Magazine

Exhausted dad sitting in the dark holding a crying baby while looking at a smartphone

System Meltdown: A Clueless Dad's Guide to Surviving Colic in Babies

I was bouncing on a half-inflated yoga ball at 140 beats per minute, frantically whispering "shhh" while my five-week-old son screamed so aggressively his face looked like a boiled lobster. My Apple Watch buzzed to congratulate me on my intense...

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A tired dad looking at his swaddled newborn baby making a strange face.

What's That Supposed to Be About Baby? Decoding Newborn Quirks

I was holding my iPhone flashlight over my daughter's bassinet at 3:14 AM, trying to see if her tongue was vibrating. She was making this rapid-fire clicking sound that sounded exactly like a dying hard drive. I had my other...

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Baby practicing tripod sitting on an organic cotton playmat

When Do Babies Sit Up On Their Own? The Honest Truth

Last Tuesday, my mother-in-law told me I needed to prop my four-month-old in a corner with pillows or his spine would stay curved forever. The next day, a girl in my mom group swore her babie was doing unassisted crunches...

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A sleeping newborn swaddled in an organic cotton blanket with a peaceful expression

Babies Breath: How Do Babies Breathe in the Womb & Real Life

"You just wait until they take their first breath out here," my mother-in-law told me at my baby shower, casually stirring her sweet tea. "Before that, they just hold it for nine whole months." Bless her heart, she was dead...

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A soft handmade crochet blanket for newborn draped safely over a baby play gym.

What To Do With A Crochet Blanket For Newborn Babies, Y'all

I was exactly thirty-four weeks pregnant with my oldest, Tucker, sweating right through a floral maternity dress that felt more like a circus tent, when my Great Aunt Ruth handed me a massive, heavy, neon-yellow yarn afghan. Right on cue,...

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Mother walking in Chicago winter wearing a baby in a structured ergonomic carrier.

What they never tell you about that ergo baby carrier obsession

I was standing in the Target parking lot on a Tuesday afternoon. Lake Michigan wind was doing that miserable thing where it bites straight through your denim. My kid was screaming in his baby car seat. I was sweating through...

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Exhausted mother holding a crying baby while looking at a tablet screen

The Cry Baby Cast Reality Check: Screen Time vs Real Tears

When my son hit six weeks old, my mother-in-law told me to rub brandy on his gums. My neighbor swore by putting him in a vibrating chair on top of a running washing machine. The doctor suggested I just put...

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A tired mom holding a crying infant surrounded by scattered baby clothes and wooden toys on a living room floor.

Bringing Babys Home: Surviving The First Year Without Losing It

The digital clock on the microwave read 3:14 AM, and I was sitting cross-legged on the cold bathroom tile, desperately trying to steam the congestion out of my oldest son, Jackson. He was screaming like I was personally torturing him,...

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Tired dad looking at a motorized infant container next to a sleeping baby

A Letter to Past Me About the Illusion of the Perfect Baby Swing

Hey Marcus from six months ago. It's November, it's raining in Portland again, and you're currently staring at a $250 motorized bucket that oscillates at exactly 43 beats per minute while you pray it'll silence the tiny human who has...

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