Magazine

A wet Newton mattress core drying in a Portland bathtub

Why I Hosed Down Our Newton Baby Crib Mattress at 2 AM

It was 3:14 AM. The infrared glow of the Nanit monitor showed a gray, pixelated blob that used to be my daughter, but now she was completely face-down. Smashed directly into the mattress fibers. I watched the screen, waiting for...

Read more

Exhausted mother holding baby in dimly lit nursery with wooden toys

Finding the Calm in the Chaos with a Sweet Baby James Lullaby

I was standing in my oldest son's nursery at 3:14 in the morning, wearing a nursing tank top that smelled strongly of sour milk and desperation, violently swaying back and forth. Three weeks prior, at my beautifully curated baby shower,...

Read more

Exhausted mom holding coffee and staring at baby gear.

Why "The Babys" Sleep Rules Broke Me (And What Really Worked)

I was standing in the kitchen at 3:17 AM wearing a gray maternity bra that smelled aggressively like sour milk and desperation. My husband, Dave, was asleepβ€”or pretending to be asleep, the bastardβ€”while I was furiously typing misspelled medical queries...

Read more

A tired mother holding a coughing baby in a dimly lit nursery

The brutal truth about baby cough medicine and what actually works

At 2:14 AM on a Tuesday, I was standing in my dark kitchen holding a thrashing, coughing toddler while my phone lit up with three different text threads. My mom was typing paragraphs about rubbing warm mustard oil on his...

Read more

A pile of square baby blankets next to a folded sleep sack on a crib mattress

My honest guide to receiving blankets versus swaddles at 2 AM

I was aggressively stuffing those white and pink-striped hospital blankets into my duffel bag while my husband stood by the door acting as a lookout. I was a pediatric nurse for five years before having my son. I knew exactly...

Read more

A pile of folded organic baby sleepwear on a messy nursery chair.

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...

Read more

Dad measuring sound machine volume next to baby crib

Decoding Infant Sleep Audio: My War With Sound Machines

It's 3 AM and I'm hovering over my eleven-month-old's crib with a free NIOSH decibel meter app glowing ominously on my phone, watching the needle spike into the red zone. My wife is standing in the doorway in her robe,...

Read more

A tired mom drinking coffee next to a baby sleeping soundly near a white noise machine in a cozy nursery.

The Messy Truth About White Noise For Babies And Sleep Safety

I was sitting cross-legged on the stained rug of Leo's nursery at like 3:14 AM. I was wearing my husband's college lacrosse hoodie that smelled vaguely of sour milk, and holding my screaming four-week-old, totally convinced I had already broken...

Read more

Tired dad researching the dreamland baby sleep sack at 3am

Why a weighted sleep sack almost broke my parenting resolve

The glow of my phone screen was the only light in the nursery, casting long, vaguely sinister shadows over two cots containing infants who had apparently unionised and agreed to strike against sleep. It was 3:14 in the morning. My...

Read more