Magazine

A tired dad holding two babies in ribbed knit rompers trying to snap the crotch buttons

Dear Past Me: The Brutal Truth About That Knitted Newborn Outfit

You're currently standing in the maternity ward at St. Thomas' Hospital, desperately trying to fold a flailing, furious five-pound infant into a miniature Aran jumper while a midwife named Brenda watches you with undisguised pity. You're sweating. The baby is...

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Baby wearing a stretchy footless infant romper crawling on wood floor

Why Footless Infant Rompers Saved My Sanity (And My Wood Floors)

It was 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was staring at my oldest son, Carter, who was covered shoulder to knee in a blowout of biblical proportions. My husband was standing next to the changing table holding a single...

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Me trapped under our kuscheldecke groß with a coffee and two kids.

The huge family blanket mistake we made (and what actually works)

It's exactly 3:14 AM and I'm sitting in the dark nursery wearing sweatpants that haven't been washed since Tuesday and a faded Nirvana t-shirt that smells vaguely of sour milk, stale coffee, and total desperation. Maya is maybe seven months...

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Mom holding a soft organic cotton infant bodysuit in a nursery

Why I Stopped Buying Cheap Joke Shirts For My Kids

I was sweating through my own nursing tank, trying to wrestle my oldest sonβ€”who was basically built like a sack of bowling balls at four months oldβ€”into a stiff neon green shirt my brother-in-law bought him. It said "I Only...

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Folded organic baby blankets stacked next to a wooden crib

The brutal truth about picking a safe baby blanket pattern

My mother-in-law was so proud of the mint green monstrosity she pulled out of her floral gift bag at my baby shower. It had tassels. It had three-dimensional pom-poms. It had a crochet baby blanket pattern with holes large enough...

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Mom wearing a silicone teething necklace while holding a baby

A teething necklace for mom saved my sanity and my shirts

It was a Tuesday in early November. I was sitting in the corner booth at Red Roasters wearing a ridiculous emerald green silk blouse that I had absolutely no business wearing to a coffee shop with a six-month-old. Maya was...

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Dad adjusting an organic baby blanket on a stroller during a winter walk

The Stroller Blanket Learning Curve: A Dad's Cold Weather Guide

We were exactly three blocks from the coffee shop on Hawthorne, the wind was doing that aggressive Portland damp-chill thing, and my 11-month-old was screaming as if I had deeply offended him. I had tucked him into the travel system...

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Little girl wearing bright yellow waterproof overalls sitting on a damp wooden dock

Dear Past Sarah: Your Kids Need Real Fishing Bibs Out There

Dear Sarah from last October, You're standing on the damp, splintery planks of the marina dock at 6:15 AM. You're wearing those gray Lululemon leggings that are starting to pill at the inner thighs, an oversized, slightly damp college sweatshirt,...

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A wooden push cart and scattered blocks on a living room rug

My honest guide to surviving the Spielzeug bis 2 Jahre phase

It was 6:43 AM on a Tuesday, and I was holding a neon green plastic dog that was singing a heavily autotuned song about shapes at an ear-splitting volume. I was wearing my gray sweatpantsβ€”the ones with the bleach stain...

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