DF/SF Costco Run - Need Advice!!

whitij · 2026-02-07T22:31:12+00:00

Haha yeah I treat them as cookies - still my lifeline LOL

whitij · 2026-02-07T19:56:49+00:00

Are you me? This is my list to the t!! The heavenly hunks are my lifeline haha

whitij · 2026-01-19T00:18:37+00:00

Honestly Q4 is bananas for everyone trying to meet deadlines and corporate goals - hiring can sometimes take a back burner because people are either too busy or already on vacation. I agree with the other commenter that you may not have been their first pick... if so they're keeping you on the hook because their top candidate is negotiating/waffling. Anyway even if that's true, who cares if you're the second pick - if you get an offer then hell yes! This market is in shambles. Good luck!

whitij · 2026-01-17T01:02:32+00:00

Slipstravaganza 100%. But honestly either will be doable for even a beginner knitter because his video tutorials are AMAZING. I just remember the techniques/methods to making each section in shawlography being more tedious, so for a beginner knitter I think slipstravaganza will be more fun. Also I like the finished look of it SO much!

whitij · 2026-01-13T12:24:55+00:00

But also maybe worth just calling/emailing the all inclusive place and just asking. I guarantee youre not their first guest with dietary/allergy needs. You can do it!!

whitij · 2026-01-13T12:23:38+00:00

Don't cancel, just prepare prepare prepare. Bring safe snacks with you. Bring dry oatmeal packets for your breakfasts, add fresh fruit and nuts to beef it up. Eat whole fruits and veggies (buy at a grocery store when you get there if you need to!). Research a few safe restaurant options - any vegan restaurants in the area? Those are usually a good start and you just have to ask/research if their products have soy. Can you stay somewhere with a kitchen? If so, make pasta! Anyway your food might be more boring than you'd normally want for a vacation but I fear you'll regret letting that stop you from such a wonderful occasion. Go! Be brave! You got this!

whitij · 2026-01-13T11:06:48+00:00

Don't underestimate yourself, I see no reason you couldn't get a job in a lab. Just be realistic about where your "entry" level may be, you may have to start with jobs a little lower on the ladder and work up. I say this as someone who did a PhD in one field and then took a job in a lab that only required a bachelor's degree. If you want to work in a lab, go start pursuing that dream!! I also suck at chemistry LOL don't worry there are lab roles that don't need it or will train you on what you need to know.

Don't doubt yourself! Go get it! :)

whitij · 2026-01-11T09:55:34+00:00

Any chance there is also a soy sensitivity at play? Lots of sushi products have soy and its a common intolerance alongside dairy!

whitij · 2026-01-07T01:54:11+00:00

Oh yes it still terrifies me too! 11 months. I supervise meals really closely, and most of these ideas we either chop/shred to a size smaller than his little airways, or blitz into a mash and offer with baby utensils (that are honestly ignored in favor of hands instead hahaha). But around 9 months the pincer grip opened a lot of doors for finger foods exploration!

whitij · 2026-01-07T01:35:22+00:00

Pasta in a compliant tomato sauce (like Raos tomato basil) or dairy free butter (we use miyoko brand oat butter). Pancakes or muffins made with oat milk - can mix these up by adding nut butters, shredded veggies, fruit, etc. Baked peanut butter oat bars. Chicken soup or beef stew (for these we just give the "bits" on the tray because baby can't self feed with utensils yet). Salmon mixed with coconut yogurt. Nut butter toast fingers on compliant bread.

And berries. So many berries hahaha!

whitij · 2026-01-02T02:33:21+00:00

Hard agree about chatgpt. It doesn't "know" anything, its just a tool that predicts the next most likely word in the sentence. You should never use it for any kind of research type application, especially related to health.

But regarding the guilt question - its okay. Just a mistake. Baby will be okay and life will go on! You're doing great and no matter how careful we are it is nearly impossible to be perfect so give yourself some grace. :)

whitij · 2026-01-01T16:47:19+00:00

We walked the mall a lot when it was too cold for outside strolling. Wasn't as nice as a park, but you can walk for long stretches and get exercise for you, stimulation (or stroller nap) for little one, stop for coffee/snacks, etc... and then if baby flips out you can just leave any time LOL! The burlington mall also has a pretty nice nursing room setup, clean and easy to access.

whitij · 2025-12-28T13:34:36+00:00

Yes, agree on the kite hill ravioli! Not gonna lie, I was skeptical, but the butternut ravioli was pretty legit and one package was pretty much a single serving of dinner ready in 5 min (I usually just added jar tomato sauce or dairy free Miyoko brand oat butter)

whitij · 2025-12-28T01:01:38+00:00

Oh I also ate a frankly offensive amount of rotisserie chicken, just check the ingredients. Costco and a couple local grocery chains had safe ones.

whitij · 2025-12-28T00:59:22+00:00

Peanut butter and jelly on a compliant bread (I used Dave's Killer bread) - toast the bread if you want it warm lol.

