The Nightly Bubble Bath Lie and Finding Safe Soap for Babies
I was standing in the middle of a Target aisle at eight o'clock at night with spit-up down my back, staring blankly at a giant wall of purple, lavender-scented bottles promising me the world. My firstborn was three months old,...
Raising a Black baby: A glitch report to my past self
It's 3:14 AM. I'm currently staring at the humidity sensor output for the nursery, trying to correlate a 4% drop in ambient moisture with why our son has been awake since one in the morning. I'm writing this to you,...
Dear Past Priya: The Truth About the Diddy Baby Oil Situation
You're standing in aisle fourteen of the Belmont Target right now. Your toddler is actively trying to consume a cardboard price tag she peeled off the shelf. You're holding a familiar pink bottle of mineral oil because you thought it...
The Big Baby Detergent Scam (And How I Actually Do Laundry)
I was standing in my laundry room at 3 AM in a pair of sour-milk-stained sweatpants, holding a twenty-four-dollar jug of baby detergent and straight-up sobbing. My oldest, Beau, was upstairs covered in angry red hives, and my mom was...
Dear Past Me: The Truth About Aquaphor Baby and Drool Rashes
You're standing in aisle fourteen of the Target on Roosevelt Road, holding a tub of regular healing ointment in your left hand and the infant version in your right. It's two in the morning. Your daughter is at home with...
Dear Past Tom: The Truth About Achieving That Baby Smoove Skin
Dear Tom from six months ago, You're currently sitting on the cold tiles of the downstairs loo at 3:14 AM, the only room in the house where you can turn on a light without waking your wife or the twins....
The brutal truth about infant wardrobes and diaper blowouts
My mother-in-law walked into my recovery room and immediately tried to put a fleece hat on my two-day-old son. An hour later, the lactation consultant breezed in and told me to strip him down to his diaper so he wouldn't...
Stop Washing Your Baby Every Night (And How to Pick Better Shampoo)
I was standing in the baby aisle of our local grocery store at 9 PM on a Tuesday, holding a violently pink bottle of "calming lavender bedtime wash" in one hand and my phone in the other. I was trying...
Why Every Baby Goat Myth You've Heard Is Probably Dead Wrong
I was standing in my kitchen at 6 AM on a Tuesday, staring at a cloudy mason jar my mother-in-law had just proudly slammed on the counter. "Raw goat milk," she announced, crossing her arms like sheβd just cured all...