Ok, so My Brest Friend
has a seriously silly name, but it is AMAZING. This is one of my all time favorite baby products. I wish I'd had it with my first child. It makes nursing SO much easier. The boppy is great for an older child (and nice because it is more compact and has so many other uses outside of nursing), but my brest friend is a thousand times more useful for a newborn. I can't say enough about this. Everyone that I've suggested it to has RAVED about it. It really is that good. And there's even one for twins.Pros:
- Great back support
- Comfortable
- Washable cover (I suggest you buy more than one so you can put a clean one on while you are washing the other one. And I suggest you get the deluxe fabric
- Firm- no sagging baby!
- Supports baby VERY well and keep him up close to your body
- Small pocket to store things in like lanolin, breast pads, gas drops etc.
- You can nurse one handed or even single handed with a newborn
- You can even stand up and nurse with it, although I'm not sure they would advertise this for safety. If you do stand and nurse, make sure you are firmly holding on to baby!
- Silent release buckle that you can undo with one hand
It's only fair that I mention some of the cons...
Cons:
- A bit bulky and cumbersome
- You need two hands to put it on (at least I do) so it is obviously hard to put on while holding baby
Tips:
- If you are trying to do the football hold, just turn the brest friend to the side and put a pillow or two behind your back. You can also lay a flat pillow beside you to rest babies legs on while you use the brest friend in the regular position.
- I wash my cover in the washer on delicate and dry it on low heat and it has done just fine so far and hasn't shrunk at all. Make sure the velcro is attached to something before washing it or it will attach to your clothes!
I just found your site and love it. I have a 5 month old who doesn't sleep well and I've been desperate for information and advice. It seems you'll be very busy yourself with your new born (congratulations), but if you have a minute, I'd love to hear any tips. I've been co-sleeping and he's been using breastfeeding to fall asleep during his many night wakings. I guess I've fostered a bad sleep association. I'd like to get him to sleep in his crib on his own, eventually. Do you think CIO will work? May Ferberizing? I'm just afraid that the cold turkey approach will be too abrupt, I know a lot of it depends on my child and his temperament.
ReplyDeletethanks!
Irene
Irene,
ReplyDeleteCIO would probably eventually work, but it would be a pretty sudden change for the both of you and would probably take a lot longer and be a lot harder than it would be for a baby with different sleep associations. You have to do what you feel most comfortable with, but I would personally try out a slower approach, or at least help wean your little one from some sleep associations before moving on to full CIO.
Whether you do straight CIO or a Ferberizing type CIO depends on what you prefer and what seems to work best for your lo. Look at this post for a comparison between the methods: http://www.mybabysleepguide.com/2010/02/sleep-training-ferber-vs-healthy-sleep.html
A really good resource for you would probably be the no-cry sleep solution book. Look in the index section under No Cry Sleep Solution for posts about methods you could use for your situation. The suggestions in the posts/book might help you wean your son from some of his usual go to sleep methods. You could either use her suggestions comopletely, or use them to a point and then do CIO. Whatever seems best to you. You could even wean your son from some of his sleep props a bit and then move onto using the baby whisperer methods (see blog index). You could also start with her methods instead of doing the No Cry Sleep Solution, but it might be a bit harder that way, but, like you said, it depends on your child's temperment.
Good luck!
Thanks so much for your response and congrats on the new baby!
ReplyDeleteIrene
You're welcome and thanks!
DeleteRachel
I completely agree! This pillow is amazing. I'm so happy my LC suggested this over the Boppy. I've told a few friends and no one has listened-I just feel bad that they don't have this amazing pillow!!!
ReplyDeleteLacey and Tyler,
DeleteYeah, everyone seems to run to the boppy (which I think has some great qualities, but not especially with a newborn imo). Maybe because everyone else has one so it seems like it must be better or is cooler or something. They are missing out though! The breast friend makes bf so much easier in so many ways!