At some point, unless someone is a stay at home mom, bottle feeding becomes a necessary way to feeding a baby.  We started introducing bottles at two months, however when I went back to work it became the only way we fed Jellybean.  Bottle feeding was such an adjustment for our schedules.  Bottles require a lot more planning, dishes and effort than nursing!  I absolutely took for granted the convenience of having milk ‘on tap’ for my daughter while on maternity leave.  It took a few weeks, but the we got a routine down with the bottles.  We also made some additional purchases, which made our lives easier.  With the exception of one of these items, it doesn’t matter if you are using exclusively pumped milk or formula – I believe – these items are must haves.  Great things to put on a baby registry even if they won’t be needed for a couple of months (or weeks, day, hours or whatever your time frame is).

Favorite Bottle Feeding Products  |  Life's Tidbits

1 &2 – Stem & Drying Rack
The grass drying rack came up on SO many of the must have baby registries I looked at.  Before Jellybean arrived I purchased the drying rack, however the stem was an impulse buy when we were at Buy Buy Baby.  The stem adds extra space to dry the nipples and such, PLUS it doesn’t take up additional counter space.

3 – Formula Mixing Pitcher
When we transitioned away from using only breast milk I quickly started dreading making formula. It took an annoying amount of time to shake each bottle and ensure all the formula dissolved. My husband was doing one of our many Amazon purchases and impulse bought the mixing pitcher.  He figured it was worth a try and a the price point was low enough even if it didn’t work it wouldn’t have been a huge deal.  While I still don’t love making formula it certainly makes the process faster and easier!!

4 – Munchkin Bottle and Nipple Brush
A bottle brush is kind of a given.  I did a lot of research for our baby registry and the munchkin bush was very highly recommended … I’m a big fan!

5 – Bottles and Nipples (any brand your baby likes)
Duh!  This is kind of key to bottle feeding.  If I was to purchase bottles again I would buy only three 4 ounce bottles and the rest I would get the 8 ounce bottles.  You can always put less in an 8 oz bottle, but clearly more doesn’t fit in the 4 oz ones.  Read about our decision to use Dr. Brown bottles with preemie nipples here.

6 – Bibs
I really didn’t find the need for bibs while I was exclusively breastfeeding (EBF).  Once we started using bottles more often it quickly became apparent if I didn’t want to change my daughter’ clothes after each feeding we were going to have to start putting a bib on her.  I’m not entirely sure what the difference is, but baby girl was a much neater eater when nursing.

7 – Dishwasher Basket
Bottle parts (especially when you use bottles like Dr. Brown’s, which have like a gazillion parts) take time to wash.  It is SO much easier to throw all the parts into the basket and run the dishwasher at the end of the day.  We discussed washing the bottles in the dishwasher with our doctor and she said it was totally kosher — in fact it’s how she washer’s her baby boy’s bottles.  The basket keeps all the parts together and we have yet to loose or melt a bottle part.  In fact, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a second basket.

While I don’t need a bottle warmer, I do believe this would be a must have item for most moms.  My little one really doesn’t care if the bottle is warm or cold and since she is one of those babies who wants to eat IMMEDIATELY (like within seconds of deciding she’s hungry) we’ve decided to forgo warming the bottle.

Though I think we have the bottle feeding products down I still haven’t conquered the storage of said bottles and accessories!  What are your favorite item(s) for bottle feeding?  Anything good I’m missing?

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on PinterestInstagramFacebook and Twitter.

Share

I had so much fun during Jellybean’s 2 month photo shoot!  She made some adorable faces so it was hard for me to only include two photos in this post, but I restrained myself from inundating you with pictures.  Over the past month I have made no progress on the schedule front and though I have “nothing” to show for my days, they fly by.  I love being at home with my daughter {why does it still feel weird to say/write daughter?!} and DREAD the thought of going back to work full time!!!  As the weather is slowly starting to warm up I’m ever so hopeful JB and I will be able to go on more walks in my last few weeks at home with her.  Jellybean’s little smiles make everything right in my world.  I spend the majority of the time she is awake trying to make her smile – thank goodness no one is recording me, I’m sure I look pretty silly most of the time.  :)

A few tidbits about the second month …

2monthsold

Headband is from Etsy

Sleeping

Jellybean is sleeping anywhere from 3 to 7 hours during the night (which I define as 9pm to 8am).  We are ever so thankful for the long periods of sleep.  I find when she sleeps over 4 hours I wake up abruptly and immediately lean over the bed to ensure Jellybean is OK.  It’s a weird feeling to be thankful for the sleep and freaked out all at the same time!

Eating

This month we officially introduced bottles and we are very lucky it went smoothly.  My little one doesn’t care if the bottle is hot or cold (winning!) nor does she have a preference of who feeds her the bottle.  Jellybean just wants to eat!  I haven’t had any issues with nipple confusion either (maybe I shouldn’t say this out-loud or it will become an issue).  Breastfeeding coupled with bottles has truly made life easier.  The husband can feed baby while I cook dinner, blog or heck take a shower.

While the transition from nursing to both bottles and nursing went well finding the right bottle was another story.  We started off with Advent bottles and their natural nipples.  JB was “shot gunning the bottles” as my husband so eloquently {LOL} told the doctor.  She was eating way too fast, which resulted in her crying because she didn’t realize she was full after finishing the bottle as well as spitting up a lot.  The doctor recommended we switch to Dr. Brown bottle and use a preemie nipple.  The preemie nipple has the slowest nipple flow available.  We saw an immediate and positive difference in Jellybean’s bottle feedings once we made the switch.   My biggest complaint with bottle feeding is cleaning/storing/organizing the bottles.  It looks like bottle pieces exploded on our counter top! :)  Any suggestions on how to manage all these bottles would be much appreciated!!

Wearing

Quickly after posting Jellybean’s first month round up she moved into size 1 diapers.  She is also no longer fitting into her newborn clothes and is wearing all 0-3 month sizes.  Some 0-3 month clothes are still too big on her … seems to be different brands run differently … not really a shocker hahaha.  I’m really enjoying having a new set of clothes to dress the little one up in.  Her wardrobe is quite large – she’s a little fashionista!

Milestones

Smiles and “giggles”/coos.

Rocking tummy time and gaining more control over her head each day.

Sucks on her hand, which according to the doctor is the first step towards self soothing.

Rolls onto her side consistently.

Random Tidbits

I started singing the Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes song to the munchkin during week 7 and she just loves it (at least someone enjoys my singing…I must admit I have a horrible voice).  Sometimes I make the movements with my hands and other times I use hers, but either way she smiles and coos while I sing.

She has also started to enjoy the play mat.  She will play by herself for about 5 to 15 minutes without crying or needing me to sit by her.  I try to use this “free” time wisely by going through the mail, switching the laundry or snapping a few photos of her playing.  It’s really fun to watch her eyes wide open as she {somewhat accidentally} knocks the toys around and the lights change color.

2monthsold_blackwhite

What is your favorite tidbit from your baby’s second month?

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below.  Don’t forget you can follow us on PinterestInstagramFacebook and Twitter.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Share