The Honest Truth About Baby Shower Invites (And Surviving Them)
I was sitting at my kitchen island in July of 2017, my ankles swollen to the exact size and texture of grapefruits, wearing a maternity tank top that had a crusty mustard stain on the hem, crying over cardstock. Literally...
Surviving a Massive Baby Show Without Losing Your Damn Mind
I'm standing in aisle 400 of the convention center, seven months pregnant with Maya, sweating through a maternity shirt that was absolutely not designed for indoor arena temperatures, while my husband Dave is holding three different neon tote bags filled...
The Wi-Fi Paranoia and Why We Chose a Simple Monitor
I was seven months pregnant with Maya, standing in the middle of Target aisle 14 in my black maternity leggings that were completely pilling at the thighs, clutching a lukewarm iced coffee like it was a life preserver. My phone...
How Many Babies Are Born a Day: The Honest Math Behind Birth
My mother-in-law told me infants only arrive during full moons. My old charge nurse at Northwestern swore Tuesday mornings were a cursed tidal wave of inductions. And the cashier at Trader Joe's confidently informed me, while bagging my frozen samosas,...
Why Every Baby Math Formula Is Basically Lying To You
It was 3:14 AM, and I was sitting on the nursery floor wearing my husband Markβs oversized gray college sweatpantsβthe ones with the mystery bleach stain on the kneeβaggressively typing numbers into my glowing phone screen while my coffee from...
The Truth About That Heirloom Crochet Baby Blanket
I was thirty-seven weeks pregnant with my oldest, sweating completely through a gray maternity tank top in the middle of a Texas July, when my grandmother proudly pulled a massive, neon-yellow afghan out of a plastic grocery bag. It had...
Sorting Through the Utter Chaos of Buying Preemie Baby Clothes
I was standing at the hospital sink scrubbing my hands for the fiftieth time that Tuesday, staring at a crumpled plastic bag of tiny garments. My mom had just called to cheerfully suggest I just buy standard newborn sizes because,...
Dear past Priya: the brutal reality of buying new born clothes
Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on the floor of the nursery in our Chicago apartment, surrounded by a mountain of miniature denim jackets, tulle skirts, and button-down flannel shirts. You're feeling very proud of yourself. You...
The Truth About Baby Sleepwear When Everyone Has an Opinion
"Put a hat on him, he's freezing," my mother-in-law said, handing me a knit cap that looked like an oversized acorn. This was at 2 PM. At 4 PM, my lactation consultant visited, took one look at Leo swaddled in...