Magazine

A tired mom holding a cold coffee mug next to a baby watching a bright screen.

How to Survive the Cartoon Baby Phase Without Losing Your Mind

Three days after we brought Leo home from the hospital, my mother came over, took one look at my unwashed hair, and told me to just prop him in a bouncy seat in front of some classical music animation so...

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A pediatric nurse explaining the history and medical reality behind 90s prenatal exposure myths.

The 90s Crack Baby Myth: What Prenatal Exposure Actually Means

When my cousin adopted a beautiful little girl from the grow system, the unsolicited opinions rolled in like a bitter Chicago winter storm. A neighborhood aunty whispered over cold chai that the child would be permanently broken because of her...

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Stressed mom holding a coffee mug while looking at a tablet screen in confusion

A Letter To Past Me: That Cry Baby Movie Was A Huge Mistake!

Dear Sarah from exactly six months ago, Right now you're standing in the kitchen. It's exactly 6:14 AM on a Tuesday, and you're wearing those awful gray maternity sweatpantsβ€”yes, the ones with the mysterious bleach stain on the left thigh...

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A tired dad staring at a laptop spreadsheet of baby names in a dark nursery

Reverse-Engineering Adorable: The Baby Name Spreadsheet

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, roughly two weeks before our son's scheduled launch date. The only light in the half-finished nursery was the cold glow of my dual monitors. My wife, Sarah, was sitting on a deflated birthing...

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A wooden baby play gym standing on a rug in a messy living room

The Truth About the Baby Steps Game Uncensored Search Trend

I'm sitting on the floor of our extremely cramped London living room, scraping a substance that might be mashed banana (but is almost certainly worse) off my left knee, when my phone buzzes with a frantic text from my sister....

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A very tired mom drinking cold coffee and scrolling her phone in the dark looking for parenting advice.

Searching Reddit for a Baby Walking Game at 2 AM Was a Mistake

It’s 2:14 AM. I'm wearing my husband’s horrific faded college track sweatpantsβ€”the ones with the inexplicable bleach stain on the left kneeβ€”and I'm hunched over my phone in the dark, furiously refreshing a forum thread. I'm holding a mug of...

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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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Baby playing on a wooden playmat while a television plays a nature documentary in the background

Streaming Shows For Babies And The Real Science Of Screen Time

My mother-in-law insisted that any moving image on a television would permanently short-circuit my infant's brain. My neighbor down the hall swore that putting on animated dancing fruit was the only way she managed to wash her hair without someone...

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