Magazine

A confused dad looking at his baby pointing at a wild animal in the grass

The Portland Backyard Bug: Debugging Encounters with Baby Animals

I'm standing in my perpetually damp Portland backyard at 6:15 AM, holding a lukewarm mug of coffee like a shield, while my 11-month-old son, Leo, points a chubby, sticky finger at what appears to be a vibrating pile of dead...

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Exhausted dad staring at a glowing baby monitor smartphone app in the dark

Why I Cannot Stop Staring at the Night Vision Baby Monitor

It's 3:14 AM, and the blue light of my smartphone is the only thing illuminating our bedroom ceiling. My wife is completely unconscious next to me, breathing in a steady rhythm that I deeply envy. Meanwhile, I'm zoomed in 400x...

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Jess looking stressed reading her phone at the kitchen island

What the Adriana Smith Baby Case Taught Me About ER Visits

It was 11:45 PM on a Tuesday, and I was standing at my kitchen island slapping shipping labels onto poly mailers for my Etsy shop while the baby monitor glowed next to my tape dispenser. I should have been sleeping,...

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Three men looking confused while holding a baby and baby gear

What a 1980s Movie Taught Me About Dads and Newborns

Dear Sarah from last October, You're currently sitting in the driver's seat of your Honda Odyssey in a Starbucks parking lot. You're wearing those black Lululemon leggings that have an unidentifiable crusty stain on the left thigh, clutching an iced...

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A wet baby wrapped in a towel looking annoyed at a bottle of unscented baby wash

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...

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A wooden baby play gym set up on an organic cotton blanket in a sunny room

Why I Tossed My Plastic Toys For A Wooden Spielbogen Baby Gym

It was 2:00 PM on a Tuesday, and I was sitting on my living room rug nursing a lukewarm coffee while a giant plastic jungle gym flashed neon green lights directly into my six-week-old's eyeballs. The thing was blaring some...

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A stressed mother holding her highly congested infant next to a cool mist humidifier at night

Why the "It's Just a Cold" Myth is Dangerous for Infants

It was December 2019, I was running on exactly three hours of sleep and half a pot of lukewarm Folgers, wearing a hideous green sweater that already smelled like sour breastmilk, when Dave's aunt Linda peered into four-month-old Leo's car...

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A tired mom holding a toddler and a newborn baby in a messy living room

How the Peppa Pig New Baby Episode Saved My Sanity With Two Kids

I was sitting squarely on the cold bathroom tile, staring cross-eyed at two pink lines on a plastic stick, while my two-year-old was actively trying to flush my best Mac contour brush down the toilet. He paused his plumbing experiment,...

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The Nanit baby monitor set up over a wooden crib in a rural Texas nursery

The Brutally Honest Truth About the Nanit Baby Monitor System

When I was pregnant with my first, I got three entirely different pieces of advice about watching your kid sleep in the span of one afternoon. My mom, bless her heart, told me to just leave the bedroom door cracked...

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