Troubleshooting the Invisible: Infant Silent Reflux
My mother-in-law confidently informed me that his sudden back-arching meant he was an advanced genius trying to roll over early. The barista at our neighborhood Portland roastery swore the fussiness was just a dairy sensitivity and literally slid a pamphlet...
Letter to myself about red panda babies and surviving the night
Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on the peeling linoleum of the nursery floor at three in the morning, staring at a pile of unwashed swaddles and frantically googling the birth weight of exotic animals. You think...
Dear Me: Don't Let Leo Touch That Swamp Chicken (A Pukeko Story)
Dear Sarah from last October. You're currently standing on the edge of the wetlands trail at 8:15 AM, wearing those maternity leggings you stubbornly refuse to throw away even though Leo is four years old now, and you're clutching an...
Why Nursery Rhymes For Babies Actually Work Better Than White Noise
It was 3:17 AM in the dead heat of a Texas July, the cicadas were screaming outside my window, and my oldest son Liam was screaming even louder right directly into my collarbone. I had sour milk on my shirt,...
Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby: A Letter To My Past Self
Dear Jess from six months ago, You're currently sitting in that squeaky wooden rocking chair, staring at the peeling paint on the window sill because it's 3:14 AM and the baby finally closed his eyes. You just blindly typed a...
The Honest Truth About Baby Games When You're Just Exhausted
Iβm currently flat on my back on the living room rug, making bizarre clicking noises with my tongue while my four-month-old aggressively mouths a silicone spatula. Somewhere in the background, my oldest is trying to teach the dog how to...
Why My Spine Hated Me Until I Finally Figured Out Baby Ergo Rules
It was August 2019 at the Blanco County Fair, and I was actively regretting every life decision that had led me to that exact moment. I was sweating through a cheap polyester carrier Iβd grabbed off a clearance rack, my...
The Truth About Those Perfect Baby Playing Quotes I Used To Hate
It was exactly 3:14 AM. I know this because the glowing green numbers on our cheap digital alarm clock were basically burning holes into my sleep-deprived retinas. I was sitting in the grey nursing glider we bought off Craigslistβthe one...
When Your Infant Becomes a Baby Rhino: A Hip Dysplasia Guide
I'm currently sitting on my living room rug surrounded by a mountain of expensive zippered cotton, trying to figure out how to shove a piece of rigid medical plastic inside a sleep sack without waking a sleeping infant or snapping...