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If you’re looking for a kid-friendly piece of decor that’s still kind of stylish for your home, I have to sing the praises of Land of Nod poufs. We have a bright green one from a couple years ago that’s similar to this, and it’s durable and the kids like it — and it works well in the space. This is sort of the more grown-up version but if you have any little ones to spoil this holiday season (or the grandparents want to), they also have a $120 giant dog stuffed animal pillow that your kids can flop on that looks really adorable. The pictured one comes in blue and cream and is $99. Woven Jersey Navy Pouf
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Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Zappos – 26,000+ 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 – 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
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Anonymous says
This looks gorgeous and I love the color but it must be a nightmare to clean? I imagine juice or crumbs in a million nooks and crannies.
lsw says
Kat, do you keep a pouf like this in your living room? Like an alternate place for kids to sit if adults are on the sofa?
Anonymous says
Yes, what does one do with a pouf – can you actually sit on it or put things on top of it, or is it like a tiny ottoman?
H says
I have one on my family room. It’s actually a square/cube shaped and is really forgiving. Toddler leans against it when we’re in there as an alternative to sitting on the couch. I will also sit on it when I’m at his toddler table with him.
Anonymama says
footrest, place for kid to sit, place for adult to perch when putting shoes on toddler, constructing/admiring lego vehicle, or drinking pretend tea. also extra seating when there is a large mix of adults and children of various ages hanging out. But my house runs pretty casual (despite vast amounts of seating we’ve been known to all end up sitting on the floor) so ymmv.
Christmas/Holiday Books says
Any favorites?
We have Little Blue Truck’s Christmas which is a hit. And we do ‘T’was the Night before Christmas’ on Christmas Eve. Looking for classics to add. I never read Polar Express as a kid, what age is it best for?
EB0220 says
My kids really liked Polar Express last year (2 and 4 then).
AIMS says
My daughter really liked Dear Zoo so we got Dear Santa last year which was cute.
Cate says
EXCEPT WARNING: if your kid really wants a cat, do not buy this! That’s what the kid gets at the end! It’s a problem! There should seriously be some sort of caution sticker on the front.
My kids like (religious) Who Is Coming to Our House? Lots of farm animals.
rakma says
THANK YOU! I was going to go put this in my Amazon cart but DD1 has been on a crusade to get a cat. This could have ruined (my) Christmas.
Cate says
Happy to help :)
avocado says
My family loves Santa Mouse; on Christmas Eve we always leave a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse along with cookies for Santa. Another of our favorites is the lovely version of The Gift of the Magi illustrated by P.J. Lynch.
Anon says
I had legit forgotten about Santa Mouse but it is precious! Gift of the Magi is also wonderful. Thanks!
CLMom says
I have found memories of the Christmas version of the I Spy book. You had to find like two turtle doves hidden amongst a snowscape. I feel like it has stood the test of time, because I will probably go searching through it again this year.
SC says
Kiddo really liked “A Very Mater Christmas” last year (he was 1.5). I’m not sure it’s a classic that will stand the test of time, but he insisted on reading it everyday last December.
Anonymous says
From my childhood – The Sweet Smell of Christmas (Scratch and Sniff!), Walt Disney’s Santa’s Toy Shop.
More recent – Robert Sabuda’s pop-up, A Winter’s Tale.
anon says
Llama Llama Holiday Drama
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Night Before Christmas
anon says
And more:
Christmas in the Manger
An Otis Christmas
Anonymous says
My family had a lot of Christmas books growing up. Some of my favorites when I was a kid:
James Herriot, The Christmas Day Kitten
Hans Christian Anderson, The Little Fir Tree
The Gift of the Magi
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
Mercer Mayer, Merry Christmas Mom and Dad
A Tale of Three Trees
The Littlest Angel
POSITA says
I wish this book was more Santa-friendly. We always skip the last page but our 4 yo is eventually going to catch on.
avocado says
I used to skip over part of On The Banks of Plum Creek for the same reason.
Redux says
What happens on the last page?
POSITA says
Referring to Polar Express.
Anonymous says
Home with the toddler today potty training. I’m already exhausted. Wish me luck!
Anonymous says
Oh man. Good luck, and share anything that works – we’re going to be in your shoes before we know it.
