Tuesday, June 17, 2008

boobie tuesday! pillow wars: boppy vs. my brest friend

www.boppy.com/
www.mybrestfriend.com/

when i was registering for my baby shower, one of the big debates i had was whether to get a boppy or a my brest friend. i never imagined the concern i would have trying to decide between two products that i'd never heard of before and had no idea what to do with.

after polling my friends, i registered for a boppy (which i got - thanks, jen!) and was all prepared to use it. until i got home from the hospital. two days later, my husband ran out and bought the my brest friend.

the boppy and the my brest friend are both breastfeeding support pillows. why do you need one of these, you may ask? try balancing a baby on your knee and keeping him at just the right height for nursing. for an hour. maybe more, if you're feeling dangerous. then try it again in the dark at 3:30 in the morning on two hours of sleep. now you understand.

the boppy (shown above) is a "c" shaped firm but puffy pillow that you can wrap around your waist or side for breastfeeding. it has a stretchy middle allowing it to conform to different body sizes and is soft enough for baby's head to rest on comfortably. it comes in a number of different fabrics and can even morph into its second life as support for your baby learning how to sit up. it's comfortable for mom to rest her arms on and lives on my sofa to this day.

the my brest friend nursing pillow (pictured right) is a flat, foam pillow that you can literally velcro or buckle around your waist to support baby while feeding. it's firm surface helps keep baby where you want him and it fits snugly so the pillow - and baby - don't slide around. a little pocket on the side can keep pacifiers or other necessities close at hand. it also comes in a number of fabrics as well as in an inflatable "travel" version to take with you wherever you may nurse.

long story short? i ended up using both of them. i thought the boppy was much easier when leaning back against a couch but the my brest friend was more helpful during feeds in the glider and especially in the middle of the night when, yes, i would fall asleep while feeding the baby.

got a vote one way or the other? please share in the comments!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I actually don't care for either of them. The Boppy seems too small and My Breast Friend...well, let's just say that I don't like attaching pillows to myself because when my baby would get through a feeding I had this huge pillow strapped to me. It's just too awkward. A girlfriend of mine bought me a Bosom Baby nursing pillow for my most recent addition and it is the best of both worlds...soft, comfortable and adequately sized. I have since bought one for my sisters baby shower from www.lunalullaby.com. Maybe have a pillow war between Boppy and Bosom Baby :)

ek said...

debra - thanks for the suggestion! i hadn't heard of that one yet, but i'll have to check it out. :)

Katrina said...

I literally just bought my second nursing pillow (the Boppy) yesterday. I've been using the My Brest Friend and it is working fine (good for feedings in my glider). I decided to get a Boppy so I could have a pillow downstairs. It's definitely more comfortable for the couch and is also surprisingly comfortable if you have to nurse in a car (not while it's moving, of course). I also like that it can be used as a seat once the little guy is ready to start sitting up. So, trips to Grandma's house become a little easier -- nursing pillow and seat in one! But, if I had to choose one, especially for the first 2 months while getting the whole breast feeding thing down, it would be the My Brest Friend, since it's easier to position the baby. The baby kind of slides around on the Boppy so it could be tricky to use while sleep deprived and trying to get your tiny screaming, flailing baby in exactly the right position.