Magazine

autumndevelopmentfootwearnewbornorganicsafety tips
Mother holding a soft sole organic cotton baby bootie next to a toddler's foot

Why Hard Baby Shoes Are a Trap (And What to Use Instead)

There was a moderate amount of blood on my living room rug. It was February in Chicago, the kind of cold that seeps up through the floorboards and makes your bones ache. My son was ten months old and wearing...

Read more

baby carebaby skincarecradle capeczemaparenting humoursafety tips
A bewildered parent holding a pink bottle of infant massage oil while scrolling the internet

Dear Past Priya: The Truth About the Diddy Baby Oil Situation

You're standing in aisle fourteen of the Belmont Target right now. Your toddler is actively trying to consume a cardboard price tag she peeled off the shelf. You're holding a familiar pink bottle of mineral oil because you thought it...

Read more

baby geargift ideasholidaymotherhoodsafety tipssustainable
Shatterproof wooden baby's first christmas ornament on a pine branch

Surviving the drama of your baby's first christmas ornament

I was sitting on the floor of our freezing Chicago apartment with a vacuum in one hand and a bleeding thumb in the other. My mother-in-law had just left. Her gift had lasted exactly four seconds out of the tissue...

Read more

babywearingearly developmentfourth trimesterorganic cottonsafety tips
Mother tying a stretchy cloth infant sling in the nursery

Pediatric Nurse Guide: Surviving Your First Baby Wrap Carrier

My mother-in-law told me that tying a baby to my chest would ruin his spine forever and give him flat feet. Then my lactation consultant said if I didn't wear him twenty-four hours a day, he would inevitably develop an...

Read more

early developmentfootwearmilestonessafety tips
A toddler taking their first shaky steps barefoot on a living room rug.

The completely honest truth about buying baby walking shoes

I was standing in the middle of a high-end boutique holding a pair of tiny, structurally rigid leather high-tops that cost more than my weekly grocery haul. My daughter wasn't even pulling to stand yet, but the footwear had these...

Read more

animal learningnature learningparenting humoursafety tipstoddler
Toddler pointing at a small green reptile hiding in the tall summer grass.

Why We Said No To Pet Turtles (And What To Teach Kids Instead)

We were at the Canton First Monday Trade Days, sweating through our shirts in the brutal Texas heat, when my oldest, Jackson, locked eyes with a plastic tub the size of a cereal bowl. Inside it was a tiny green...

Read more

buying guidegearsafety tipsstrollersustainabletoddler
Folded black stroller jammed in the trunk of a car next to baby gear

The truth about baby strollers: What I bought vs. what I actually use

Listen. My foot was wedged against the back door of the Red Line train at Fullerton, aggressively kicking the plastic wheel of a luxury travel system that simply refused to fold. The doors were closing. People were staring. My daughter...

Read more

Babygearmotherhoodsafety tipstoddler
Tired mom holding a toddler and a coffee next to a car seat in a messy minivan

The Great Baby Seat Illusion (And What Actually Worked For Us)

It was 87 degrees, I was exactly four days postpartum, and I was sobbing into a half-eaten blueberry muffin in the back of our Honda CR-V. Maya was screaming in her brand new car seat like we were torturing her,...

Read more

baby toyshealthsafesafety tipsteethingwooden toys
Wooden bear rattle toy resting on a clean playroom floor

A Rat in the Playroom and Why I Tossed All Our Plastic Toys

I was holding a lukewarm mug of chai, stepping over the scattered debris of my toddler's morning play session. Beside the television stand, there was a grey lump. At first, I thought it was just a discarded lint ball from...

Read more