Making sure that our babies grow and thrive is every parent’s top priority. Whether your family chooses to breastfeed or formula-feed your baby, you’ll need some products to get you through your baby’s first year of feeding. We’ve tested many products, and we’re sharing some of our favorite products you need for feeding your little one in the first year.
Best Baby Feeding Products for the First Year
First, You’ll Need Some Bottles
Every family needs a few bottles in their home to help with baby’s feedings. Even if you plan on exclusively breastfeeding, there might be times when you need to run out of the house, or maybe you would like your partner to help with a feeding or two. This is why all families need at least a few baby bottles.
Comotomo Bottles
We love Comotomo bottles because these bottles are designed to closely mimic breastfeeding to reduce bottle rejection and nipple confusion issues. They are made from 100% safe, hygienic silicone, and they are BPA, PVC, and phthalate-free. Babies appreciate the dual anti-colic vents, which prevent unwanted air intake and reduce colic, and parents love the wide-neck design, which helps with easy cleaning. You don’t need a bottle brush with these!
We tried their Baby Bottle Bundle, which includes two 5-ounce bottles, two 8-ounce bottles, and a package each of their slow-flow, medium-flow, and fast-flow replacement nipples. It’s a great bundle to give as a gift to an expecting family. Their bottle colors come in green or pink.
Dr. Brown’s Bottles
We are big fans of Dr. Brown’s bottles and love their convertible bottle that can be used with or without their vent system! Their new vent system is designed to grow with your baby. We recommend using this system to experience all the health benefits of this bottle. It helps reduce feeding problems, helps digestion, and helps preserve milk nutrients like Vitamins C, A, and E, which are critical for health in infancy.
Some moms and dads find removing the vent a convenient option (since there is less to assemble and clean) as their baby grows and their feedings become more developed. The nipple venting creates a paced flow and provides a feeding experience similar to most nipple-vented bottles. Something else that we love about their bottles is that they fit with most breast pumps, so you can pump directly into them! They are BPA-free and made in the USA. And their bottles are known for reducing colic, spit-up, burping, and gas.
The Infant Gift Set comes with three 8-ounce baby bottles with level 1 nipples, two 4-ounce baby bottles with level 1 nipples, two-level 2 nipples, two storage caps, one Prevent Butterfly Pacifier, and two cleaning brushes.
PopYum Bottles
We love PopYum bottles and have been recommending them for years. (You can read our full review about PopYum bottles and watch our video of them here.) If you’re looking for an easier way to formula feed your baby, this is definitely the bottle for you. You no longer have to make a mess while trying to make and mix a bottle while out with your baby. All you need is this bottle and with one hand, press the two side buttons, shake a few times, and your bottle is ready to give to your hungry baby! Its wide design eliminates the need for a bottle brush to clean, and their bottle is made of only medical grade silicone and premium polypropylene. It’s also free of BPA, BPS, latex, lead nitrosamines, PET phthalates, PVC, and TPE.
Baby Brezza Formula Pro Advanced
Speaking of formula, if you choose to exclusively formula feed your baby, Baby Brezza’s Formula Pro Advanced will be your best friend! Their award-winning Formula Pro automatically mixes, heats, and dispenses formula or water to the perfect consistency and temperature. It makes the perfect bottle every time. It’s a favorite of many because it works with virtually all formula brands, all bottle types, and it’s fully customizable. You can choose:
- 1-ounce increments between 2-10 ounces
- 3 warming settings (room temp, body temp, warmer than body temperature)
- to prepare a bottle of formula or water only
We also like that the tray adjusts to accommodate large and small bottles. It’s basically the Keurig of preparing formula bottles. Parents can’t get enough of it, and neither can we!
Related:
- Baby Brezza Formula Pro Advanced: Closer Look + Review
- NEW Product: Baby Brezza Formula Pro MINI Review
Now You’re Onto Solids
Once your pediatrician has approved starting solids with your baby, you will need a few new feeding products for successful mealtimes.
Baby Brezza Baby Food Maker
For parents who want to make their own baby food, we recommend checking out Baby Brezza’s Glass One Step Baby Food Maker. It’s the only food maker that automatically steams and blends homemade baby food to the perfect consistency in 1 easy step. The glass bowl makes 4 cups of baby food in as little as 10 minutes, and it’s super easy to use and clean.
Other features that we like are its LCD control panel, fully accessible steam tank, dishwasher-safe bowl and blade, and removable water tank. This baby food maker is also great for non-baby foods! You can use it to steam pasta and vegetables, make hard-boiled eggs, or even soup! It’s an item that you can keep using long after your baby is no longer a baby.
