Magazine

Pregnant mom sitting on couch surrounded by blank baby shower thank you cards and gifts

Writing Baby Shower Thank You Cards Without Losing Your Mind

I was exactly thirty-six weeks pregnant with my oldest, sitting dead center on the faux-wood floor of our tiny rental duplex, surrounded by seventy-five pastel blue envelopes. I was absolutely sobbing. My lower back felt like it was splitting in...

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Marcus staring at a slow cooker of meatballs while holding a digital thermometer.

Dear Past Marcus: Debugging the Baby Shower Meatballs Crisis

I've got a digital meat thermometer plunged into the geometric center of a frozen sphere of ground turkey, and the reading is hopelessly stuck at 138°F. It's 11:30 PM on a Friday. The kitchen smells like a confusing collision of...

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A half-addressed baby shower invite sitting next to a spilled cup of lukewarm coffee.

The Honest Truth About Baby Shower Invites (And Surviving Them)

I was sitting at my kitchen island in July of 2017, my ankles swollen to the exact size and texture of grapefruits, wearing a maternity tank top that had a crusty mustard stain on the hem, crying over cardstock. Literally...

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A pile of organic cotton baby blankets next to a wooden toy

The End of Humiliating Baby Shower Games (And What to Do Instead)

Five years ago, I stood in a drafty village hall in Surrey, holding a plastic cup of warm sparkling wine, watching my sister-in-law unwrap a massive ball of clingfilm while wearing a blindfold. Someone shoved a disposable nappy under my...

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A dad holding a baby shower card looking deeply confused in a nursery

How to Write a Baby Shower Card Without Sounding Delusional

I'm standing in the card aisle of the local Tesco, holding a pastel-yellow envelope and aggressively crossing out a pre-printed poem about 'tiny toes and heavenly woes' with a biro. The cashier is staring at me. I don't care. I'm...

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Sarah holding a giant iced coffee looking terrified in the middle of a crowded baby convention center.

Surviving a Massive Baby Show Without Losing Your Damn Mind

I'm standing in aisle 400 of the convention center, seven months pregnant with Maya, sweating through a maternity shirt that was absolutely not designed for indoor arena temperatures, while my husband Dave is holding three different neon tote bags filled...

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A toddler looking at a tablet playing a colorful animated video

Why the baby shark video is actually neurological genius

We're stuck in gridlock on Lake Shore Drive. The smell of three-day-old formula is radiating from somewhere under the passenger seat. In the back, my daughter has initiated the kind of breath-holding, red-faced scream that usually requires a medical intervention....

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Tired dad looking at a smartphone while holding an 11-month-old baby with a messy uneven haircut

Why My Wife Wanted the 1980s Baby Shalini Haircut at Midnight

At 1:14 AM on a Tuesday, my wife shoved a glowing iPhone into my face displaying a grainy 1980s photo of a child with a perfectly symmetrical, brutally blunt bowl-cut bob. I was barely conscious, trying to reboot my brain...

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A wooden baby gym in a natural nursery setup

The Truth About Baby Saja Wallpaper, Screen Time, and Nursery Air

I was sitting on the floor of my three-year-old’s room yesterday, scraping a fossilized piece of oatmeal off the back of my phone case with my thumbnail, while bouncing my fussy youngest on my hip. I was exhausted, my brain...

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