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It’s definitely best to have a plan in place for who’ll be looking after your kids when you head in to deliver. Try to make arrangements for a grandparent or trusted friend to be on call for your impending labor. If you don’t have family nearby or friends that are available, consider looking into a sitter with a flexible schedule. (It’s a good idea to have the sitter come in a few weeks before delivery to meet the kids — everyone needs time to get used to each other....

Janet Lansbury was one overwhelmed new mom, but she insisted on making sure she met her daughter’s every need. That meant feeding baby, changing baby, bouncing baby, entertaining baby. “I was really exhausted, but I thought I was supposed to do all that,” she recalls. But after a single class in RIE parenting, where she simply sat and observed baby for over an hour calmly taking in the world, Lansbury had an epiphany....

If you’re experiencing preterm labor symptoms, like strong contractions or a significant change in cervical length before week 34, your OB may want you to take corticosteroids. These steroids can help speed up the development of your baby’s lungs and other important organs, so if she’s born early, they’re at least further along than they would’ve been. Ideally, babies are born at the 40-week mark. From weeks 37 to 40, lung development can still be happening, but usually once you make it to week 37, baby’s strong enough to breathe on her own....

My husband and I share so many wonderful memories from our baby’s first weeks. But there’s one moment I wish I could forget: When my husband wanted to start having sex again, and I most definitely didn’t. Like many couples, we had a rocky sexual reboot after becoming parents. One Friday night, a few weeks after giving birth, I unlatched our little girl from my worn-out body, laid her softly in her crib and walked toward our bedroom, ready to collapse on the mattress, my eyes already half-shut....

This is one of those (yep, another one) “everybody’s different” situations. Some moms choose to work up until the very last minute in order to save up their maternity leave days for after baby arrives. Others choose a “last day” in advance in order to have a break before their due date, or make arrangements to work from home in the final days. We asked new moms for their take on leaving the office, and here’s what they had to say: “I worked until the very end....

Penning a letter to old Saint Nick is a childhood rite of passage—and sharing those amazing words on social media is an equally important ritual for parents. The nostalgia! The earnestness! The hilarity! We simply can’t get enough. Here, we’ve rounded up some of the cutest letters children have written to Santa, so you can get in on the fun. Consider it our holiday gift to you. Elves-in-Training You gotta love kids with ambition—after all, we keep telling them can be anything they want....

And you thought acne was the stuff of teenage angst, right? But getting pimples during pregnancy—on your face, back and other body parts—is actually pretty standard. You can (probably) chalk it up to those pregnancy hormones. What Causes Acne During Pregnancy? It’s thought that pregnancy hormones might increase the skin’s production of oil. The oil builds up and clogs the pores, attracts bacteria and causes that dreaded acne. You might spot smallish, reddish bumps, or you might get the ones that are white and pus-filled....

One type of toddler strikes fear into the heart of every parent: the picky eater. We’ve all known a child whose picking eating has forced the adults in the house to become short-order cooks. While there’s no simple secret to prevent a toddler from becoming a picky eater, there are definitely some strategies that can help. Here are some tips to help build preferences for a wide range of healthy foods (hint… it’s all about variety):...

If you ever stumble upon Maisonette, you’ll find yourself instantly transported to a whimsical land of unique finds. With its fashion-forward apparel, trendy toys and dreamlike bedroom décor, the children’s shop is anything but mainstream. When its founders Sylvana Ward Durrett and Luisana Mendoza Roccia left their jobs at Vogue, they were determined to create a shopping solution that curated boutique finds for their kids. Now, nearly two years since its launch, Maisonette lets you easily shop high-quality clothing, toy and baby gear brands all in one place....

The Stats: Name: Jama Williamson Age: 36 Occupation: Actress Children: One daughter, Adeline Rose (2 1/2 years) and another baby girl due in September TB: What are some of the best things that came out of breastfeeding your daughter? JW: I benefited from a tremendous bond that I had instantly and consistently with my daughter. For her she benefited from feeling very connected to her mom, but also from being really healthy....

