The reality of bringing home a collodion baby
The page came through right at 3 AM during a brutal winter shift at Northwestern Memorial. The attending OB's voice on the phone was just a fraction tighter than usual, which in hospital triage terms means you grab the crash...
The Brutal Truth About RSV Babies and Surviving Winter Coughs
My mother-in-law told me to rub warm mustard oil and garlic on my daughter's chest to pull the sickness out. The mom group on Facebook insisted I needed to slice a raw onion and leave it under her crib to...
Dear Past Priya: The Brutal Truth About Your Transverse Baby
Dear Priya of six months ago. You're sitting on the crinkly paper of exam table three at Northwestern. The ultrasound gel on your stomach feels like ice. The tech has that slightly tight smile on her face as she moves...
The reality of raising a CDH baby when you have absolutely no idea ...
When we got the twenty-week anomaly scan results for the twins, I received exactly three pieces of advice about what to do next. My mother-in-law told us to play Mozart to the bump to encourage "internal harmony," a woman in...
Stop Trying to Swaddle With a Receiving Blanket
It was 3 AM in late January. The wind off Lake Michigan was rattling our bedroom windows, and my daughter was doing the newborn startle reflex thing. She looked like she was trying to conduct a tiny, frantic orchestra in...
What to Pack in Hospital Bag for Baby: A Dad's Bug Report
I had one knee pressed firmly into the top of a 60-liter duffel bag in the back of our Subaru, trying to force the zipper shut while Portland rain soaked through my hoodie. My wife, currently 36 weeks pregnant, was...
A letter to myself about the baby maverick internet obsession
Dear Priya from six months ago. You're sitting in the dark right now with the glow of your phone lighting up the nursery wall. Your baby is asleep in the crib, breathing perfectly fine, but you're wide awake. The algorithm...
Baby Girl Coming Home Outfit: A Letter to My Exhausted Self
Dear Jess, You're currently sitting cross-legged on the nursery rug, 38 weeks pregnant, sweating right through your maternity bra while staring at three different browser tabs full of $80 smocked linen rompers. It's 2 AM, your sciatica is acting up,...
What nobody tells you about the most popular baby names 2024
My mother-in-law told me I had to pick an astrologically aligned name or my son's digestion would be ruined forever. The lactation consultant at shift change whispered that giving a kid an 'A' name makes them aggressive. Then my husband's...