Magazine

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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Baby boy sleeping peacefully after mom finally picked out a rare name

Stop Stressing: A Letter to Myself About Rare Baby Boy Names

You're currently sitting at the kitchen island with a cold, half-empty mug of Folgers, glaring at a yellow legal pad covered in crossed-out words while your two-year-old quietly colors on the baseboards with a stolen Sharpie. I know exactly how...

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Exhausted mom staring at a budget spreadsheet on her laptop while drinking coffee.

Dear Past Me: Surviving The Ramsey Baby Steps With Kids

Dear Sarah from last October, It's 11:42 PM on a Tuesday and you're sitting on the sticky kitchen linoleum right in front of the dishwasher. You're wearing those black yoga pants with the dried yogurt stain on the left knee,...

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Exhausted mother drinking coffee while holding a sleeping baby in a messy nursery

How That Viral 1960s Pretty Little Baby Song Saved My Sanity

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and the rocking chair in Leo's nursery was squeaking exactly on the downbeat of my mounting panic. I was wearing a gray nursing tank top that smelled faintly of sour milk and utter...

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Tired dad holding a crying 11-month-old baby while looking at a laptop screen

Troubleshooting The Baby Come Back Phase Without Losing Your Mind

2:14 PM. Portland is doing that misty drizzle thing outside where it's not quite raining but you still get entirely wet. I've stepped exactly 3.4 feet away from the playmat to grab my lukewarm coffee from the side table. I...

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A tired mom holding a coffee cup while looking at a baby on a round play mat

The Honest Truth About Play Mats For Babies

I was on my hands and knees with a spray bottle of carpet cleaner, frantically scrubbing neon yellow newborn poop out of our cheap apartment carpeting, while my oldest screamed his absolute head off in a bouncy seat nearby. It...

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Pregnant woman in a comfortable pink baby shower dress holding a coffee.

The Sweaty Reality of Finding a Pink Baby Shower Dress

It was 2:15 PM on a Tuesday in late July, and I was standing in the dressing room of a maternity boutique that smelled aggressively like fake lavender, trying to pry a magenta wrap dress off my sweaty, thirty-two-week pregnant...

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Dad holding an 11-month-old baby who is reaching for his smartphone

The Ping Requests: Why Your Infant Knows When You Grab The Device

It's 3:17 AM here in Portland. The rain is doing that annoying misty thing against the window where it doesn't quite sound like rain, just a low-level static. I've my 11-month-old daughter in my left arm. I've a bottle of...

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Mother adjusting infant in car seat with white blanket for passport photo

Surviving the U.S. Infant Passport Process Without Losing Your Mind

The fluorescent lights at the pharmacy were humming a specific pitch of anxiety while a nineteen-year-old named Tyler adjusted a digital camera. I was holding my squirming four-month-old up by his armpits, trying desperately to keep my own hands out...

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