Becoming a parent for the first time is the most joyous and sometimes overwhelming event to plan for.
Most of us, when asked, think of a wedding as one of life’s biggest events to plan for but in reality, planning for your new arrival and their needs both as a baby and a child is on a whole new scale.
Having worked with new parents for over 20 years, the one thing that comes up time and time again when preparing for baby is to look at the many stages of development and plan accordingly.
During pregnancy, it can be tempting to panic and buy everything you need from birth to preschool and be left with a home fit to burst at the seams with equipment and hardware! A lot of which may never get out of the box!
A saturation of advice is available online with social media, forums and magazines. But also listen to friends, family and professionals such as your helpful health visitor and midwife who will be happy to share their experiences and recommendations.
See also: NHS Treats Baby With ‘World’s Most Expensive Drug’
Feeding
There will be many opinions and suggestions on the topic of baby feeding. Your first few months are going to be filled with milky cuddles whether breast or bottle feeding and comfort is key. Invest in a support pillow and enjoy your comfiest chair for peaceful feeding sessions.
Before you know it baby will be ready to start the exciting next stage of weaning! In this stage we are looking for more than just comfort. Hygiene and an ability to bring baby into family’s mealtime are both vital and just as important as finding the perfect highchair for your personal living space.
Baby is ready for a highchair from around six months of age or as soon as they can support their head independently. Looking for a product that can easily be wiped down is super important as baby led weaning is not only a fun and exciting experience, but often can be a very messy part of the day!
Do you need the highchair to be stored away when not in use or are you looking for an extended part of furniture to blend into your home? Can you feed to table to make sure that baby is fully included with family mealtimes? All considerations that might not seem obvious but ideally a highchair purchase will last for a long time and possibly be used for more than one baby so it is best to make sure you make the right choice for what works best for your family.
Mobility
As confidence with independent feeding and baby’s mobility progresses, a very popular choice is to invest in a dining chair booster seat or a toddler sized table and chair so that baby can feel that they are taking ownership of mealtime. This is more suited to baby when they are around a year old and can see you right through until their early primary years.
When you finally feel as if you have mastered the art of baby’s meal time there is just one more thing to consider – meal times on the go. A travel booster seat is a fantastic and not too expensive investment to make meal times on the go so much easier for you and baby. Look for a lightweight and compact option; leaving the house with baby can already be a mammoth task with the amount of equipment you will want so a carry handle is a great feature to look out for.
Our advice to parents is to consider the progression of feeding phases and to look out for multi-functional products that can take care of all your needs. As parents with many years of experience with both children and grandchildren Red Kite have given lots of consideration into the essential need’s parents will want and offers a practical range of feeding solutions to suit most homes and budgets including an option for those looking for an all-in-one solution, we have that covered too.
For more information on the full Red Kite range, please visit our website: www.redkitebaby.co.uk
