Magazine

Worried dad checking newborn baby head soft spot safely

The absolute panic of your newborn's soft spot (and why it's fine)

I was sweating profusely in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, holding a tiny striped jumper like it was an unexploded World War II bomb I had just unearthed in the garden. Twin A lay on the changing mat, completely...

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Tired mom holding a crying baby who is angrily rubbing their cheek and ear during a late-night wake up.

The Real Signs of Ear Infection in Baby (And What to Ignore)

I'm just gonna be real with youβ€”if I had a dollar for every time my mother-in-law gasped and said, "Oh, he's tugging his ear, it's an infection!" I could have paid off my student loans by now. When my oldest,...

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Mother adjusting infant in car seat with white blanket for passport photo

Surviving the U.S. Infant Passport Process Without Losing Your Mind

The fluorescent lights at the pharmacy were humming a specific pitch of anxiety while a nineteen-year-old named Tyler adjusted a digital camera. I was holding my squirming four-month-old up by his armpits, trying desperately to keep my own hands out...

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Mom adjusting the straps on a newborn with low muscle tone in a car seat

Stop Saying Mongoloid Baby: Real Talk About Down Syndrome

I was sweating straight through my maternity leggings in the back of our Honda Odyssey, crying so hard I couldn’t see the buckles. It was August in rural Texas, which is basically the surface of the sun, and we hadn’t...

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Tired dad looking at a laptop with baby building blocks nearby

Figuring Out the New MAGA Baby Savings Account Without Losing It

My father-in-law texted me at 6:15 AM in all-caps about how the federal government is apparently handing out a free thousand bucks for my kid. Two hours later, a senior developer on my engineering team Slack-messaged me a doom-scroll thread...

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A dad holding his hiccuping baby upright after a bottle feed

Why Babies Hiccup Constantly (And How to Actually Troubleshoot)

I was holding a plastic spoon with exactly one drop of literal hot sauce on it while my wife Sarah stared at me from the rocking chair like I had lost my mind. My mother-in-law had just texted me a...

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Pediatric nurse's guide to newborn safe sleep spaces and hidden pregnancy resources.

The Kentucky Cheerleader Case: Hidden Pregnancy and Safe Sleep

The biggest myth parents believe is that concealed pregnancies only happen in made-for-tv movies or to families who never speak to each other. We sit around in our comfortable living rooms and tell ourselves we'd instantly know if our own...

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A modern baby swing next to a pile of folded organic baby blankets.

Dear Past Priya: Finding the Best Baby Swing for Your Sanity

Dear Past Priya, It's 3:14 AM on a Tuesday in late November. You have dried spit-up on the left shoulder of your nursing tank. You're standing in the dark living room holding a screaming potato who refuses to close his...

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A tired father awkwardly trying to squeeze a very chubby baby into a standard infant car seat.

The absolute physical reality of raising a genuinely big baby

I'm standing in the middle of our dimly lit bedroom, sweating through a t-shirt, attempting to pull a cotton sleepsuit over my daughter's left thigh. The label, stitched with mocking delicacy, reads 'Up to 1 Month'. As I try to...

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