Magazine

A bewildered dad holding a baby dressed in multiple mismatched autumn layers

The Engineering of Baby Fall Clothes: A Portland Dad's Guide

7:14 AM. The air in our Portland backyard smells like wet pine needles and coffee. It's exactly 48 degrees outside, but the weather app promises it'll hit a balmy 71 by three o'clock. I'm standing on the porch staring at...

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Mother wearing a vintage womens ringer tee holding a toddler in a matching shirt

Why a Womens Ringer Tee is Actually Medical Grade Mom Gear

I was scraping dried sweet potato off my shoulder with a lukewarm baby wipe when I finally accepted the truth about maternal fashion. The internet feeds us this massive, glittering lie that modern motherhood requires a closet full of high-tech,...

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Frustrated toddler girl in a bathroom trying to unfasten a complicated summer romper.

Why Traditional Toddler Rompers Are Actually A Complete Nightmare

I'm balancing my lukewarm iced vanilla latte on the edge of the incredibly questionable diaper changing station in the Target family restroom while my then two-and-a-half-year-old, Maya, is doing the frantic, knee-knocking pee dance. She is wearing this absolutely precious,...

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Me trapped under our kuscheldecke groß with a coffee and two kids.

The huge family blanket mistake we made (and what actually works)

It's exactly 3:14 AM and I'm sitting in the dark nursery wearing sweatpants that haven't been washed since Tuesday and a faded Nirvana t-shirt that smells vaguely of sour milk, stale coffee, and total desperation. Maya is maybe seven months...

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Baby wearing an organic cotton infant romper playing on a playmat

The Great Infant Romper Lie And What Actually Keeps Babies Cool

I was standing in the emergency room triage bay during a brutal Chicago heatwave when I realized most parents have no idea how to dress a child. The smell of antiseptic was giving me a headache. A frantic mother carried...

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Mom holding a soft organic cotton infant bodysuit in a nursery

Why I Stopped Buying Cheap Joke Shirts For My Kids

I was sweating through my own nursing tank, trying to wrestle my oldest sonβ€”who was basically built like a sack of bowling balls at four months oldβ€”into a stiff neon green shirt my brother-in-law bought him. It said "I Only...

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Folded organic baby blankets stacked next to a wooden crib

The brutal truth about picking a safe baby blanket pattern

My mother-in-law was so proud of the mint green monstrosity she pulled out of her floral gift bag at my baby shower. It had tassels. It had three-dimensional pom-poms. It had a crochet baby blanket pattern with holes large enough...

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Baby girl sitting on a playmat wearing a long sleeve organic outfit

Why I Traded Tiny Jeans for Bubble Rompers (And Never Looked Back)

I was sweating through my t-shirt in the Target parking lot, desperately trying to yank a pair of size 3-month rigid denim skinny jeans over my oldest daughter's delightfully chunky thighs while she screamed like a banshee. I'm just gonna...

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A messy pile of soft organic baby clothes next to a half-empty coffee mug

The Great Mini-Adult Wardrobe Lie and Other Winter Baby Truths

My husband Mark was holding Maya like she was an unexploded bomb, sweat literally beading on his forehead, while I tried to aggressively shove her tiny, raw-noodle arm into the sleeve of a mustard yellow cable-knit pullover. She was three...

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