I feel like I was super chill and “whatever, go with the flow” the first time and then I realized that there are certain baby products that make your life as a parent… easier? less hectic? I don’t know if either of those are the words I’m looking for, but they’re the ones that popped into my mind.

YAAAS, a high chair was one of those MUST HAVE items that I knew I had to have for my second little star. And am I ever happy that I got it for Lucas. This kid started showing interest in solids, so as soon as he was able to sit up on his own and have great head/neck control we popped him right into his Joovy Nook so he could P L A Y; I mean eat.

And he went in. Sol was (and still is) all about the BABY LED WEANING and his Nook was the perfect high chair for his messy, yet delicious eating journeys.

I love The Nook for several obvious reasons. The first, the colour; just look at that vibrant blue, my fave. Heads up, the Joovy Nook is available in 5 beautiful solid colours. Also, the deluxe, padded leatherette seat makes cleaning super easy. You can give it a quick wipe down and there aren’t many nooks and crannies where food can creep into. The seat is roomy, full-sized and GROWS with your kid; it accommodates a child up to 50 lbs.

The seat also comes with a a five point harness system to keep little eaters comfortable and safe. Sol is a climber/contortionist, so this feature was super important to me.

I also love that The Nook uses a swing-open tray to simplify mealtime. What does swing-open tray mean? It means that this high chair features a large tray that SWINGS OPEN with a one-hand motion. SAY WHAT? Yeah, you DON’T need both of your hands to open The Nook’s tray. SWEET, right? Because we all know how annoying and time consuming lining up rails can be while having a kid throw food or an epic tantrum. lol. I’ve had Sol on my hip many times, while opening The Nook swing-open tray with one hand; easy peasy. But, if you want to use both your hands to remove the tray, that’s coo too. Because you can fully remove the tray to clean thoroughly. And, when your ready to have your little one eat at the table, remove the tray completely and pull it right up to the table!

Oh, about that tray, it is adjustable; The Nook has four depth adjustments for the tray as your child grows. This is great because it keeps a lot of food OFF your little ones laps and on their tray…or the floor! LOL. Who doesn’t love a grow-with-me product?

The Nook also has a dishwasher safe top that sits on top the main tray. This makes feeding a little bit cleaner, since you can just pop the dishwasher safe tray off to wash and the bottom one is clean.

If you’ve got a tight eating space, whether it’s the kitchen, living room or dining room The Nook is the feeding chair you’ve beenneeding. It folds compactly (tray attached) with a one-hand motion. I love this feature because it makes our space feel bigger. Once babe is done eating, the feeding chair gets folded up and put away in the pantry.

And get this, the Joovy Nook comes fully assembled and is ready to go. Seriously, just pull it out of the box, and unfold. There is no ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. *Mind blown* right? Hahaha.

So, if you’re looking for a high chair, I highly recommend The Nook. So many great features that will grow with your child from birth up to 50 pounds. I’d also love to know what are some features that YOU look for in a feeding chair for babies.

The post 10 Reasons Why We Love the Joovy Nook appeared first on Nina on the Moon.

Whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding, mom’s got to keep cool, but most importantly, comfy. With my first, I think I bought one nursing/feeding bra, and it was garbage after a couple of months. Seriously, it went in the garbage because it sucked. So I lived in sports bras. Anyways, this time (second) around, I wasn’t playin. I knew what I wanted in a nursing bra: easy to use, functional and well bonus points if it was cute. Because LAWD knows most nursing bras are just UGH-gly.

Dairy Fairy Bra

And that’s when I found The Dairy Fairy; the ORIGINAL and ONLY all-in-one bra designed for the specific needs of feeding and pumping. I love my Dairy Fairy bra for several reasons. First, it’s beautiful and makes me feel just that, beautiful and amazing. It’s dual functionality: I can use it for nursing and handfree pumping. And not only is it pretty, but it’s also comfortable too. Oh, and get this, it also adjusts to fit your fluctuating breast size. YUP. I get to wear the same bra when my boobs are super engorged and about to explode, and when they’re empty and feeling like some shrivelled grapes, jajaja. Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Super easy and straight forward to use. So whether you breastfeed or pump, you’ve got to get a Dairy Fairy bra.

