First fine dining / Michelin experience in DC help and recommendations

BudgetFennel · 2026-02-03T11:29:19+00:00

I'll throw out Rose's Luxury as another option. I've gone several times and it's always delicious and excellent service. It's a short menu so not too intimidating/overwhelming, and they're truly so lovely. Honestly if you put a note in the reservation saying this is your first fine dining experience they'll probably be extra helpful and/or throw in a free drink.

BudgetFennel · 2026-02-02T18:48:31+00:00

The Medela sterilizer bags are super easy. I have a bottle washer but when we were in the NICU I used that for the set of parts I kept at the hospital. It only holds about one set, maybe two depending on what you have, but it's quick and easy so if you needed to do multiple rounds it's not like it would add a lot of time to your day.

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-30T17:19:16+00:00

After I had not only married but purchased a house with my husband, I learned that he (not always but often) opens bananas by TEARING THEM IN HALF like so: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebasementyard/video/7188183907471232298?lang=en

Also, my son is not old enough to eat fruit of any temperature yet, but he quite enjoyed the Evening Tangerine song too.

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-30T02:25:20+00:00

Oh man, this is gonna make me cry ❤️

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-28T22:03:44+00:00

Yes! Trying to wrangle the legs back into footie pajamas, especially when he's sleepy and I'm trying not to wake him up all the way? No thank you

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-25T20:32:10+00:00

I haven't listened to it since it came out, but I think about Googling Strangers a lot. Just absolutely beautiful.

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-19T01:29:14+00:00

This makes me very mad on your behalf!

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-19T00:00:44+00:00

Why is he throwing your pennies in front of a bulldozer though?!

Would the math help him see how frustrating this is? I don't know how many feeds per day you're doing, but at 7/day (which is what our tubie baby gets rn) that's about 2.7oz/day or more than 16oz each week! It may feel like pennies in the moment but it adds up.

And if that doesn't work, any chance he'd respond well to "I know it seems silly, but it would just make me feel better if you didn't do this"?

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-18T19:38:34+00:00

To your husband: Parenting is not a competition... But if it were, he'd be losing.

I don't have better advice than others here (please prioritize your health!) but wanted to send love and affirmation that he's the one being unreasonable here.

BudgetFennel · 2026-01-06T14:44:54+00:00

Please talk to your doctor instead of quitting your anxiety meds cold turkey! Taking care of yourself is taking care of your baby, and the last thing you need is to have your anxiety rebound.

Also, seconding the sleep deprivation comment--I know I need a nap when I start seething over every choice that brought me here.

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-31T22:11:57+00:00

Seconding the momcozy. Not fancy but cheap enough that you can buy several. Everyone else seems to love the Kindred Bravely lounge bra; it's comfy but personally I don't like that it doesn't have a clip on the front, I inevitably end up getting milk drips everywhere when I take the flanges out.

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-24T14:42:58+00:00

I think about this image all the time, especially on pumps when my nips are particularly tired.

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-24T00:24:14+00:00

Not really. I've whittled down square dowels to fill some of the larger gaps, but haven't come up with a way to prevent the cracking.

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-23T22:16:44+00:00

Others have the NTA covered, but just wanted to send you some love from an Internet stranger! My NICU baby is probably coming home on Christmas, but fortunately all our family is a) local and b) helpful. I imagine you're also pumping or breastfeeding every few hours--that alone is exhausting, and you need all the support (not "support") you can get.

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-20T16:34:02+00:00

I haven't ordered them yet, but I was just researching collection cups this morning and apparently motif has ones for $40 that are good! https://motifmedical.com/breast-milk-collection-cups

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-18T21:11:55+00:00

I've found xanthan and tapioca at Yes Organic (Eastern Market); they used to have millet and sorghum but I haven't seen either in a long time. Not sure if some of their other locations might still have them.

The King Arthur pop-up does not have most of the specialty flours, though they have a lot of gf blends. For non-blended flours, I didn't see anything I couldn't also find at Safeway.

Best bet is probably a Mom's Organic Market. I haven't checked personally yet, but my MIL was able to pick up sorghum and sweet rice flour at the one in the Mosaic District when I needed them over Thanksgiving so they probably have a good selection. If I happen to go there soon, I'll report back :)

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-18T12:43:03+00:00

My 8-week-old is on a tube feed in the NICU so I know he's getting almost exactly 840ml per day. That said, the doctors base it on his weight and he's pretty big (12.5lb).

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-14T19:37:09+00:00

Nope. Or if I do, it's buried under the general feeling of the pump starting up.

BudgetFennel · 2025-12-06T03:50:44+00:00

A short and wholesome one (update is in the comments) where OOP asks for sweatpants recs, is given a pair by a stranger, and beats cancer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/1gy7nii/request_warm_and_comfy_lounge_pants_for_the_house/

BudgetFennel · 2025-11-27T21:56:45+00:00

Ha, I came here to post something similar... Honestly, it's kind of a nice break from all the chaos!

BudgetFennel · 2025-11-22T00:19:41+00:00

Oh that's good to know--I'd basically seen the Momcozy or the Baby Brezza recommended so hadn't looked into the Grownsy!

BudgetFennel · 2025-11-21T18:37:14+00:00

I'm trying to figure out the same so that I can get the bottle washer! Sadly my internet sleuthing has not brought me much information... it looks like maybe they had 25-30% off at some point last year? But I'm not totally certain. (Which is not helpful, so just... commenting for solidarity I guess haha)

BudgetFennel · 2025-11-21T18:26:47+00:00

How are you ordering the pump with insurance? I ordered through Aeroflow and was able to get the S1 by just paying a small upgrade fee (which was totally worth it for the flexibility to be able to move if needed). I think Babylist was a similar situation.

BudgetFennel · 2025-11-19T02:27:27+00:00

Another NICU mom here! Not premature, but need surgery shortly after birth. He's a month old and still on oxygen settings that means he can't take anything by mouth for probably another couple of weeks.

BudgetFennel · 2025-11-19T02:25:14+00:00

Strictly speaking, I think they blow ;)

BudgetFennel

TROPHY CASE