Magazine

A wobbly toddler standing barefoot on a living room rug holding a wooden coffee table

What Age Do Babies Walk (And Why The Timeline Is A Total Lie)

My coffee was lukewarm, but the tension in the room was boiling. We were sitting on Maya's living room floor, and her kid had just taken three shaky, Frankenstein-style steps across the rug. He was nine months old. The other...

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A barefoot baby pulling to stand next to a pair of flexible first walker shoes.

The Real Deal on Finding Walking Shoes for Babies

I was standing in the middle of the Target shoe aisle with my oldestβ€”who's now four and still an absolute terror, bless his heartβ€”when I realized I had three completely different voices echoing in my head about what to put...

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A tired mom holding a newborn while a toddler pulls her pant leg

The Brutal and Honest Truth About Surviving the Super Baby 2 Phase

My mother-in-law cornered me in the kitchen and said I needed to put the new baby in the toddler's crib so they could bond through shared breathing. My former charge nurse texted me to keep them on separate floors so...

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Tired mother holding a coffee cup while looking at her babbling baby

The Honest Truth About When Your Baby Will Finally Say Mama

My mother-in-law cornered me by the spinach dip station at my cousin's baby shower when my son Leo was seven months old and confidently declared that because he was currently blowing spit bubbles, he was practically reading. "He's making the...

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Priya chasing her runaway baby across a busy Chicago park

Note to self on surviving the toddler sprint phase without crying

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently standing in the produce aisle at the Mariano's on Western Avenue. Your fourteen-month-old just dropped your hand. He is making a break for the automatic doors. You thought this was a phase...

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A tired mom holding coffee while looking up rora baby monster info on her phone.

Decoding the Rora Baby Monster Phase Without Losing Your Mind

I was wearing Dave's faded gray Boston College sweatpantsβ€”the ones with the questionable stain on the left kneeβ€”and my hair was in a knot so tight it was giving me a tension headache. It was 3:14 AM. I know the...

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Toddler holding a smartphone in a dark room while sitting on a rug

The Truth About The Rakai Glitch Trend And Toddler Screen Time

I was wrist-deep in pureed carrots when my group chat of first-time moms started vibrating off the kitchen counter. Someone had seen a TikTok video about a glitching kid and was actively spiraling into a panic. They thought it was...

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Tired mom drinking coffee while checking her baby's temperature

The Real Baby Fever Meaning: From Cute Cravings to 2 AM Panics

I was standing in the baby aisle of a Target in 2014, wearing one of those aggressively chunky infinity scarves that were a literal choke hazard, weeping into my overpriced iced Americano. A woman had just walked past me wearing...

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Mom pouring whole cow's milk into a baby sippy cup in the kitchen

What I Wish I Knew About The Great Cow's Milk Transition Phase

Dear Jess from exactly six months ago. I see you standing in the dairy aisle at the local HEB, staring at the red cap on a gallon of whole milk like it’s a radioactive artifact. You're sweating through your favorite...

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