Lasts long past nursing days...
Written: Jul 14 '04 (Updated Apr 26 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lasts long past nursing; children create new uses. High quality print & stitching. Firm pillow.
Cons: Small for most waists. One width makes nursing awkward. Hard transition from nursing to play.
The Bottom Line: Don't expect more than this can deliver. Have your heart set on a nursing pillow? Look elsewhere. Interested in a product that will serve multiple uses? This will do fine.
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| lisandrea's Full Review: Boppy 5-In-1 Fun Nursing Pillow |
My fifteen-month-old son's favorite place to sit alone and read is his Boppy pillow. We keep it in a corner in the living room where he regularly grabs books from his room and sits for thirty minutes entertaining himself.
But ours is not just a Boppy. It is the 5-in-1. To respond to criticisms that it is not easy to remove the arches in order to use this pillow for nursing, I agree. Having read that on epinions after receiving our 5-in-1, I simply left it always assembled as an entertaining play station with a nice floor blanket below until he was crawling and pulling himself up to stand. When it was obvious he no longer cared about a discovery center we tucked the arches up into the attic & let him decide how to use the pillow.
Our next door neighbor's son, 6 months older, loves to sit in his Boppy to watch his morning Wiggles & Sesame Street. His was also a 5-in-1.
Do I wish I'd just gotten the Boppy, alone? After having tried to curl it around my waist to nurse I found it awkward and uncomfortable. I think there are much better nursing pillows than the Boppy, in particular. But Boppy is getting a lead in the market. Another pillow to consider, if you're looking for comfort while nursing, is the Bosom Baby Nursing Pillow, which is shaped more like an "L" or "V" than a too-tight "C."
I am size 4, normally. After delivering my son I was about an 8 for about 4 months as the weight slowly fell away (nursing is the key!!). If I found the Boppy too tight & awkward, I cannot imagine how a size 10 or above woman would feel comfortable with this ring around her waist.
BUT, as stated above, after a couple of attempts I didn't even try to use it for nursing anymore. I used my sling instead, or held my son in a cushy chair that made it easy for me to hold him, nurse, and even fall asleep at the same time. I do not regret having a Bobby, since it has turned into such a brilliant little private seating location for him. (BTW, OT: Wearing your baby in a sling is so wonderful!! Check out reviews on Epinions for slings like the Maya Wrap, Dr. Sears No-Jo or Over The Shoulder Baby Holder).
For my toddler the Boppy pillow is like a bean bag with a nice big hole to sit in. It's firm and high quality, and I expect it to last a long time. He is so comfortable & cozy sitting in it.
And, when it was an activity center I really liked how it held him in a more upright position than many of the flat blanket types, so that he could see more than just the toys hanging above him. I thought the Sassy toys that came with our 5-in-1 were really adorable, and my child still (at 15 months) thinks 2 of the 3 are fun, apart from their Boppy use. A little blue puppy dog with green spots that has three differently shaped and textured rings on it tinkles together so sweetly, it can barely be qualified as a "rattle"--not in any way obnoxious or noisy, and very appealing for little fingers. The happy face two-handled mirror has a nose that is supposed to squeak when pressed, but it takes an adult's pressure & timing to get that feature of it to function properly. Still, double handles and a mirror, alone, are enough to make him smile. The colors are nice, too. The third hanging piece is probably the most visually stimulating for a baby--a bright red ring with white polka dots, but awkwardly thick to attach to the included Boppy-shaped rings & it doesn't serve much purpose other than for staring. He put his hand in & out of it, detached, a couple times, but that interest wore off quickly. It takes some real pressure to push it on or pull it off of a Boppy-shaped link because it is so thick!
The Boppy-shaped links that are used to hold the arches in place are unusually stiff and difficult to use. I have a slew of Sassy links and we use them for everything; a place to store pacifiers (one per link in a long chain hung out of reach), a chain to hang toys in the car within reach for long drive, a few to play with for manual dexterity practice...they litter my home and I am delighted. That is why I know a good link from a bad one, and the Boppy-shaped ones are practically useless for after-activity-center play.
However, they are likely designed to be that tough and difficult to pry open to hold the arches firmly in place, thus avoiding any surprise spring openings and snapping arches to hurt someone. They really serve just that purpose, as far as I'm concerned.
I loved the print of our 5-in-1, as shown in this Epinions presentation--bright red with coupled animals scattered everywhere and a few Noah's Arks, too. It's whimsical and suitable for either girl or boy.
So...conclusion...
FIVE IN ONE...??
1) Boppy, the product, is not the best nursing pillow on the market. It's a great idea that has been improved upon by others. Don't think you are going to use this Boppy 5-in-1 product to nurse, then regularly re-attach the hefty loops & arches. That's not a reasonable expectation of this product, or of yourself, who will be sleep deprived and nursing up to 10 times a day.
2) The activity center is eye-catching with black & white Zebra-type-stripes that are stimulating for newborns and infants. The three toys that come with the center are very sweet to average. After activity center use the Sassy puppy rattle will be used, as will the mirror, but the most you can do with the red & white ring is toss it about. Not much to it.
3) As your child outgrows the arches, she/he can lounge over the pillow for tummy time, as you use the loops on the pillow to attach many other toys. I recommend Sassy or Discovery Toys links and Sassy or Manhattan Baby toys for this feature.
4) When my son was very sick one weekend we used the Boppy, alone, in his crib for tummy soothing, laying him with the pillow pressing into his upset tummy. He slept very soundly spread out across the pillow but was already more than a year old by then, so this is not recommended for younger babies whom pediatricians recommend sleep on their backs. So, it can serve as a pillow, if needed.
5) A toddler can still use this product for defining his/her own personal space. Dragging it across the living room for TV-watching as a neck pillow or sitting up in it to read books, it is the perfect little hugging pillow for security and comfort. I expect it will serve well in the car and on airplanes as he grows older, still. I saw a three or four year old boy on a plane once, with the Boppy securely wrapped around his middle, contentedly reading throughout the flight. I am looking forward to that & other future creative uses.
As an aside, my neighbor's husband used this pillow for nighttime feedings of their son, who was necessarily bottle fed his mommy's breastmilk. So, it can be useful for guys who might feel awkward trying to multitask during feedings. They certainly sang its praises.
Keep a creative mind with this product and it can serve you well. Try to make it be something it can't be and you'll be frustrated, indeed.
UPDATE--my two-year-old is suffering from a terrible cold. To elevate his mattress, I have tucked the Boppy under one end. Stable and effective! It's the best tool I've used for raising up the bed (rolled up blankets never do the trick, but this Boppy gets it high enough to make a difference!). Necessity is the mother of invention once again.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lisandrea
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Location: Virginia
Reviews written: 45
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
AP, NFP, WAHM/SAHM but NO SPAM (thank you, Ma'am)! :O)
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