it to know how it would fit in practice.
Car seat advice says
I asked this right after Thanksgiving and someone left a really comprehensive response. I’ve not yet used it to purchase, but intend to refer to it when I buy. I believe it was the day after Thanksgiving 2021 (Friday), though it may have been the Monday or Tuesday following Thanksgiving weekend
So Anon says
I’m looking for budgeting/mindset advice: My annual bonus is 20-30% of my annual income. How do those of you in similar arrangements budget both on a monthly basis and for the bonus? I plan my spending based on my regular monthly income, and allocate much of my bonus to one-time or bigger annual expenses. For example, from my bonus I set aside an amount for Christmas, to prepay heating for the next year, summer camps, or down payment for a car. But it results in a weird internal dichotomy for me where I feel like I’m being frugal 11 months of the year and then go wild for a month. (Note that’s not what I actually do, just how it feels.) I also wait to make certain upgrades and purchases until after my bonus comes in, so that I will use a broken set of pots and pans for 3-4 months, knowing that I will upgrade at bonus time. Any approaches or mindsets that work for you?
Momofthree says
We use YNAB so you can preallocate money to certain categories & then spend down over the course of the year (for example, we put $300 per month for summer camps into that budget & then when summer camp expenses come due, we spend it all down).
We also try to not think of bonuses as part of our monthly income. It’s always conceivably possible that it might not come through.
One thing you might do is decide to allocate $x from your bonus to each month the next year, or view the bonus as a “draw down” account. i.e., if you get $20k post taxes, then you “draw down” from that amount each time you buy something you wouldn’t normally spend- this way you don’t have to wait months for your bonus. I do think it’s important to “pre-fund” the account using last year’s bonus and not do it in anticipation for next year’s bonus, but you know your company better than I do.
Anon says
DH and I are both in bonus-heavy positions (roughly 30% of my total income and 50% of his is typically paid that way). We live off of our salaries only to be safe in the years that bonuses may not be great and save our entire bonuses each year.
For irregular one-off expenses or big purchases or vacations, we do pull from our bonus savings and we will wait until near or after bonus time, if we can. This may sound elitist, but our bonuses are big and a few hundred to a few thousand dollars extra here and there doesn’t usually make a huge dent in what the cumulative savings amount is, so I don’t drive myself crazy trying to micromanage those costs too much.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I do pretty much what you do. The timing of when our bonuses hit and stock vests (March) lines up more or less when we’re planning vacations for summer and when we would invest in housing projects or new appliances, etc. Our regular monthly “budget” (quotes because we’re a little flexible here as long as it’s not extreme month to month) is based on our annual salaries only. It does end up in an extreme March on both ends on Mint!
HSAL says
Our bonus is “only” about 15% of our annual income, but we try to use it for the big ticket items – in prior years we paid off student loans and one of our cars; we also use it for vacations and home improvement projects. I don’t want to count on it so it’s not factored into monthly spending. We don’t necessarily spend it all in March but that’s usually where I account for it. I like to keep our savings at 8 months expenses, so if we’ve had to dip into savings for anything (see: last year’s new oven and some plumbing work) we replenish that first.
An.On. says
I probably make half my taxable income during the year and then get the other half in dec/jan. I contribute a percentage towards a joint household account, so during the year it’s just based on my salary, and then at the end of the year, when I get the rest of my income, I put a huge chunk in there. That gets spent as the year goes on. Husband and I basically live off of our regular salaries, although some years we have unexpected expenses or less income so we might eat into the “bonus money” as part of our usual spending. If we’re approaching the end of the year we usually put off big financial decisions until we know the actual amount of my bonus.
Anon says
My target bonus is 25% of my income. I save 100% of the bonus and we live off my monthly salary (and aim to save about 30% of that, too – but varies depending one expenses).
Help I forgot what birthday parties are like says
We’re having a third birthday party for my youngest in a few weeks and a lot of families have rsvped yes! It’s at 4 pm on a Sunday and kiddo’s favorite food is pizza so planning to order dominos and call it a day. But given it’s going into the dinner hour, I’d also like to have some apps for grownups. Will be in our yard. Any suggestions?
