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Has It Really Been One Month?
It seems like it was just last week that Trevor and I were holed up in a hospital room, trying to balance our need for sleep with the overwhelming urge to spend every second of the day staring at our darling newborn. Sometimes I still find my hand instinctively touching my stomach when I think of him, expecting a reassuring kick before I remember that he is out in the world. P. B. has grown so much in this time. Now he's too tall for newborn clothes and has moved up to 0-3 month, although his clothes are quite baggy in the stomach and arms. All of his pants fit…
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The Importance of Paternity Leave
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A Day at the LA Arboretum
We've taken the quarantine very seriously. First we had a baby on the way and now we have a newborn to worry about, so we're not willing to take any chances. With the exceptions of doctor's appointments, trips to the grocery store, and a five day stay at the hospital, we've only left the house to walk our dachshund around the neighborhood. It's not the most thrilling way to live, but we're fine with this because it's what we need to do to keep our family safe. However, after five months of quarantine, we desperately needed a change of scenery. Enter the Los Angeles Arboretum. The Arboretum has a limited…
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Baby Talk: How to Speak to your Newborn
Parents of newborns often hear about the importance of speaking to our babies. It’s sound advice, as far as it goes: research shows that exposing very young children to language boosts their brainpower and prepares them for later academic success. But the guidance feels incomplete. How, exactly, should we speak to our very small children? What should we say? Does cadence matter? Tone? Worse, for parents who want desperately to give their babies a leg up, obsessive focus on language can come at the expense of other important experiences, driving exhausting and unproductive parenting practices. Fortunately, language development research adds texture to the standard advice with practical applications. The key,…