Magazine

A tired mother holding a coughing baby in a dimly lit nursery

The brutal truth about baby cough medicine and what actually works

At 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, I was standing in my dark kitchen holding a thrashing, coughing toddler while my phone lit up with three different text threads. My mom was typing paragraphs about rubbing warm mustard oil on his...

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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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A pile of folded organic baby sleepwear on a messy nursery chair.

The Truth About Baby Sleepwear When Everyone Has an Opinion

"Put a hat on him, he's freezing," my mother-in-law said, handing me a knit cap that looked like an oversized acorn. This was at 2 PM. At 4 PM, my lactation consultant visited, took one look at Leo swaddled in...

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Dad measuring sound machine volume next to baby crib

Decoding Infant Sleep Audio: My War With Sound Machines

It's 3 AM and I'm hovering over my eleven-month-old's crib with a free NIOSH decibel meter app glowing ominously on my phone, watching the needle spike into the red zone. My wife is standing in the doorway in her robe,...

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A tired mom drinking coffee next to a baby sleeping soundly near a white noise machine in a cozy nursery.

The Messy Truth About White Noise For Babies And Sleep Safety

I was sitting cross-legged on the stained rug of Leo's nursery at like 3:14 AM. I was wearing my husband's college lacrosse hoodie that smelled vaguely of sour milk, and holding my screaming four-week-old, totally convinced I had already broken...

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Tired dad researching the dreamland baby sleep sack at 3am

Why a weighted sleep sack almost broke my parenting resolve

The glow of my phone screen was the only light in the nursery, casting long, vaguely sinister shadows over two cots containing infants who had apparently unionised and agreed to strike against sleep. It was 3:14 in the morning. My...

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Exhausted dad holding baby while researching Rihanna's parenting styles and sustainable baby clothes

Did Rihanna Have Her Baby? A Dad's Take on Celebrity Parenting

It was 2:14 AM, the Portland rain was actively trying to breach my window seals, and my eleven-month-old was staring at the ceiling fan like it held the secrets to the universe. We were deep in the middle of some...

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A tired mother holding a fussy infant in a dimly lit nursery

Why that cheer up baby dailymotion search won't fix the crying

The glow of a smartphone screen at three in the morning is uniquely depressing. My son was doing that arched-back, red-faced screaming thing. I had a bottle in one hand, a pacifier clamped in my teeth, and I was frantically...

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Exhausted mother holding baby in dim nursery while singing lullabies

The absolute truth about lullabies for babies and infant sleep

I'm standing in the middle of our Chicago apartment and the radiator is hissing that metallic, dry heat sound. It's 3:14 in the morning. My son is four months old, his face is the color of a bruised plum, and...

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