Nursing Pillows 101

While creating your registry or picking out your must-haves for baby, there’s one item that shouldn’t be left out—the nursing pillow! Even if you don’t plan on nursing, it’s one item (with about a million uses) that you don’t want to go without! Now pregnant with baby #3, I’m proud to say I’ve tried almost all of them over the years. (And have the collection to show for it!) So I’m going to give you the CliffsNotes version of my favorite brands, and I’d love to hear your experiences too!

1. Boppy 2. Bosom Baby 3. Balboa Baby 4. My Brest Friend 5. Boppy Slipcover

1. Boppy Nursing Pillow: Who hasn’t heard of a Boppy, right? The Boppy was one of the first nursing pillows to make its way onto the market. With its doughnut shape and cute patterns, it was an instant success for nursing and bottle-fed babies. Pros: It works wonders as a baby positioner. I could easily flip my baby on his tummy or back, and the boppy perfectly supported him for play time on the floor. Cons: It’s one size fits MOST. You wrap the Boppy around your waist (or try to), and my only complaint was that I still had to keep one hand on baby. Its narrow, round shape made it hard to balance the baby on the pillow.

2. Bosom Baby: I discovered the Bosom Baby with baby #2. And let me tell you, it was love at first sight. Its wide design and pillow consistency was just what I was looking for! It’s squishy enough that baby settles in, wide enough that it’s a comfy fit around mommy (and daddy), and it works as a baby positioner later on! Pros: All of the above AND I used it as a maternity pillow before the baby arrived! Cons: Hmm, well, I guess it would have been nice to have some of those convenient pockets (see below).

3. Balboa Baby: This is a new one for me, so I can’t give my personal experience on it just yet. I have seen it in person, and its contoured shape and small size definitely caught my attention. I love the idea of using it as a lap pillow to help big sister/brother hold the infant, and it’s the perfect size/shape for daddy too.

4. My Brest Friend: I purchased “My Brest Friend” because it had a larger flat surface to lay the baby on during nursing. I loved the easily accessible pockets (to store breast pads and burp cloths), and its wider waist seemed to fit more naturally around my waist. Pros: The firm, flat cushion definitely kept baby from rolling and made breastfeeding more comfortable for me. Cons: The backrest (which really does help with good posture) sometimes got in the way when I wanted to quickly take off the pillow. In fact, I recall wearing it like a hula-hoop around the house on occasion.

So there it is! I guess I seem a little biased (can you guess which is my favorite?), but honestly, each pillow had something so great about it, it’d be hard for me to truly have just one. Now, the question is which to take to the hospital when baby #3 arrives.