Magazine

Exhausted mom holding a crying newborn baby in a swaddle while standing in a messy living room

The Happiest Baby Guide for Exhausted, Sleep-Deprived Parents

It was 3:17 AM in the dead of a humid Texas summer, and I was standing in my living room wearing a nursing tank that smelled strongly of sour milk, doing frantic deep knee bends while aggressively hissing into my...

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Exhausted mother holding a crying baby in a dimly lit nursery

Surviving the Hell Baby Phase When You Are Running on Empty

The microwave clock says three in the morning, the only light in your kitchen is the green digital glow, and you're bouncing on a yoga ball so hard your knees ache while holding a rigid infant who sounds like a...

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A simple non-wifi baby monitor on a wooden nursery dresser next to a half-empty coffee mug

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...

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Pediatric nurse reviews global daily birth rates and hospital schedules

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,...

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Jess sitting on her Texas porch folding baby clothes while reading news on her phone.

Exactly How Many Baby Mamas Does Elon Musk Have? A Mom's Guide

Dear Jess from six months ago: put down the phone and step away from the billionaire gossip. I know exactly what you're doing right now. You're sitting in the dark in that creaky rocking chair, elbow-deep in the smell of...

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A tired mom checking her phone to find out how old is lil baby at 3 am

Figuring out exactly how old is lil baby and surviving year one

It's 3:17 AM in Chicago. The radiator is hissing. I'm sitting in a glider that smells faintly of sour milk, staring at my phone. I'm so violently sleep-deprived that I've somehow fallen down a Wikipedia rabbit hole trying to figure...

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Tired mom holding a baby in a nursery with a cool mist humidifier running nearby

Finding the Best Humidifier for Baby: A Letter to My Past Self

Dear Jess from last November. Right now, you're standing in the middle of the nursery at 3 AM holding a crusty, dinosaur-shaped plastic water tank that smells faintly of wet dog, crying because your six-month-old sounds like a tiny pug...

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Toddler crawling on the floor wearing an organic cotton baby bodysuit pretending to be a lost kitten.

I'm a Baby Kitty Where's Mama: Surviving The Feline Phase

My hands were aggressively deep in a bowl of raw ground beef and breadcrumbs when I felt something wet drag across my bare ankle. I didn't even jump. When you've three kids under five, you just accept that random wet...

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A frustrated toddler chewing on a safe silicone teether instead of a dangerous ice cube.

Ice cube ice ice baby: Why the freezer trend is a terrible idea

When my son cut his first tooth, I got three contradictory texts in the span of an hour. My mother called to tell me to wrap an ice cube in a clean muslin cloth and let him gnaw on it,...

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