Parents

parents

JULIA EDELSTEIN Editor-in-Chief Executive Creative Director AGNETHE GLATVED Managing Editor PATRICK MOFFITT Deputy Editor DIANE DEBROVNER Beauty Director KATE SANDOVAL BOX Lifestyle Director LAURA FENTON Food Director JENNA HELWIG Senior Editor, Features KATIE ARNOLD-RATLIFF Senior Editor, Nutrition and Travel KAREN CICERO Entertainment Editor JESSICA HARTSHORN Associate Editor, Beauty SHANNON M. BAUER Associate Editor, Features EMILY ELVERU Editorial Assistants KYLEIGH LEDDY, KARA THOMPSON ART & PRODUCTION Art Director EMILY FURLANI Associate Art Director JAMIE LEE Senior Designer MARIA FERNANDEZ-DAVILA Art Assistant AVA BRAMSON Production Director VINCENT M. SPINA PHOTO Executive Photo Director LILY FRANCESCA ALT Photo Director DAVID COOPER Photo Editor JOANNA MUENZ Photo Coordinator MAGGIE BLATTEL Assistant Photo Editor ERIKA THOMPSON RESEARCH & COPY Research Director BARBARA BRANDON-CROFT Copy Chief JEAN RODIE Copy Editor SHELLEY WOLSON Test Kitchen Project Manager LINDA BREWER, R.D.N. Deputy Managing Editor TARA LUSTBERG Executive Operations Coordinator, Office of Editor-in-Chief ADRIENNE FARR Contributing Editors DAPHNE de MARNEFFE, Ph.D., SALLY KUZEMCHAK, R.D., JENNY MOLLEN, ERIN ZAMMETT RUDDY, COLBY SHARP,…

editor’s note

The Easiest Love of All ONCE UPON A TIME, back in the days before I had kids, I was on the receiving end of an over-the-top, fairy-tale Valentine’s Day gesture. Young, in love, and squarely in the infatuation phase of our relationship, my then boyfriend (now husband), Andrew, woke me up with homemade breakfast in bed and the gift of a gorgeous leather handbag that he had carefully filled—I kid you not—with my favorite skin-care products. At work that day, a fragrant violet bouquet landed on my desk. In the evening, he cooked me a three-course dinner. By the time my head hit the pillow that night, I was fairly certain I had been ruined for all future Valentine’s Days. And that hunch was correct—until I became a mother. That’s when…

let’s get real

COVER STORY Model Citizen Tess Holliday made a name for herself by rejecting traditional beauty standards in favor of loving and flaunting her body exactly as it is. That unapologetic self-acceptance is a virtue she’s teaching her kids too. “HOW ARE YOU?” is never a simple question for a social-media influencer. Especially one as authentic and transparent as Tess Holliday, a model, author, and proponent of body positivity. “It’s been a year of transition,” she answered. “But I’m happier now than I’ve been in a decade.” Over the course of an afternoon with her family at the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, California, we delved into it all. This year, Holliday moved houses, fully emerged from postpartum depression, and embraced being “a little bit selfish,” though I don’t think selfish is the…

sex and the city as parents

FOR ME, the physical side of a relationship has always taken second place to the mental. It’s not that I don’t like sex, but I’ve never been one to equate it with love. My husband and I have been married for almost 12 years, and while we have had our fair share of passionate encounters, our typical nightly routine consists of wrangling two young boys into the bathtub, wrestling them into their pajamas, reading them books, asking them to go to sleep, begging them to go to sleep, and then giving up and falling asleep ourselves. Initiating sex when you have children seems like tacking on an additional 5 miles to a day that already feels like a marathon. The reality is that comfort and trust lead to complacency. It’s the downside…

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FOLLOW THE THOUGHTS OF DOG (@DOG_FEELINGS) ON TWITTER AND PRESTO: YOU’RE IN YOUR HAPPY PLACE. “gooooob morning. i think. with the right amount of peanut butter. today could go well.” APP WE ADORE Expectful The guided meditations you’ll find here are tailor-made for fertility struggles, pregnancy, and parenthood. Just a little zen can go a long way! $10 per month; App Store and Google Play We love an audiobook that makes everyone in the car smile. Meryl Streep and cast reading Charlotte’s Web is exactly that. $15; audible.com Got a truck-loving kiddo? Abigail’s bakery @Abigails_nc made his dream birthday cake—and you can recreate it with marshmallows, a toy truck, candy, and sprinkles. Cue the waterworks. @WhatMyMotherMade is a touching Instagram account collecting tales of food, family, and nostalgia. A handwritten recipe card or a memory about Sunday-dinner…

the more you nose!

Don’t wait until he gets a cold to help him master the skill of blowing his nose. A kid as young as 2 can learn how. Your child is probably already pretty good at blowing air out of his mouth (thanks, bubble wands and birthday candles!), and he can use the same concept to clear his nostrils. To practice, gently place a finger over your child’s lips to show him that he can make air come out of his nose, says Katherine O’Connor, M.D., a mom of three and a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, in New York City. You can also teach him to blow bubbles underwater during a bath and then have him apply the same technique when his nose feels stuffed up. But if your kid…