I am very excited to share my next post with you.  Out of every product imaginable out there for new moms, I believe this one should make it to every one of them.  Kristen (DDL Contributor) and I both wrote reviews about My Brest Friend because we love it so much.  At the end of this post there is a giveaway as well!

About My Brest Friend:

My Brest Friend’s patented, wrap-around design has made fans in over 20 countries where it is sold, as well as being used in hundreds of NIC units and birthing hospitals. It is the #1 choice of lactation consultants, is sold by La Leche League, and consistently earns raves among nursing mothers, many of whom tell us our pillow has helped them achieve longer holding and feeding cycles with their babies. My Brest Friend has helped over 1,000,000 moms breastfeed their babies. Our stylish new prints and fabrics make My BrestFriend the perfect item to register for or give as a gift.

Kristen’s Story

The Brest Friend pillow has been a great aid in the success of breastfeeding my second daughter.  It is a wrap around style pillow that has a clip closure to hold the pillow on to you, even when you are standing.  It is adjustable so it should fit people of all sizes.  This is a great feature of the pillow because it means you can be mobile and breastfeeding and have the support of the pillow so your arm doesn’t get as tired.  The Brest Friend Pillow is nice because it is made of a sturdy foam with a cover over it.  The foam is molded to have areas to help position the baby’s head better, which is sometimes helpful and sometimes kind of weird.  I noticed that you really need to position the baby right in order to make the molded head rests useful.

I really enjoy using it when I breastfeed my daughter and it makes working at the computer easier because I can rest the pillow on my desk and still have at least one hand for typing.  It also has a pocket, which you can put a remote control, water, tube of lanolin or whatever else in there.  One thing that is a little frustrating is that sometimes I wont buckle the pillow around me but then need it to be, or other times I do buckle it around me but it gets in the way of things.  Of course, that is mostly my own fault and it is a nice option to have.  Washing the cover for it is easy; however it took some work to get it back on there correctly.  I think with practice I would get better at figuring it out though.

The Brest Friend pillow is better than other breastfeeding pillows that I have used with my first baby.  The molded foam and the ability to clip it around your body make it more useful and helps to position the baby better than other pillows, which makes breastfeeding a more pleasant experience.

Kim’s Story

I also wanted to share my own experience with the My Brest Friend pillow.  Like most moms I received a Boppy pillow at my baby shower so I never felt the need to research breastfeeding pillows.  In fact, I always assumed I would use a Boppy because that was what I saw at the stores.  I had seen the My Brest Friend once at Babies ‘R Us, but frankly I thought the name was a little funny and never gave it a second look.

Fast forward to after having my son, and having extreme latch troubles.  I used a shield for many weeks, and went back and forth between stacks of pillows on my lap and the boppy.  My tiny newborn baby kept falling into the hole of the Boppy, and it had no support for me.  I finally did a little research on My Brest Friend after hearing the buzz about it online.  Once I read the customer testimonials I knew I had to have one.

I found an AMAZING deal from an online store that was closing their doors forever.  I saved over half and bought both the regular pillow and the travel one.

In a few days the pillow arrived.  The baby and I had been working at breastfeeding for about 5 weeks and just weaned from the shield.  His latching was on and off, sometimes he got it and sometimes my nipples wanted to separate from my body.  I immediately unboxed it and used it for the next session.

My first thought was “Ahhh….. lumbar support, where have you been all my life?!?!”  The difference for my back, which still had to hunch over with the Boppy, was feeling amazing.  I honestly started keeping the pillow on because it felt better than regular sitting.  When my husband came home I chattered on about the pillow and how it was the best investment I had ever made!  And it was.

The pocket was used quite a bit because I nursed my son on the couch for every session, even in the middle of the night.  I kept my remote inside and a burp cloth.

The bump for the baby’s head did work well for me and aided his latching.  I noticed an improvement after we started using the pillow, and I credit proper positioning from the pillow for that.

My only qualm with the pillow was having to put the cover back on after washing it.  My son spit up like a maniac, and the pillow was often drenched.  I dreaded washing it because I knew it would be a 20 minute ordeal involving cursing to get the cover back on due to the unique shape and the foam, which is not slick.  The foam works against sliding the cover on.

Even with that issue, the My Brest Friend Pillow is a product I insist new moms get. I regret not having it from day one, as it may have helped our latch out and saved me a few weeks of excruciating pain.  My time with My Brest Friend is looked back on fondly, and I will be using it again for “shrimpy” in October 2010!

