The Great UPPAbaby Vista Debate: Is the V3 Upgrade Actually Better?
"Buy the Vista," my lead developer told me in the Slack channel where we usually complain about server loads. "It's the luxury SUV of strollers." Three minutes later, my sister-in-law texted: "Don't buy that massive thing, it's a total waste...
Stroller Shopping Destroyed My Sanity And Ruined My Spreadsheets
My mother-in-law insisted we needed a pram with shock absorbers lifted from a literal monster truck. My coworker Dave, who has three kids and hasn't slept a full night since 2018, swore we just needed a twenty-dollar nylon umbrella rig...
Finding the Best Baby Bouncer When You Just Need a Damn Shower
It was a Tuesday in November, raining sideways, and I was wearing a nursing bra that smelled intensely of sour milk and desperation. Maya was maybe eight weeks old. Leo was three and currently trying to feed the dog dry...
Dear Past Me: Surviving a Baby Pug and a Human Infant at Once
Dear Past Me from exactly six months ago, It's Tuesday, 10:14 AM. You're standing in the kitchen wearing those black maternity leggings that you absolutely refuse to throw away even though Leo is four and Maya is seven. You have...
The Great Toddler Escape and Why Door Safety Is So Controversial
My mother-in-law told me to just flip the lock on my toddler's bedroom door around so it secures from the outside. A mom in my local Chicago Facebook group said locking a child in their room is literal abuse and...
Dear Past Priya: The Real Truth About Baby Steps Mods & Gear
Dear Priya of six months ago. You're currently sitting on the faded rug in our Chicago apartment, staring at the sharp edge of the West Elm coffee table. You're entirely convinced it's a lethal weapon. Your nine-month-old son just pulled...
Why That Baby Swing Is A Lifesaver (And A Total Anxiety Trap)
It was a Tuesday in November, right around 3 PM, and I was wearing a pair of maternity leggings that smelled vaguely of old spit-up and desperation. Maya was maybe two months old. She had been screaming for what felt...
Why this skeptical pediatric nurse finally bought a baby wagon
It was mid-July at Montrose Beach, the kind of Chicago summer day where the humidity feels like a wet wool blanket draped over your shoulders. I was dragging a premium traditional stroller backward through the sand, my sandals sinking with...
Dear Past Tom: What To Know Before You Walk Into A Bambi Baby Store
You're currently sitting in the driver's seat of the Ford Focus, sweating quite profoundly through your favorite grey jumper, staring through the glass front of the bambi baby store like it's an active crime scene you've been asked to clean...