Feeding Friendly Shirt

In a previous post, I talked about how again, with my first pregnancy/child I never bothered getting some breastfeeding shirts. Like the nursing bra, I wasn’t going to commit this mistake again the second time around. Nursing wear just makes your life so much easier. There’s no need to be pulling up, pulling down, or even covering yourself because nowadays, nursing apparel is comfy and discreet. Most of the time, you can’t even tell when someone is breastfeeding while wearing a nursing shirt. Don’t believe me, just take a look at a couple of photos of me breastfeeding in a Milk Nursing Wear dress here. Or, a Momzelle sweater here.

Nursing Pillow

GAME CHANGER. Nursing pillows are saviours, less body pain (back, neck, shoulder, arms, you name it) thanks to these pillows. Breastfeeding pillows make feeding more comfortable, especially for mom. I still have a couple of my nursing pillows lying around and use them. You can check out My Breastfriend review here.

Feeding Essentials for Moms After Birth

Once I was in my second trimester, I felt like I was snacking and hydrating ALL. THE. TIME. And, it hasn’t stopped since, especially after birthing baby. One of the things my mom has always been on my case about is making sure I was fed and hydrated, especially during the newborn stage.

Pura Water Bottle

If you’re breastfeeding, it’s important to keep hydrated. My rule of thumb for keeping hydrated while breastfeeding is to have a glass of water everytime baby was on the boob. Enough to quench my thirst. I always made sure to have my Pura Water Bottle right by my side when breastfeeding. And if I didn’t, I’d definetly get an ear full from my mom about how important it is to keep hydrated.

Obvi, water is the best to keep hydatred. To change things up, throw some fresh fruit into your water bottle. Also, aguas frescas, yumm, so refreshing and thirst quenching.

Snacks

Just like keeping hydrated, snacking is just as important while breastfeeding. You’ve got to keep that fuel going while breastfeeding as it takes up so many nutrients. Some of my favourite snack while breastfeeding are:

• Lactation cookies
• Peanut butter and apple slices
• Almond butter and banana
• LaraBars/LaraBites

• Hardboiled egg with peanut butter
• Oatmeal

These are just a handful of my favourite Feeding Essentials for Moms who are breastfeeding or bottle feeding. These essentials will make feeding more comfortable and also keep mama bear fuelled. I’d love to hear what some of your feeding essentials were for breastfeeding or bottle feeding in the comments.

The post Feeding Essentials for Moms (Breastfeeding and Bottle). appeared first on Nina on the Moon.

Don’t compare your infant feeding journey to anybody else’s infant feeding journey because they’re different. Every baby is different. And every feeding experience is different too. Remember that! Seriously, I mean it. I have two kids and both of my infant feeding journeys have been different. So I can’t even imagine comparing our experiences to someone else’s.

For example, as soon as Luna was born, she was immediately placed on top of my chest and into my arms for that skin to skin goodness. And almost instantly, she found her way to my breast and just latched on. She was a pro. We never had any issues with latch or sore, chapped nipples. Amazing, I know! And our breastfeeding journey was just shy of two years.

Now, my little Sol was different. Like Luna he was immediately put onto my chest and into my arms after being born. But, he just wanted to cuddle and nuzzle right into me. I’ll admit, I almost started asking myself WHY he wasn’t interested in my boob, but then I remembered to RELAX.

Babies are different and each breastfeeding journey is different too! Also, my midwives reminded me that he was was just born, that both of us needed to rest, and he may show interest in a couple hours. So, a couple hours later, I offered him my breast, and tried latching him on.  It was different. A couple days down the road, and he still didn’t have the latching down, leaving my nipples sore and super tender/achy.

But, my mom and midwives were great breastfeeding support! They would remind me to remain calm, that he was still little and that we would figure this out together! And my midwives breastfeeding tip was to put him in the football position, and put him on my boob all the time. And sure enough, about a couple weeks into our breastfeeding journey our latching improved, and he got the hang of things! No more sore nipples, just leaky boobs hahaha.

5 Tips for Feeding Infants:

1. Feed on demand.
2. Don’t compare your feeding experience to someone else’s.
3. When baby eats, mama drinks. Gotta stay hydrated!
4. Don’t worry about the mess.
5. Feed with confidence. Fed is best!

Babies are different. And so is each feeding experience. From breastfeeding, to formula feeding, bottle feeding, and solids too!

For example, I remember trying to feed Luna all kinds of foods when she started solids. From purees, to cereals, finger foods, ANYTHING and the girl just didn’t budge. She had no interest in solids, and that lasted a good while.

