Essentials Series: BABY FEEDING

Finally! The last [and longest] addition to the Essentials Series: Baby Feeding. Sorry it took so long to get this one together. With daily life, and then not to mention all this constant news about COVID-19, my mind had been all over the place. In a way it was nice to give some attention to this and not focus on the worldwide pandemic.

Having said that this is probably the list of items my children use most in a day. They love to eat! They have since they were babies. Whether it was nursing, pumped milk, formula or solid foods– they loved it all and still do. On days that I am home with them I spend most of my day in the kitchen so I have to make sure all my feeding items are durable and help make serving and clean up easy.

I’m not sure if I ever mentioned this before but I did a combination of nursing, pumping, bottle & formula feeding. Because of that I will be posting about all the items I used.

There’s a lot of items in this category so lets get into it…

1. Bottles: Like any first time mom I did A LOT of google searching and reading reviews on the best baby products. Bottles in particular were an important one for me because I was doing combination feeding and didn’t want the baby to have any nipple confusion [yes, that’s a real thing]. These bottles had the best reviews for being closest to mama breast shape therefore the least likely to cause baby any confusion. This ended up being correct for both my girls. They happily nursed with me and fed from these bottles without any issues.

2. Nursing Pads: I did initially buy the cloth reusable/washable pads but I found out very quickly they were not for me. I was producing A LOT of milk and would easily soak through the pad onto my nursing bra. It was more of a mess so I had to look for an alternative option. I decided to give these disposable pads a try and they worked really well. The only thing I would mention is that it is very important to change the pads regularly. Being that you are producing milk and this is a warm area of the body it is easy for bacteria to grow and potentially cause problems such as yeast build up. So I was in a regular habit of washing the area with a wet washcloth and changing the pads often.

3. Portable High Chair: This is not the exact chair we had but it is the new and improved version! We had 3 of the same portable high chairs: one for my parents house, one for my mother-in-law’s place and one for our car in case we were going to a friends house or restaurant etc. Needless to say, because we needed a few, we wanted it to be cost effective. We bought this on sale for 50% off! Always keep your eyes peeled for price drops. I love a good deal!

4. Formula: We didn’t choose this item, it chose us. When having my first daughter I didn’t produce enough milk right away so to make sure she was getting the ample amount of nourishment the hospital recommended I top up her feedings with formula so that’s what I did. Children can react differently to different types of formula. You may hear that some mom’s have to go through a few different kinds before they find one that agrees with their baby’s tummy. For us, we were lucky, Mila’s little tummy accepted this formula quite well so we didn’t want to mess with a good thing and continued with it when we got home. It also gave me the freedom to get some sleep once in a while and Jason got his one on one time with the baby. A win-win!

5. Breast Pump: Okay so this I have some definite opinions on. If you are planning to breastfeed exclusively you may not need this item. But please research exclusive breastfeeding because it means you are essentially feeding on demand meaning when baby wants to eat you must be available– not Dad, not Grandma, not Auntie– just you. You have the equipment therefore you do all the feeding and some Mom’s are totally up for that and that is amazing! For me, I wanted to give my babies breast milk because I know all the amazing things it has in it for baby’s immunity, brain development, etc but I didn’t want to put all the pressure on myself to do all the feedings every 2-3 hours so I decided to pump as well.

If you plan to pump I’d really suggest a double pump. The main reason being that when you pump one breast the other also leaks breast milk… Yes, you read that right… Even when you are nursing your baby, when he/she is nursing from the right breast the left breast will leak breast milk! I know, crazy.. In my opinion breastmilk is like liquid gold: it takes a lot of effort to get so you shouldn’t waste even a drop. Therefore I feel you should just invest in a double pump if possible because whether you are pumping one or both they will both be producing milk and you may as well store the extra for a trip to the mall or visit to Grandma’s etc.

Also pumping regularly increases milk production. So to keep up my supply I would pump when baby started sleeping for longer stretches to make sure I was still producing enough. The older your baby gets hopefully he/she will be sleeping longer but that means they will also be eating more so your milk production still needs to be there.

