Magazine

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-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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4-month-old6-month-oldbaby gearearly developmenteco-friendlygross motor skills
Exhausted mom drinking coffee while baby plays on a wooden play mat in a modern living room.

The Ultimate Play Mat Baby Survival Guide For Exhausted Parents

I'm sitting cross-legged on my faded West Elm rug. It’s a Tuesday morning in 2017, I'm wearing black maternity leggings that I aggressively refuse to retire even though Maya is four months old, and I'm staring at a flashing, screeching,...

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8-month-old9-month-oldbaby milestoneseco-friendlygross motor skillsparenting anxiety
A baby pushing backward on an organic play mat while a dad looks at his smartwatch.

What Age Do Babies Start Crawling? A Tech Dad's Reality Check

I'm lying flat on the cold oak floor of our Portland living room with a digital laser measure, trying to calculate the exact trajectory of my eleven-month-old daughter. She isn't moving toward me. She's pushing herself violently backward like a...

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11-month-olddevelopmental milestonesgross motor skillsorganic baby clothesparenting anxietytummy time
A tired dad sitting on a hardwood floor watching his baby scoot backward.

When Should A Baby Start Crawling? A Dad's Messy Timeline

I was standing in line at a Portland coffee shop yesterday with my 11-month-old strapped to my chest like a very heavy, drooling backpack, when I got hit with three completely contradictory pieces of developmental advice in the span of...

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8-month-oldbaby milestonesgross motor skillsmotherhoodparenting
Baby pulling up to stand on a wooden coffee table wearing no socks

When Babies Pull to Stand: The Messy, Exhausted Reality

I was wearing my favorite black leggings—the ones with the questionable yogurt stain on the left knee that I'd just sort of given up on washing out entirely—and holding my third cup of lukewarm coffee. It was a Tuesday at...

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12-month-oldearly developmentfirst walkersgross motor skillspediatrician
Toddler taking wide flat-footed steps while balancing with high arms

The truth about that heavy baby elephant walk

I'm sitting on the living room floor watching a fourteen-month-old slam his whole foot down against the hardwood like he's trying to squash a very large, very resilient bug. His arms are bent and held up by his ears like...

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12-month-olddigital footprintgross motor skillshealthy babyinternet safetyparenting humor
Toddler girl dancing in a living room next to a smartphone playing music

What To Do When "Baby Girl Shake That" Invades Your Nursery

I'm currently watching two identical twenty-four-month-olds attempt what I can only describe as a synchronized club routine in the middle of our kitchen. Twin A is dropping into a deeply concerning squat, while Twin B is executing a rhythmic shoulder...

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4-month-old6-month-old9-month-oldbaby developmentgross motor skills
A baby grabbing their mom's finger tightly with a messy living room in the background

The Wild Strength of a Grip Baby (And What Not to Do)

My oldest son, bless his heart, came out of the womb clutching the collar of my hospital gown like he owed somebody money. He had this vice grip that left tiny red half-moon fingernail marks on my chest, and if...

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