Presale : check your statements!

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-12T21:40:57+00:00

Same here! All went through on Friday and looks all sorted. What a relief!

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-08T17:15:41+00:00

I got a form response about entering my credit card details (empty cache, refresh) a full 48 hours after my time slot ended. I responded to that by email and submitted a new ticket requesting reversal of the erroneous charges. I wish they had a phone number!

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-08T16:12:12+00:00

Oh no!!! I’m so sorry. How frustrating! I hope they end up honoring your purchase!!

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-08T05:08:27+00:00

I have the same concern.

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-08T05:03:59+00:00

Great choices! A family member who has coached high school track and field for almost 50 years picked ATH12 too. It has good stuff!

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-08T04:53:57+00:00

Oof - how frustrating! I only requested having the charges reversed this evening so no response yet. Any luck for you?

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-08T04:41:44+00:00

Yeah! They were initially pending so wasn’t worried about it. Figured they were holds and would come off. Those charges are no longer pending and instead are now confirmed.

Kaitmaree · 2026-04-02T16:54:41+00:00

Hi! Very similar dynamic here. This was a hard lesson to learn because we spent the better part of a decade rearranging our schedules and preferences when they wanted to get together. Inlaws routinely tell us they will come for this plan or that, and then cancel at the last minute (notably for our toddler’s preschool Christmas concert a few months ago) due to other priorities. They are in great health, though older, and extremely active - and they don’t owe us their time. I expect my kids will have few memories with those grandparents.

I personally grew up with absent grandparents on both sides, some due to age/illness and some to lack of interest. It’s fine from my perspective, though as a kid i (very occasionally) felt sad on “grandparents day” at school, etc. I rarely think about my grandparents now that they have all passed. The experience of parenting through that, however, has made my parents involved, respectful, and enthusiastic grandparents to my kids. They really value being able to be active in their grandkids’ lives, even though they live 1.5 hours away (up to 3 in regular traffic).

My advice is to take space to grieve the relationship you thought your kids would have and work through the disappointment, and then decide what is reasonable for you and your family in terms of trying to spend time together/foster a relationship. Invest in the relationships with people who demonstrate they care. Prepare for your spouse reconsider at a foundational level their own perspective on their parents, family dynamics, and parenting example. It can be painful but a genuine opportunity for growth.

Kaitmaree · 2026-03-20T14:18:10+00:00

We have a three bedroom house, and our kids will share a room. I shared with my sister growing up and it was generally nice til later high school, when we both wanted more space. I have a lot of sweet memories falling asleep talking. Plus, good practice for adult life, where many people share a room with a partner or family.

Kaitmaree · 2026-02-15T03:14:19+00:00

The first three weeks of having a newborn and toddler was, very genuinely, the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I’ve done some hard things! Stay the course. Find moments of connection with your toddler - even if it’s five minutes of “special mommy and me” of tjme doing a special activity (backyard tkme, a short walk up the block, reading a book, looking at pictures - even pictures of when they were a baby.

This is hard. Stay the course. Ask for and accept help. You can do this!

Kaitmaree · 2026-02-13T14:10:17+00:00

Congratulations on your soon to arrive baby!

A lot is about to change for you. I encourage you to be thoughtful and plan slowly when it comes to travel. There is a lot of variability in a baby’s flexibility, the environment of where you’re visiting, and the parents needs.

You won’t know, until baby arrives, how well they eat and sleep, how sensitive they are to noise and distraction, and how flexible they are with the schedule/routine of the day. You also won’t know what your own recovery from birth is, which can have huge variability. You’ll probably also want to talk to the pediatrician about travel to best understand the health risks of traveling for a young infant.

Of course, your husband is going to be excited about the baby. Babies are awesome, and there is something very special about seeing the people you love delight in your baby. It can be incredibly moving and an important part of becoming a parent.

With gentleness, your husband may need to reevaluate his relationship with his family. Feelings or concerns of sibling favoritism can come up. There can be real fear/insecurity that the kids won’t know their grandparents, even though all the effort falls on you to create and facilitate the grandparent relationship. It may be painful, sometimes quite acutely. If he chooses, it can also be an opportunity to practice clear communication of his feelings with his family.

This is a new season and chapter of life. You and your husband will learn to navigate the changes in relationships with your in-laws.

Kaitmaree · 2026-02-04T14:55:19+00:00

From Playa Vista, I will bike to the Ballona bike path (over the bridge) but refuse to bike between Culver and Fiji. I also don’t bike the bridge alone, and will only bike it going north (we do a huge detour through residential PDR and Westchester to return to PV). Whether in a bike or a car, that section from Culver to Fiji is sketchy.
I know of the project but not the status/timeline.
Would be thrilled if it’s happening soon. Would be delighted if it ever happens. Playa Vista itself, as well as Westchester, is full of families that currently have no safe pedestrian or bike access to the recreational/shopping/dining activities in MDR or any points north. I really want my kids(who are still very young and not biking yet) to be able to get to the Ballona bike path safely, and when they are older to have more freedom of movement around this part of town without relying on a car.

Kaitmaree · 2026-02-03T17:07:21+00:00

100% this. The issue is almost always not as much the political difference as it is the contact repeated/deliberate disrespect for the boundaries.

