Comments on: Best of Both Worlds podcast: Pregnancy and babies (again!)

By: Nina

Nina — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 14:29:47 +0000

I love the Haakaa breast pump. It’s really easy to feed on one side and pump on the other so a great time saver when you’re at home with your little one.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 17:54:38 +0000

In reply to Maggie. Good luck with that. I doubt Laura and Sarah will ever cover this angle well, because it's not what they personally experience and doesn't seem to be on their radar (beyond, "I had to be frugal as an intern once in my life"). The podcast really only targets women with very high household incomes. Too bad for the rest of us.

By: Amy Laski

Amy Laski — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 13:22:44 +0000

In reply to Laura Vanderkam.

Hi Laura,
I’ve found that even when I’ve thought “I am delegating all I can” I can push myself to look for even more opportunities to redistribute work such that I am pretty much doing ONLY the things where I add the most value. And now I look back on those things I’ve essentially traded off, and wonder why I was ever doing them in the first place. I know you’re a big proponent of small blocks of time adding up to big impact…I am too.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 21:23:15 +0000

I really look forward to following your journey with the new addition! For the podcast, I’d love an episode focusing on how to make things work on a budget. A night nanny feels way out of a regular budget and even 50 hours of nanny-care during the day is not affordable for many couples. While it’s still fun to listen to, it cannot be applied to e.g. my life which is why I’d be curious to her you and SHU’s advice on other-income-solutions.

By: sophia

sophia — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 00:11:37 +0000

I got the freemie for #3 and it was covered by insurance. It has it’s issues but once I adjusted it’s so much better than my old medela and spectra. Pumping took longer 30-40 min but I could wear it and get along my day. It made my breasts look enormous but I wore a scarf and it was fine. Unlike the willow there were no bags to buy (willow bags were .50 each and held 4 oz each so each pumping session costs 1-2 dollars and is wasteful).
Places I pumped:
Walking around the city
jury duty
subway
helping kids get ready in the morning
conferences
Seriously it’s a completely new world compared to being chained to my pump for #1 and #2

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 09:41:03 +0000

In reply to Caitlin.

@Caitlin – we may just check it out. My kids aren’t particularly inclined to sleep – and they still aren’t as big kids – so we shall see…

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 09:39:50 +0000

In reply to Nikki.

@Nikki – thanks for the tip on renting it. I, likewise, believe that most baby sleep strategies and gadgets wind up working for some people (or corresponding with children being good sleepers) and then the parents swear by it. It doesn’t work for others and then they often think they did something wrong but…it’s probably just that nothing works for everyone.
Good luck as you decide what to do about joining the “advanced maternal age” club!

By: Nikki

Nikki — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 22:20:28 +0000

Definitely rent the SNOO if you decide to try it – I haven’t personally tried it (my two slept great right away in our UppaBaby bassinet – we purchased the stand to go with it), but I have had several friends rent it – some swear by it and others insist it’s all a hoax. I suspect it just works better or worse depending on the baby, like most things. Thanks for sharing your journey with us – very inspiring as another podcast listener approaching my very late 30s 🙂 and still considering adding to our family (but we need some more time – juggling a 1.5 and 3 year old has us two full-time working parents maxed out for the time being!)

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:52:11 +0000

I would also recommend the SNOO. I will say I also think I am lucky and have a magic baby who is inclined to sleep, and the SNOO just helped her along, but I think it also helped to solidify her as a good sleeper. My friend has an older daughter and a younger son and used the SNOO for her son, and said that while neither of her kids were great sleepers, the SNOO made things much more manageable for her and she would highly recommend it. It was a stretch for her to purchase it but she felt it was worth every penny. You can also rent them now if you would rather try it out. Another big benefit is the ability to swaddle your baby through six months (the longest you can use the SNOO) because the specialized swaddles (which are very easy to use) attach to the sides of the bassinet so there isn’t a risk of the baby rolling over.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:06:31 +0000

In reply to Amy Laski.

@Amy – I would definitely recommend keeping the childcare! Maybe I didn’t stress that enough – but yes, having childcare is key if you’re working, even if it’s a limited amount.

I haven’t brought in anyone else, partly because of what I do – but we shall see. Maybe I should.