Magazine

Tired dad staring at a glowing baby monitor in a completely dark nursery

Sleep Training a Baby: A Letter to My Past, Severely Exhausted Self

Dear Marcus of six months ago, You're currently standing in the dark, swaying like a drunken sailor on a turbulent sea. You have an 18-pound weight draped over your left shoulder, and your right hand is frantically typing when to...

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An exhausted dad sitting in a dark nursery while an 11-month-old baby stands in a crib.

Surviving Our Real Boss Baby and Who Actually Voices The Movie

My mom told me that if I didn't establish dominance on day one, the baby would rule our house forever. The barista down the street confidently informed me that I need to surrender to his flow and let the infant...

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Tired mom holding a crying newborn in a dark nursery

Why Looking Up Ice Ice Baby Lyrics At 3 AM Changed My Parenting

It was 3:17 in the morning, and my oldest was screaming with the kind of red-faced, breathless stamina that makes you seriously question your life choices. I was sitting on a cheap, half-deflated yoga ball in our drafty Texas farmhouse,...

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A tired dad holding a paint swatch next to a crib with baby blue bedding

Why the Baby Blue Color Is More Than Just a 90s Nursery Cliche

I was standing in the middle of our empty guest roomβ€”soon to be the nurseryβ€”holding a paint swatch that looked like a depressed smurf. It was 2 AM, I was aggressively caffeinated, and my wife, Sarah, was staring at me...

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Tired mom holding a sleeping baby in a bamboo wrap doing a crossword puzzle

Dear Exhausted Jess: The Baby Beluga Magic You Need Right Now

Dear Jess from six months ago. You're sobbing into a sour-smelling burp cloth right now. It's 3:14 AM. The baby is doing that rigid-plank scream that makes your own spine ache, the toddler is asleep in the hallway for some...

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The Nanit baby monitor set up over a wooden crib in a rural Texas nursery

The Brutally Honest Truth About the Nanit Baby Monitor System

When I was pregnant with my first, I got three entirely different pieces of advice about watching your kid sleep in the span of one afternoon. My mom, bless her heart, told me to just leave the bedroom door cracked...

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Tired mom sitting in a nursery glider rocking a baby to sleep in the dark

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...

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Tired mom holding a newborn baby in a dark nursery illuminated by a soft red nightlight.

What Baby Justin Bieber Taught Me About 3 AM Survival

It was 3:17 AM, and I was wearing my husband Dave’s oversized college hoodie that smelled faintly of sour milk and complete desperation. Leo, who was exactly four weeks and two days old at the time, was doing that arching-back,...

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Tired British dad looking at a baby monitor while holding a cold coffee

Baby Got Back: Surviving Sleep Paranoia and Toddler Defiance

My mother-in-law cornered me in the kitchen on day three of fatherhood to firmly insist that babies must sleep on their fronts, otherwise they'll choke on their own spit-up and perish before dawn. The NHS health visitor, who arrived three...

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