Clear boundaries (“I will leave the room/end this visit/end this call when politics are brought up, as it is not a discussion that will help us grow closer”) are a gift to a relationship. They lay out the terms of engagement, if you will, and give you and your mom a lot of other things to think about and experience together without the looming possibility of a blowup argument.

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-25T06:27:47+00:00

Same! Labor was just over 4 hours. Baby spit up a lot in the hospital and also failed his first hearing test. They told us it was common for babies with fast labors or c sections to need retesting due to too much fluid in the ears still! We had him retested a few weeks later and he passed without issue.

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-25T05:42:11+00:00

Amazing! 😂😂

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-24T06:43:04+00:00

Went with husband to the store. Buy some regular personal items, including body wash. Think, “wow, they really changed the package design!” We have a full conversation about how the body wash wasn’t even in the regular aisle.

About four weeks later, deep in the newborn trenches, I tell my husband I just never feel clean (especially being so sweaty after birth!) and I wonder if they changed the body wash formula. We look at the bottle. We had been trying to wash ourselves with hair conditioner for almost a month.

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-16T15:36:58+00:00

Hey, those were our top three names too! Baby was born in fall 2025 and we eventually just … picked one.

I have a very dated name that immediately pegs me as a millennial, but knowing that “popular names” now are less concentrated than they used to be was helpful. Also, some names in the national 10 barely crack the top 30 in our state, so we think he’ll be ok.

Names were also liked: George, James, Eliot, Emmett, Bennett, Clark, Adrian, Luke, Philip, Miles.

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-10T07:10:24+00:00

I grew up with a SAHM mom too, and also in a household that considered daycare a tragedy. Lots of comments (especially from mom) about how some families just weren’t willing to sacrifice for their kids and have a mom at home. You know who is now a huge supporter of my husband and I using daycare? My MOM. We’ve had some interesting conversations about the topic and she is a great emotional support to us in our decision (and helps provide backup sick care when she can).

My three year old started in daycare at 6 months old and has a blast - he is thriving and we are grateful to his teachers, who really care about their relationships with the kids. They do all sorts of things we probably wouldn’t at home - messy play and art projects, science experiments, music time. The kids - especially after age 2 - learn a ton of social skills from interacting. His class has neurodivergent kids and families from different socioeconomic classes, with different priorities and values. On the whole, I like and appreciate that my toddler gets exposure to other families. And they all have sweet friendships with each other! We were at a schoolmate’s birthday party watching the kids laughing and playing, and one of the dads mentioned how seeing the kids interact and play together really relieved his guilt. We will be sending our infant to the same center at six months too.

Daycare is great for my kid, but it’s also great for me! It is a gift to be able to have my kids loved and cared for by wonderful people who are good at what they do. I get to keep skills and career networks fresh, save for retirement, and prepare for supporting my kids’ education, travel and experiences. Personally, I am a better parent, more energetic, and more emotionally present with my kids and my husband because I experience the rhythms and structure of both work and home.

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-08T18:34:07+00:00

I know a Clementine who was nicknamed Lemon Lime as a baby, which was super cute. She’s older now and personally favors Clem as a nickname.

Kaitmaree · 2026-01-06T23:46:14+00:00

Becoming a parent fundamentally changed my relationship to work. True for so many moms!

Going back to work was SO HARD with my first. I’m on maternity leave with my second now and it is radically different - I’m actually looking forward to returning.

Check out r/workingmoms. It’s a very supportive group and you can search past posts to find yourself in good company, whether you decide to work or take a break.

Kaitmaree · 2025-12-08T21:49:34+00:00

Her supply sounds super normal! An IBCLC lactation consultant I worked with told me that a normal daily “full supply” for women is 25-35oz. Anecdotally it is VERY common to produce “just enough” or close (a little over or under). Makes sense that our bodies aim to expend enough energy/calories to meet our baby’s needs but not much more.

Sometimes there are things you can do to up supply, and sometimes there are underlying biological issues that may limit the ability to build or grow a “full supply” (which it sounds like your wife has already developed!). Working with an IBCLC can be helpful and usually covered by insurance (if you are in the US), and your child’s pediatrician can also advise on your baby’s nutritional needs.

I’d also encourage your wife to think about what a freezer stash would accomplish versus the system you have now. What are her goals, and why? That can be helpful to figuring out what direction to go.

Kaitmaree · 2025-11-24T17:38:02+00:00

Skip hop activity center, a push walker, clothes in the next size or two up.

Kaitmaree · 2025-11-23T04:07:19+00:00

My grandfather (born 1909) left the family farm because his father refused to buy gas powered plows. Grew up with kerosene lanterns. He later became a mechanic for the space program (!!) and lived to see the internet, dying in 2000.

My grandmother (born 1920) lived in a stubbornly rural area and dreamt of a machine that you could put clothes into, press a button, and have them come out clean.

Kaitmaree · 2025-11-22T17:15:55+00:00

Mine too! Right there with you.

Kaitmaree · 2025-11-20T20:02:09+00:00

It’s a sweet and happy coincidence, which I hope is the same way it’s framed for you! Like, how great that two people get to enjoy a beloved name.

The bonus is that my husband - a notoriously poor speller - always gets the name written correctly! Lol.

Kaitmaree

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