The Truth About Baby Shower Decorations (And That Balloon Arch)
I was thirty-two weeks pregnant with my oldest, sitting flat on my kitchen floor, and ugly-crying into a pile of deflated sage green balloons. My husband had just walked in from work, taken one look at me holding a dual-action...
Secrets Baby Beach Aruba: The Midnight Hotel Panic
It was 2:14 AM, and I was wearing a fleece bathrobe over a maternity bathing suit top because my four-month-old, Leo, had just spit up breastmilk all over my favorite oversized college tee. My husband Dave was snoring in the...
Waiting For The First Real Smile Without Losing Your Mind
It was three in the morning during a brutal Chicago February, and the radiator in our apartment was making that rhythmic hissing sound. I was holding my son after a feed, staring at his squished face in the dim light...
The 3AM Baby Monster Phase: Surviving Toddler Night Terrors
My mum told me to leave a small saucer of milk under the bed to appease the spirits. The bloke at our local pub, a man who has clearly not parented a child since 1982, suggested I simply tell the...
Dear Past Priya: Your Newborn Is Basically Just a Baby Monkey
You're currently standing in the hallway at 3:14 AM, swaying like a seasick sailor. There's spit-up on your left shoulder that has dried into a crust. Your feet are aching, your back is completely shot, and the tiny human in...
How to Actually Use Lullabies Without Losing Your Mind
It was 3:14 AM with my oldest, Carter, and the nursery glider was making this rhythmic, high-pitched squeak that felt like it was drilling directly into my skull. My throat was completely raw from singing "You Are My Sunshine" for...
The day I thought a rap star was a Scandinavian stroller
Tuesday, 4:15 PM. The rain is violently attacking our living room windows and I'm wearing a pair of black maternity leggings that haven't seen the inside of a washing machine since the Obama administration. I'm holding my third lukewarm coffee...
Bringing Your Newborn Home Without Losing Your Mind
I was wedged between a breast pump box and a diaper bag in the back of my husband's F-150, clutching the plastic handle of the infant carrier like we were off-roading, even though he was driving twelve miles an hour...
Surviving Backyard Baby Chicks When You Already Have A Toddler
We were standing in the middle of a farm supply store somewhere in the Illinois suburbs when my husband decided we needed to teach our two-year-old about food sustainability. He was holding a cardboard box that vibrated with high-pitched chirps,...