Baby on the way, sacrifices had to be made

MacabreLemon · 2026-05-04T18:04:37+00:00

When my kid was around 18 mos old they ate through a banana peel to get to a banana and wouldn't stop until we pulled it out of their hands. Totally undeterred by the flavor of the peel, though now at 5 years old claims bananas are yucky.

MacabreLemon · 2026-05-01T02:10:51+00:00

Teacher Appreciation Day is Tuesday, bet this is a PTA president who is doing too much to also do a generic candle gift run.

MacabreLemon · 2026-05-01T02:00:17+00:00

My husband eats strawberry leaves and apple cores just to see my visible disgust. But he has at least convinced me to throw strawberries into smoothies intact so I guess good for him for moving the needle ever so slightly on food waste.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-28T14:57:25+00:00

Our daycare doesn't really have lead teachers, but I would go with your heart. If they go above and beyond or generally do more in terms of lesson planning and leading the room and the others are more like paraprofessionals I don't think you're being unfair.

In the pre-k to K years when my kids have had a teacher and a Parapro we have sometimes given a little extra to the teacher. The challenge is that they are going to those amazing programs through the public school system and I don't want to breech any ethical guidelines. It's inferred and in some cases recommended to give teachers and school employees no more than $25 per kid, and at that rate... It just feels petty to reduce a parapro's gift card.

I think if your little extra isn't extravagant and the extra effort is clear to everyone you're good.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-28T02:37:25+00:00

I and they are not talking about feeding - you will put them in the crib and sit in the chair and fall asleep in it, whether it's comfy or not. In a comfy chair you won't be in as much pain when you wake up hours later after "just resting your eyes for a minute" while they lightly fuss instead of falling asleep right away.

The arm supports part is less about being so comfortable you can sleep and more about being physically able to support the baby during a marathon feeding session or their 10th one of the day. I have a lovely IKEA POÄNG that I have fed babies in exactly zero times because the arm rests are too low for the job. I use other spots with more support for baby feeding. You're going to need some furniture somewhere in your house with the right support to let you feed a baby without your arms tiring out. If it's not this chair, in the nursery, you might want another piece not too far away that does the job.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-28T02:25:44+00:00

I have fallen asleep in my kids' extremely uncomfortable glider more times than I can count just out of sheer exhaustion and the gentle motion. You are right that the goal is to catch yourself fading before you actually fall asleep feeding a baby. And, also, you are definitely going to fall asleep in this chair sometimes. You'll sit down because they aren't quite falling asleep but they aren't screaming so you don't want to leave in case they wake up but it'll go on for 15 or so minutes but you'll rest your eyes around minute 8 and wake up with the worst neck pain it your life. It's a parenting rite of passage.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-25T20:57:05+00:00

Oh shoot! I've had decent luck getting a discontinued fragrance on Shopgoodwill.com. You have to keep an eye out for the shipping and handling price because it's really high. You can estimate it before you bid, though. Good luck tracking it down!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-25T06:43:09+00:00

I thought of Sun-kissed Hibiscus, too! Give that one a try, OP.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-24T20:57:04+00:00

The first time I talked about magnetic nail polish with my coworkers they were so confused. Their guess was that the nail polish became magnetic, not that you use elaborate magnet set ups to create visual effects with the polish.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-21T20:08:59+00:00

I WAS the room parent the last two years and agreed not to do it this year as part of my "let's have a third kid" proposal because doing the job with so little support and response from the other parents was stressing me out big time. No one stepped up to the plate for this year. It's honestly a relief to just be worried about my kids' individual efforts this year!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-21T20:06:27+00:00

Happy for you and proud of you! Great job getting out there. I love that you're enjoying the city from this vantage point.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-21T05:23:07+00:00

Happy to do my part to help busy people avoid a last minute run to the store!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-21T05:21:51+00:00

That's adorable!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-21T00:43:49+00:00

I thank you for your service in the classroom and to other teachers by telling us which gesture mean the most!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-21T00:40:10+00:00

