Magazine

A simple non-wifi baby monitor on a wooden nursery dresser next to a half-empty coffee mug

The Wi-Fi Paranoia and Why We Chose a Simple Monitor

I was seven months pregnant with Maya, standing in the middle of Target aisle 14 in my black maternity leggings that were completely pilling at the thighs, clutching a lukewarm iced coffee like it was a life preserver. My phone...

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Pediatric nurse reviews global daily birth rates and hospital schedules

How Many Babies Are Born a Day: The Honest Math Behind Birth

My mother-in-law told me infants only arrive during full moons. My old charge nurse at Northwestern swore Tuesday mornings were a cursed tidal wave of inductions. And the cashier at Trader Joe's confidently informed me, while bagging my frozen samosas,...

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Stressed mom looking at a smartphone calculator with a coffee mug nearby

Why Every Baby Math Formula Is Basically Lying To You

It was 3:14 AM, and I was sitting on the nursery floor wearing my husband Mark’s oversized gray college sweatpantsβ€”the ones with the mystery bleach stain on the kneeβ€”aggressively typing numbers into my glowing phone screen while my coffee from...

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Messy pile of yarn and a half-finished blanket on a living room rug

The Truth About That Heirloom Crochet Baby Blanket

I was thirty-seven weeks pregnant with my oldest, sweating completely through a gray maternity tank top in the middle of a Texas July, when my grandmother proudly pulled a massive, neon-yellow afghan out of a plastic grocery bag. It had...

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Tiny organic cotton baby garments folded neatly on a nursery dresser

Sorting Through the Utter Chaos of Buying Preemie Baby Clothes

I was standing at the hospital sink scrubbing my hands for the fiftieth time that Tuesday, staring at a crumpled plastic bag of tiny garments. My mom had just called to cheerfully suggest I just buy standard newborn sizes because,...

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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 folded organic baby sleepwear on a messy nursery chair.

The Truth About Baby Sleepwear When Everyone Has an Opinion

"Put a hat on him, he's freezing," my mother-in-law said, handing me a knit cap that looked like an oversized acorn. This was at 2 PM. At 4 PM, my lactation consultant visited, took one look at Leo swaddled in...

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A tired mom drinking coffee next to a baby sleeping soundly near a white noise machine in a cozy nursery.

The Messy Truth About White Noise For Babies And Sleep Safety

I was sitting cross-legged on the stained rug of Leo's nursery at like 3:14 AM. I was wearing my husband's college lacrosse hoodie that smelled vaguely of sour milk, and holding my screaming four-week-old, totally convinced I had already broken...

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Pregnant mother drinking coffee looking at a list of baby boy names on her phone

The Real Truth About Picking Cute Baby Boy Names

I was exactly 34 weeks pregnant with Leo, sitting on the cold linoleum floor of a devastatingly bright Target aisle at 9 PM, wearing maternity leggings that smelled faintly of old string cheese, and I was crying. Full-on, ugly-crying next...

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