Magazine

A VTech baby monitor screen showing a sleeping baby in a dark room.

The Great VTech Baby Monitor Experiment (A Dad's Honest Take)

I spent the first three months of my twin daughters’ lives doing exactly what you shouldn’t do: I bought a terrifyingly cheap, unbranded camera off the internet that broadcasted grainy, unencrypted footage of my children directly to, presumably, a server...

Read more

Portland dad scanning baby products with his phone in a retail store aisle

Hacking The System: Why A Walmart Baby Registry Actually Makes Sense

Sitting at my kitchen island at 11 PM, my wife Sarah and I were staring at a beautifully curated, ultra-minimalist single gift list on a boutique website. The screen was filled with $140 organic linen wipe warmers and hand-carved Swedish...

Read more

Tired mother looking down at a staring newborn baby on a playmat

Waiting For The First Real Smile Without Losing Your Mind

It was three in the morning during a brutal Chicago February, and the radiator in our apartment was making that rhythmic hissing sound. I was holding my son after a feed, staring at his squished face in the dim light...

Read more

A tired parent sitting on the floor comforting a crying toddler in the dark

The 3AM Baby Monster Phase: Surviving Toddler Night Terrors

My mum told me to leave a small saucer of milk under the bed to appease the spirits. The bloke at our local pub, a man who has clearly not parented a child since 1982, suggested I simply tell the...

Read more

Mother babywearing her newborn infant in a dimly lit nursery.

Dear Past Priya: Your Newborn Is Basically Just a Baby Monkey

You're currently standing in the hallway at 3:14 AM, swaying like a seasick sailor. There's spit-up on your left shoulder that has dried into a crust. Your feet are aching, your back is completely shot, and the tiny human in...

Read more

Tired mom sitting in a nursery glider rocking a baby to sleep in the dark

How to Actually Use Lullabies Without Losing Your Mind

It was 3:14 AM with my oldest, Carter, and the nursery glider was making this rhythmic, high-pitched squeak that felt like it was drilling directly into my skull. My throat was completely raw from singing "You Are My Sunshine" for...

Read more

Mother looking concerned at a baby resting in a plush newborn lounger pillow

The ugly truth about baby loungers and your precious sleep

I was sitting in my living room last Thanksgiving when my sister-in-law proudly whispered that her newborn had been asleep for three hours in one of those plush, overstuffed infant nests on the sofa. She looked at me like she...

Read more

Confused mom holding coffee mug looking at smartphone screen

The day I thought a rap star was a Scandinavian stroller

Tuesday, 4:15 PM. The rain is violently attacking our living room windows and I'm wearing a pair of black maternity leggings that haven't seen the inside of a washing machine since the Obama administration. I'm holding my third lukewarm coffee...

Read more

Tired mom holding a newborn baby in a dark nursery illuminated by a soft red nightlight.

What Baby Justin Bieber Taught Me About 3 AM Survival

It was 3:17 AM, and I was wearing my husband Dave’s oversized college hoodie that smelled faintly of sour milk and complete desperation. Leo, who was exactly four weeks and two days old at the time, was doing that arching-back,...

Read more