Her brother on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He’s been into solids for about a month now, and is just loving food. I think he’ll eat just about anything you put in front of him. From purees, to little pieces of salmon and even soups. Seriously, today he had pho tai.

So remember, each baby is different, and so is their eating. I know, it’s hard not to compare and stress out. What’s that saying, “Food before one, is just for fun?” But, if you’ve ever had any questions about infant nutrition, make sure to head over to the Happy Family Infant Feeding Platform where you can find infant an array of feeding advice and infant feeding support.  And chat live with Happy Mama Milk Mentors.

The Happy Family Infant Feeding support Platform with premium products and expert resources. Happy Family arms parents with nutrition experts, lactation consultants, and trustworthy products to help achieve exceptional, tailored nutrition for their infants.

Happy Family is the only baby food brand to offer expert feeding advice through live chat with Cornell-Certified nutritionists and lactation specialists (and all moms!) that are available up to eight hours a day. They’re there to answer your lactation and nutritional questions and to offer support.

The post Our Infant Feeding Experience and 5 Tips for Feeding Infants appeared first on Nina on the Moon.

Boob Glass Bottles are designed for comfort, durability and efficiency. They are BPS, BPA, phthalate, and lead free. The nipples are soft and durable, making it easy for babies to transition from breast to boob (bottle).

Take extra care of your Boob Glass baby bottle by adding a colourful silicone sleeve that will help protect from breakage. The silicone sleeves come in 5 vibrant colours that not only cushion the Boob bottle, but also adds a little pop of fun. It’s easy to slip on and slip off.

The joovy Boob Glass Gift Set also includes two breast pump adapters that are compatible with my Medela pump. And two sealing caps. For a complete list of what’s included in the Boob Glass Gift Set, keep on scrolling to the bottom!

Why we love the joovy Boob GLASS Baby Bottle:

1. Doesn’t stain or absorb odor/flavour.
2. Easy to clean.
3. Better for the environment.
4. Naturally insulates fluids.
5. Dishwasher safe.
   

The joovy Boob Glass Gift Set is the perfect baby shower gift, as it has all the essentials for feeding baby:

5 oz./160ml Bottles with stage 1 nipples  (3)
5 oz. Turquoise Sleeve (1)
8oz./240ml Bottles with stage 2 nipples (3)
8 oz. Turquoise Sleeve (1)
Stage 0 nipples (2)
Breast Pump Adapters (2)
Sealing Caps (2)
Formula Dispenser (1)
Bottle Brush (1)
Nipple Brush (1)

All included essentials are dishwasher safe and BPS, BPA, phthalate, and lead free.

Check out my Boob Baby Bottle Glass Gift Set unboxing here. So if you have a baby shower to attend, or want to start using glass bottles for your little babe, definitely look into joovy Boob Glass Baby Bottles.

The post 5 Reasons We Love joovy Boob Glass Baby Bottles appeared first on Nina on the Moon.

DISCLOSURE: I received this product for my editorial consideration and I decided to review it, based on my own experience and opinions.

Breastfeeding needs to be comfortable for mama and baby, especially since we do it  all day, everyday. Before receiving My Brest Friend I was using pillows to support my arms and her head. And I must admit that after a couple of minutes it wasn’t very comfortable for me; my arms, back and neck  ached. It seemed like I was always adjusting baby girl since the surface wasn’t firm.

As soon as I received My BrestFriend, I put it into use. I thought it was going to be a hastle to adjust it, but it was very easy. I simply wrapped My BrestFriend around my waist and clicked the buckle. The waist strap is easy to adjust  for the perfect fit.

My BrestFriend is firm and flat, which keeps baby girl close to me and latched-on. My BrestFriend has a back rest that helps posture during feeding, which totally prevented my back and neck from aches. There are also arm/elbow rests that prevent my shoulder tension.

The fabric is soft and plush. The cover is easy to clean; you can machine wash on gentle cycle or even spot clean. There is also a convenient pocket on My BrestFriend that is great for storing nursing accessories and anything else you want to have within reach. I usually had chapstick, burp cloth, nipple cream, granola bar, and a watter bottle in the pocket.

My Brest Friend retails for $51. I highly recommend this product for all breastfeeding mothers, it really makes breastfeeding more comfortable.

The post My Brestfriend Review appeared first on Nina on the Moon.