Magazine

Tired mom holding a crying infant in a dark nursery

Decoding cry baby lyrics while holding an actual screaming infant

My mother-in-law told me to just put him in the crib and shut the door because crying builds lung capacity, which is anatomically hilarious and factually incorrect. My lactation consultant said I should offer the breast the second his lower...

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Exhausted mom holding colicky infant trying to survive cry baby lane

Navigating the Newborn Crying Phase Without Losing Your Damn Mind

My mother-in-law cornered me in my own kitchen while I was trying to microwave a mug of coffee that had already been reheated three times. I was wearing yogurt-stained maternity leggings that were legally too old to still be called...

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Tired mother holding a crying baby in a dim nursery room

My Pediatric Triage Guide To Cheer Up Baby Without Going Crazy

My mother swore rubbing warm ghee on his feet would stop the screaming. The lactation consultant told me he was definitely cluster feeding and I just needed to nurse him for the fourteenth time that hour. Then my neighbor caught...

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An exhausted dad staring at his phone while a baby cries in the background

The 'Is Your Baby Crying Meme' Explained: A Letter To Past Me

3:14 AM. The Apple Watch on my wrist is vibrating, aggressively warning me that the ambient noise level has reached 95 decibels—roughly the equivalent of standing next to a gas-powered lawnmower. The noise source is exactly fourteen inches from my...

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Exhausted dad holding two crying babies while glowing smartphone screen sits on coffee table

When baby tears sims 4 complaints broke me during a 3am twin meltdown

It was 3:14 in the morning, and I was illuminated entirely by the sickly blue glow of my phone screen while Twin A writhed against my shoulder like a damp, furious sack of potatoes. Twin B was mercifully unconscious in...

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Exhausted mom holding a crying newborn baby in a dimly lit nursery room.

The Truth About Newborn Crying and Why You Don't See Tears Yet

It was 2:14 AM, and my oldest son Jackson—who is my personal cautionary tale for literally every parenting mistake a human can make—was doing this high-pitched pterodactyl shriek that vibrated directly in my molars. I was shining my iPhone flashlight...

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Exhausted mom holding a crying infant in a dark nursery

Why I Watch Cry-Baby 1990 When My Actual Baby Just Won't Stop

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on the floor of the nursery in your sweatpants, staring at a patch of dried spit-up on the rug while Arjun screams like he's being prepped for an unanesthetized appendectomy. The...

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Mother pacing a dark nursery while soothing a crying baby over her shoulder

Why do babies cry: A late-night letter to my exhausted self

It's 3:14 AM and you're standing barefoot on the cold hardwood floor of our Chicago apartment. The radiator is hissing that metallic, rhythmic sound it only makes when the temperature outside drops below zero. Your three-week-old is screaming a jagged,...

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A newborn baby experiencing skin-to-skin contact wrapped in an organic blanket after crying when born

That Terrifying Silence: Why Do Babies Cry When Born Explained

The operating room was literally freezing. I'm talking meat-locker cold, which nobody warns you about when you're prepping for an emergency C-section. I was shivering so hard my teeth were clicking together, staring at this giant blue paper drape while...

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