Magazine

Close up of a newborn baby looking at the camera with wide bright eyes

So, are all babies born with blue eyes? What I actually learned

I was sitting in Mount Sinai hospital, room 412, wearing those horrific mesh underwear and a hospital gown that smelled vaguely of industrial bleach and desperation, holding my two-day-old son Leo. My husband, Dave, had just returned with the worst...

Read more

A scattered pile of wooden blocks on a living room rug next to a coffee cup

Analog QA Testing: Why I Replaced The Flashing Toys With Wood

It was exactly 3:14 AM when my bare heel made contact with the plastic singing cow. I was holding a half-asleep eleven-month-old, navigating the dark hallway by memory, when 180 decibels of synthesized banjo music erupted from the floorboards. The...

Read more

Exhausted dad holding coffee while his 11-month-old plays on an organic polar blanket

Why Raising an 11-Month-Old Feels Like Having a Baby Polar Bear

At 3:14 AM last Tuesday, I found myself sitting on the nursery floor in the dark, bathed in the blue light of my phone, holding a sleeping 11-month-old who currently weighs as much as a medium-sized microwave. My browser history...

Read more

A tired dad looking at his smartphone while holding a confused baby in a nursery.

Surviving the Pretty Little Baby Connie Francis TikTok Trend

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and the nursery was running at an good 69.4 degrees Fahrenheit. I know this because I check the smart thermostat logs when I can't sleep, which is always. My wife was standing in...

Read more

newborn baby wrapped in an organic cotton blanket sleeping soundly

What Will My Baby Look Like (And Other Late Night Mysteries)

I was thirty-four weeks pregnant, sitting in the dark at two in the morning, paying a sketchy app five dollars to merge my face with my husband's. The result loaded on my phone screen and I just stared at it....

Read more

A baby staring at brightly colored wooden toys on a play mat

When Can Babies See Color? My Real Experience With Newborn Vision

I'm standing in the middle of my oldest kid's nursery at 3 AM, holding him like a football, wondering why he's staring dead-eyed at the beige wall instead of the seventy-dollar organic cotton mobile I bought him. I'm exhausted, my...

Read more

A tired mom holding her newborn waiting for a real smile

The waiting game of motherhood: exactly when do babies smile

I was hanging over the bassinet at three in the morning making a sound I can only describe as a dying seal. Day forty-two of my maternity leave. I smelled like sour milk and desperation. I had spent the last...

Read more

Pregnant mother holding a tiny organic bodysuit looking anxiously at her belly

The Midnight Panic: When Your Kid Finally Starts Kicking In There

It was exactly 2:14 AM. I know this because I was staring obsessively at the red digital clock on our microwave while sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor. I was wearing my husband’s oversized, threadbare college t-shirt, crying softly into...

Read more

A tired mom holding her four month old baby on an organic cotton play mat

Surviving Your 4 Month Old Baby: The Truth About Sleep and Sanity

Everyone tells you that once you hit the sixteen-week mark, the clouds part and the angels sing. They call it the end of the fourth trimester, like you're suddenly crossing a finish line into this magical land of predictable naps...

Read more