Magazine

Frustrated mom drinking coffee next to a rear-facing baby car seat in a messy car

A Letter to My Past Self About Surviving Baby Car Seat Chaos

Dear Sarah from exactly six months ago, You're currently jammed into the backseat of the Honda, one knee completely numb because you're using your entire adult body weight to press a massive piece of plastic into the upholstery. Your iced...

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Baby doing tummy time on a playmat looking at a wooden toy

Why your baby prefers one side and how to fix a tight stiff neck

You're scrolling through your camera roll at two in the morning. You notice that in all four hundred photos you took this week, your baby is looking over their right shoulder. They're staring at the right wall in the crib....

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Exhausted dad sitting in the dark holding a crying baby while looking at a smartphone

System Meltdown: A Clueless Dad's Guide to Surviving Colic in Babies

I was bouncing on a half-inflated yoga ball at 140 beats per minute, frantically whispering "shhh" while my five-week-old son screamed so aggressively his face looked like a boiled lobster. My Apple Watch buzzed to congratulate me on my intense...

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Tired mother holding a silicone cup away from a reaching infant

When can babies have water: surviving the summer hydration wars

July in Chicago is a specific kind of swampy misery. Two years ago, the air conditioning unit in our third-floor apartment wheezed its last breath right in the middle of a heatwave. I was sweating through my nursing tank top,...

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Baby practicing tripod sitting on an organic cotton playmat

When Do Babies Sit Up On Their Own? The Honest Truth

Last Tuesday, my mother-in-law told me I needed to prop my four-month-old in a corner with pillows or his spine would stay curved forever. The next day, a girl in my mom group swore her babie was doing unassisted crunches...

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Exhausted dad kneeling beside a bathtub holding a wet baby wrapped in a towel

Surviving Twin Bath Time And The Suction Cup Seat Illusion

Before I had even figured out how to turn on the taps in a way that wouldn’t instantly scold or freeze my daughters, I was already fielding contradictory instructions from everyone I knew about how to wash them. My mother-in-law...

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A tired mom holding her 3-month-old baby who is chewing on a natural wooden teething ring

Surviving the Three-Month Mark Without Losing Your Mind

My mother-in-law showed up on a Tuesday with a box of rice cereal, swearing that mixing it into a bottle would finally make my kid sleep through the night. Two hours later, the lactation consultant at the clinic told me...

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Dad holding baby looking at a pediatric clinic brochure about winter viruses

Letter to Past Marcus: The Patch Notes on RSV Vaccine Babies

I'm sitting here in the dark watching the Govee hygrometer on the nursery dresser tick from 48% to 49% humidity, listening to the rhythmic, slightly squeaky breathing of our eleven-month-old. The Portland rain is currently hammering against the window with...

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A confused mother looking at a jar of honey while holding a baby in her kitchen.

Exactly Why Can't Babies Have Honey Before Their First Birthday

We were in Naperville at my in-laws' house for Sunday dinner. The baby was seven months old, teething heavily, and screaming with the kind of high-pitched intensity that makes your teeth vibrate. I stepped into the guest bathroom for exactly...

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