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Something on your mind? Chat about it here. Ooh, I’m loving these comfy yet stylish pants from cool girl brand Frame — they look great for the weekend or a casual workday (but know your office). (Nordstrom actually has a ton of pieces from Frame in their big Winter Sale that just started! I’ll try to do a fuller roundup of the big Nordstrom sale that just started, as well as all the Presidents’ Day sales starting now — please stay tuned over at Corporette!) They were $235, but are now marked to $140; lots of sizes are left as of right now. Velveteen High Waist Skinny Pants Two other mom-related sales of note: Nordstrom has UPPAbaby on sale, and Amazon’s deal of the day is on LILLEbaby carriers. See our older posts on strollers (we loved the Uppababy G-Luxe) and baby wearing. This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Anonymous says
Going anon since this will totally out me to people, but I just need to gripe. We’re facing a very unexpected bathroom renovation due to a burst pipe. We’ve been without a working shower for several days, so my kid hasn’t been bathed in a week, and my husband and I have been showering at the gym. We are literally rearranging our schedules so that we can both get a daily shower. On the plus side, I’m getting in some extra workouts. There is no expectation of having a shower fix in the short term (right now it’s looking like weeks away) and my husband is traveling next week so there is no way this system is sustainable while solo parenting. So now I think I’m looking at a hotel stay with a toddler while solo parenting and also having to go to work. I’m so tired.
mascot says
Could you get a large plastic storage tote and make a toddler bath? I’d probably do this in the kitchen with some towels on the floor because toddler.
Anonymous says
I hadn’t thought of that! I just might do that.
Anon says
Have you given away toddler’s baby bath tub?
Anon says
If its the pipe that supplies the water and the drain is ok, you could put the storage tote in the bath itself.
Sabba says
Check out camping supply stores–I’m pretty sure there are shower things for backpackers so that maybe you could rig up something in the kitchen or garage. You might need some sort of plastic bin and towels to catch the water. Also, they probably sell body wipes that might be enough for the toddler if they aren’t too gross on some days. Good luck–this sounds tough.
GCA says
OMG, what is this, National Plumbing Malfunction Week? I’ve been solo parenting all week as husband was away for a conference. On Tuesday our bathroom sink backed up and had to be removed from the wall so the clogged (rusty, ancient) pipe could be fixed. On Wednesday morning, before the contractors could come install the new sink, our toilet overflowed *and the apartment flooded*. There are some upsides to apartment life though – building management was on it in a flash since they don’t want any spillover flooding into downstairs apartments, and they pumped out all the water. But I had to take Wednesday off to mop and sanitize and do laundry and throw out everything unsalvageable.
In your shoes I’d say storage bin as toddler bath, then treat yourselves to a weekend at a hotel or something. Are there any friends or family who could put you up for a few days?
EB0220 says
Not sure how much space you have, but one of those toddler wading pools could work, too. Might make it more fun for your kiddo if you have the space and desire to transport it to your house. I just saw them for $15 at Babies R Us. But honestly, the storage bin is probably much easier and cheaper.
NewMomAnon says
Oh no! That stinks. On the flip side, a hotel offers maid service, clean sheets, and often complimentary breakfast, which sounds amazing. Try to find one with a kitchenette or good room service for dinners.
rosie says
I’ve seen some suite hotels have complimentary dinners on weekdays as well (Hyatt House is what I’m thinking of).
Anon says
This morning’s discussion on baby’s age and talking got me thinking: my 11 month old babbles constantly. He’s been pretty chatty since about 5 months old. He doesn’t have any distinct words (though I can tell when he is looking for/referring to “daddy”) but he babbles to himself, to his day care friends, and I can tell he’s trying to communicate something specific to me sometimes. Do any of you have experience with early/constant babblers? Do they talk more, earlier, less, the same? Just curious.
AIMS says
My daughter was a very early babbler (3 mos), didn’t talk ‘early’ but is a very verbal/communicative now at 2.
She seemed to have explosions happen all at once so there were periods where it seemed like there was no progress and then – boom – lots of new words.
NewMomAnon says
Kiddo’s babbling was interrupted only by crying and sleeping as a baby. Pretty much her personality still, only now it’s a constant barrage of real words. I don’t think it was a developmental thing; she is an intense kiddo with a strong need to make herself understood, and she is constantly experimenting with ways to make that happen. Sometimes obnoxious in a young child, but it will be such a great trait for her as a teenager or adult.
Jen says
I have two talkers- one is 4.5 and one is 18 months. 4.5 year old had words earlier than her sister, and strung them together earlier (my cup, daddy’s coat, more juice please, etc). My 18 month old was on track but not as early with actual words at first, and was on track but nowhere near as early as her older sister for stringing words together, but had (has) an insane vocabulary of words and always has. Like, once she learned to say words she immediately had 50. She easily has hundreds of words now and can string them together. Part of this is that big sister teaches her words daily and little sister is a parrot and a sponge.
