This post was sponsored by Philips Avent as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

With each of my biological children, I’ve chosen to breastfeed. I have been blessed that this was an easy option for me. Each child was able to latch easily and I have only dealt with the hard issues of breastfeeding a few times. As I have walked my journey in motherhood, alongside beautiful and strong women, I have learned that this isn’t the case for everyone. I am so thankful and grateful for my experience and I want to remember it.

Sebastian is ten months old, and I am still in the haze of sleepless nights, but I want to remember his arms wrapped around my neck tightly when I pick him up. I want to remember his sweet little pat on my shoulder as I walk him to the recliner. I want to remember the little notes he sings as he nurses in the dark of night. I want to remember the way he twirls my hair as he drifts off back to sleep.

When Mary Alice, my two year old, was born our neighbor brought her the sweetest gift of a piggy bank already loaded with change. She was a nurse once upon a time and encouraged me to let daddy give her a bottle once a day as soon as I was comfortable with it. She told me that so many times she saw mothers come into the hospital who were nursing full–time and it was so hard on the baby and the daddy if she needed to supplement for any reason. At first, I was taken aback by her suggestion, but I understood her intent to be kind and helpful.

I took her advice and I am so thankful. Now, I am able to put my two year old and six year old to bed and have sweet moments with them, while daddy gives my ten month old a nighttime bottle. It is a sweet moment for all of us. Thankfully, none of my children have ever had any confusion switching between nursing and the bottle. I’m a fan of the Philips Avent Natural bottle because it’s wide nipple is easy to combine with breastfeeding.

As a mom of five, I get a lot of questions about which bottle we chose. Well, it started years ago, with Julia. I was so nervous about choosing the ‘right’ bottle. I think I bought one of every brand available. We noticed that she did much better with the Philips Avent bottles. (In other words, it was easier for her to burp afterwards and she seemed to have much less gas pain.) It was that simple. The design is amazing. Julia had reflux until she was about 18 months, so we were very purposeful about making sure that she had a comfortable experience with eating every time.

When we learned that the Philips Avent Natural bottle reduces colic and discomfort by venting air away from baby’s tummy, we knew we had chosen the right one. The ultra soft nipple is another great feature of this bottle because it makes it easy to transition from breastfeeding to bottle-feeding.