My baby is almost three months and I cannot believe how quickly time flies but my third baby girl is almost 16 pounds and growing so much! There are so many things I look forward when having babies. One of them is having them close and nursing them. The connection with the baby is essential the first year especially since the baby has spent almost 10 months inside a mother.
Well, baby carrying is something I truly enjoy and love. I simply love having a baby close to my heart and I have proven that when a baby is fussy, wearing a baby calms and soothes them. It is also perfect for when a baby is colicky as well. It is very magical too! I wear my carriers even more now since I have two toddlers under the age of 5 to chase around. It makes it ideal for outings like at church, the park, and pretty much everywhere especially the grocery store.
Chicco has come out with a new carrier called Close To You Infant Carrier. It is a multi-use baby carrier with three positions to accommodate baby’s growth: facing in, facing out, or on mom or dad’s back. I tried it on while my daughter was a month old but it has proven a little more comfortable as she has been older now that her hips and legs can straddle over the seat of the carrier. There are feet rests for newborns but it just was not the best fit for me. The two-piece vest/carrier design allows the parent vest to be fitted and adjusted separately before attaching the baby carrier. Once the carrier is attached, it opens out fully from the vest to help get baby in and out more easily.
Since the carrier is made of polyester I did not enjoy wearing the carrier during the end of the summer. It made me feel hot and created more heat within the carrier. Truth be told, there were just too many instructions for using this carrier and made me feel like I was wearing a breastplate. Since I am busy with two younger toddlers, trying to manage this carrier, that takes at least 5 minutes if not more of adjusting on the body, was not ideal for my life. I hope to give it a lot more chances as the baby gets older and as I get used to the steps it takes to insert the baby in the carrier.
Now that I have three kiddos the demands are different. Since I juggle many things throughout the day that nursing the baby becomes a challenge. Let’s just say that I have had to alter a few things to make my day more manageable, like pumping and feeding the baby from a bottle. If there has been anything like multitasking, I know all about it. Now that I have my oldest in preschool, sometimes it is hard to get the baby fed because breakfast is getting made, lunches packed and well, the baby is just a great sleeper, I just let her sleep until we need to leave.
Since she sleeps in, then I use a pump to have a bottle ready for the baby to consume on our way to errands. Sound a little stressful? Well, it works and I guess we have to do the best that works which does not mean it will not change later it just means that for now, bottle feeding has been working for the busier times of day.
How has the baby taken to the bottle at 3 months? Transitioning to a bottle was a little challenging with my older two girls but this baby girl took on the Chicco bottles on the first try. I recently wrote about the bottles HERE but I have been using them a little more and I have loved them! There are bottles for babies in different stages. Stage One are designed for newborn babies. There are two different size bottles coming in a 5-ounce and 8-ounce bottle and are either available with a slow-flow or medium-flow nipple.
There are two other stages of bottles that Chicco also has available that comes in the amazing sterilizer that is available for first time moms or just for moms that need a replacement bottle system. The whole set is called All You Need Starter Set and it comes with the stage one bottles, an 11-ounce bottle with a fast flow nipple, a teether, a bottle brush, pacifiers and a microwavable sterilizer. It really is enough to start with in the beginning months and I have especially enjoyed it.
I feel blessed to have a great baby who easily transitioned to a bottle. We tried the soft silicone teethers for her and while she tried them out for a bit she ended up spitting them out. I only gather that they are little too big for her mouth but I look forward having her try them as she gets older.
Disclosure: Thanks to Chicco for letting me review these products. All opinions and photos are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, which means I receive a percentage if you make a purchase using this link.
