The Best Breastfeeding Aid Ever? My Brest Friend!

I told my family that I was pregnant when I was about 10 weeks along; it was the night before my birthday and we were celebrating with dinner at my parents’ house. Once the initial excitement and basic information was done with, my mom and one of my younger sisters immediately began rattling off all of the different products I would need to acquire over the next 30 weeks before my son was born. The first product they suggested? A Brest Friend.

“I’m sorry, a what?” I asked. I got an exasperated sigh in response as my mom and Emma exchanged looks.

“A Brest Friend, Lenore! To help you breastfeed! It goes around your waist! Bethenny has one, she swears by it.”

“Wait, Bethenny? Who??? Do you mean a Boppy?”

Another sigh. “Nooooooo. A Brest Friend. Way better than a Boppy. And you know, Bethenny. The housewife? Bethenny Ever After?” My mom and sisters talk about the Bravo housewives like they are close personal friends, on a first name basis, especially Bethenny, their all-time favorite.

“Oh, that Bethenny.Of course.”

So, I learned that day that I would need to get a Brest Friend before I gave birth or I would never hear the end of it. I really didn’tk now the difference between it and a Boppy (the other popular nursing pillow), other than it actually straps around your waist while you use it. Luckily, we visited a huge annual consignment sale a few weeks after that first Brest Friend introduction, where we found one for an insanely great price. Barely used, in perfect condition, I purchased my Brest Friend for only $15. My mom was so excited she brought it home with her so she “could wash it and make sure it was good as new.” The next day, I got this photo from her on my cell phone:

Apparently, my dad likes the Brest Friend as much as the rest of the family.

Anyway, cue 30 weeks later, when I gave birth to my amazing son. He breastfed like a champ immediately after birth, but we had some issues with latching once we got to our hospital room, and since I hadn’t brought the Brest Friend with me to the hospital (something that will never happen in later births), I also had to struggle with arranging piles of pillows just so in order to support my little guy better while he ate.

Once we got home, I continued to stress out about breastfeeding issues, but giving up was not even an option in my mind; I would figure it out. And when I started using the Brest Friend pillow, half of my problems were solved. I got so much support from the Brest Friend that I was able to focus entirely on Hayden’s latch instead of worrying about positioning as well.

Here are the features of the Brest Friend that I adore most:

- The firm surface supports baby well and has a raised spot on both sides for under his/her head

- It straps around your body, providing back support and ease of movement (obviously it is not recommended to stand or walk around while feeding your baby strictly using the pillow) and allowing you to get up and walk while holding baby when you are finished without worrying about the pillow dropping and getting in the way

- The cover is easily removable so that you can wash it when, inevitably, your baby spits up all over it (or you leak on it). It is a bit difficult to put the cover back on the first time, but once you figure it out it is simple

- The strap is adjustable around your waist, making it fit snugly both immediately after baby is born and if/when your waist size changes

Needless to say, I love this thing. I still use it occasionally when feeding Hayden, even though we’ve worked out a way to do it without, but I seriously don’t know what I’d have done without it when we first got home from the hospital. I even brought it with us when we went to visit my parents at their house so that I wouldn’t have to work out the pillow system again!

Have you used a breastfeeding pillow like the Brest Friend? Did you find it helpful? Which one did you like best, and would you purchase it again?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. I was not compensated by the company that makes the Brest Friend in any way for this post and all opinions are my own.