Keep in mind that up until about 150 years ago there was no substitute for mother’s milk that reliably kept babies alive. Breastfeeding is not as fragile and easily derailed as some believe — if it were, we would not be concerned about overpopulation today since so many babies would not have survived. From a practical standpoint, the best way to know your baby is getting enough milk is weight gain....

If you’re pregnant with twins, you’ve probably spent more than a few minutes wondering how planning for one baby suddenly turned into planning for two. Well, whether it’s a result of your age, genetics, or fertility treatments, having twins is something of a miracle (in fact, they make up a mere 3 percent of all pregnancies). Even if you plan to dress your babies in matching onesies (a sure way to elicit an “awwww!...

Rosie Pope is a triple threat in the pregnancy world. She’s the star of Bravo’s Pregnant in Heels, has her own fashion line and is the author of Mommy IQ. One early morning before her show, she stopped by _The Bump _Magazine’s photo shoot and opened up about everything from fertility to maternity fashion. The Bump: What was it like talking about your fertility journey on your TV show? Rosie Pope: I had secondary infertility, so I got pregnant with my first son without a problem....

Don’t get us wrong. We know that emotional feeling of “I can’t believe I’m growing a baby!” is just as amazing now as it was when you first found out you were expecting. Feeling baby kick, getting weekly “How Big is Baby” updates and learning about new developments at each doctor’s visit never get old. But in those moments when your pregnancy glow becomes more of a full-on sweat and you find yourself crying in the snack aisle because they’re out of those chips that you absolutely need right now, you might find yourself dreaming of all the things you’ll be able to do again after you give birth....

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about so many new things—the elbow bump, the hand sanitizer obsession, Tiger King and the funny, sassy videos of José Rolón, known on TikTok and Instagram as @nycgaydad. The social media star has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands with hilarious clips of him and his three kids telling jokes, pulling pranks and sharing a bit of everyday life as an LGBTQ, Latinx family. Rolón may be known for his humor, but he’s not afraid to get real about the stresses of parenthood, challenge homophobic assumptions and open up about the pain of his past, including his childhood and the loss of his husband, Tim Merrell....

I remember letting out a weird guttural cry while nursing my youngest babe one day. She was desperately, hungrily clutching and sucking—she couldn’t get what she wanted fast enough, and her greedy little snorts let me know that my milk flow was not to her satisfaction. The aggressive feeding could have been considered cute—funny even!—but at that exact same moment, I was also snuggling an ultra-clingy, feverish 4-year-old. Meanwhile, my oldest kept tapping my shoulder because he wanted a snack....

If you’re expecting baby’s arrival soon, or if you just recently gave birth, you may be wondering, “When does breast milk come in?” What you may not know is that our bodies like to be prepared for baby well before their arrival. Women start producing baby’s first food midway through pregnancy and continue on to make different types of breast milk over the course of those first couple weeks postpartum. Keep reading to learn about the types of breast milk a mother makes and how long it takes for milk to come in, plus what to do if your breast milk is delayed....

And the Winner Is: Baby Brezza SuperFast Sterilizer Dryer At the top of every parent’s priority list is keeping their little one healthy and safe—and a bottle sterilizer can really help with that tall order. As is true with most sterilizers, the Baby Brezza SuperFast Sterilizer uses steam heat to clean and kill 99.9 percent of the germs on baby’s bottles, pacifiers, teethers and toys. This device does the job quickly and efficiently; it takes only 10 minutes from start to finish to sterilize and dry items such as bottles and pump parts....

Parenthood will change you. You can swear off all the Raffi and Paw Patrol you want, but at the end of the day, you, too, will be singing and bouncing along to The Wiggles to keep baby happy. While your child’s interests, playgroups, toys and gear will become a huge part of your life, a major takeaway from this year’s ABC Kids Expo is that there’s still plenty of room for functionality and style just for you....

Among all the to-dos on your plate when prepping for baby’s arrival, shopping for baby essentials is likely high on your list—after all, you’re going to want all your gear the minute baby makes their big arrival. Between setting up the nursery and ensuring you have the necessary items for sleeping, eating and diapering, it’s easy to keep busy buying baby must-haves. Plus, the amount of baby supplies a newborn needs (or can have) might surprise any parent-to-be....