Magazine

A wooden convertible baby chair pulled up to a messy dining table

Surviving the baby chair transition without a trip to the ER

The sweet potato puree was everywhere. It was day three of solid foods. Riya was slumped to the left in a hand-me-down high chair that looked like a plastic spaceship. She coughed, gagged, and suddenly went silent. My ER nurse...

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A confused mother looking at a jar of honey while holding a baby in her kitchen.

Exactly Why Can't Babies Have Honey Before Their First Birthday

We were in Naperville at my in-laws' house for Sunday dinner. The baby was seven months old, teething heavily, and screaming with the kind of high-pitched intensity that makes your teeth vibrate. I stepped into the guest bathroom for exactly...

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A blurry photo of a baby throwing steamed green vegetables from a highchair.

Dear Past Me: How To Cook Baby Bok Choy & Baby Bok Choy Recipes

Dear Sarah from exactly six months ago, who's currently standing in the produce aisle of Whole Foods at 8 AM wearing yoga pants that have definitely seen better days and a fleece pullover covered in what I hope is yogurt....

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A tired mom pouring milk into a glass baby bottle on a messy kitchen counter.

Dear Past Sarah: The Ugly Truth About Glass Baby Bottles

Dear Past Sarah. Yes, you. The one sitting on the kitchen floor at 2:14 AM on a random Tuesday exactly six months ago. You’re wearing that gray fleece robe where the zipper is permanently stuck halfway down. You’re drinking Folgers...

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A dad staring in horror at a baby covered in orange sweet potato puree

The Sweet Potato Meltdown and the Truth About Gerber Baby Food

It's 7:14 PM on a Tuesday, and I'm staring at a bright orange stain on my kitchen ceiling. I don't know the exact trajectory required for a seated eleven-month-old to launch root vegetables vertically, but the physics of it are...

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Twin toddlers making a massive mess with orange baby food in the kitchen

Surviving the Baby Spice Era: Turmeric Stains and 90s Pop

There's a very specific, aggressive shade of yellow that a pulverized carrot takes on when you enthusiastically fold half a teaspoon of turmeric into it, and I can tell you exactly what it looks like because it's currently permanently bonded...

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A wooden baby high chair covered in an unidentifiable orange food puree

How to Buy a Baby High Chair Without Losing Your Entire Mind

I was standing in the kitchen at a quarter to ten on a Tuesday, armed with a discarded electric toothbrush and a spray bottle of white vinegar, trying to excavate petrified Weetabix from the neon-green piping of a padded seat...

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A messy baby eating a piece of corn on the cob in a high chair.

A Letter to My Past Self About Feeding Babies Corn & Poop Panic

Dear Jess from six months ago, You're currently holding a soiled diaper under the bathroom nightlight, poking at a perfectly intact yellow kernel and wondering if you've fundamentally broken your third child's digestive tract. Put the diaper down, wash your...

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A tired mother looking at her baby's mouth in a dimly lit nursery

A letter to myself about thrush in babies and the white spots

You're sitting on the edge of the glider at 3 a.m. with your phone flashlight pointed into a sleeping mouth. You're trying to pry his tiny jaw open without waking him, which is as impossible as it sounds. His lips...

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