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Toddler holding a wooden toy donkey next to a blurred tablet screen

That Viral Donkey Game Is Ruining My Search History

I was pumping at three in the morning in my dark Chicago apartment, half-asleep, trying to find a specific wooden animal push-toy my mother-in-law swore was the secret to getting my toddler to walk. I typed what I thought was...

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Dad holding phone to take baby pictures of an eleven month old

Why My Phone is Full of Blurry Baby Pictures (And What to Do)

My iCloud storage officially threw a fatal error at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday. I was standing in the pitch black of the nursery, balancing my eleven-month-old son’s disproportionately heavy head against my collarbone, while frantically trying to delete cached...

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baby toysdigital footprintearly developmenthumorparenthoodtech gear
A dad looking panicked at his smart phone while a baby plays on a wooden gym.

Dear Past Marcus: Lil Nas X Industry Baby is Not a Nursery Song

Dear Marcus of exactly six months ago, Picture this exact scenario, because you're going to live it soon enough. You're standing in the kitchen, aggressively whisking a bottle of formula at 2:14 PM, wearing a gray t-shirt that hasn't seen...

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baby healthboundariesdigital footprinthumorinfant caresafety tips
A confused mom looking at her smartphone while a baby sleeps in the background.

Searching For The Wham Lil Baby Trend Broke My Pediatric Brain

I was sitting on a freezing bench at Oz Park when I overheard two teenagers walking by. One of them muttered something about giving their lil baby weed, and then the other brought up the wham lil baby protocol. My...

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babyboundariesco-parentingdigital footprintinfant care
Two overlapping daily planner books next to a discarded baby pacifier

What da baby's messy family structure taught me about boundaries

I was sitting at the nurses station at two in the morning a few years back, charting a pediatric asthma exacerbation that was taking way too long to stabilize. Right in front of my desk, two parents started a quiet...

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digital footprintearly developmentfatherhoodparenting humoursafe play
Clueless dad holding a baby while looking confused at a smartphone screen.

Wait, How Old is Baby Gronk? (And Other Parenting Anxieties)

My wife caught me measuring the exact distance between our coffee table and the dog bed with a laser tape measure while our 11-month-old gnawed enthusiastically on a rogue piece of cardboard he'd found behind the router. "I'm setting up...

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baby carebehaviorboundariesdigital footprintmental health
Tired mother holding sleeping toddler while reading phone in the dark

The Huda Baby Daddy Drama, Digital Scars, and Real Co-Parenting

I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub at three in the morning. The ceramic tiles were freezing, but my toddler had finally collapsed against my collarbone after a three-hour marathon of teething-induced crying. I had my phone brightness...

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Marcus holding his 11-month-old baby while looking at a laptop screen in a dark room

Why the Pretty Baby Movie Documentary Broke My Dad Brain

It was 3:14 AM, the Portland rain was actively trying to dissolve our roof, and my 11-month-old daughter was using my sternum as a memory foam mattress. I had my phone brightness dialed down to absolute zero, squinting through the...

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90s nostalgiababy developmentdigital footprintmental healthorganic baby clothestech gear
A tired dad looking at his smartphone while holding a confused baby in a nursery.

Surviving the Pretty Little Baby Connie Francis TikTok Trend

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and the nursery was running at an good 69.4 degrees Fahrenheit. I know this because I check the smart thermostat logs when I can't sleep, which is always. My wife was standing in...

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