Magazine

Pediatric nurse mother researching on phone while baby sleeps

The 3 AM Baby Santana Search That Broke My Pediatric Nurse Brain

The drywall was physically vibrating at two in the morning. My fourteen-year-old niece was visiting from out of state, and she decided the middle of the night was the perfect time to blast trap music. My toddler, who was already...

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A frustrated infant wearing a fluffy baby pink dress sitting on a wooden floor

The Absolute Mess of Dressing an Infant in a Baby Pink Dress

I'm sitting in the back pew of a Baptist church in the dead heat of a Texas July, sweating right through my own linen top, while my six-month-old daughter screams bloody murder. It was 2019, my oldest was my guinea...

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Messy living room with a baby swing chair and a half-empty coffee mug

Why That Baby Swing Is A Lifesaver (And A Total Anxiety Trap)

It was a Tuesday in November, right around 3 PM, and I was wearing a pair of maternity leggings that smelled vaguely of old spit-up and desperation. Maya was maybe two months old. She had been screaming for what felt...

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A tired mom holding a coffee mug while her baby plays on a wooden play gym

Dear Past Me: The Completely Messy Truth About Baby TV & Screens

Dear Sarah from exactly six months ago, You're currently hiding in the tiny downstairs half-bathroom. It's 6:14 AM on a Tuesday, and you're wearing Dave’s giant gray flannel shirtβ€”the one with the missing buttonβ€”and mismatched socks, clutching a lukewarm Yeti...

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Mother looking stressed while holding her infant on a digital bathroom scale

Why That Online Growth Chart Is Making You Lose Your Mind

I'm standing naked on my cold Chicago bathroom tile at four in the morning. My baby is also naked. I step onto the digital scale, memorize my exact weight, step off, pick up my thrashing three-month-old, step back on, and...

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Baby sitting in high chair with an open glass jar of pureed food

The Truth About Beech-Nut Baby Food From a Tired Mom of Three

I was standing on a kitchen chair with a wet Swiffer pad, aggressively scrubbing bright orange sweet potato puree off my ceiling fan, when I finally accepted defeat. This was four years ago with my oldest son. I had bought...

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Sarah looking terrified at her iPad screen while holding a cold cup of coffee

Why Searching For That Baby John Cartoon Sent Me Into A Panic

My mother-in-law swore by propping Leo up with an iPad the second he got fussy, my sister acted like letting a 3D animated pig sing a nursery rhyme would literally dissolve his frontal lobe, and my husband Dave just muttered...

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Exhausted dad staring at a laptop spreadsheet while holding a crying baby

Raising A Baby Hitler: Why I Stopped Tracking Cries And Held My Kid

Dear Marcus from exactly six months ago, It's currently 3:14 AM in your timeline, and I know exactly what you're doing. You're sitting in the glow of your laptop in the nursery, holding a screaming, five-month-old Maya, and you're logging...

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Tired dad holding an eleven month old baby while looking confused at a laptop screen showing sleep data

How to Actually Troubleshoot Your Way to an Fantastic Baby

It was 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, the Portland rain was actively mocking my sanity against the bedroom window, and my 11-month-old was throwing a massive runtime error. I had tried the bouncing walk, the aggressive shushing, the weird yoga-ball-hip-sway...

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