It’s funny because I feel like I used to be able to do this in my sleep, but after two years of no birthday parties I’ve kind of forgotten what to do! Her class at school is also kind of fancy, so there’s a weird added pressure there which I’m trying to ignore.
For the party itself we’re doing a bounce house in our yard and a face painter! and I think I’m going to put out a tub of bubbles and some sidewalk chalk and call it a day!
NYCer says
For the adults, I would probably just do a big crudite platter with hummus, and a cheese and charcuterie platter with crackers/breads.
Anon says
We did a 1st birthday at a similar time this weekend. We just did a Trader Joe’s run and got stuff for charcuteries, cheese & crackers, a few hot, frozen appetizers, and fruit salad. Pigs in a blanket were probably the most eaten thing we had.
Mary Moo Cow says
I would do some fruit, veggies, cheese, crackers, smoked meats, mixed or flavored nuts, and plenty of beverages for adults. I always forget grown up drinks and am gesturing limply toward the cooler like, “there’s some juice…” I would also outsource all the grown up food to a local grocery store or deli and pick up platters, and count on at least some of the parents eating the pizza.
Anonymous says
Sounds fun! Our area loves chic-fil-a platters that are a hit with both grown ups and kids. Costco/Wegmans/your local grocery store also probably has nice platters. If you’re doing alcohol, a sangria punch and spiked seltzers are nice to have on hand. Please don’t forget grown up drinks- at the very least have bottled water.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
I’d order enough pizza for the adults to join in, keep the apps, and add some adult friendly beverages (not necessarily booze, but sparkling waters and sodas are always nice). No shade to OP, but for me, I never understand parties folks post about here where it’s assumed only kids are going to eat.
EDAnon says
Def extra pizza for adults. We ordered enough for everyone and the grown ups were so excited! I would maybe add fruit or something. We did fruit cups because to be cautious about not sharing a bowl (but u would personally eat a homemade fruit salad!)
Anon says
Summer reading. My rising first grader is just starting to read (bob books level). I’d had a “reading chart” in the fall where when he finished a book he got a sticker then when the chart was full, a lego set – he got way too obsessed with the reward and I felt like I was turning reading into a “job” (i.e. it backfired). So, I took a break. His school sends a reading log so we’re back to doing a bit of daily reading as “homework” which he seems to understand. I don’t want him to lose progress over the summer though so looking for suggesitons of how to do a summer reading program with a little kid? I was thinking about giving him like a quarter a book or something? I don’t want to turn reading into a job but also want him to keep reading and not sure he will without an incentive. help!
Anon says
Most public libraries have summer reading clubs where you can earn rewards. I think it’s more fun and less homework-like for kids when the rewards come from an external source, not mom and dad.
EDAnon says
Yes! and maybe Pizza Hut still does a rewards program. I loved earning a pizza as a kid.
anonM says
What do they have at your local library? Most have great programs for this! We moved a year ago, but at both past and current libraries, the children’s libraries were amazing and finding books according to LOs’ interests etc. They change out books so it helps me think of new things for the kids – by holidays (including ones we don’t celebrate/didn’t even know about), books on inclusion, funny/humorous books, bilingual books, etc etc. Most reading programs at libraries have small rewards, but I would try to stay away from cash rewards. It may help to reshape your goal — while you want him to read books over the summer, what you really want is to foster a love of reading (and learning) as he gets into first grade. Making the library trips something fun and special goes a long way. I’m also trying to actively read in front of my kids more, which is WAY easier said than done, but I realized recently I usually only read physical books after they’re in bed, so now I try to do at least some when they can see me. We also keep library books in a special bin that’s right on the living room table, so I always know where to go for “new” to us books and makes returning them much easier. We also have a few favorite series that are my go-tos to make library trips quick (ex: grab a Pete the Cat we haven’t read yet, grab a holiday book we haven’t read yet, etc.)
TLDR; let the local library do the heavy lifting for you! They’re great!
Anon says
I would not worry about it. Focus on keeping his love for books/stories alive by you reading to him, maybe asking him to read a sentence here and there.
I have a current first grader who loves being read to but has been very resistant to reading himself. I have not pushed; even when it was assigned as homework I have backed off on days he wasn’t feeling it (and have let the teacher know) because I don’t want him to have negative associations with reading. Plus, 5/6 is honestly on the very early edge of when kids should be reading, developmentally, and pushing too soon can do a lot of damage.