LegalMomma says
Speaking of potty training . . . we are in the throws of it. Our 2.5 y/o essentially decided she was done with pullups last weekend. Did great with only one tiny accident Sunday evening. Monday at daycare – did great w/ one tiny accident. Tues/Wends/Thurs. Accident after accident and not peeing in the potty. Any advice? Clearly she is capable and was interested as she was the instigator of this.
Anonymous says
Stick with it. It took our twins about two weeks to get the hang of it. We still get one or two accidents a day but much better than at the beginning and improving every day.
Anon for This says
Agree. Not to depress you, but my oldest took almost a month but when it clicked, it really clicked and he has had only two or three (awake) accidents in the last ten months or so.
AwayEmily says
Thanks to everyone who offered toddler hair advice yesterday. Excited to give it another try this weekend with the help of ouchless elastics, Elmo on the TV, and a spray bottle.
TwoTwoTwo says
I need advice! My 19 month old is climbing out of his crib…he did it for the first time two weeks ago and can do it quite easily. I put him in a sleepsack again hoping it would buy us a couple of months but he has started complaining about that too and waking up in the night shouting “off off.” I feel like he’s too young to move to a bed, no? But am starting to doubt I have options. My nanny says moving him to a bed is “giving in.” But I don’t want to leave him in the crib and risk that he’ll climb out and hurt himself! FWIW crib mattress is already on lowest possible setting and I can’t put it on the floor (too big a gap).
Any advice appreciated!
Anonymous says
When our twins started climbing out we added 2 x 6 boards around the bottom to close the gap to the floor. Painted to match crib and screwed into crib. Unbolted mattress frame lies directly on floor to give air room to circulate under mattress, then crib mattress.
They are perfectly happy in there now and are almost 3.
mascot says
Not too young, mine flipped himself out of the crib around that age. Our crib converted to a toddler bed so we used that option. If you don’t want a bed, there’s nothing wrong with a mattress on the floor for right now. We baby-proofed the room, strapped the furnitre to the wall, took out 90% of the toys/books to make the room too boring for midnight exploring, and installed a babygate in the doorway. We didn’t worry too much about whether he choose to sleep in his bed or out of his bed since the room was safe and boring. The transition took about a week and then he was back to sleeping normally in his bed.
H says
That would freak me out. I’d transition him to a bed, completely childproof his room, and put a gate on the door. One of my friends’ sons started climbing out around this age and this is what she did.
Anon says
I might be your friend.
My oldest moved into a twin bed (with one of those removable bed railings) around 20 months when she started crawling out of the crib. My youngest moved into the shared room – also into a twin with a railing – around 18 months.
The room is completely childproofed and most furniture and toys removed – one low shelf bolted to the wall with only board books in it, child-locked closet door, and a gate on the doorframe (Munchkin Easy Close Metal Baby Gate on Amazon).
We had no issues with this setup – the only hiccup was taking the railings off the beds because they both fell out of bed for about a week after removing the railings. We just piled pillows on the floor to soften their landing.
anon says
If he’s close to getting himself out, you need to move him to a bed. (Our ped was adamant about this, btw.)
Anonymous says
Not too young, and like other posters said – if he’s getting himself out, it’s time to move.
DD was easy as pie, but DS was another story. He started climbing out right around 2YO.
I laid DD’s old crib mattress on the floor, and put his blankets and stuffed animals on that. This is your big boy bed. You stay ON YOUR BED. If you get off, we’ll have to put you back in the baby crib.
This mostly worked. Having two mattresses was key bc I wasn’t going to deal with moving it in the middle of the night. Getting put back in the crib = no stuffed animals.
For whatever reason, when we started with that method, on the nights he had to go back into the crib, he did not climb out. YMMV
Edna Mazur says
I’m on team transition. My two year old broke his arm when he fell trying to fall out of his crib. He had successfully done so a couple of times prior. Does your crib convert to a toddler bed? That’s what we did. Then when we needed the crib again, we put a mattress and box spring directly on the floor without a frame. He’s fallen out of that, but it is not high enough to hurt him.
Not going to lie. He didn’t stay in bed and still doesn’t a year later, but it’s way better than broken bones.