6. Lanolin Cream: This is a must if you are planning to breastfeed to any degree. No matter how good your baby’s latch you are bound to get soreness and potentially cracking around the nipples and this cream provides relief and aids in repair. It’s also safe for baby so no need to wipe off at each feeding. It usually comes in a small tube which is easy to throw in the diaper bag to take along if you are planning to feed while out and about with your babe.

7. High Chair: My splurge item but well worth it. I bought this after seeing a friend of mine use it for her daughter. It was sleek and stylish, it fit her home decor seamlessly, but it was also functional in that the set had all the pieces to grow with your baby. This bundle includes high chair, baby set, food tray and seat cushion. Another big plus for me was the fact that her daughter could sit on this chair in a harness but not need a tray. She could sit along with the family at the dinner table. This chair can also hold 300 lbs of weight so it is very well made. It can later be used as a desk chair as its made with ergonomics in mind as well.

8. Bibs: I remember thinking these bibs were way too expensive for a set of only 2. Little did I know at the time they were the only 2 bibs I was ever going to need. I kid you not when I say I bought these bibs before having my first daughter over 5 years ago and I am now using them for my second daughter and they are still in like new condition. The greatness of being able to rinse and reuse is incredibly handy. Any mom can vouch for me when I say dishes and laundry pile up very quickly so to have a bib you can rinse and not have to toss in the sink and one that you also don’t have to add to the laundry pile is amazing! But if you are looking to clean up a big mess quick it is also dishwasher safe. This is a purchase you will not regret!

9. Tableware: This seems very random but for some reason I had a very hard time finding unbreakable sectioned plates for my kids. My usual scour of the internet had me stumble upon these plates and we love them! They are sectioned in 3 perfect sizes for child size portions, they come in an array of colours and they are light yet durable. They are stackable which is always nice for storage. This line comes with cups and utensils as well if you are looking for matching sets. And last but not least they don’t break the bank!

10. Bottle Warmer: Our bottle warmer did the job but it had it’s faults the biggest being that it didn’t have a timer or light to indicate it was on and warming. Not having a light to indicate it is on can simply result in forgetting the warmer is on which is a fire hazard. This one is simple to use, has a light to indicate it is on and certain times set for warming a small bottle of milk, a large bottle of milk or baby food. If I was to purchase a new warmer now this is the one I would get.

11. Bottle/Nipple Brush: A simple enough item but necessary. The reason a put this on the list is they are not all the same. I like this one in particular because it is not only a bottle brush but the handle is also a nipple brush. The nipple brush on other brands is made of silicone which I found didn’t clean as well. This brush has bristles that get in to all the small crevices of the bottle, nipple and lid.

12. Cup: We had been using the matching cups to the sectioned plates above. We still have them and we like them except they do leak. My older daughter is quite good and not tipping over her bottle but the little one loves to turn her bottle upside down, drop it off the table, shake it in the car so she needed something spill proof. Just recently my sister in law came by for a playdate with her daughter and introduced me to these bottles and wow! They are beyond awesome. Such a cute style, great size and most important– spill proof! Hallelujah! Sold!

13. Utensils: And last but not least– utensils. I never found good utensils with my older daughter. I purchased a package of low cost ones and we’d just been making due. Then on social media I saw these and was intrigued to try. My little one seems to be doing really well with these. The handles make it easy for her to grip with her little hands and aids her in feeding herself. As a matter of fact she used the fork today to eat spaghetti like a champ!

And there you have it! I tried to give brief descriptions of each item not to make this post too long winded. Of course, if you have any further questions about any of the items I listed please feel free to leave a comment in the section below or email me.

Also for your convenience I’ve added everything to my Amazon shop:

www.amazon.ca/shop/theagencyblog

Again I hope you found this series helpful! Let me know what you want to see next on the blog. Now that I’m practicing social distancing I’ll have time to give my side hustle the attention it deserves. LOL.

Stay safe!