The Only Honest Guide to Venues for Baby Shower Celebrations
I'm currently sitting on the floor of my Etsy inventory room, aggressively tearing off pieces of packing tape for a massive stack of custom nursery signs, while my youngest child uses my left ankle as a teething ring. My phone...
Surviving the Vaccine Schedule for Babies Without Losing Your Mind
I was sitting in exam room four with my oldest, Beau, sweating entirely through my favorite beige Target tee while trying to pretend I had everything under control. He was four months old, completely naked except for a drool-soaked diaper,...
Exactly What to Write on Baby Shower Card Without Stressing
Dear Jess from six months ago, You're currently sitting in the driver's seat of the F-150 outside the Methodist church fellowship hall, sweating clean through your only halfway decent maternity-friendly dress. The baby shower starts in exactly four minutes. You...
The absolute truth about those ugly baby pictures we all hide
I was sitting there in the hospital bed, wearing a gown that had somehow become completely unsnapped in the back, holding my literal firstborn child. My husband, Mark—who usually has absolutely zero filter—was completely silent as he held up his...
Top Baby Names: Picking One Without Starting a Family Feud
I was sitting at my kitchen island at 37 weeks pregnant with my oldest, eating dry cereal out of the box, staring at a yellow legal pad that looked like the diary of a madman. It was just a giant...
What My Pediatrician Said About Playing Lil Baby Around My Toddler
My brother-in-law swore that playing heavy trap beats would make my son sleep through absolutely anything. My mother-in-law heard ten seconds of a track and claimed I was ruining his spiritual aura. My doctor just blinked at me tiredly and...
My Sunny Side Up Baby Gave Me the Back Labor From Absolute Hell
It was 3:14 AM on the linoleum floor of Room 4 at Mt. Sinai, and I was wearing my husband Mark’s faded 2012 indie band tour t-shirt because nothing else fit my massive, 40-weeks-pregnant body. I was clutching the hospital...
When Can Babies Eat Solid Food Without Ruining My Life
It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was sitting in the dark nursery wearing a nursing tank that smelled strongly of sour milk and desperation. Leo, my oldest, was four months old and currently latched onto me like...
The Honest Truth About When Your Baby Will Finally Say Mama
My mother-in-law cornered me by the spinach dip station at my cousin's baby shower when my son Leo was seven months old and confidently declared that because he was currently blowing spit bubbles, he was practically reading. "He's making the...