I had registered for a My Breast Friend nursing pillow but then I found a cuter one online. So I added the Balboa Baby nursing pillow to my registry. This was a mistake but sometimes I am a sucker for looks. When we brought Orion home from the hospital he was 4 days old and the Balboa Baby pillow was not much good for anything. Orion was so small that he would fall into the gap between me and the pillow. Luckily, the next day was our first visit to the pediatrician which included time with a lactation consultant.
The lactation consultant had almost every nursing pillow on the market. The first one I tried was the My Breast Friend and I fell in love. Since this nursing pillow wraps around you, it can get right next to your body so there is no gap for the baby to fall into. This pillow also has little baby pillow head lifts which work great to help the baby get to the boob and help with positioning. After our visit, I sent my husband out to pick me up one of my very own.
The My Breast Friend pillow really helped me, saved me some back pain, and kept my baby happy. I have MS and one of my main issues is fatigue in my arms. I was really nervous about how motherhood was going to affect me. Early on, you spend the majority of your time holding that little bundle of joy. Orion was (still is) a total booby monster. He was nursing for up to 8 hours during his first weeks of life. I think without this pillow I would have had some issues and frustrations.
Orion loves to nurse himself to sleep and the My Breast Friend pillow doubles as a bed. He would (still does) nurse and fall asleep and I didn’t have to actively hold him. I just had to make sure he didn't roll away from me. It is nearly impossible to put a newborn down to bed so this pillow really helped. I had my hands free to eat over a sleeping baby or use my smartphone to help me stay awake. You really want to be sure that you stay awake when sitting up and nursing or holding the baby.
I did continue to use the Balboa pillow. I would use that pillow under lapping with the My Breast Friend and put a portable DVD player on top of the Balboa pillow. I spent many late nights in bed with my sleeping husband next to me while I watched movies, nursing the baby, and hoping I would soon be able to put the baby down in his bassinet. Eventually, I put the Balboa Baby pillow in the car to use when nursing out and about. This pillow became much easier to use when Orion was a few weeks old but them he outgrew it when he was just over 4 months old.
I know some people like to use the Boppy as a nursing pillow but that did not work for us. I am a larger woman and I couldn’t get that pillow to fit me right. The pillow would be too low in my lap causing me to hunch over which is no good for posture. But I do love the Boppy to lay the baby on and for tummy time.
One annoying thing about the My Breast Friend is finding covers for it. For whatever reason, Babies R Us sells the pillow but not extra covers. I had to go on Amazon.com to order extra covers. The covers are air dry so you will want to have at least 3. There were a few occasions when Orion would have a massive spit up on the pillow, we would change covers, and then his diaper would leak. 3 covers was the right amount for us and sometimes I would cover the pillow with a waterproof pad then a receiving blanket.
My motto when it comes to life after baby is whatever makes your life easier and whatever you can afford. I highly recommend a visiting with a lactation consultant. You might be able to try out different pillows and some even have breast pumps you can try if you bring a nipple guard. Nursing is not easy so try to not get frustrated and give up. Ask for help!
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