Magazine

Two toddlers in organic cotton staring at a distant marine mammal on a grey beach

That time we met a stranded sea sausage on the Norfolk beach

We were halfway across a devastatingly windy, aggressively grey stretch of the Norfolk coastline when one of the twins pointed a sandy, half-eaten breadstick at what appeared to be an abandoned sleeping bag. It was a bleak Tuesday in October,...

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Infant looking at wooden play gym toys on a soft patterned playmat.

The Truth About Those Hypnotic Dancing Fruit Videos

The steam from the shower was fogging up my phone screen, but I could still hear the upbeat, slightly manic techno music bouncing off the bathroom tile. My oldest, Tyler, was strapped into his bouncer chair next to the toilet,...

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Exhausted dad holding television remote while twins play on the floor

Surviving the Neon Chaos of Baby Shark's Big Show with Twins

"Don't let them watch it, it completely ruins their developing attention span," said Sarah from our NCT group, sipping a decaf flat white while her only child quietly consumed an artisanal lentil. "Just put it on, mate, it's the only...

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Pregnant mother looking exhausted sitting near a pile of pink baby shower decorations

Surviving the pink tulle trap of modern girl baby showers

I was exactly twenty-eight weeks pregnant, sitting on the floor of my Chicago apartment, surrounded by three garbage bags of neon pink tulle. My mother-in-law had just left after proudly declaring my upcoming baby show would be a princess paradise....

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My toddler hiding from thunder under a Kianao organic blanket.

Processing the Baby Storme News While Riding Out a Real Storm

It was 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was wedged between a vacuum cleaner and a giant cardboard box of winter coats in our windowless hallway closet, trying to keep a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a four-month-old quiet while...

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Toddler wearing small cork sandals on grass

The Great Debate Over Baby Birkenstocks And Tiny Cork Sandals

My mother-in-law sent me a link to some terrifying, Victorian-looking orthopaedic boots at 7:00 AM on a Tuesday, insisting the twins needed them the second they pulled themselves up to stand. That same afternoon, my NCT mate—a lovely woman who...

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Mom riding a bicycle with a toddler in a rear-mounted seat on a rural dirt road

What I Wish I Knew Before Buying a Bike Seat for My Baby

Dear Jess from six months ago, You're currently sitting on the concrete floor of the garage, sweating through your favorite oversized t-shirt in this humid Texas heat, trying to decipher an instruction manual that appears to be written entirely in...

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A tired mom holding a flashlight over a wooden crib in a dark nursery.

Dear Past Me: Surviving a Baby Bed Bug Nursery Infestation

Dear Past Jess, It's 3:14 AM. You're standing in the middle of the nursery in your mismatched pajamas, holding your phone flashlight exactly two inches from the crib mattress, trying your absolute hardest not to wake the baby or hyperventilate....

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A toddler playing with wooden blocks and a baby gym on the living room floor.

What Raising a Baby, a Billionaire, and Me Have in Common

I was six months pregnant with my oldest—who, bless his heart, has become my walking cautionary tale for every single parenting mistake in the book—when three completely different people cornered me at my baby shower with unsolicited advice on how...

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