Having raised a now almost 3 year old, I'm happy to share with you my experience of watching our son grow from a nipple-suckling newborn into a sugar-seeking toddler.
Please keep in mind that I am not an expert on child development when it comes to nutrition and I am not a female, so I cannot offer too much personal insight on breastfeeding from a woman's perspective, but here goes...
Breastfeeding -
I want to first commend my amazing wife for being able to commit to a strict schedule of consistent breastfeeding of our son for up to 18 months! I know it's not an easy task; the late nights and working around her schedule to pump and store mom's milk just to provide for our child's insatiable appetite is a daunting responsibility. I do remember (some) of the late nights when she had to wake up several times in the middle of the night to take him out of his crib and either sit in the glider to feed and when she was more comfortable position him at the bedside as she nursed him. Needless to say she had many sleepless nights, but she made the commitment to ensure the health and growth of our little one. For the days when she went back to work, she had to pump a fresh batch in the mornings to get him through the day, and freeze any excess for night time. I remember, we had two nursing pumps which were covered by our medical insurance providers. So that's my first tip...definitely take advantage of any perks that your health insurance provider offers for maternity. Breastfeeding in itself is a more cost-effective approach, as it's the best natural food for your child, and it costs nothing, so we should certainly appreciate any mom that can offer her child bodily nourishment for the entire duration of infancy.
For nursing moms, we do offer an amazing product that is a multi-purpose maternity nursing cover that fits conveniently on your car seat or stroller.
Teething -
For those babies that are growing in their first sets of teeth, it's a stressful process for both the baby and parent. Teething often is accompanied with obvious discomfort for the child which can manifest into a slight cold or fever. Babies will want to chew on things such as soft toys to relieve some of the discomfort. There are also teethers that you can freeze that will ease some of your child's gum pains. One product that we do offer is a fruit nibbler. This is the perfect way to introduce your baby to solid foods without having them actually eat it for fear of choking. The nipple is full of holes so any fruits or vegetables that you load into the silicone nibbler, your baby will be able to chew on and get a taste.
Table Foods -
When your child grows to become a semi or full-toothed toddler, now is when the fun begins because you can experiment with different foods. I remember the very first spoonful of food our son had was greek yogurt, and to this day he still loves it. He graduated to jar or squeezy baby food from the small sqeeze packs with interesting food combinations such as barley, broccoli and apple. As he grew older, we introduced more solid, but mushy foods such as avocados, yogurt melts or peanut and almond butters. Today, all our toddler eats is chicken nuggets, french fries with mounds of ketchup, crackers, breads and cakes. We were at a Wedding the other week and he literally stood next to the cake table drooling next to the towering frosty sugar stacks. He used to love vegetables, but now it takes a forklift to even get a piece of broccoli near his mouth. He still loves fruits though. Then there's the messy foods such as spaghetti or ice cream. We always make sure to carry around one of our foldable, compact silicone baby bibs which travels very easily and is super easy to clean with a baby wipe or water rinse.
*Don't forget to check out our other products in our baby feeding collection.
For you moms and dads out there, just know that feeding your little one can be a stressful but fun experience. Don't be afraid to experiment. Hey, if you're a new parent, you have to try the lemon test at least just once! Just be wary of any allergies that your baby may have, but enjoy every moment because some of the best moments you'll have with them will be around your breakfast or dinner table.