Nursing pillow: Why you should get a breastfeeding pillow

Buying a nursing pillow (aka breastfeeding pillow or maternity pillow) was the best investment I did. It was the best price-quality baby and pregnancy product I purchased. There are many pillows on the market and I am very happy with my choice. You will find out that a nursing pillow has much more uses than only nursing or bottle feeding. Let me share with you the main reasons why I find the C-shaped Hobea-Germany nursing pillow (Stillkissen in German) the best choice. And also everything you (and your family members) can do with it:

1. Using a nursing pillow during pregnancy

Pregnancy is magic and transformative, not only mentally and emotionally, but also physically. Your body will change and you will have to adapt to that change, specially when you stay in the same phyical position for a long time, as sleeping or sitting. The weight of your belly during pregnancy can create tension on your back. So you can use a nursing pillow while sitting and lying to avoid and/or relieve backpain. I used Hobea-Germany breastfeeding pillow also as a pregnancy pillow because besides having one product for both purposes and saving space and money. It also doesn’t take that much space in bed as many other pregnancy pillows do (whole body pillow).

2. Using it for breastfeeding, pumping milk or bottle feeding

Using a nursing pillow while breastfeeding prove to reduce neck, arm and back tension for the woman (1) And it showed to be specially helpful for women with other health conditions such as Gestational diabetes breastfeeding (2).

It doesn’t matter how I am feeding my baby: breastmilk, pumping or using baby formula. I find the feeding time much more relaxing and enjoyable using a nursing pillow. It provides me a stable and comfortable back and arm support and surface to place my baby. I use the Hobea-Germany breastfeeding pillow on my lap and wrap it around my body.

3. Using a nursing pillow for tummy time

Tummy time was positively associated with gross motor and total development (3). It can help your baby develop strong head, neck and shoulder muscles. And you can use the nursing pillow for tummy time as well. I used it for my first child and I am doing the same now with our little baby girl. This is how I do it:

Place the pillow;
Place baby on his/her belly over the pillow, with the arms and shoulders propped on top;
Check if the baby is comfortable and reposition the baby if he/she starts to slip down.

Don’t forget that tummy time is for babies that are awake and should be watched at all times!

4. Using the breastfeeding pillow as a baby nest (plus baby nest cover = baby-lagerungsbezug)

You can also use the Hobea-Germany breastfeeding pillow as a baby nest, To do it safely I use the baby nest cover (baby-lagerungsbezug in German). It mantains the pillow together, avoiding the baby to slip down. Both our babies love it because of the cosy and wrap feelings, sometimes they even fell a sleep there. But I never left them unwatched on the nursing pillow.

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5. The nursing pillow is not only for the baby

Actually even between the time our first born was not a baby anymore, and our second arrived, we used the Hobea-Germany nursing pillow non stop. Our toddler loves to watch television surronded by the Hobea-Germany nursing pillow, and my husband sleeps with it to relieve his backpain. I confess that I used it also just to support my back while seated reading a book in bed. The uses for the Hobea-Germany nursing pillow are endless, so in between end of breastfeeding and the second pregnancy we never put it to the side. It was part of our home traveling from the living room to the bedrooms all the time.

6. It is completly washable!

Not every nursing pillow is completly washable, and that is something you should consider while buying one nursing pillow. The Hobea-Germany nursing pillow is completly washable. The cover can be removed as washed at 30°C, and the pillow itself can be washed at 60°C. Specially if you are using the nursing pillow for brestfeeding or bottle feeding, you will find extreamly important the possibility of changing cover and wash it.

7. A very helpful detail

Another feature that you should consider while buying a nursig pillow is if you want a pillow with some kind of lock at the ends. I specially like to have this option, depending on how I am sitting and the support I have, soemtimes it is really helpful and comfy to just closed the pillow around me before I place the baby to breastfeed.

The Hobea-Germany nursing pillow offers a kind of button lock (see picture) and I really like it because it makes no sound while opening and closing. So, if the baby is falling a sleep or already sleeping, it doesn’t wake him/her up. On the other hand this specific type of lock is not easy to close with only one hand, but I guess no lock would be easy to close with one hand anyways.

8. Covers for every taste

There are so many breastfeeding pillows on the market, but not many offer removable covers with so many options as Hobea-Germany. Right now they have more than 40 different options on their website. It is more a visual advantage than a practical one, but it was also one of the reasons we decided to get this specific nursing pillow. It might sound sily to chose a pillow because you have a big offer on cover textiles. However, I believe that the visual effect plays also a role on our wellbeing, so if you can choose the color and pattern of your cover, maybe even matching it with your bedroom or the nursery, it might help you to get that comfortable and relaxing feeling you whish while nursing, bottle feeding or even sleeping.