So, are all babies born with blue eyes? What I actually learned
I was sitting in Mount Sinai hospital, room 412, wearing those horrific mesh underwear and a hospital gown that smelled vaguely of industrial bleach and desperation, holding my two-day-old son Leo. My husband, Dave, had just returned with the worst...
How to Build Your Amazon Registry Baby List Without Losing It
I was thirty-two weeks pregnant with my oldest, Beau, sitting on the faux-wood laminate floor of our tiny rental house, sobbing hysterically because the internet told me I needed a three-hundred-dollar wipe warmer. The nearest big-box store was a forty-five-minute...
Reading the Adriana Smith Baby Update at 2 AM Broke My Brain
It was 2:14 AM, the Portland rain was actively trying to dissolve my bedroom window, and I was holding my 11-month-old son while he slept. I had convinced myself he was developing some rare respiratory bug because my data tracking...
When Your 1-Month-Old Baby Refuses to Poop: A Twin Dad's Guide
It's 3:14 AM on a wet Tuesday in London, and I'm shining my iPhone torch directly into my daughter's nappy like an amateur archaeologist hoping to uncover ancient ruins. Nothing. Just a pristine, mocking landscape of dry bamboo fiber. Meanwhile,...
Why finding suntan lotion for newborns ruined my beach trip
It was 10:14 AM on a Tuesday in mid-July and I was already on my third iced coffee, which at that point tasted mostly like sand and sheer exhaustion. I was standing on a crowded beach in Florida wearing thick...
The Panic of Buying Sunblock Newborn Twins Can Actually Tolerate
Standing in aisle four of our local Boots, sweat pooling in the small of my back, I found myself staring at thirty-seven different brightly coloured bottles while two four-week-old girls actively lost their minds in a double buggy. The great...
The Brutal Truth About Dressing a Baby Girl (Without Losing Your Mind)
I was sitting on the floor of my living room at eight months pregnant with my oldest, surrounded by a mountain of pink tulle, microscopic denim jackets, and bodysuits with more buttons than a Victorian corset. My baby shower had...
Dear past Priya: the brutal reality of buying new born clothes
Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on the floor of the nursery in our Chicago apartment, surrounded by a mountain of miniature denim jackets, tulle skirts, and button-down flannel shirts. You're feeling very proud of yourself. You...
My honest guide to receiving blankets versus swaddles at 2 AM
I was aggressively stuffing those white and pink-striped hospital blankets into my duffel bag while my husband stood by the door acting as a lookout. I was a pediatric nurse for five years before having my son. I knew exactly...