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Babybaby accessoriesbaby dollsearly developmentmotherhoodsibling preparation
Toddler girl pushing a wooden toy stroller with a baby doll inside.

Why Your Kid's Baby Doll Accessories Are Actually A Massive Deal

It was 2:15 PM on a Tuesday, and I was sitting on the living room rug in a pair of yoga pants that hadn't seen an actual yoga studio since roughly 2018. I was enormously pregnant with Leo, sweating through...

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Confused dad holding an American Girl Bitty Baby doll while his toddler looks on in the nursery.

Surviving the American Girl Bitty Baby Hardware Update

It was 2:18 AM on a Tuesday. The ambient temperature in the nursery was exactly 68.4 degrees, according to the three different sensors I had calibrated that afternoon. I was executing a standard tactical stealth retreat after successfully resetting my...

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12-month-oldbaby dollsearly developmentparenting humorsafe playsoft toys
A confused toddler poking a highly realistic silicone doll.

The Terror Of Hyper-Realistic Dolls (And What Actually Works)

The woman at the Tesco checkoutβ€”her name badge said Sandra, and she looked like she'd already had a very long Tuesdayβ€”was staring at my left hand with the specific, wide-eyed horror usually reserved for hostage situations. I was currently trying...

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A tired father frantically scanning a rug with a flashlight for miniature plastic Barbie accessories.

Why Skipper Babysitters Inc Dolls Terrify Me As A Parent

I'm currently on my hands and knees in our London flat, using a high-powered camping headlamp to scan the living room rug for a piece of pink plastic no larger than a grain of rice. The grand parenting lie is...

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A toddler playing with a crying baby doll next to a wooden play gym

The Messy Truth About That Cry Baby Doll You're Thinking of Buying

Dear Jess from six months ago. You're currently standing in the middle of Target, heavily pregnant with number three, staring at a wall of wide-eyed, plastic toys in fuzzy animal onesies while convincing yourself this is the magic bullet for...

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A toddler holding a very realistic silicone baby doll by the leg

A letter to myself before buying real life baby dolls for twins

Dear Tom from six months ago. You're currently standing at the kitchen island at 11:42 PM, holding a Stanley knife, staring at a cardboard box that just arrived from a specialty toy retailer. When you slice through that packing tape...

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Babybaby dollsearly developmentorganic baby clothesParenting Guide
Baby wearing a flowy baby doll top playing with a soft toy on a bamboo blanket

Debugging The Silhouette: Why My Kid Wears Baby Doll Tops

3:14 AM. I'm holding a piece of fabric that looks like a miniature maternity dress, trying to calculate the best trajectory for pulling it over my 11-month-old’s wildly thrashing head. It has a seam that stops abruptly right under the...

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A 15-inch soft cloth baby doll sitting on a nursery floor next to wooden toys.

What Pediatric Nurses Actually Think About Your Bitty Baby Doll

I was working the Tuesday afternoon shift at the clinic when a panicked mother brought in her eighteen-month-old and a heavy, suspiciously damp cloth doll. The waiting room was already packed with the usual winter crud, but this case stood...

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Toddler pushing a heavy wooden pram across a living room floor

The ugly truth about buying your toddler a baby doll stroller

There was a tiny pool of blood on my hardwood floor. Not a catastrophic amount, just enough to make my old hospital triage instincts override my standard maternal panic. Maya was on her back, screaming, holding a split lip. Tangled...

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