TwoTwoTwo says
Thanks for all the advice everyone and so sorry about your son Edna! That was the reality check I needed. Switching to a bed it is!
Anon says
I used to think these poufs were silly, but now that I have a kid, they seem much more practical and still cute. Agreed about the crumbs though. I’d probably just flip it over and shake it out, tbh.
How did you decide how many kids to have? We always talked about having a big family, but now that we have one kid, I’m really enjoying it being just the three of us. He’s 8 months old – do I need to give it some time? Today I feel like I’d be happy with one more, but honestly the more time goes by the more I’m on the fence about it. Hubs waffles between “we said we want 4 so we need to get on it” (we’re 32) and “ehh one more would be enough.” Money is not really a factor for us; we live in a MCOL area and both have good jobs, plus we both grew up poor so we feel like our kids will already have a better baseline than us (and we turned out fine). I’m still interested to hear for how many of you money was the deciding factor.
SC says
We haven’t truly “decided” yet, in that I recognize that hormones could kick in and I could change my mind, but I lean more toward one-and-done everyday. For me, there are 3 big factors.
First, money–we can’t afford another child unless DH (unemployed but earning some money through contract work) decides to be a SAHP. Even then, finances would be super tight, and we would feel crowded in our 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment. Also, I’m at a job with a great work-life balance day-to-day, and I’m eligible for FMLA, but there’s no paid leave. Since our finances are already super tight, we can’t afford for me to take even 4-6 weeks off without pay. I only have 3 weeks of PTO per year (10 vacation days and 5 sick days). I also don’t have a short-term disability policy through work.
Second, but related–I had a terrible first pregnancy. I was terribly sick for 4 months, then was put on bed rest at 7 months pregnant, and had my son at 35 weeks. I worry about having an even more complicated pregnancy with a less positive outcome, about not being able to work (or earn money) while pregnant, and about damaging my reputation and career again by being absent from work.
Third, I like our life more as Kiddo gets older. I am enjoying his company, the activities we can do together, sleep, and the recent feeling that being the “on” parent has gotten easier and we’re at a point where we’re happier to trade off time with him. (I got out of the house and met friends for a glass of wine last night!) Even without all the other stuff above, I don’t feel any desire to repeat the baby years, and it would feel like going backwards to me.
Also, I’m an only child, and I enjoyed being an only child, so I don’t feel motivated to “give” Kiddo a sibling.
Anon says
Not OP, but thank you for your perspective. I am also leaning towards one and done for similar reasons.
CPA Lady says
We’re one and done too. That was our tentative plan going in, and DH had the snip snip this summer, so it’s official.
For us, it was kind of a lifestyle decision (selfish!!! *shrug* ). We’re both independent, DH works a ton, neither of us likes chaos or loud noises (we’re super fun). I really like how my life is right now. I can have friends, socialize, keep my marriage afloat, volunteer in my community, have hobbies, work full time, and we have lots of disposable income. All of this stuff is getting easier as kiddo gets older. I can’t wait til she’s 5 and we can start taking big trips together. If we had another kid, a lot of the things I really enjoy would go away. I’d like to be able to provide wonderful things for my kid, but I also want to be able to provide wonderful things for myself. I don’t want to delay gratification for two decades.
I also honestly don’t have the emotional bandwidth to solo parent two kids 75% of the time. Sometimes I feel like I’m barely hanging on with one. DH is in his slow time of year at work, finally, and probably wont have any trips for almost two months straight. I realized this morning that I haven’t yelled at kiddo in a while, and it’s because I’m not alone with her all the time. When I’m parenting by myself I get frustrated and operate in survival mode more than I would like.
Anonymous says
Also 32 and have a 2.5-year-old. Finances are a supporting factor, but not a primary one – if we wanted 2, 3, 4 kids, I think we’d find some way to make it work financially. I would like 2, husband would have been happy with one (kiddo was not an easy baby but magically became easier around age 2)…and now we’re TTC #2.
Boston Legal Eagle says
We have one right now and I want at least one more – husband originally just wanted one, but is now happy to have two. I’m an only child and husband is one of three so two seems like a nice compromise and maybe our kids can have both the advantages each of us had, without some of the drawbacks.
