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Mother sitting on a park bench watching her toddler climb a wooden structure.

Watching my kid fall off the playground cured my helicopter anxiety

The wind coming off Lake Michigan was aggressive enough to make my eyes water, but I couldn't blink. My two-year-old was fifteen feet up a rope climbing pyramid at Maggie Daley Park. His left foot was wedged between two cables....

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Toddler hands grabbing a wooden baby jesus in a manger

Keeping the Baby Jesus Out of Your Toddler's Mouth

I was in the kitchen aggressively scraping burnt porridge out of a pan when the silence hit. Any parent of two-year-old twins knows that silence is never golden; it's highly suspicious and usually expensive. I dropped the pan, sprinted into...

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Marcus looking stressed while holding a coffee mug and staring at a laptop screen

Why Adding a Baby Duck to Our Family Was a Terribly Stupid Idea

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday. The baby monitor was flashing that menacing yellow warning color, indicating my son was tossing around again. I was sitting on the edge of the bed in the dark, scrolling through a local...

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A dad nervously checking the rearview mirror at a baby in a rear-facing car seat.

The real baby driver 2: A letter to my past self about car seat panic

Dear Marcus from six months ago, You're currently idling in the driveway of the Hawthorne Fred Meyer in your Subaru. The engine is running. The heater is set exactly to 70 degrees because you read somewhere that anything else will...

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baby healthfatherhoodhumourorganic baby clothesParenting Guidetwin dad
Exhausted dad holding twin babies surrounded by baby gear and empty coffee cups

The Absurdity of Sitcom Fathers and the Sticky Reality of Baby D Drops

There I was at 3:14 in the morning, wedged into the corner of the sofa with a rapidly cooling bottle of formula tucked under my chin, desperately trying to keep Twin A from kicking her sister in the head. The...

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Babybudgetingearly developmenthumornursery decorParenting Guide
Mom sitting on floor surrounded by printed baby clipart and toddlers

Dear Past Jess: What You Actually Need To Know About Baby Clipart

Dear Jess from six months ago, You're currently sitting on the laundry room linoleum, crying over a jammed HP inkjet printer while your oldest screams because his socks "feel spicy" and the baby is aggressively cluster feeding. You just wanted...

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A wooden convertible baby chair pulled up to a messy dining table

Surviving the baby chair transition without a trip to the ER

The sweet potato puree was everywhere. It was day three of solid foods. Riya was slumped to the left in a hand-me-down high chair that looked like a plastic spaceship. She coughed, gagged, and suddenly went silent. My ER nurse...

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A frustrated mom looking at a flexible mesh baby gate spanning a hallway.

The Blunt Truth About Retractable Baby Gates (And My Worst Night)

It was 6:15 PM, I had a half-empty jar of marinara sauce tucked under my left arm, a screaming six-month-old anchored on my right hip, and my two-year-old was actively trying to feed the dog a AAA battery he found...

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Twin toddlers fighting over a wooden block in a London park

The Toddler Nepo Baby: Surviving Sandpit Privilege

"Get them into St. Jude's nursery now by calling your Aunt Susan," my mother-in-law hissed over a lukewarm cup of Earl Grey last Tuesday, as if we were discussing a covert military op rather than a place where kids eat...

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