High Chair
Now that you’ve prepared some delicious food for your little one, your baby needs somewhere to sit. There are lots of great high chairs on the market. We really love the Stokke Trip Trap High Chair and the 4moms High Chair.
ezpz First Foods Set
Now that you’ve chosen a place for your baby to sit and eat, you’ll need some bowls and plates for serving. This adorable ezpz First Foods Set makes mealtime less stressful, less messy, and less overwhelming. It comes with a 2-ounce cup, two spoons, and a 5-ounce bowl made from dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe silicone. Their pieces are built to last and will not fade or corrode. The size and design provide the developmental tools you need for your baby’s first foods and drinks, and they help your baby succeed with eating and drinking independence. This is why they are perfect for ages 4 months and up. Also, all of the items are free of BPA, BPS, PVS, phthalates, and latex.
Bella Tunno
Eating can get messy! So your baby needs a bib (or several), of course. Bella Tunno makes fun food-grade silicone bibs that make mealtime cleanup even easier, thanks to a built-in shelf that catches spills and crumbs. They have an adjustable closure on the back of the neck to keep your child comfortable, and their closure is not easy for little hands to rip off. Plus, each bib has a fun saying on it, which is a great conversation piece. Something that we really love is that not only are you keeping your little ones clean during mealtime with their bibs, but each purchase of a Bella Tunno product also gives back and feeds one hungry child.
Bella Tunno bibs are dishwasher safe and have a soft, pliable design that folds for travel or on-the-go snacks. They are free of BPA, PVC, and phthalates, and all of their products are 100% CPSIA compliant – that’s code for safe.
360 Cups
A cup that we also love is Munchkin’s Miracle 360° Cups. When little ones are first learning to drink from cups, even sippy cups, things can get messy. This is why we love this sippy cup because it eliminates spills and messes, and it supports kids’ dental health. Your child can drink from anywhere around the rim, like a regular cup, and the lip-activated rim will allow the liquid to pass through. This helps support normal muscle development in a child’s mouth. The valve then automatically closes when your child is not drinking from it, creating a leak-proof seal. With no extra spouts, straws, or pieces, the Miracle 360˚ Cup is easy to use and clean. Cheers to that!
Grabease
If you’re looking for new utensils for your baby, Grabease utensils are one of the safest ways for your child to start self-feeding. They are designed to allow little ones to eat independently with a proportional tool for their natural hand grasp and motion with a choke protection shield. Their ergonomic design promotes the proper way of holding onto utensils. This is a reason why occupational therapists highly recommend them for children’s finger strength development. The choke protection barrier gives caregivers peace of mind as their children explore and develop confidence during independent eating times.
The Grabease products are BPA-free, phthalate-free, and made of non-toxic plastic. Their individual sets come with one pair of utensils, a spoon, and a fork. The available colors are teal, orange, gray, white, pink, and green.
Re-Play
Once your child has gotten some practice and confidence in self-feeding, we recommend using Re-Play’s feeding products! We absolutely love that their products are made, assembled, and tested in the USA from recycled milk jugs and Recycled Polypropylene that are FDA-approved for Food Contact. The use of recycled plastic reduces greenhouse gases and saves energy. And Re-Play products are easy and fun for toddlers to use and unbelievably durable too! BPA-free, PVC-free, phthalate-free, melamine-free, and dishwasher and microwave-safe.
We love their sets and all the colors that they offer. Plates have deep sides to help little ones who are learning to eat independently. You can choose plates that are divided or have no dividers. The plates divided have three sections, which are perfectly proportioned for your toddler. This way, you can offer various healthy foods at mealtime but still keep foods separate for picky eaters. Re-Play’s utensils are also sized just right for your child, with pudgy handles that are easy to grip and use. Spoons are deep so that food stays put, and forks have blunt tips to keep kids safe.
Busy Baby Mat
As I’m sure you already know, babies and toddlers tend to drop and throw everything. This also happens during mealtimes. Whether you are at home or a restaurant, you can end the “toddler toss” with the first-ever placemat to keep toys in place! This baby placemat sticks to any smooth, clean surface and allows you to tether your baby’s toys to the mat. This placemat comes with tethers to keep toys within arm’s reach and free from germs!
The Busy Baby Mat is a 100% food-grade silicone suction placemat designed for infants and toddlers. It’s a safe place to put your baby’s food and keep toys and pacifiers off the icky floor. Many parents use the mat as a restaurant placemat, while others use it on the baby’s highchair to keep baby entertained. The mat and tethers come with a convenient carrying sleeve so you can roll them up to fit in most purses and diaper bags. And if you’re flying on a plane with your kids, their mat can also be used as an airplane placemat to help keep baby safe from germs. Attach all kinds of things to the mat using the tethers.
The mat and tethers are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup and contain no phthalates, BPA, BPS, or PVC. The adjustable tether straps can go through or around most of the baby’s items and attach to the mat.
There’s everything you need for a successful and happy feeding time for your baby!