Anyway – in the last couple months his reading has absolutely taken off. He’ll sit for an hour reading to himself now (Dogman and Pizza & Taco FTW!). He reads fluidly and can decode words quickly. He even asks to stay up late to read. I’m glad I trusted that he would get it in his own time, even when the people-pleading part of me bristled at the unfinished homework. So, I would read tons to him and keep offering new books but not making it a whole big task, and worry about it more in mid-late first grade.
Anon says
+1 if your child is already reading as a Ker, they are likely to be well ahead of average in first grade, at least where I live. I would not push reading at all this summer.
Anonymous says
This is really reassuring. Thank you!
Anonymous says
By summer he’ll be ready for some of the series for new readers. Kids that age get really into their favorite series and get very excited about going to the library to check out the next several volumes. That may be all you need to motivate him.
Barnes and Noble has a summer reading program where kids earn a free book as a prize for reading eight books. Library summer reading programs are also great.
AwayEmily says
my kid is at about the same reading level and she loves reading notes/letters/etc. As in, I will write her little notes and leave them in her bed, her dad made her a treasure hunt where she had to read the clues, etc. she will try much harder and spend way more time on those than she will on a BOB book (which we also have). I was actually considering a project soon where I have both kids make little “mailboxes” for themselves and us so that the whole family can leave each other notes and drawings and pictures.
Mary Moo Cow says
Does your school have a summer reading list? Ours publishes a list of suggested books by grade level for summer readings, so we combine that with the library’s summer reading program. We make special trips to the library to pick up the school suggested books and pick up our summer reading prizes. My kids (pre-K and 1st) really like the physical tracking on a sticker chart instead of an app or the library site; it feels more real to them.
So Anon says
In a month(!) my kids and are flying to Utah and then driving to different national parks. They both need backless boosters for the car. The IIHS recently withdrew its “best bets” categorization of bubble bums and similar inflatable boosters. I want to get two light-weight but comfortable for lots of driving backless boosters for travel. Any recommendations?
Anonymous says
We just had the cheap Graco backless booster you can buy at Target and it was great. The airlines would let my daughter carry it on and stick it in the overhead bin and didn’t count it against the carry-on allowance.
Spirograph says
+1 this is what we have, too.
Anon says
Can you get booster seats from the car rental place?
anne-on says
We have and like the clek backless boosters. My kid is on the smaller/thinner side and he doesn’t complain about it being hard/poking him. They are also (by far) the easiest ones out of all I’ve tried to put in/take out of cars, and not terribly heavy if you do wind up needing to fly with it.
Merino Wool Pajamas says
Recommendations for merino wool pajama sets? The sets from Woolino and Chasing Windmills are currently all sold out thanks to it being end of the season and all. But we still have a few months of chilly nights here in the PNW and kiddo’s bursting out of her 2T Woolino pj’s and refusing the sleep sack now she’s moved to bed kid bed (which is a completely different story…).
AwayEmily says
I know it’s not what you asked but we found a twin-size fleece blanket worked pretty well in terms of staying on even a very squirmy toddler. It’s so big that it’s harder for kids to kick off and the fleece is sort of “clingier” than a duvet. Plus they are like $10 at Target and can still be used as an extra blanket if it doesn’t work. Good luck!
Anonymous says
She’s under a thin full-size comforter (commandeered from big brother’s bed…also part of the different story) and insists on flipping it back during the night. Will try a fleece blanket as well–perhaps it will stick (literally) haha.
Oh Ye Baby Sleep Gods, grant me peace to get through this…
Anon says
They’re not specifically pajamas but I have toddler merino from the brand Joha and we like it – it’s more like base layers but would work as pjs. I’d check babyshop or polarn o pyret to see if they have any merino that might fit your pj needs.
Anonymous says
Thanks for the tip re: Joha and Polarn o Pyret–adding them to the list! Totally with you on using wool base layers as PJs vs specifically labelled PJ’s. They’ll be put to work next winter for skiing and snow play.
EDAnon says
We bought flannel from Gap that my son loves. We also have flannel sheets which work for us. Upper Midwest.