Magazine

Exhausted mother holding a screaming infant in a dark nursery

When your sweet newborn suddenly turns into an actual baby demon

It was exactly 6:43 PM on a Tuesday in November. The radiators in our Chicago apartment were clanking the way they always do when the wind picks up. My sweet three-month-old daughter, who had spent the entire morning peacefully cooing...

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Sleep-deprived dad researching baby chief do it on his phone while rocking a baby.

Baby Chief Do It: 3 AM Rabbit Holes & Real Firmware Updates

It’s 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, the exact temperature in our Portland apartment is 68.5 degrees, and I'm currently forty-five minutes deep into a TikTok wormhole trying to figure out why my eleven-month-old’s behavior doesn’t match the internet’s benchmarks. My...

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A tired mom holding her four month old baby on an organic cotton play mat

Surviving Your 4 Month Old Baby: The Truth About Sleep and Sanity

Everyone tells you that once you hit the sixteen-week mark, the clouds part and the angels sing. They call it the end of the fourth trimester, like you're suddenly crossing a finish line into this magical land of predictable naps...

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Wooden bear rattle toy resting on a clean playroom floor

A Rat in the Playroom and Why I Tossed All Our Plastic Toys

I was holding a lukewarm mug of chai, stepping over the scattered debris of my toddler's morning play session. Beside the television stand, there was a grey lump. At first, I thought it was just a discarded lint ball from...

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Exhausted mom holding crying baby in dark nursery while looking at her phone

My 3 AM Colic Panic and the Truth About Gripe Water for Babies

It's 3:14 AM. Tuesday. Or maybe a Thursday, time is a flat circle anyway when you haven't slept more than forty consecutive minutes in a month. I'm wearing my husband Dave's gray sweatpants with a mysterious crusty stain on the...

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A tired mom holding her baby while drinking coffee in a messy living room

Dear Past Me: Surviving The First Year And That Lil Baby Age

Dear Sarah from six months agoβ€” Actually, wait. No. Maya is seven and Leo is four now. So writing a letter to myself from six months ago would just be me aggressively telling myself to buy more coffee before the...

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A sleep-deprived dad holding a glowing thermometer and looking confused at his smartphone screen in the dark.

3 AM Teething Panics And The Nikki Baby Google Search Spiral

At 3:17 AM on a Tuesday, I'm standing in the middle of the nursery holding a glowing infrared forehead thermometer like a phaser set to stun. My 11-month-old is thrashing around in his crib like a fish on a dock,...

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Exhausted mother comforting a baby in a dimly lit nursery

The Morbid Truth About Rock a Bye Baby and Why It Still Works

Don't open up a search engine at three in the morning to research the origins of nursery rhymes while bouncing a screaming infant. It's a terrible idea that only leads to weird historical rabbit holes and more anxiety. I know...

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A stressed dad looking at a tube of gum numbing gel in a dark kitchen.

The Teething Gel Confusion: What I Learned About Numbing Gums

It was 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was standing in the harsh fluorescent light of our open bathroom medicine cabinet, holding a tiny tube of adult toothache gel I had leftover from a minor dental procedure last year....

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