Magazine

Folded black stroller jammed in the trunk of a car next to baby gear

The truth about baby strollers: What I bought vs. what I actually use

Listen. My foot was wedged against the back door of the Red Line train at Fullerton, aggressively kicking the plastic wheel of a luxury travel system that simply refused to fold. The doors were closing. People were staring. My daughter...

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bambi baby store inspired deer pattern organic blanket

The Bambi Baby Store Standard: Surviving the Gear Shopping Madness

"Sleep when the baby sleeps," my mother confidently announced over a lukewarm cup of tea, completely ignoring the fact that there were two babies and they were heavily invested in sleeping in opposing four-hour shifts. "You absolutely must keep them...

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A folded stack of neutral organic cotton infant shirts next to a wooden pacifier clip.

The brutal truth about infant wardrobes and diaper blowouts

My mother-in-law walked into my recovery room and immediately tried to put a fleece hat on my two-day-old son. An hour later, the lactation consultant breezed in and told me to strip him down to his diaper so he wouldn't...

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Dad looking exhausted holding two babies surrounded by useless baby products

Surviving the Absolute Avalanche of Useless Newborn Baby Stuff

At 34 weeks pregnant, my wife and I entered a fugue state in a suburban retail park and bought a machine specifically designed to heat baby wipes to exactly 37 degrees Celsius. I remember standing at the till, handing over...

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Frustrated dad looking at a confusing Chinese gender prediction chart while holding two identical baby girls.

The Chinese Gender Calendar 2025: Science, Myths & Magic

The bloke at the local Waitrose told me to look closely at the shape of my wife's ankles. My mother-in-law, bless her, aggressively dangled her cursed wedding ring over a very pregnant belly on a piece of dental floss while...

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Frustrated dad trying to fold a massive baby stroller in the rain outside a coffee shop.

The V1.0 Stroller Bug: Why My First Hardware Purchase Failed

It's 43 degrees, pouring that specific sideways Portland rain, and I'm violently kicking the back left wheel of a $900 piece of baby gear while my wife Sarah watches from the passenger seat of our Honda Civic. This was my...

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Pregnant mother sitting on floor surrounded by baby shower gifts and neutral decor.

The Truth About Surviving Your Own Baby Shower

I was thirty-one weeks pregnant, sitting on my incredibly dusty apartment floor in Chicago, staring at a mountain of tissue paper while my mother-in-law asked why I hated color. She had wanted royal blue balloons everywhere. I had asked for...

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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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A tired mom looking at a massive pile of baby clothes on her living room floor

The Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the Baby Gear Avalanche

When I was pregnant with my first, I got three completely different pieces of advice in the span of a single Sunday dinner. My mom, who firmly believes the 1990s were the peak of human parenting, told me I needed...

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