Magazine

A tired mom holding an empty jar of baby cream in a dim nursery

Why we panic over California Baby and 3 AM skin rashes

Three in the morning on a Tuesday in January. The radiator in my Chicago apartment is clanking like an asthmatic tractor. My toddler is doing the dreaded scratch-dance against the crib rails, sounding like someone dragging sandpaper across a chalkboard....

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Priya holding a bottle of baby oil next to natural baby products

My history with johnson and johnson baby oil and the pink bottle

Listen. I was standing in my cramped Chicago bathroom holding a naked, freshly bathed three-month-old who was entirely coated in johnson and johnson baby oil. He was thrashing like a freshly caught salmon. I had absolutely zero grip. My mother...

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Jess applying unscented natural moisturizing cream to her toddler's eczema-prone leg.

Why the best baby lotion isn't whatever smells like a powdery dream

I'm holding a violently slippery, screaming seven-month-old who looks like he just lost a street fight with a patch of poison ivy. It's a Tuesday night four years ago, and my oldest son—who has served as the trial-by-fire for basically...

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A tube of Thinkbaby mineral sunscreen next to a sandy baby sun hat on a beach towel.

Why Thinkbaby Sunscreen Is The Only White Paste I Trust On My Kid

Sand was quite literally glued to my son's left eyeball. We were at Oak Street Beach. It was ninety degrees in Chicago, the concrete was radiating heat, and he was screaming a pitch usually reserved for the pediatric triage desk....

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Pediatric nurse reviewing bulk infant cleaning wipes on a dark background

My honest nurse review of those famous Korean bulk baby wipes

Standing in the glowing fluorescent aisles of a massive warehouse club, staring at a cardboard mountain of Rico wipes. You know the ones. Every mom group on the internet treats them like sacred texts. Another parent bumps my cart to...

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Close up of a confused dad holding a baby with a small red spot on their cheek.

Troubleshooting the Sudden Red Bumps on Your Baby's Face

I was shining my iPhone flashlight at my son’s left cheek at 2:14 AM when my wife gently, but firmly, confiscated my phone. I had been hovering over his crib like a forensic investigator for ten minutes, trying to determine...

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A tired mom applying baby oil gel to her squirmy infant after bath time.

The Honest Truth About Using Baby Oil Gel on Newborns

My mother-in-law told me to massage my son in warm mustard oil until he resembled a glazed donut. My favorite attending physician from the pediatric ward said to stick to dry air and benign neglect. The internet moms told me...

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A half-empty tub of healing ointment next to a spilled coffee cup on a messy nursery changing table.

The Honest Truth About Baby Aquaphor: A Letter To My Past Self

Dear Sarah from exactly six months ago. You're standing in aisle fourteen of Target. It's a Tuesday, I think. You're wearing those black maternity leggings that have the weird crusty yogurt stain on the left thigh that you swore you'd...

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Mom dispensing unscented baby wash into her hand next to a bath tub

Why I Swear By Unscented Aveeno For My Kids Eczema Nightmares

I was halfway down on my left knee, skidding across the wet bathroom linoleum while my oldest screamed bloody murder and thrashed around in what was supposed to be a soothing bedtime soak. It was 2019, my husband was working...

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