When planning The New Baby Event I knew I wanted to feature My Brest Friend.  I could write a review based on my own pillow, and Kristen shared her experience as well.  I wrote to them asking that they sponsor a giveaway.  Well…. they did!  If you aren’t lucky enough to win one you can also find them on Amazon.comand shop with my aff link.

My Brest Friend is giving one VERY lucky DDL reader a GREEN Deluxe My Brest Friend pillow!!!! CLOSED

New! Deluxe My Brest Friend Pillow

All the benefits of our original pillow, plus:

• Extra soft baby-plush fabric
• Double-featured strap with Velcro and silent-release buckle for easy, one-hand use
• Slipcover stays fresh through dozens of washes

Mandatory Entry:

Visit MyBrestFriend.com and tell me a fact you learned about the pillow.  The story of the pillow is great, I hope you will read it!

For extra entries do any or all of the following.  Leave a comment for each you do.

Follow @KimRosas on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please tweet, “Enter to win the best product for new moms, a My Brest Friend nursing pillow, from @KimRosas http://zcp99.th8.us”  Leave a comment with a link to your status.

You can tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Leave a comment with your status for each tweet.

Subscribe to my blog via email through feedburner. Leave a comment.

Follow me through Google Friend Connect or via a reader. Leave a comment.

Grab my button and post it on your blog. Leave a comment.

If you have my New Baby Event button on your blog you get 3 extra entries.Leave a comment for each one!

Blog about this giveaway. Post a link in the comment.

Get Creative: Post about this giveaway on a messageboard or forum. Leave a comment with a link.

Giveaway ends on March 25. Winner will be chosen using random.org. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn.

***Open to US and Canada***

Neither reviewer was sent a product or received any compensation.

Since my son will be turning one on the 22nd of November, I am going to reminisce about the past year, and the many things I have learned about breastfeeding. I can now say I am a “pro”, but I didn’t start off that way. These are just random thoughts, musings, tips, advice, and anecdotes about the last year.

Lactation Consultants are your best friend. If it weren’t for Michelle, my LC, who manually expressed colostrum for my baby when he wouldn’t latch, and who called every few days when we were home to offer words of encouragement and advice, I don’t know that we would have made it past the first 2 days. She was able to get my son to latch when I couldn’t, and assured me through my tears and silent screams that I could and would get past this. She let me know that babies need to learn to breastfeed and so do moms. That I was giving my son the best gift I could, and if I worked at it, it would become so. We visited her 2 times after being released in order to wean my son from the nipple shield, and because of her I have made it to one year! I am so grateful to have had what others have called a “breastfeeding nazi” because that is what I needed.

What I didn’t need was a pediatrician who came into my room and explained that not everyone can breastfeed. He told me his wife couldn’t, and pumped for 6 months instead. I almost had my out, and a way to escape the pain, but I still wanted to try.

Nipple shields are the best and worst inventions on the planet. When used correctly, they can save your breastfeeding relationship. I was given one my very last day in the hospital. We used it twice before I was discharged, and he was able to latch successfully and with minimal pain. I was still having pain from the blisters underneath, which were rubbed by his very tight and hard latch. It took 5 weeks to lose the shield completely. This battle was almost as hard as the first 3 days in the hospital. I had to commit to losing it, even though he latched perfectly with it. Essentially, he had to learn how to breastfeed twice. My supply never dropped, like some other moms experienced. I had an abundance of milk. Using a shield is the messiest thing. I remember sitting on my couch at 1 am, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and so on, and unlatching my sleeping baby from the breast, and having to slowly pull the shield off. Milk would leak all over!

The first time Fletcher nursed without a shield successfully was on the way home from my last session with Michelle. She was so encouraging, she made me believe in myself. We did it in the office, with her help. I stopped at Babies ‘R Us and shopped, then used the Mother’s Room. I denied myself the shield, which was tucked into a napkin and in a pocket. I put him on and it clicked. He got on, I was in no pain, and he ate for 15-20 minutes. After that we used the shield 2 times in the next couple of days, and then it was gone. Many times in the middle of the night I wanted it, badly, but I held strong. You have to pull the plug on it.

