Baby stuff: 0-12 months feeding

My last "baby stuff" post was all about contraptions. This one is all about feeding. I still enjoy reading all about baby gear (the good, the bad, the unnecessary, etc.) and wanted to share what worked for us and what didn't. Feeding items is one of those debatable topics because obviously you can just breastfeed and not need most of this gear. It didn't work out like that for me so I ended up with a bunch of stuff related to feeding AND breastfeeding -- though that could probably be its own post. But anyway... here goes:

breast pump - I registered for this even though I could have gotten one free from my insurance. After breastfeeding wasn't easy for me, I was happy to have this and know that it was new and it worked really well. I used it 8 times a day for 4 months. It was basically a third arm. I bought extra parts so that I had multiples and didn't have to wash every piece right after each pump (good idea for night time because nothing was worse than washing parts in the middle of the night just to have them clean for the next pump as the minutes are quickly passing and all you want to do is sleep). I also loved the cooler it came with and we still use that daily.

drying rack - This was good for us because we hand washed all the bottles and pump parts after every use. This fit a bunch of pieces but still fit inside our cabinet (important because we have cats...). I recommend it if you plan to hand wash items. If you use a dishwasher, it's probably unnecessary.

bottles - I love these bottles and we still use them. They are easy to take a part and clean and Javi was never fussy about bottles as long as he was eating! At first I tried to just have a few bottles so I had less to wash but it wasn't realistic for us. I ended up buying 6 of each size that way if we didn't wash them right away, there was still a bottle ready for his next feed. In the beginning especially, this was important. Now he's more patient... sometimes. The little snack container it came with is something I just started using recently because I forgot about it. I send it to school with him, and it's nice because it's divided and I can pack 3 different snacks together but separate. Ours doesn't seal all the way though so that's annoying because sometimes it opens in his bag.

bibs - Bibs are obviously important because babies are messy but these ones were awful. I wanted white ones because I like more natural looking/light items but the idea of a white bib is just dumb. Quick way to gain stains once they start eating food. They also didn't velcro together and would always fall off him. Once he could pull down he would pull on it so hard and the tough velcro would cut the back of his neck. Bibs with snaps are the way to go.

burb cloths - These are great. My aunts decorated them a bit by sewing colorful fabric down the center of each burb cloth. But babies spit up a lot. Javi did, anyway. We used these to protect our clothes, the couch, the bed... and everywhere else we put him down. We got a ton of them and probably didn't need so many but once they're decorated they fall under the "but they're just so cute" category.

bottle warmer - I think this is one of those things that some people see as unnecessary but I love it. Whenever I wasn't home and had to heat up bottles with hot water in a bowl I would get annoyed because the warmer is just so simple and quick. I do wish it had a "beep" sound after being on for so many minutes though. There were definitely times I totally forgot about a bottle sitting in the warmer and a "hey, I'm here" reminder would be nice.

baby bullet - When Javi was about 4 months, we were gifted this. I really loved and appreciated receiving it but I was never good at making his baby food. Sean did it a few times but Javi still wasn't ready to eat it so it went uneaten. I don't think this is necessary unless you are going to put in the time to make the food. For us it was easier to buy the pouches, which he sort of started eating at the same time as solid food, so there was no longer the need to puree his food. If you're a super clean eater and want to know exactly what's in baby's food -- you should get this.

highchair - We have a similar chair but a different pattern. I like that it sits on top of one of the regular chairs at our table so we don't need a whole other space for a different seat. I think I like this seat... I'd say the jury is still out. I feel like the seat is positioned so he sits too far back and sometimes I'm afraid he'll choke since he's leaning back. It's easy to clean because the cover comes right off but the buckle is not easy to clean and gets nasty pretty quickly. The tray also confuses me a bit because it never locks in place and makes a clicking sound during every meal when it finally clicks into place. I'm nervous it'll pinch him!

This rounds up what we used for feeding! :)