Magazine

A frustrated dad trying to put tiny pink shades on an incredibly uncooperative toddler

Why putting tiny shades on twins feels like a hostage negotiation

I'm currently crouched behind the garden shed, clutching a pair of miniature, neon-pink plastic frames like they're a live grenade, trying to figure out which of my two-year-old daughters is least likely to bite me if I approach her face....

Read more

A mother sitting on the grass next to a shallow backyard tub

My pediatrician's brutal rules for surviving summer water play

I was standing in my tiny Chicago backyard with a garden hose in one hand and a giant, deflating aesthetic swan in the other. My son was barely four months old, shivering violently in a designer swimsuit that cost more...

Read more

Frustrated mom holding an iced coffee and a baby wearing a comfortable dress

The Absolute Sweat-Soaked Truth About Buying Baby Girl Dresses

It was 2 PM, the sun was literally laughing at us, and I was holding a plastic cup of iced coffee that was basically just brown water at that point. We were at my cousin Rachel’s outdoor wedding in August...

Read more

Sarah holding her toddler on the white sand at Baby Beach in Aruba looking exhausted but happy

The Honest Truth About Taking A Baby To Baby Beach Aruba

I was standing in the middle of the Target diaper aisle wearing these awful linen maternity shorts that I somehow still fit into three years postpartum, holding a lukewarm iced coffee that cost twelve dollars, when my phone buzzed with...

Read more

Confused dad holding a bottle of baby water next to twins

The Great Hydration Panic: Why Infant Water Rules Feel Backwards

It was the great London heatwave of 2022, the kind of oppressive humidity that makes you reconsider all your life choices, when I caught my mother-in-law creeping toward the pram with a miniature plastic cup of tap water. The twins...

Read more

Two messy toddlers covered in pink melon juice sitting on a kitchen floor

How A Sugar Baby Watermelon Defeated Me And My Twin Toddlers

If you ever find yourself wondering whether a standard kitchen sponge is abrasive enough to remove dried fruit pulp from a matte-painted wall, let me save you a frantic Google search. It isn't. You need a dedicated scraper and a...

Read more

A tiny baby hummingbird resting safely on a green leaf outdoors

Dear Jess: What I Wish I Knew Before the Baby Hummingbird Incident

Dear Jess of last May, put down the plastic eye dropper and step away from the kitchen counter before you inadvertently commit a federal wildlife crime. Right now, the baby is strapped to your sweaty chest in the carrier, the...

Read more

A cautious dad inspecting a grassy backyard for baby snakes while his twin toddlers play safely on an elevated wooden deck

Surviving the American baby copperhead panic as a clueless dad

The humidity in North Carolina in late August is a physical assault, the kind of oppressive heat that makes your clothes feel like a wet apology. I was standing on my American in-laws' patio, clutching a rapidly melting gin and...

Read more

Sarah holding a vintage cotton baby bonnet over a messy nursery changing table

Wait, Are Baby Bonnets Safe? My 2 AM Infant Hair Loss Panic

It was exactly 2:14 AM on a Tuesday. I know this because my glowing phone screen was mocking me in the dark. I was sitting in the nursery rocking chair wearing a maternity tank top that smelled strongly of sour...

Read more