Financially, we can afford it, though it will be tight, especially if I decide to change my job. However, that might be balanced with us moving from a VERY HCOL suburb to a slightly less but still HCOL suburb. I am fairly certain that having a second will negatively impact my career, but the desire to have a second seems to be outweighing this and I am already facing a lot of roadblocks to success in my field (see my rant/ramble from earlier this week) so I’m not sure if there’s any going back now and I don’t want to miss out on having more kids just for a possibility of moving up at work.
I had a fairly easy first pregnancy so if the second is like the first, I would be ok with that. Of course, I know that every pregnancy is different and I might have a horrible second, but at least then I would know that it would be my last and I could get through it without worrying about doing it again.
Our son has also been relatively easy (early sleeper, generally keeps a routine, friendly once he’s comfortable) although is extremely active so has been exhausting. Again, I know that the second can and likely will be completely different, but I’m holding on to some hope that he/she will be like our son. I also think that our son will be a great older brother and would like him to have a companion growing up. No guarantee that they will be close when they’re older (case in point, my husband and his brothers), but hopefully they can at least have each other when they’re young.
A part of me would like 3, if I could somehow just hop to the point in time where all three are age 5+ or so, and skip the pregnancy and baby/toddler part, but it doesn’t work that way. With 3, beyond just the financial and logistical headaches, I would also be concerned that one feels left out, or none get along and just fight with each other. I’m also concerned that this could seriously hurt my marriage.
anon says
I’ll chime in in case anyone is still here since I feel like these are small family examples. We originally wanted four. We currently have two. Second pregnancy was quite difficult. I’ll be okay with three but still kind of want four. It may turn out to be a health question. We definitely don’t feel finished yet though. We both love the chaos.
Redux says
Any favorite places for boy-girl twin coordinating outfits? For our extended family pics we’re going to dress the 4-y.o. cousins in coordinating outfits and being as how theyre not actually twins, I have no experience with this. Any help?
Anonymous says
Gymboree often has great coordinating outfits for pictures.
Anon says
Gymboree and Gap. Gap always coordinates their season colors across men/women/kids/baby so it’s relatively easy to pull together a coordinated family look.
If you’re doing Christmas pictures, the Gap always has those crazy striped sweaters for all ages. You can match or coordinate really easily – coordination just requires each person picking one or two of the stripe colors and wearing that. Or just do variations on the stripe – I think they have it as a sweater dress, leggings, puffers, color block, scarf, etc so it’s easy to pick crazy stripes and say, denim, and all look coordinated.
Anonymous says
Hanna Andersson has a ton but they are not cheap
anon says
I was just eyeing some sweaters in the new Tea Collection catalog. They have them in a few colors/styles (dress, zip-up sweater, button sweater) and I thought it would be cute for sibling matches. Their sweaters aren’t cheap, but it is one of their products that I have found to be especially good quality.
NYC at daybreak says
We will be in NYC this weekend with the earliest waking 2YO on the planet. Like, even DST didn’t stop him from waking at 5am :-( We are in a single hotel room and also have a 6YO.
Any suggestions for things to do at 8am on a Sunday in Midtown?
Or other can’t-miss stuff in NYC for a 2YO and 6YO on a cold weekend?
EB0220 says
What’s your opinion/technique on kids doing things for themselves? Mine can do things like pick out their clothes and get dressed and put on their shoes and socks. Everything I read says that it’s best to let kids do things on their own if they are able, but about 50% of the time my kids don’t want to pick out their clothes/put their shoes on/etc. by themselves. Do you help? Stick to your guns and let them do it on their own?
Anonymous says
Depends on the age, for my 6 year old, she ‘picks out’ her clothes by herself but that consists of me standing next to her dresser, asking her to pick out a tshirt, leggings, sweater or long sleeve shirt, underwear and socks. She picks the actual items but I make sure they are weather appropriate and that she doesn’t forget anything. We do it at night before she goes to bed.
For younger kids, I try a balanced approach – so my 3 year old puts on his own coat and hat. I zip his coat and put on his boots.
Anonymous BigLaw Associate says
“Stick to your guns and let them do it on their own?”
If it is something they are capable of doing themselves, yes.
anon says
What are your favorite sites for holiday photo cards? I haven’t been happy with the quality of Shutterfly recently and need an alternative. I drool over Minted’s stuff, but it’s a little pricey.
