Magazine

Baby sleeping in a simple organic cotton bodysuit

Dear past Priya: the brutal reality of buying new born clothes

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on the floor of the nursery in our Chicago apartment, surrounded by a mountain of miniature denim jackets, tulle skirts, and button-down flannel shirts. You're feeling very proud of yourself. You...

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A pile of square baby blankets next to a folded sleep sack on a crib mattress

My honest guide to receiving blankets versus swaddles at 2 AM

I was aggressively stuffing those white and pink-striped hospital blankets into my duffel bag while my husband stood by the door acting as a lookout. I was a pediatric nurse for five years before having my son. I knew exactly...

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Tired dad looking at a vintage Chinese gender predictor chart on his phone.

The Chinese Gender Calendar Trap: A Letter to Past Me at 3 AM

Dear Tom from six months ago, I know exactly what you're doing right now. You're sitting on the closed lid of the downstairs toilet at 2:13 AM, the harsh bathroom light burning your retinas, holding a plastic Tesco pregnancy test...

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Exhausted mom holding a crying newborn baby in a dimly lit nursery while looking desperately at her phone.

Late Night Googling: Cheer Up Baby Full Movie and Other Tactics

The glow of my phone screen was the only light in the living room, and it was aggressively illuminating the spit-up crusted on my left shoulder. It was 2:14 AM. My husband was snoring in the bedroom—a sound that made...

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A wooden baby gym and pacifier clip sitting on an organic cotton swaddle

A letter to my pregnant self about newborn clutter and tiny things

I'm writing this to you from the floor of the nursery. It's 2 a.m. in Chicago, the radiator is hissing, and I'm staring at a pile of miniature laundry that somehow multiplies when I blink. You're probably six months pregnant...

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Stressed mom sitting in a rural Texas kitchen holding a fussy newborn baby

Why the "Bad Baby" Myth is Ruining Your Peace of Mind

I was sitting on the floor of my pantry, wedged between a fifty-pound bag of flour for my Etsy shop baking orders and the dog food bin, eating a stale strawberry Pop-Tart while my firstborn screamed his lungs out in...

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A tired dad holding his newborn baby near a window

My kid turned into a highlighter (and other early release bugs)

It was day three of parenthood, and I was holding my naked son up to a rain-streaked Portland window like Rafiki presenting Simba, convinced that forty-five seconds of overcast Pacific Northwest UV radiation would magically fix his liver. My wife,...

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Stressed mom holding a baby in a hospital waiting room drinking coffee

Surviving Your First Baby Xray Without Completely Losing Your Mind

It was a Tuesday at 9 AM, and I was sitting in a freezing radiology waiting room wearing yesterday’s leggings and a nursing bra that smelled faintly of sour milk. I was staring blankly at a poster of a cartoon...

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Exhausted mom attempting to tie a long fabric baby sling while holding a crying infant in a messy kitchen.

Why My Humiliating First Attempt At A Baby Sling Made Me Cry

It was exactly 4:13 AM on a Tuesday, and I was standing barefoot on the cold kitchen linoleum, sobbing quietly while trying to maneuver twenty feet of stretchy grey fabric around my torso. Maya was exactly three weeks old, screaming...

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