3 Baby Feeding Gadgets for Newborns & Infants
One thing I didn’t fully expect when I had my first baby was how much time it takes to feed one. They don’t eat very fast, but they do eat often and it adds up to many hours, every day. Wouldn’t it be great if you magically just had an extra hand? Or less freakishly, maybe just a good baby feeding gadget.
I think as first time parents, we sometimes get overwhelmed with the vast amount of information that’s out there. And you never truly know what to expect until you actually go through it.
It’s really true that every child, every baby, every journey is so unique, and it’s so different that it’s hard to compare and really give advice when at the heart of it, there are so many specific things to decide. But here’s something that worked for Jeff and I and I’m hoping it will help you guys too.
When we sat down and counted how long it takes to feed Jordan, we were really surprised that in a 24 hour span – it can take anywhere from 4-6 hours each day. That’s almost a full workday spent on just feeding your baby. Most feedings take like 20-30 minutes if you’re lucky with no fussing.
At first, when they’re newborns they eat every hour to two hours, it gradually moves up to every three hours, four hours and so on, but it’s time consuming. I joke and I say that much of motherhood is learning how to do things with one hand (while you carry them in the other) but in reality, you need three hands (or more) to just make this a smooth process. But here are some gadgets that Jeff, the clever person that he is, found online. We didn’t know what would work best, so we tested the 3 most intriguing.
All are under $20 on Amazon and these things have helped us when it comes to feeding Jordan. I do have to stress that I wouldn’t suggest leaving your baby unattended with any of these. It’s just an extra gadget that makes it a little easier, not a babysitter. Just make sure you’re monitoring your baby the whole time. So there’s three things we found:
1. The Baby Stroller Crib Bracket
PROS: What I really love about this is that it not only works, but is versatile. It’s definitely our favorite out of the bunch plus we’re learning to use it better every day. By that, I mean I like that it’s detachable, I can take it around with me pretty easily – from his crib to our bed and even the coffee table in our living room. Just unscrew the clamp and then re-clamp to a solid surface.
We can use it on the crib, we can attach it to our coffee table, our bed, and we even attach it to our dinner table sometimes. It’s good because he can grab the bottle and control how fast he drinks.
CONS: I would say, that given how mobile and strong Jordan is, the top piece does fall off when he pulls too hard. That’s why you really have to monitor him and make sure he hasn’t knocked off the top piece, or moved the nipple out of his mouth. Because you can move it around and change the shape so much at the top, it can be a little flimsy.
Find this one on Amazon *here*
2. The Baby Portable Detachable Feeding
This feeding gadget comes in two pieces. The way it works is that you place the pillow underneath their head and the bottle tucks into the second pillow in a mesh pocket with handles for your baby to hold onto.
PROS: Now this one I think is much better for newborns. If we would have gotten this earlier on in Jordan’s stage, it would have worked better for us because at this point he’s a bit too big, I’d say the narrow 2oz bottles stayed in the mesh best. But I also love how it has a pillow for support because as we learned, babies aren’t supposed to really be drinking laying flat down.
CONS: I didn’t like that the pillow and the other piece, it looks like it attaches but it doesn’t. Looks like there should be velcro but it doesn’t work, which is still fine. When he would move around, a lot of the time the bottle would fall out. Again, you should be monitoring him or her while he’s using this because it would spill sometimes.
Find this one on Amazon *here*
3. The Podee Hands-Free Baby Bottle
This one is supposed to reduce gas while being as easy to use as a pacifier. I was really hoping this would be effective because Jordan loves to hold stuff with his hands, but he never really took to it.
PROS: If it worked properly, it seemed like it could be really useful.What I like about this is it can help him learn how to eat sitting up. And I’m hoping that I can use it while he’s in his lobster seat or high chair at the dining table — that he’s able to get used to sitting up while he eats. I have some hope for this in the future.
CONS: Between us and Jordan, we just haven’t quite put it all together to where he drinks more than an ounce or so, but we’re hoping to adjust to it a little bit more. There are a lot of parts which was a bit confusing to put together at first and also it is harder to clean because there are multiple straws and caps.
Find this one on Amazon *here*
If you try any of these, let me know what you think. And if you have any other suggestions – drop a comment.
