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baby behaviordevelopmenteducational toysparenthoodparenting humoursafe play
A dad staring at a collapsed block tower while his loser baby cries on a wooden play mat.

Why The Sore Loser Baby Phase Feels Like A Fatal System Error

7:14 PM. The structural integrity of the three-block tower has failed. My 11-month-old son, Leo, is staring at the fallen soft rubber cubes like they just insulted his ancestors. His face turns the color of a locally sourced Portland beet,...

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4-month-old6-month-oldbabybaby carebaby healthdevelopment
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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baby sleepdevelopmentfourth trimesterlate nightmusicroutines
Exhausted mother holding baby in dim nursery while singing lullabies

The absolute truth about lullabies for babies and infant sleep

I'm standing in the middle of our Chicago apartment and the radiator is hissing that metallic, dry heat sound. It's 3:14 in the morning. My son is four months old, his face is the color of a bruised plum, and...

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baby carebaby milestonesdevelopmentmotherhoodnewborn
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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developmentfirst walkersfootwearparenting humoursafety tipstoddler
Twin girls wearing flexible toddler walking shoes in the park

The Great Arch Support Myth and Stride Rite Baby Shoes

The lady in the shoe shop was looking at me with a mixture of pity and mild alarm. I was kneeling on the carpet, wrestling with Twin A's left foot, trying to compress what looked like a perfectly round, dimpled...

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90s nostalgiababy dollsdevelopmentsafe playtoddler
A 15-inch soft cloth baby doll sitting on a nursery floor next to wooden toys.

What Pediatric Nurses Actually Think About Your Bitty Baby Doll

I was working the Tuesday afternoon shift at the clinic when a panicked mother brought in her eighteen-month-old and a heavy, suspiciously damp cloth doll. The waiting room was already packed with the usual winter crud, but this case stood...

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BabydevelopmentfootwearhealthmotherhoodParenting Guide
Chubby baby with bare feet playing on a wooden living room floor

The Truth About Baby Feet: Why Everyone's Advice Is Dead Wrong

I swear, the minute I brought my oldest, Jackson, home from the hospital, it was open season on his toes. My mom took one look at his bare little feet on a perfectly pleasant 75-degree Texas afternoon and shrieked that...

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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...

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6-month-olddevelopmentmilestonesmotherhoodorganic baby clothestummy time
Baby in organic cotton romper doing the pre-crawl rock on a rug

At What Age Do Babies Crawl? The Honest Southern Mom Truth

I was standing in the church foyer last Sunday holding my youngest, who's currently built like a beautiful, squishy sack of flour, when three different women decided to give me unsolicited updates on their own grandchildren's mobility. Ms. Betty told...

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