Serious Stack of Magazines

One of the things I've done in the past three weeks is go through the insane stack of parenting magazines I had acquired over the past year. I had multiple issues from seven titles:

• American Baby


• babytalk


• Cookie


• Disney Family Fun


• Mom & Baby


• Parenting


• Parents

After placing an ad for an old client, I found out that you can't buy American Baby at the newsstand. But after having Evelyn, I found out that you CAN get a free subscription to it. It has a good mix of fluff and content, and is short enough for me to read in an afternoon (or one long sitting).


babytalk is similar to American Baby, but a bit shorter. I seem to have picked up a free subscription to this one, too. I'd be perfectly happy with one or the other, but don't feel like I need both.


Cookie is the most upscale of the bunch. It has ads from Ralph Lauren and J. Crew's kids lines, celeb moms' styles, $114 rompers, and ideas for fancy themed birthday parties. Of course, this is the only one for which I was willing to pay for a subscription.


Disney Family Fun is what the title suggests: a magazine full of family activities, getaways, meals, etc. I've gotten a few in the mail from heaven knows where. I think you just end up on a lot of mailing lists. But this is better for those with kids at least in preschool, so I'll likely look into this one after a few years.


Mom & Baby is a fun fluffy one from the publisher of FitPregnancy. I enjoy getting this one on the newsstand to see all the cute baby clothes, accessories, and toys; and for the celeb articles.


Parenting is another one similar to American Baby and babytalk. Really, I haven't noticed any differentiators between these titles. I could get one or none and feel like I'm getting the same content. Though if I had to rank them, I might say babytalk is the best, followed by American Baby then Parenting.


Parents is owned by the same publisher as American Baby. It's the biggest of the ones I've been reading, and has the most real content. It's the only one I probably couldn't read cover to cover in a day. At least not with a baby latched to me every other hour! But it seems like mandatory reading, so I got the free subscription with (you guessed it) American Baby.