Magazine

Two highly unamused snow babies wearing far too many layers in a cold London park.

The brutal truth about surviving winter with two snow babies

It's currently two degrees above freezing, it's raining sideways in that aggressively spiteful London way, and I'm trying to fold a screaming infant into a pram while she's wearing an outfit that has the exact dimensions and flexibility of a...

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Dad struggling to buckle a baby wearing a bulky winter snowsuit into a car seat

The Michelin Man Dilemma: Why Puffy Winter Baby Suits Terrify Me

November 2022. It's three degrees above freezing in the Sainsbury’s car park, a uniquely British kind of damp cold that seeps directly into your bones. I'm sweating profusely through a thin t-shirt while trying to forcefully fold my six-month-old daughter,...

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A stressed mom holding a lukewarm coffee next to a baby in a giant puffy coat.

The Michelin Man Myth: Dressing Your Baby for Winter Survival

It was November 2017, and I was standing in a Target parking lot sweating through my deodorant while the actual air temperature was roughly twenty-eight degrees. Maya was four months old at the time. I was wearing yoga pants that...

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Mother carrying her infant in a carrier on a windy mountain trail

A Patagonia Baby Reality Check: The Gear And The Travel Truth

The wind in southern Chile doesn't just blow, y'all. It actively tries to rip the hope right out of your chest. There I was, standing on a rocky trail that looked like the surface of the moon, holding my nine-month-old,...

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A frustrated mom holding a coffee next to a toddler in a chunky winter sweater.

My Humiliating History With Kids and the Bulky Knit Sweater

It was November 2019, and I was standing outside a Trader Joe's in the freezing rain, wearing yoga pants that definitely had day-old oat milk latte spilled down the thigh. I was trying to wedge my screaming eighteen-month-old, Leo, into...

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A very confused mom holding a baby while looking at a smartphone

My Kids, The Ice Age Baby Meme, and Freezing Winter Survival

Let me tell you about the exact moment I realized I was officially old and entirely unprepared for both internet culture and actual, literal winter. It was like, negative three degrees outside on a Tuesday in January, I was wearing...

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Exhausted dad sweating in a hallway while trying to stuff a thrashing toddler into a winter snowsuit.

Winter With Twins: A Freezing Dad's Guide to Infant Layering

Dear Tom of six months ago. You're currently standing in the narrow, draughty hallway of our Victorian terrace, sweating profusely through your jumper while trying to stuff Evie's left arm into a fleece-lined snowsuit. Isla is already dressed and currently...

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Toddler boy wearing a thick knit sweater sitting in a car seat

The Puffy Coat Meltdown and the Magic of Toddler Boys Sweaters

It was 7:14 AM on a Tuesday, heavily sleeting, and I was standing in our driveway wearing one of my husband’s old flannel shirts that smelled faintly of stale coffee and desperation. Leo, who was three at the time, was...

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A bewildered dad holding tiny winter baby clothes and looking confused

Debugging the architectural nightmare of a newborn sweater set

I’m currently staring at a tiny, cream-colored cable-knit tube of fabric. My wife Sarah is in the other room, and my son is lying on the changing table, doing that terrifying infant stiff-board maneuver where every muscle in his three-week-old...

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