Magazine

Tired mom sitting on floor playing with baby and soft building blocks

The Messy Truth About First Words (And Why I Stopped Panicking)

I was wearing those awful grey maternity leggings that I refused to throw away, smelling faintly of sour milk, sitting on a beige rug that's now permanently stained with something I refuse to identify. Leo was fourteen months old, pointing...

Read more

Toddler playing with physical wooden toys instead of a digital screen on a rug

A Letter to Myself About That Ridiculous Digital Baby Tiger

Dear Jess from six months ago, I know you're currently standing at the kitchen island, elbow-deep in raw chicken while the baby aggressively throws cheerios at the dog, but I need you to drop the tongs and walk into the...

Read more

A toddler sitting in a dental chair getting ready for a baby teeth xray.

How to survive your toddler's very first baby teeth xray appointment

Listen. You don't really know pure, unfiltered anxiety until you're sitting in a pediatric dental waiting room off Michigan Avenue, trying to convince a two-year-old that the giant mechanical arm hovering near his face isn't a decepticon. He's wearing a...

Read more

Mom folding laundry while toddlers play on a wooden mat (max 125 chars)

Why I Finally Banned Baby Super Bratz Movies in My House

I was up to my elbows in Etsy shipping labels, frantically trying to beat the rural Texas post office cutoff time, when I heard the unmistakable sound of my good MAC lipstick being dragged across the hardwood floor. You know,...

Read more

Coffee cup next to a Nintendo 3DS and a wooden baby teether on a messy kitchen table

The Tomodachi Life Save Editor Panic: Hacking for Virtual Babies

It was exactly 6:43 AM on a Tuesday, and I was standing in my kitchen wearing a target-brand fleece robe that has an unidentifiable crusty stain on the left pocket (yogurt? toothpaste? honestly I don't want to know), pouring my...

Read more

Tired dad sitting on the nursery floor between a baby and a golden retriever.

Surviving The Man Dog Baby Triangle: A New Dad's Guide To Chaos

Pixel's nose is shoved so far under the bathroom door he's practically snorting the bathmat, while eleven-month-old Leo is in the tub trying to eat a soapy washcloth. I'm currently typing this one-handed on my phone, damp from a recent...

Read more

Toddler pushing a sustainable wooden baby walker across a hardwood living room floor.

Why a wooden baby walker is the only one I trust in my house

Tuesday morning, my coffee is already cold, and my toddler is currently trying to pull himself up on a precarious mid-century modern plant stand. The heavy ceramic pot is wobbling. My heart rate does that familiar violent spike I used...

Read more

Dad and 11-month-old daughter looking at high-contrast board books on a playmat

How I completely debugged our library of baby books for girls

It's 2:14 AM on a Tuesday. I'm sitting cross-legged on the nursery floor, surrounded by a mountain of glossy cardboard. My wife, Sarah, is blissfully asleep down the hall, and our 11-month-old daughter is currently executing a sleep cycle that...

Read more

Two toddlers squatting in tracksuits eating rice cakes

From Fragile Newborn To Full baby_gopn1k

I found Maya in the kitchen at 6:13 AM this morning, squatting perfectly on her haunches in the corner by the bin, wearing a matching velour tracksuit and aggressively chewing on a teething rusk like it was a cheap cigar....

Read more