Magazine

Wooden baby play items on a neutral playmat in a living room

Why I Threw Out Our Giant Plastic Baby Activity Table

I was sitting on the living room rug with my coffee halfway to my mouth, staring at my oldest son, Jackson, who looked like he was preparing for a lunar launch. He was six months old and firmly wedged into...

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A silicone infant spoon covered in mashed avocado resting on a messy highchair tray

The Great Puree Illusion: My Humbling Education in Infant Spoons

The ceiling of my kitchen in Zone 3 currently sports a rather avant-garde splatter of pureed butternut squash, perfectly preserved from last Tuesday when I attempted to feed the twins simultaneously. Maya, deciding she was finished with her lunch, performed...

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A tired mom holding an iced coffee and wearing a stretchy organic cotton baby tee while chasing a toddler

How I Finally Hacked The Baby Tee Womens Trend After Two Kids

I was sitting in the driver's seat of my Honda Odyssey in a Target parking lot on a random Tuesday in March, violently regretting every life choice that had led me to this exact moment. I was wearing a neon...

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A messy Stokke Tripp Trapp baby set pushed up to a modern dining table

What No One Tells You About the Stokke Tripp Trapp Baby Set

It's barely six in the morning in Chicago, the heat just kicked on, and I'm using a dull butter knife to chip concrete-level dried sweet potato out of the tiny plastic grooves of a high chair harness. My toddler is...

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A very messy baby covered in bright orange sweet potato puree happily chewing on a soft silicone spoon in a highchair

The sweet potato disaster and the ugly truth about baby spoons

I was wearing a cream-colored sweater, which, let’s be honest, is the first and most obvious mistake I made that day. It was around 5:30 PM, the exact hour when my blood stream is approximately four percent coffee and ninety-six...

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A toddler's hands reaching for scattered wooden building blocks on a rug.

Dear past Priya: The truth about wooden blocks for your toddler

You're standing in the middle of the living room at three in the morning, holding a plastic blender that just sang a high-pitched song about making a smoothie because your foot grazed it in the dark. Your heel is throbbing....

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Stressed parent looking at phone searching for kids stores near me while holding a baby

Why looking up kids stores near me usually ends in disaster

The wind off Lake Michigan is currently performing a hostile takeover of the sidewalk. My toddler, who fit perfectly into his heavy coat exactly three days ago, is now hulking out of the sleeves like a tiny, irritated bodybuilder. The...

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Neutral bamboo baby blanket and wooden play gym set on a nursery floor

Brutally honest gifts for babies that parents actually want

I was sitting at a baby shower in Naperville last weekend when they brought out the main event. A massive, cellophane-wrapped basket towering with newborn-sized denim jackets, stiff canvas shoes that looked like tiny torture devices, and a neon plastic...

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Exhausted dad staring at a tiny organic cotton sleepsuit and cold coffee.

The Unvarnished Truth About Buying Clothes For Your Tiny Human

My mother stood in our hallway on a mild Tuesday in October, clutching an aggressively knitted yellow cardigan and informing me that my newborn twins were minutes away from clinical hypothermia. Twenty minutes later, the NHS health visitor arrived, took...

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