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90s nostalgiababy safetyearly developmenthumorstrollersurvival
Mother pushing stroller over bumpy Chicago sidewalk

The truth about rubber baby buggy bumpers and modern stroller safety

We were somewhere on Fullerton Avenue when the sidewalk just ended. It didn't taper off or gracefully transition into a crosswalk. It just turned into a crater of jagged concrete and exposed rebar, a true Chicago masterpiece. My toddler was...

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babywearingfourth trimesterorganic cottonparenthoodsurvival
Sleep deprived dad practicing tying the solly baby wrap in the living room

My 3 AM Battle with the Solly Baby: 15 Feet of Fabric vs Dad

Before my son arrived, everyone had a totally conflicting theory about how I was supposed to carry him around. My sister-in-law told me to just buy a canvas backpack thing with heavy plastic buckles and strap him to my chest...

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fourth trimesternewbornparenthoodparenting humoursurvivalUK
An exhausted British dad holding two newborn babies wearing organic cotton rompers.

There Goes My Baby: Surviving the Absurdity of the Newborn Phase

I'm standing in our freezing London kitchen at 4:12 in the morning, holding what appears to be a very angry, red-faced sweet potato wrapped in a slightly damp muslin cloth, when my phone, completely unprompted, shuffles to an R&B playlist...

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baby registrybudgetmotherhoodnewbornonline shoppingsurvival
Mom looking exhausted while scrolling through a baby list on her phone

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...

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baby blanketbaby sleephospitalnewbornsafety tipssurvival
A pile of square baby blankets next to a folded sleep sack on a crib mattress

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...

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baby gearbudgetmotherhoodsoothingsurvival
A tired mom drinking cold coffee while her infant sits in a mechanical swaying seat in the living room.

Dear Past Jess: The Brutal Truth About That Graco Baby Swing

It's 2:14 AM. You're sitting on the edge of the guest bed in your milk-stained maternity sweatpants, desperately scrolling the internet with your phone brightness turned all the way down so you don't wake the toddler in the next room....

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baby healthfourth trimesternewbornparenthoodsurvival
A tired dad holding his newborn baby near a window

My kid turned into a highlighter (and other early release bugs)

It was day three of parenthood, and I was holding my naked son up to a rain-streaked Portland window like Rafiki presenting Simba, convinced that forty-five seconds of overcast Pacific Northwest UV radiation would magically fix his liver. My wife,...

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baby carebudgetingmotherhoodparenting humoursafe playsurvival
A tired mom holding a baby while two toddlers play in the background.

The Unfiltered Reality of Welcoming Baby Number Three

I was sweating through my favorite vintage band shirt in the middle of an August afternoon, staring at the back seat of my SUV with a tape measure in one hand and a half-eaten string cheese in the other. I...

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Babybaby gearbaby healthparenting humoursafe sleepsurvival
Exhausted mom staring anxiously at a baby rocker in a messy kitchen

Why I Stopped Trusting the Box My Baby Rocking Chair Came In

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday in 2017, and I was standing in my dark kitchen wearing a nursing bra that smelled aggressively like sour milk and Dave’s oversized college sweatpants, staring at this beige, gently vibrating infant seat...

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