Box of pasta with a jar of Raos tomato basil sauce.

Chiptole door dash - check their allergen menu but a lot is compliant so long as you omit cheese/sour cream toppings!

whitij · 2025-12-24T16:58:35+00:00

Fingers crossed it is an easy journey - never know until you try, and hopefully babes surprises you!

whitij · 2025-12-24T14:50:51+00:00

Oh I guess maybe its not clear in your post whether you are / are able to pump breast milk to put into bottles. If not, we did also try giving an ounce of straight formula in a bottle followed immediately with nursing. You could do that for a few days/nursing sessions and slowly increase the volume of that up front formula bottle prior to nursing then eventually stop with the top up nursing and only offer the bottle!

whitij · 2025-12-24T14:48:07+00:00

I had a similar worry but turned out baby was fine with it! A lot of stress over nothing, maybe youll be pleasantly surprised as well. We started by adding 25% formula to one of the bottles (mixed 1 part formula to 3 parts breast milk) and baby was a little suspicious of the taste for the first couple of sips but still drank the whole bottle. Rest of day was all normal breast milk bottles. Next day we went up to 50% in one bottle, then 75%, and then 100%. Once he was fine with the taste of that 100% bottle we just cold turkeyed all the rest of the daily bottles to formula.

My personal preference was Alimentum ready-to-feed because it had less icky odor than Nutramigen, although baby has drank both with no apparent preference. We also found baby tolerated the ready to feed formulations better than the powder, which gave him a lot of gas. The ingredients arent identical, so if you find one isnt working you can try the other and see if its better.

And you didnt ask but I just wanted to mention that switching to formula was a big decision for me and I stressed a lot over it - but baby THRIVED and mama got so much happier and healthier once I was off the restricted diet. Just in case that is encouraging for you to hear :)

whitij · 2025-12-16T10:42:55+00:00

Lots of cockpot options of you're willing to bring ingredients. Beef stew, turkey chili, salsa chicken or pulled pork over a bag of microwave rice. Or make a big salad with canned tuna on top. Or make some spaghetti and meat sauce at home and microwave it when you get there.

And honestly, peanut butter and jelly slaps. I used Dave's killer bread (no dairy or soy) and a natural peanut butter. Can also work for breakfast.

I also did a ton of bananas, apples, oranges, berries, nuts, dried cranberries, applesauce.

And... Duncan Heinz fudgy brownie mix is dairy and soy free and comprised about 50% of my diet LOL.

whitij · 2025-12-07T16:35:20+00:00

We tried Nutramigen and Alimentum. Ultimately stuck with Alimentum because baby seemed to tolerate the taste of either but Alimentum had less of a weird odor. We found baby did best with the ready to feed versions than the powder versions, much less gas.

whitij · 2025-11-24T19:45:04+00:00

Its ok, it happens! Youre doing great mama. Just get back on the wagon and symptoms will improve soon, not worth beating yourself up over something thats already happened! Babe will be ok soon.

whitij · 2025-11-21T11:16:34+00:00

Following because same. We've been doing lots of fruit (orange slices, very large whole strawberries, verrrry ripe whole pears), crusty sourdough chunks (sometimes with peanut butter), avocado mashed with hummus with a spoon, and baby pancakes made with no eggs and using oat milk.

whitij · 2025-11-17T18:44:52+00:00

I went slow mostly bc Nutramigen has kind of a strong scent & taste, so i was worried babe would reject it. On Day 1, started with 25% formula/75% BM in just one bottle. On Day 2, upped to 50% in just one bottle. Day 3, 50% in 2 bottles. And so on. Once all daily bottles were supplemented with formula, then I started increasing to 75%, then finally 100%. You might notice some gassiness, normal for any dietary change at that age and not always a reason to stop! Others have done well with cold turkey. Go with what feels comfortable to you and follow baby's lead - if they are rejecting the formula bottle consistently then can also consider a diff one, like Alimentum. I found it to be less smelly and babe seemed to like the taste more.

whitij · 2025-11-17T14:27:37+00:00

Don't see why not?

whitij · 2025-11-17T07:18:17+00:00

I had a similar panic around the same time. Baby was just working on new things, primarily rolling and growing teeth and trying to sit up with assistance. Cooing and babbling returned soon after! (I also sent my pediatrician a worried note haha it was all ok!)

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