Magazine

Wooden infant activity arch over an organic mat in a Chicago apartment.

The ugly truth about that neon plastic baby play gym you just bought

I was sitting cross-legged on my living room rug at three in the morning, holding a screwdriver and weeping quietly over a piece of molded plastic that required four D batteries. The box promised it would stimulate my newborn's cognitive...

Read more

A confused dad looking at a mountain of plastic baby presents in a London living room

How to actually choose gifts for infants (without losing your mind)

Before my daughters were born, my mother-in-law insisted we urgently needed an engraved silver rattle because "it's tradition and builds character." The very next day, a hipster barista in Dalston earnestly told me that tiny babies only require the atmospheric...

Read more

Dad holding a baby girl wrapped in a subtle terracotta rainbow bamboo blanket next to a pram

Surviving the pink tulle avalanche: Practical presents for girls

I was staring at a mountain of aggressively pink tulle that had somehow swallowed our entire living room. It was day four with twin girls, the house smelled vaguely of sour milk and sheer desperation, and the delivery driver had...

Read more

A dad looking exhausted in a brightly lit toy store aisle.

A Letter to Myself: What I Wish I Knew Before Entering the Toy Store

Dear Tom from exactly six months ago, You're currently standing in the middle of aisle four of a massive, warehouse-style toy store just off the M25, sweating profusely into your supposedly breathable cotton t-shirt while the twins double-team a meltdown...

Read more

A tired mother sorting through practical organic baby gifts for boys on a nursery floor.

Surviving loud baby gifts for boys and what parents actually want

It was 2:14 in the morning on a Tuesday. I was standing in the dark hallway of our Chicago apartment, holding a baby who had finally stopped crying after forty-five minutes of unexplained misery. The silence was thick and fragile....

Read more

A wooden rainbow play gym on a natural rug surrounded by simple baby toys

What I Got Totally Wrong About Buying Educational Toys Toys

It was 2:14 in the morning, and the glowing plastic octopus under my bare heel was loudly singing the Spanish alphabet. I was holding a screaming newborn, trying not to wake my husband, while this neon monstrosity cheerfully flashed strobe...

Read more

A mom holding a coffee looking stressed in a desert backyard setting.

The Biggest Baby Rattlesnake Myth Ruining Your Desert Vacation

I was standing in my mother-in-law's Scottsdale backyard at 7 AM, wearing these completely impractical wide-leg linen pants that I thought made me look "resort casual" but actually just made me look like I was in a cult. I was...

Read more

Toddler hands stacking natural wooden blocks on a rug

Letter to My Past Self: The Cold Truth About Toddler Wooden Blocks

It's 2:14 in the morning. I'm sitting on the edge of the bathtub rubbing the arch of my left foot where a neon plastic interlocking brick just tried to amputate my heel. I'm writing this to you, Priya from six...

Read more

A messy living room floor with a coffee cup and a wooden play gym

The Truth About Why Your Baby Ignores Their Expensive Playthings

It was December 2017, and my oldest, Leo, was exactly six months old. I remember this vividly because I was wearing black maternity leggings that smelled vaguely of spit-up and a nursing bra I hadn't washed inβ€”you know what, let's...

Read more