Anon says
Minted usually offers coupon codes. Their quality is great.
Anonymous says
Well, I like Costco, but that may not be fancy enough for you if you’re concerned about quality. They have a great price point.
Anonymous says
We’ve been really happy with Tinyprints, which I just realized merged with Shutterfly.
Quick fix for the blues says
I’m feeling really down and sad today, for absolutely no good reason — possibly lack of sleep, but no legitimate reason to be unhappy! Any quick fixes you lovely ladies can suggest? Thank you in advance.
mascot says
How’s the weather where you are? Can you take a short walk in the sunshine and maybe get a treat? Or, can you do a quick guided meditation through an app or online?
Anonymous says
internet videos of puppies and kitties
Anonymous says
Drinking tons of water helps me somehow!
Quick fix for the blues says
Thank you so much, all! A walk, cute videos, meditation or water –all of these are doable. :) Sincerely appreciate your kind suggestions.
Anonymous says
What are your favorite white noise machines? We need one desperately and I’m looking for one like Karp recommends that gets louder in response to baby making noise but that seems to be a fantasy. Have you found this magical machine? Prefer something else? Thanks!
CPA Lady says
I really like the my baby SoundSpa. It’s $25 on amazon, can be plugged in or use batteries, you can leave it running all night or set a timed amount. There’s a very wide range in volume. There are six nature sounds. It’s small and lightweight, and I bring it with us when we travel. The only thing I don’t like about it is that if the electricity goes off, it resets to this heartbeat sound that sounds like something out of a true crime show soundtrack, which was terrifying the first time it happened. But that’s the only drawback.
Nighttime Anecodotes says
Curious about the time between your child being day and night potty-trained. My older daughter was day trained around 2 years, 8 months and was dry at night about a month later. My younger daughter day-trained a month or two after she turned two. It’s been over a year and her diaper is still super wet in the morning. I haven’t pushed it because I know it’s a physiological thing, but it is starting to seem like it’s been a REALLY long time since she was potty trained during the day. This is normal…right?
NewMomAnon says
My kiddo day-trained shortly after turning 2. She’ll turn 4 soon, and is still not ready for night training. Not even worth worrying about, in my opinion.
anon says
totally normal. My pediatrician said they might not be ready for no diapers at night until 6. My 4yo still needs one at night, and my friend’s 5yo just transitioned. They were both day trained around age 2. On the other hand my niece went immediately to day and night trained, so I really think it just depends on the kid, and how hard of a sleeper they are (atleast that is one of my theories . . .)
anon says
Totally a depends on the kid thing. My daughter was night trained long before she was day trained (as long as you made her sit on the toilet as soon as she got up). My oldest son gave up his overnight diaper the week before his younger brother did, and they are 2 and a half years apart. My oldest is a heavy heavy sleeper, so I think that was a large part of it.
Nighttime Anecodotes says
Thanks! I’ll just be grateful that younger kiddo is a hard sleeper!
Anon says
DH and I were just talking about this. The other night, after several mornings of dry diapers, we discussed maybe trying toddler in underwear over the weekend at night. I kid you not, the very next morning, diaper was wet. I’m not going to worry about it right now.
Anonymous says
Totally normal. Daughter potty trained at 3 right on the dot and didn’t stop wearing pull ups until kindergarten. It is 100% physiological, you can’t train it, and there’s no point in worrying.
Blueberry says
Back to Anonanons’ theme from the other day, we just won a proposal I was on for a very cool project, and if it weren’t for the fact that I’d be in my 39th week of pregnancy during the kickoff, I’d be booking tickets to travel to [top 5 favorite foreign city] for the kickoff meetings right now. Sigh. Trying to psych myself back up for giving birth and losing all my momentum around here. I know the opportunities will be here when I get back. // End whine.
Anonymous says
Blah! I’d say have a big glass of wine, but you probably can’t do that, either…
Let yourself grieve for this lost opportunity! It sucks! There’s some legitimate fear in missing out while out on maternity leave (and in future opportunity; ie, “Mommy Tracked”).
Blueberry says
Thanks — it’s nice to be able to whine to people who get it.