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glowing video monitor screen showing a sleeping baby in a dark room

What I got totally wrong about the baby monitor as a pediatric nurse

It's three in the morning and I'm digitally zooming in on a pixelated chest, holding my own breath to see if my son is taking his. I spent five years on the pediatric floor at a Chicago hospital, managing central...

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family caremotherhoodparenting tipsrelationshipssafe sleepsurvival
A tired mom holding a crying baby while talking on the phone with a boomer parent

The Reality Of Raising Kids And Baby Boomers

There I was on a Tuesday afternoon, up to my elbows in purΓ©ed peas, trying to keep the twins from using our poor golden retriever as a step stool, when my mom walked through the back door holding a drop-side...

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baby gearparenthoodparenting humourproduct guidesurvival
A very tired dad staring at a Swedish bouncing baby chair in the kitchen

Dear Past Marcus: You Need a Baby Bjorn Bouncer Immediately

Past Marcus, it's me. You from six months in the future. You're currently standing in the kitchen of our Portland apartment at 3:14 AM. The baby is five weeks old. It's raining outside, obviously. You're trying to rock him while...

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motherhoodparenting tipsrelationshipssurvivaltoddler
A tired mom holding a coffee cup next to a toddler playing with a wooden baby gym.

So, What Is a Nepo Baby? A Parent's Guide to Everyday Privilege

It was 8:15 AM on a Saturday, pouring rain, and I was standing on the sidelines of Maya’s under-8 soccer tryouts in my embarrassingly pill-y 2018 black Target leggings. You know, the ones that have a weird bleach stain shaped...

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Tired mother sitting on nursery floor calculating budget with baby gear

Surviving the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps With Three Under Five

I was sitting on the nursery floor at 2:14 AM with my oldest, staring at a $400 emergency room bill for what turned out to be entirely normal teething pain, when I realized we were financially drowning. He was screaming,...

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baby carehealthmotherhoodnewbornparenting humoursurvival
Twin dad holding a red-faced screaming baby in a dim living room

Surviving the 6pm Meltdown: A Very Tired Dad's Guide to Colic

The absolute worst thing you can do at 6:13 PM on a Tuesday, when your infant begins their nightly impersonation of a faulty car alarm, is to load up YouTube on your phone, prop it against a cold cup of...

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A mom holding a baby registry scanner gun looking overwhelmed in a store aisle

The Great Registry Meltdown and the Weird Return of Buybuy Baby

I was twenty-four weeks pregnant, sitting in the sweltering heat of my Ford F-150 outside a suburban strip mall, ugly crying into a half-eaten sleeve of saltines. It was July in Texas, my ankles had officially merged with my calves,...

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Babybaby safetymotherhoodparenting tipssafesurvival
Wooden hardware mounted stair gate installed in a messy family home hallway

Why My First Stair Gate Was a Complete Disaster and Other Confessions

I dropped an entire basket of freshly folded onesies right at the bottom of the steps when I saw it. My oldest son, Carterβ€”who's now five and still the absolute poster child for why I've gray hairβ€”was nine months old...

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baby formulabudgetingfeedingnewbornsurvivaltwin dad
A tired parent staring blankly at a tin of baby formula in a dark kitchen

The Brutal Truth About Choosing a Baby Formula for Your Infant

The biggest myth in modern parenting is that the price tag on a tin of powdered milk directly correlates to how much you love your child. I used to believe this. Before the twins arrived, I assumed that unless a...

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