The Frugal Guy: Nursing Support (Boppy) Pillow

Hey Everybody. Today I'm discussing a wonderful invention that I once though was a waste of money. It's technically called a Nursing Support Pillow, but most people refer to them as boppy pillows (can't tell you why). I received this particular product for free (to test and review) from Asani (and MLC Distribution). Asani is the same company that was gracious enough to allow me to test their segmented glass containers for food.  A link to that blog is here.

As some of you may know, I recently welcomed my first child (I'll be putting up pictures soon!) into the world. My wife Kay mentioned she wanted to get one of these boppy pillows, but I was hesitant because I didn't see the benefit. Looking at the pillow, it just looks like a horseshoe and I didn't quite understand how it would be used or why it should be used (especially for the hefty price most companies charge for them).

Boy have my eyes been opened.

Though it's technically made for nursing, and Kay has used it a few times for that reason, we've both discovered that it works far better as a nap time pillow for our son. If he's fussy or wide awake, laying him on this pillow works like a charm to soothe him.

This particular pillow is the right amount of fluffy and gives to the touch just enough to keep little Paul as comfortable as he wants to be. The cover is extremely soft. In fact, when we first received the product we thought the cover was a part of the pillow. We soon realized the cover had a zipper and easily comes off for washing, but if someone told us it had no cover we would have believed them.  The cover is made from bamboo, which I'm all about as it's one of the better fabrics to use (in regards to human health and the health of the planet).  Because it's bamboo, it's also naturally antibacterial, so for me it's a miracle material and I will likely soon look into buying bamboo clothing as well.

Since the cover slips right off it's easy for washing.  We let it dry by air, but I don't think the product page on Amazon says if it should be air or machine dried. A few of the cover's threads are starting to come out, so hopefully that doesn't become a problem.

As mentioned above, the interior pillow is also very soft, but the stuffing has already started coming out of ours.  It hasn't affected the softness or integrity of the pillow or anything yet, so I still like this product, but if it continues to tear it may present a larger problem. We should be able to fix with a needle and thread, though I'm not sure why it started ripping since we haven't washed or roughly handled the pillow yet.

Overall I'd give this 5 stars for comfort. If there was a rating for environmental/hygiene, I would give it a 4 or 5 for that as well.  If you're in the market for a heavenly soft pillow for nursing, click here to buy this from Amazon now!

NOTE:  if you're also new to the whole parenting thing, DO NOT use this pillow as a substitute for crib sleeping. It is not safe for the infant to sleep on this unattended, and all naps our son takes on this are beside an awake parent to ensure his safety.  I believe they can be dangerous because the infant can slide down into the hole and suffocate.