So, neither were delayed, both talked eventually and now neither of them shuts up ;). They both still babble a lot. Sometimes they bark like dogs. My younger one slips into Dinosaur every so often. Older one babbled more as a really young one, younger child babbled more often as she got to the 10-14 month mark.
Don’t worry about any delays until >15 months. You will look back on this time of relative silence fondly.
For Anon with chatty baby says
Psychologists pretty much agree that there are no advantages to a child hitting “milestones” early. (If a kid walks early it doesn’t mean they’ll be athletic.) In fact there are lots of very sad stories in the literature of prodigies (say, kids who read at age two) who are never successful as adults.
You may be getting a glimpse of other facets of your baby’s personality though! Your child may have strong extroverted tendencies. Or the babbling may be an indicator that your baby is an auditory learner (it’s a form of self stimulation) or is highly attuned to sounds (your baby may really love music).
Enjoy the babbling while it lasts! It’s so much cuter than a toddler demanding things they can’t have!
GCA says
Speaking of milestones, some funny anecdata: I said my first words at 9 months and learned to read at 3 (documented by parents and pediatrician, so not just my mom imagining things), husband started talking at 2 and read at 7; he’s the one getting the PhD now… :)
Also, shoutout to everyone attempting to catch up on work from home while daycare is closed for President’s Day. Or perhaps that’s just me…
Pogo says
I’m blessed with a husband whose company gives them every single holiday off, so I’m in the office while he’s home with kiddo. I hope his company never changes this policy!
GCA says
*emerges from brain fog* *Presidents’ Day, obviously. Attention to punctuation: one thing I obviously didn’t learn at 3.
Pogo says
My guy is super chatty too. We just say he has a lot of opinions!
He will babble to himself in the middle of the night. It’s pretty funny. But I can see how babbling does not necessarily mean early talker or proficient talker – it just seems like he’s testing out his vocal chords.
AIMS says
For uppababy – pishposhbaby dot com also has all UB strollers on sale, including the GLINK double and no sales tax if you’re not in NJ, where the store is based. I’ve gotten stuff there before (all our car seats) and can vouch for their customer service (I’m usually reluctant to buy big ticket items from stores I don’t know). FYI.
Books for Grandma says
I’m expecting a baby in a few months and my mom (first time grandma) will be staying with us for a few weeks after the baby is born. I can tell that she’s getting anxious about things that might have changed since she had infants (e.g., texting me to make sure we know what to do about the umbilical cord when we get home from the hospital; texting to ask if we need a diaper genie; confirming we have a pediatrician lined up after I mentioned to her weeks ago that we had found one). I know all of these worries/suggestions/questions are coming from a good place – but I want to get her a book or something that will make her feel more comfortable with the baby (and so she gets off my back!). Any suggestions for a book I can send to her or any other helpful resources? Thanks in advance!
rosie says
No suggestions for a book, but if she’ll be caring for your child solo in the future, you could suggest she take an infant first aid/CPR class. It’s something I would want anyway down the line, plus doing it now might help her feel like she’s taking proactive steps to get herself ready. I would also feel free, in your position, not to respond to her texts (if that would make them less annoying to you, and assuming you are responding right now).
mascot says
This is a good idea to have her take a class. They will also bring up things that have changed since we were kids, like putting baby to sleep on their backs. Another thing that my mom kept worrying about was my kid being thirsty/hot and she kept wanting to offer a bottle of water. I kept having to tell her that babies only drink breastmilk or formula and that his hydration was good, thanks.
Heading Home with Your Newborn is good reference read written by a couple of pediatrician moms that focuses on the first few months with a baby.
avocado says
Our hospital had a special class for grandparents to cover what had changed since they became parents decades ago. We got laughed at when we suggested it, though–the attitude was, we raised eight children and none of them suffocated, so we’ve got this. Your mom may be more receptive.
Anon says
Dude You’re going to be a Dad. It’s a pretty good high level overview of the rules you need to know.
But it also sounds like maybe you need to start practicing how to say “Thanks, I’ll consider that.” and then not actually listening to the advice. Or saying “Thanks but I’ve got that covered.” If that fails, you might also be able to have a “Mom, I know you mean well and I really do appreciate that you’re thinking of me, but those questions are feeding my own anxiety. I need to focus on reducing my stress levels, so could you try to just trust that we’ve got this covered? I promise this kid will be happy and loved, and I’ll have you around to help me if we discover anything has fallen through the cracks. Thanks!”
Jen says
Our hospital has a class for exactly this- it’s called Grandparenting 101 or something like that. Basically reviews what has changed since the grandparents had kids (no drop side cribs! Car seat rules! no rice cereal in the bottle to help kids sleep better! back is best! etc etc).
Anonanonanon says
They Mayo Clinic baby’s first year book is pretty good