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8-month-oldbabyBaby-Led Weaningfeedingmillennials
Messy high chair tray with squished roasted baby potatoes and a teether

The Absolute Worst Night I Tried Roasting Baby Potatoes

I'm standing there holding a wooden spoon like some kind of medieval weapon, and it's exactly 6:18 PM on a Tuesday. The kind of Tuesday that feels like it's been going on for fourteen actual years. I'm wearing my husband's...

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8-month-oldbaby developmentcommunicationearly developmentmillennialsmotherhood
Exhausted mom drinking coffee while teaching the milk gesture using sign language for babies in a messy kitchen.

My Utterly Chaotic, Milk-Stained Guide To Sign Language For Babies

It’s 5:43 AM on a Tuesday in November. I'm wearing my husband Dave’s stained gray sweatpants and a maternity tank top that I’m pretty sure has been inside-out since Sunday. Maya is exactly eight months and two days old, and...

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6-month-old8-month-oldBaby-Led Weaningmealtimemotherhood
Messy highchair tray with safe smashed baby potatoes for a weaning infant.

Why My First Smashed Baby Potatoes Were a Complete Disaster

I was literally chiseling carbonized potato skins off my one good baking sheet with a butter knife when I realized the internet had completely lied to me again. It was 2019, my oldest son Beau was about eight months old,...

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6-month-old8-month-oldbaby feedinginfant developmentparenthood
A tired parent's perspective on when babies finally learn to hold their own feeding bottle.

When Do Babies Finally Start Holding Their Own Bottles?

Dear Tom of eighteen months ago. You're currently sitting on the IKEA armchair that smells faintly of sour milk and big defeat, a twin wedged in the crook of each arm. You're trying to balance two plastic bottles using your...

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8-month-old9-month-oldbaby milestoneseco-friendlygross motor skillsparenting anxiety
A baby pushing backward on an organic play mat while a dad looks at his smartwatch.

What Age Do Babies Start Crawling? A Tech Dad's Reality Check

I'm lying flat on the cold oak floor of our Portland living room with a digital laser measure, trying to calculate the exact trajectory of my eleven-month-old daughter. She isn't moving toward me. She's pushing herself violently backward like a...

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12-month-old8-month-old9-month-oldbaby milestonesdevelopmentorganic
A baby sitting on an organic playmat holding a wooden teething ring

When do babies start clapping: a letter to my panicked past self

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on the jute rug in the living room. Your knees hurt. You have sung some variation of pat-a-cake forty-seven times today. Your coffee is cold and your eight-month-old is staring at...

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8-month-oldbaby milestonesgross motor skillsmotherhoodparenting
Baby pulling up to stand on a wooden coffee table wearing no socks

When Babies Pull to Stand: The Messy, Exhausted Reality

I was wearing my favorite black leggingsβ€”the ones with the questionable yogurt stain on the left knee that I'd just sort of given up on washing out entirelyβ€”and holding my third cup of lukewarm coffee. It was a Tuesday at...

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6-month-old8-month-oldbaby developmentbabyproofingdevelopmental milestonesmotherhood
Coffee cup next to a baby crawling backwards on a rug

A Letter To Myself About The Chaos Of The Baby Crawling Phase

It's 2:14 PM on a Tuesday. I'm wearing black yoga pants that haven't seen the inside of a gym since 2018, and a gray t-shirt stained with breastmilk and what I'm desperately hoping is just mashed sweet potato. I'm nursing...

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6-month-old8-month-oldbaby sleepbaby teethershealthy babyparenting humor
Tired dad looking at baby's gums with a small silicone teether

Decoding Baby First Tooth Symptoms: A Late-Night Debugging Guide

Dear Marcus circa six months ago: It's currently 2:14 AM, you're holding a glowing digital thermometer like a tricorder, and you're staring into the mouth of a very angry tiny human. You're convinced her entire operating system is crashing. You're...

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