Troubleshooting the Sudden Red Bumps on Your Baby's Face
I was shining my iPhone flashlight at my sonβs left cheek at 2:14 AM when my wife gently, but firmly, confiscated my phone. I had been hovering over his crib like a forensic investigator for ten minutes, trying to determine...
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,...
The Honest Truth About Using Baby Oil Gel on Newborns
My mother-in-law told me to massage my son in warm mustard oil until he resembled a glazed donut. My favorite attending physician from the pediatric ward said to stick to dry air and benign neglect. The internet moms told me...
The 3AM Pumping Crisis and the Tiny Machine That Saved Us
The kitchen tiles in our London flat are roughly the temperature of a mortuary slab at 2:14 in the morning. I know this because I was lying face down on them last Tuesday, desperately searching for a microscopic silicone membrane...
The Ultimate Baby Poop Chart: A Letter to My Anxious Past Self
Listen, Priya of six months ago. You're currently standing in the semi-darkness of our freezing Chicago apartment at three in the morning, holding a soiled diaper mere inches from your face. You have your phone flashlight clamped between your teeth....
Before And After Nursing School: The Truth About Baby Reflexes
I dropped a metal travel mug on our hardwood floor at two in the morning. The sound echoed like a gunshot through our cramped Chicago apartment. My two-week-old son, who was dead asleep on his back in the bassinet, violently...
Baby Announcement Cards: A Postpartum Letter To My Past Self
It's two in the morning. The Chicago winter wind is rattling the bedroom window, and I'm staring at a stack of heavy-stock envelopes sitting next to a cold mug of chai. My breast pump is making that rhythmic, dying-cow sound....
The Staring Contest: The Truth About Baby Blue Eyes
At exactly 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, I found myself holding Twin A directly under the hallway spotlight, trying to determine if her irises were the colour of the ocean or just the murky grey of the Thames at low...
The Messy Truth About That Washable Newton Baby Bassinet
My mom sat on the edge of my couch, sipping iced tea, and told me to just put the baby in a plastic laundry basket lined with a thick quilt, because bless her heart, thatβs exactly what she did with...