I ran my first-ever marathon this past weekend, and while I burned through the 26.2-mile course, my saint of a wife was left with the job of shuttling baby L (and my folks) from one stop to another to cheer me on.
Looking back on the experience, Powergirl shared with me a few pointers for other [...]

Blankets are nice, outfits are fun and stuffed animals are cute, but the best kinds of gifts for us new parents are the practical ones.
Granted, practical gifts usually are pretty boring. They’re not the kinds of stuff that makes grandmas and grandpas (or doting friends, for that matter) giddy with excitement. They’re not the [...]

I always crack up at those Cars.com commercials that tell the story of the David Abernathy, the kid who had so much “extraordinary confidence” that, as a newborn, he congratulated the doctor on a perfect delivery. For some reason, I always imagine little L doing the same sort of thing.
Well L had a David Abernathy [...]

While playing with L on the floor in her room this afternoon, I realized that all of her toys are made in China or some other far-off land. Literally—the girl has dozens of toys, and not one of them is from the U.S.A.
I admit it, readers, this sort of freaks me out.
Look, I’ve got nothing [...]

At the suggestion of a doctor friend, I recently signed up for recall notices from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. These notices, which appear in my email inbox every day, keep us abreast of all of the product recalls in the world of baby gear.
In November, for instance, when Stork Craft recalled all of [...]

A friend and fellow writer recently described her daughter’s introduction to crawling like this: “It’s like having a pet raccoon. Foraging through everything and putting whatever (and I mean WHATEVER) she finds in her mouth.”
As L begins to crawl all over the place, too, I couldn’t agree with this assessment more.
L’s method of transportation is [...]

Tonight is a big night in L’s personal dietary history, as she will graduate from rice cereal to food we grown-ups actually eat (the rice stuff is gross; I know because I tasted it). On the menu: Zucchini.
Not just any zucchini, mind you; organic zucchini. Why? Because her dad (that is, yours truly) has been [...]

Whenever we drag L with us to wineries around our Sonoma County home, the people behind the tasting room bars inevitably ask us if we’d like to give her a cork to suck on while we sample their wine.
Without exception, we decline.
Tonight, however, in the privacy and safety of our own home, we decided to [...]

Now that L is all about eating solid foods, I’m starting to think it might be healthier for her (and cheaper for us) if I make the stuff myself.
Along these lines, a good friend (and fellow new parent) recommended some food mills today, like this one from Bed, Bath & Beyond and this one from [...]

I’ve read the literature on co-sleeping. I know the Consumer Product Safety Commission warns parents not to place their infants in grown-up beds. I’ve heard the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees, warning parents about rolling over on their babies in their sleep.
That said, I admit it: both Powergirl and I spend a few hours alone [...]