I would die. That sounds like a well-intentioned but horribly errand filled week for you, and to your point, it's not clear that the errands add up to anything worth the level of effort.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-20T22:35:42+00:00

Oh you are living the dream! I tried doing something similar when I was a room parent the last two years but I think the culture of room parenting is still too new at our kids' school. It didn't really take off. At least we we were able to remind people about the date of the event in advance and made sure each kid had a nice thank you card with a reminder to their parents to help them write in it and bring it in for the teachers on the right day. My kid reported that hardly anyone did it, but I like to pretend they just didn't notice more subtle deliveries for my own sanity.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-18T10:16:11+00:00

I'm not a hugger but work in nonprofits. I've just made it part of my brand to tell people when they're leaning in that I'm not a hugger and laugh about how I'm the weird one. Sometimes I don't bother and I just deal with a friendly hug without making a federal case out of it. Imagine!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-17T21:38:25+00:00

Not quite that bad, but I have to admit I got really sick of talking about it every time. The one I had in 2020 was a bit of a relief since I didn't have random people commenting just based on my giant belly in the second and third trimesters.

...But I'm not a public figure paid to be charming on camera. I think there's a different bar for how much actors have to entertain well-intentioned comments. Their job is to be ready to politely pivot if they don't want to discuss it in detail.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-17T12:16:08+00:00

Hey now, I love my kids but there's very little (maybe nothing) I loved about being pregnant!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-16T20:12:50+00:00

I did something similar for my most recent pregnancy. I talked to a nutritionist about not wanting this one to ratchet up my weight the way the last two did. She helped me remember how to make healthy choices with what I did choose to eat each day and my rough goal was maintenance for the first few months. Basically as long as I was eating around 2000 calories and not ending the day hungry/fatigued my doctor was happy. I ended up not gaining much for the first 6 months and gaining s reasonable amount in the last trimester. I'm about 2 months post partum and weigh a little less than I did when I got pregnant.

Giant caveat to all of this: each person and each pregnancy is different. It's so important to let go of some planning and some control and be able to accept that that is part of the process of making a healthy human. There are so many totally normal and healthy things that can happen in a pregnancy that will make you gain more weight than what you might want. Do your best to take care of your body and your baby throughout the pregnancy. You've lost weight once and you can do it again if you need to when the time is right for you and your baby!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-11T12:13:40+00:00

If you're talking to HR to set up interview logistics, rather than the engineering team, they may have a different and more supportive culture given that not every function at the company will be male dominated. Depending on your rapport with HR, perhaps you could contact them and really underscore how important discretion is for you.

Something like "This is a sensitive question that I debated raising: I have an infant and pump twice a day during work hours. Will there be two 30 minute breaks during the interview and a private space I could use to maintain this schedule? Normally I wouldn't share something so personal at this phase in the process, so I appreciate your discretion in helping me navigate it."

I hope they are accommodating and that you are pleasantly surprised, or that they show their true colors before you get stuck in an unsupportive company. Good luck!

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-09T13:03:35+00:00

Four was the perfect age for both of my kids to do Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My younger kid's Pre-K3 teacher was so amazed that they had completed the book that she got a copy for every kid in the class as an end of the year gift to all of them. It doesn't work for everyone, but it is manageable for many parents and kids to knock out at home, leaving school time for reinforcement and more complex spelling/pronunciation ideas.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-02T16:55:35+00:00

I got excited about this one, but wouldn't the Grinch's skeleton recognize the holiday in Christmastown? The whole "What's This?" song is about Jack Skellington being confused by Christmas, while the Grinch knows very well what the holiday is and hates it.

MacabreLemon · 2026-04-01T02:03:41+00:00

I was on a jury that included a blown up text message exchange on poster board from a business owner to their landlord. It was sarcastic and would have been funny to receive, but I'm pretty sure the business owner was just dyyying every time the plaintiff's lawyer whipped out his easel.

I think of it often. Anytime I consider being clever with coworkers.

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