Magazine

A tiny baby hummingbird resting safely on a green leaf outdoors

Dear Jess: What I Wish I Knew Before the Baby Hummingbird Incident

Dear Jess of last May, put down the plastic eye dropper and step away from the kitchen counter before you inadvertently commit a federal wildlife crime. Right now, the baby is strapped to your sweaty chest in the carrier, the...

Read more

A cautious dad inspecting a grassy backyard for baby snakes while his twin toddlers play safely on an elevated wooden deck

Surviving the American baby copperhead panic as a clueless dad

The humidity in North Carolina in late August is a physical assault, the kind of oppressive heat that makes your clothes feel like a wet apology. I was standing on my American in-laws' patio, clutching a rapidly melting gin and...

Read more

Sarah holding a vintage cotton baby bonnet over a messy nursery changing table

Wait, Are Baby Bonnets Safe? My 2 AM Infant Hair Loss Panic

It was exactly 2:14 AM on a Tuesday. I know this because my glowing phone screen was mocking me in the dark. I was sitting in the nursery rocking chair wearing a maternity tank top that smelled strongly of sour...

Read more

Dad trying to apply thick white mineral sunscreen to an actively squirming baby.

Debugging Baby Sun Safety: The Great Sunscreen Firmware Update

There's currently a streak of stark white zinc oxide smeared across the black upholstery of my Subaru, a matching smudge on my favorite dark t-shirt, and a suspicious clump stuck in my eleven-month-old’s left eyebrow. Somehow, despite dispensing what felt...

Read more

A plump baby seal resting alone on a grey coastal rock formation

Why Rescuing That Adorable Coastal Baby Seal Is A Terrible Idea

We were twenty minutes into what was supposed to be a restorative family morning on a Cornish shingle beach, locked in a desperate battle with a pop-up windbreak that refused to pop anywhere but directly into my face, when Twin...

Read more

A spotted fawn resting quietly in tall green grass.

The Backyard Fawn: A Guide To Not Kidnapping Wildlife

Listen, the first time you find a tiny, spotted woodland creature curled up next to your hostas, your brain short-circuits. You immediately assume the worst. You look at this fragile thing breathing shallowly in your mulch, and your mind goes...

Read more

Exhausted mom holding a coffee mug while researching Secrets Baby Beach Aruba resort online.

Secrets Baby Beach Aruba: The Midnight Hotel Panic

It was 2:14 AM, and I was wearing a fleece bathrobe over a maternity bathing suit top because my four-month-old, Leo, had just spit up breastmilk all over my favorite oversized college tee. My husband Dave was snoring in the...

Read more

A frustrated mom holding a baby with red bumps on their neck in the summer heat

The Southern Mom's Guide to Clearing Up Baby Summer Skin Bumps

It was July 2019, the thermometer on my back porch in rural Texas read 104 degrees, and my oldest son looked like he had been attacked by a swarm of invisible fire ants. He had these tiny, angry red bumps...

Read more

A baby in a full coverage sunsuit sitting on a playmat under a beach tent

Dear Priya: The newborn beach outfit you actually need

You're currently standing on Oak Street Beach. You're sweating through your linen button-down. Your three-month-old is screaming a pitch usually reserved for the NICU triage desk. And that expensive white eyelet romper you bought? It's covered in seagull droppings, damp...

Read more