Troubleshooting Dry Skin: What Is Baby Oil Actually Used For
It was exactly 68 degrees in the postpartum recovery room. I know this because the wall thermostat was the only illuminated object I had stared at for the previous four hours while my wife finally slept. I was holding a...
What to Pack in Hospital Bag for Baby: A Dad's Bug Report
I had one knee pressed firmly into the top of a 60-liter duffel bag in the back of our Subaru, trying to force the zipper shut while Portland rain soaked through my hoodie. My wife, currently 36 weeks pregnant, was...
When Do Babies Start Cooing? A Real Mom's Guide to Early Sounds
I was sweating through my third nursing tank of the day in the cab of my F-150 outside the local feed store in mid-July. My oldest, Wyatt, was exactly eight weeks old and sitting in his car seat looking at...
The Spit-Up Timeline: When The Milk Volcano Finally Stops
At exactly 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, surrounded by seven different brands of anti-colic bottles and covered in what smelled like old yogurt, I realized the biggest lie of early parenthood. I had spent three weeks thinking I could troubleshoot...
When Do Babies Talk? The Truth About First Words
I'm currently sitting on a rug that used to be cream-coloured, staring at a half-eaten rice cake that has just been forcefully shoved into my left ear, while my daughter Maya screams "BA!" with the intensity of a Victorian ghost....
That Midnight Panic Over Exactly When Babies Are Supposed To Walk
It was 2:13 AM on a Tuesday, and I was sitting on the floor of my bathroom in the dark, violently scrolling through parenting forums on my phone while my 14-month-old oldest child, Beau, slept blissfully down the hall. We...
Why Do Babies Wear Helmets? A Letter To My Freaking Out Past Self
Dear Sarah from exactly six months ago, You're currently sitting cross-legged on the dusty attic floor. You're wearing Dave's old college hoodie that smells intensely of damp cardboard, and you're literally crying into a plastic storage bin of Leo's outgrown...
Surviving the "Babys at 30 Weeks" Search Spiral (And The Heartburn)
I found Sarah sitting on the cold kitchen tiles at 3:14 AM, illuminated entirely by the blue glare of her phone screen and eating dry Cheerios straight from the cardboard box. She looked up at me, eyes hollow with exhaustion,...
Did Jessica Sanchez Finally Have Her Baby? A Postpartum Warning
Dear Tom from six months ago, You're currently sitting on the floor of our terribly drafted London flat, attempting to assemble a twin nursing pillow that looks like a life raft, while your wife glowers at you from her birthing...