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12-month-old90s nostalgiababy gearchoking hazardseducational toysGen Z
A mom looking confused at a tiny designer art toy while holding a toddler

Why That Viral Cry Baby Popmart Figure Isn't Actually For Your Baby

I was standing at my kitchen sink, elbow-deep in cold oatmeal dishwater, when my 14-year-old niece shoved her phone directly into my face. On the screen was what looked like a perfectly round, tear-streaked child stuffed inside a tiny, fuzzy...

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12-month-oldbaby healthinfant safetymillennialparenting humor
Frantic mom gripping a minivan steering wheel while a toddler sleeps in the back seat

Baby's On Fire By Die Antwoord: A Minivan Parenting Disaster

There I was, merging onto Highway 290 with a trunk full of melting H-E-B groceries and a two-year-old who had finally surrendered to sleep in his car seat, when the Bluetooth decided to get cute. I was listening to my...

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10-month-old12-month-oldbabybaby stepsdevelopmental milestonesmotherhood
Jess sitting on a messy living room floor trying to coax her stubborn toddler to walk

The Hilarious, Tear-Stained Baby Steps Story Every Mom Needs

There I was on my hands and knees in the middle of our living room, sweating through my third messy mom bun of the day, holding a half-eaten cheese stick like a carrot in front of a very stubborn fourteen-month-old....

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10-month-old11-month-old12-month-oldbaby gamesdevelopmental milestonesgross motor skills
A wooden baby play gym set up on a rug acting as a physical floor map for a baby learning to walk.

Forget The Screens: Building A Real Baby Steps Game Map At Home

It was 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was sitting in the dark nursing my youngest while the glow of my phone screen burned my retinas. My middle child, Leo, was fourteen months old at the time and barely...

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12-month-old9-month-oldbabyfootwearinfant caremillennial mom
Baby wearing soft-soled booties sitting on a hardwood floor

The Barefoot Myth and Why You Actually Need Baby Slippers

It was 2018, and I was standing in a ridiculously overpriced baby boutique in downtown Seattle wearing leggings that hadn't seen the inside of a washing machine in at least a week. I was holding my lukewarm vanilla latte in...

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12-month-oldbaby shoesdevelopmental milestonesfirst walkersfootwearinfant health
Priya holding a flexible baby boy shoe in a messy Chicago apartment

The brutal truth about buying baby boy shoes for early walkers

My mother-in-law showed up on a Tuesday with stiff leather high-tops because she said my son's ankles were going to collapse without support. An hour later, a mom influencer on my feed claimed that putting anything other than raw, unbleached...

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12-month-oldbabybaby sharkeducational toysscreen-free playtoddler development
Toddler playing with handmade popsicle stick puppets on a wooden floor

Surviving the Meltdown: How a Baby Shark PNG Saved My Sanity

The spaghetti water is foaming over the edge of the pot, the dog is rage-barking at the UPS guy, and my three-year-old is lying face-down on the kitchen linoleum. I'm standing there with a wooden spoon in one hand and...

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12-month-oldbaby clothesbaby milestonesbaby shower themesfirst walkersmillennial mom
Messy toddler eating blue frosting from an ocean themed birthday cake

The 2 AM Meltdown Over A Toddler Shark Birthday Cake

Blue gel food coloring doesn't wash off human skin. It bonds to your cuticles on a cellular level and stays there for a week. I learned this at two in the morning on a Thursday, staring down a very deformed,...

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12-month-old9-month-oldfirst walkersgross motor skillsinfant safety
Toddler pushing a wooden walker wagon filled with heavy books

A Letter to Myself Before Buying That Baby Push Walker

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're standing in aisle fourteen of the Target in River North, staring at a plastic contraption that plays the alphabet in three different languages. Your coffee is ice cold. Your baby is nine months...

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