I’ve been meaning to make a nursing pillow for the last 5 months but just couldn’t commit. I don’t usually nurse but really want to this time so spending $$ on one seems dumb when I have a ton of fabric just staring at me and the pillow might not see more than a month of use. The problem with making one is that I have a small chest and a long torso. By the time I put a normal nursing pillow on and hold the baby he’s all the way down there and the food is all the way up here, so it’s just another big bulky thing around my waist. As if I need more dead weight waist level postpartum and that’s the only kind I know how to make. I’ve seen a few other alternatives but without trying them out on the spot I can’t be sure they work, and I’m pretty sure no one wants me opening packages in the middle of the isle of the store and giving them a test drive right then and there. Then it hit me- I don’t have time anymore to try to figure it out.
I told my sister I needed to make one still and she got right with it and just got me one. No messing around with her. I have one now and can modify it if I need to when the baby gets here. It’s a lot less pressure to make do and fix what you have than to start from scratch with no ideas and commitment issues! I wanted it to look like I did something for myself so I made my pillow an extra cover last night.
Trying to conserve fabric I cut it out facing the wrong way on accident. Pretend I’m not an idiot and paid attention to the direction of the fabric before cutting- duh!
I’m still bound and determined to find a solution for those of us that don’t have anything to brag about on the top half and don’t want to sell our firstborn for a possible solution. I’ll get around to that after baby gets here and I know how high I have to jack the little guy up ;).
Have a great Wednesday! Off to churn out more baby stuff I probably don’t need but want anyway.
I have the same problem - I found that sitting criss-cross-applesauce and then putting the pillow around me helps a lot - and then I can bend by knee higher to help hold the baby...
ReplyDeleteI didn't get a pillow until my first born was a month and a half old. I am chesty, so slouching down two inches was killing my back, not to mention my self esteem since my chest now reached my knees. (not really but it felt like it) That pillow along with Rx nipple cream were must haves at the hospital for baby number two. I love it for the 6 ish months I get to use it.
ReplyDeleteI hope this one works out for you!
At 5'11", that is EXACTLY why I didn't use my nursing pillow for the first 2 months after my baby was born. I thought everyone who swore by their Boppy was crazy. I started putting an extra pillow under the nursing pillow to get it up to the right height and that seemed to work well. And then as my baby got bigger, it became easier for us to use the nursing pillow by itself.
ReplyDeleteYou might find that you don't need one at all. I received one as a baby shower gift when I was pregnant with #1. I never used it for the other five I nursed. A squinched up pillow under the elbow works fine. Actually, after you nurse for awhile, you might not need anything.
ReplyDelete(You can always use it to prop up the baby when he's a little older.)
I am pregnant with #7 and have nursed every one. Those nursing pillows are the only thing that saves my back. I am not well endowed, so I will often prop their head up a few more inches with a throw pillow under the top half of their tiny body. Works like a charm and no extra work.
ReplyDeletecan you say, "Lactation consultant"? There was one at the hospital and she saved my life.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad i stuck to it!
Good Luck!!!
I didn't so much use my nursing pillow for nursing but I still got tons of use out of it! I have one that also had a little strap for baby so when you lay them in it as a position support they don't slouch. My 2 boys both had acid reflux so laying flat was a huge NO NO. I put the pillow in their bed and layed them in it to keep their heads elevated and relieve some of the acid reflux while they sleep. This this was a HUGE life saver for my sanity!!!
ReplyDeleteAfter my 3rd child was done with all the baby gear my hubby swore up and down we were done having babies so I got rid of EVERY THING except that nursing pillow! What can I say its also nice to prop myself up against when I am on my laptop in bed! Now that I am pregnant with #4 I am soooo happy I still have that pillow!