Magazine

A toddler looking at a baby capybara in a zoo enclosure

Why a baby capybara is a terrible pet for your toddler

My sister-in-law texted me a video of a giant rodent eating a popsicle in a plastic wading pool with a message saying we needed to buy one immediately. Two hours later, a mom at the neighborhood park asked me in...

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Exhausted mom holding her sleeping newborn in a dim nursery

Let's talk about the newborn reality check with your baby baby

Listen. It's three in the morning and the white noise machine is making a rhythmic thumping sound that my sleep-deprived brain has somehow translated into that ancient baby baby justin bieber song. I'm staring at the ceiling fan, calculating exactly...

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A tired mother locking her car door from the inside while holding a sleeping infant.

The parking lot panic and the truth about keeping kids safe

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're sitting in the back of your Honda CR-V in the Target parking lot on Elston Avenue. The doors are locked. The engine is running. You're sweating through your grey scrub top. You just...

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Baby lying on a playmat during tummy time looking at a toy

Dear past Priya: Your flat head baby is going to be just fine

You're sitting on the bathroom tiles at 2 AM. You've just zoomed in on the Nanit monitor until the pixels blurred into a gray soup, staring intensely at the back of your son's skull. One side looks distinctly like a...

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A tired mother holding her crying toddler at the daycare door

Surviving the bye bye baby phase without losing your mind

I'm standing in the doorway of a toddler room that smells like wet wipes and desperation. My daughter's fingers are locked into the fabric of my jeans with the grip strength of a rock climber. Another mother just walked in,...

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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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A tired mom holding a baby while two toddlers play in the background.

The Unfiltered Reality of Welcoming Baby Number Three

I was sweating through my favorite vintage band shirt in the middle of an August afternoon, staring at the back seat of my SUV with a tape measure in one hand and a half-eaten string cheese in the other. I...

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Tired mother holding sleeping toddler while reading phone in the dark

The Huda Baby Daddy Drama, Digital Scars, and Real Co-Parenting

I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub at three in the morning. The ceramic tiles were freezing, but my toddler had finally collapsed against my collarbone after a three-hour marathon of teething-induced crying. I had my phone brightness...

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A six month old baby reaching for a hanging wooden toy on a play mat

Navigating infant developmental timelines without losing your mind

We were sitting around a cramped dining table in Rogers Park when the unsolicited advice started rolling in. My mother-in-law casually mentioned that my husband was walking independently at nine months, heavily implying my ten-month-old was somehow defective for still...

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