Thank you BabySmart
for providing me with a product to review, free of charge.
These are my own honest opinions.

Time flies… Some days, it hits me and I remember that not so long ago, my oldest (who turned 2 a few months ago) couldn’t walk, that she could fit in these itty bitty onesies, that she could only point and make sounds to ask for something. Then I realize, I don’t have a baby anymore, she’s a ‘big girl’!

How do you know ‘babyhood’ is over?

1. You catch yourself saying ‘no, you can’t have ice cream for breakfast’ or ‘don’t feed blocks to your baby sister’ or ‘jumping off the couch – with or without a Superman cape – is dangerous’ or other similar refusals and warnings WAY too often… If I think before I speak, I try to switch my sentence around for something more positive: ‘For breakfast, you can have toasts or cereals’ or ‘Your baby sister isn’t hungry now’ or ‘You know you can run very fast with your Superman cape, why don’t you show me?’

2. Your little one develops a sense of style. Who’s to say that an orange t-shirt doesn’t go with a pink and purple polka dot skirt and striped socks? Apparently, as long as you have a matching headband, it’s all good! All I have to say about this is: pick your battles! Unless your child chooses to wear a lamp cord around her neck, let it go.

3. You’re in the infamous potty training stage (or dreading it, maybe?) We’ve just achieved this great milestone and I can’t tell you how happy and proud I am of my little girl. We’d been practising elimination communication almost since birth but less and less regularly over the last year or so. She had been very resistant since the arrival of her little sister so I took a step back and tried to be patient. It was soooo hard because I knew she could do it but she wanted some control and it meant that she refused to use the potty all together even though she’d been using it to poo with virtually no accidents for over a year. I’m sure you’re heard it before from other parents but patience IS really the key. They’ll come around. And for me, I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but a small piece of candy or a sticker as a reward worked wonders!

4. You now have a picky eater. I know not all toddlers are picky eater but mine kind of became one recently. It’s not that she doesn’t like certain foods, it’s just that she’ll choose not to eat them that day. We simply have a ‘2 bite’ rule in our house now. Whatever we serve her, she needs to eat 2 bites of it. Sometimes she even forgets how many bites she’s had and she’ll keep eating. Now I don’t force her to eat if she’s full but if she says she wants desert, then I know she’s not full. I don’t threaten to not give her desert because I don’t want it to become a reward (says the mom who gave her kid candy to encourage her to use the potty…) She’ll get a desert even though her plate isn’t clean but we make it a point to choose a healthy desert if she hasn’t eaten much (greek yogurt, fruit sauce, frozen yogurt, etc.) She hasn’t picked up on our tactic… yet.

5. Not only does your child want to eat all by herself, she wants to sit right next to you at the table. We never had a proper highchair but we had one of those seats with a tray that you attach to a regular chair. It worked fine for a while but then the tray was for ‘babies’ so my daughter didn’t want to use it. The problem is the table was just too high and it was very difficult to her to eat properly. I looked around for ‘big kid’ seats and found this great seat called Hybak from BabySmart.

This isn’t just your regular booster seat. It’s actually made of out a squishy PVC-free material that makes it very comfortable yet easy to clean with a damp cloth. This material is also naturally resistant to bacteria which makes it ideal for a seat that you know is bound to get covered in pasta noodles, mashed potatoes, yogurt and who knows what else!

It is designed with a high back and armrests for added comfort and safety. The base of the seat is flared which makes it difficult to flip accidentally and the bottom suctions to a chair when you push on it (assuming you’re using a flat wooden or plastic chair). I have upholsted chairs and even though this seat does not come with straps to secure it to a chair, it does stay put very well. I also like how light and portable it is and it’s easy to bring everywhere we go wit hthe built in handle. As for my daughter, she loves that she can sit on her own ‘big girl’ seat, with no buckles, and eat at the table with us. Oh and she loves that it’s fushia (it also comes in Onyx (black), Periwinkle (blue), Lime, and Aqua.)

Even though the toddler years are definitely challenging, I know for a fact that I will think back and remember fondly these precious years. I try to appreciate every moment and look forward to the next parenting challenge. Thankfully I have a few more years before my girls become teenagers!

Connect: You can find out more about the Hybak and other BabySmart products by visiting their website. Don’t forget to like BabySmart on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for all the latest news and promotions.

Rachel