The revelation: Because our nursing relationship was extremely rocky, I used the ol’ cradle position. I used a Boppy, then bought a My Brest Friend. What a savior that was! It helped my back immensely, and got used a lot for a few more weeks until I decided to just go with a pillow for convenience sake. One day, I was extremely tired. I wanted a nap so badly, but the baby always slept in my arms. I was very anti co-sleeping at that point. I believed the hype that I would kill my baby, and since he only napped on me, the whole “sleep when baby sleeps” thing was out. I decided to try side lying nursing again. I had tried a few times, and failed. Our latch just wasn’t good enough yet. I put his neck on my arm and cuddle him close, then got him securely latched. It worked! I was so proud of myself, and then I fell asleep. It was amazing. I didn’t nap during the day for the first few months of my son’s life, and of course I was up all night breastfeeding him and slowly easing him into his cradle. It was an hour long process at least. Every 3-4 hours. I started using this method in secret during the day; I was afraid my husband would kill me if he knew I was co-sleeping. Eventually, I brought him to bed with me at night. Hubby was wary and insisted I put him back, but I said no. Soon, we were a part time co-sleeping family. In fact, we still are.

Trial by fire: Nursing in public was not something I started out doing. I hid in the nursery when guests were over, and went to a private room when possible when we were on the go. If there was no room, I used a cover. This continued until we took a road trip to NC, a 12 hour turned 15 hour drive. I had to nurse at McDonalds, in a rest stop, in the car, anywhere and everywhere. I stopped using my cover after it became a pain, and never looked back. By the time that trip was over I had learned a few tricks on how to be discreet. Covers are a pain!

At 5 months I decided that I finally had breastfeeding down. Yes, it took 5 months for me to decide this. I could do it anywhere, anytime, anyhow. My son was also great at it, and could find my boob in the dark. He could latch himself if it was available. Unfortunately, this meant I never pumped anymore. I used to occasionally pump milk and have my husband take a feeding so I could sleep. The usual reason was actually to let my breasts get a break since we had soreness in the beginning also. I needed a breather. Once things were 100% pain free, and I no longer resented nursing, it was easier to nurse than pump. This also ruined any chance of me getting out of the home. He forgot how to use a bottle, and if given one, would chew it. I only recently discovered that at 11 months, he will take a bottle of whole milk. I like to stick with sippy cups, but he is not a pro at those. We gave him one bottle recently and he drank a few ounces.

Teeth: Before I was pregnant, I never thought I would breastfeed. The idea seemed kinda gross to me! While pregnant, I figured I would do it. The further along I got the more I wanted to. I dreamed about rocking my baby and nursing him. I also loved that I would be saving lots of money on formula and bottles, and that it was the food he was meant to have. When he was born, I knew I would nurse him until he got teeth. My LC assured me teeth could be overcome, but I was doubtful. However, after realizing how hard we worked to be successful, I decided we would overcome teeth. I set my goal to 1 year, and anything after was icing on the cake. I also have a secret limit of 2, but we shall see. He got 2 bottom teeth first, so his tongue covered them. Soon after came 2 top teeth. He was very good at not biting on purpose, but it happened. I would quickly unlatch him and say a firm “no.” I wouldn’t put him back on for a time. He got two more teeth, and then started forcefully latching. I got small bruises on my right areola from the middle two teeth rubbing, and the force at which he latched. This lasted a few days. Currently, he is still latching on hard but the pain is minimal and short lived. It is definitely better than full on biting!

Time: In the beginning, nursing sessions would last over an hour, and they came what seemed like every half hour to hour. I was a 24/7 milk machine. I can now proudly (and somewhat sadly) say that we are down to 5-10 minute sessions, and only 3-4 times a day. At night he sleeps with me and nurses 2-6 times, but only for comfort. It lasts 2 minutes and he is asleep. Who knows if he is even getting much milk. While I am a little sad that I am not his only source of food, I see light at the end of the tunnel. I love nursing my son. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gone through the blood, sweat, and tears I did. But, I am secretly excited about being able to leave him at home with his dad for a few hours. It has happened once. The longest my son has gone without nursing is 10.5 hours! This was an unusual day, but it is good to know he can do it. I have been lucky not to get my period yet, but I know as he eats less and less, it will happen. But it is welcome. Soon, my son will need a little brother or sister, and I will get to start off as an experienced breastfeeding mother!

I am extremely proud of making it to one year. Only 14% of mothers in America do. A sad fact, but I made it. It was easier than I ever thought it would be. The hardest part of breastfeeding only lasts a few weeks. The benefits of making it to one year and beyond last a lifetime. And they benefit you as well. Breastfeeding past one year, and nursing multiple children decreases my own risk of breast cancer. Indeed.

Fun Facts:
I have nursed my son in 10 States. (this includes layovers and driving through)
I have nursed my son in a plane across the United States, and next to complete strangers.
I have nursed my son in a duck boat (a car that can be driven into water)
I have nursed my son in the USS Constitution, the oldest floating naval craft in the US.
I have nursed my son on a paddle boat.
I have nursed my son in a boat on a lake between US and Canada.
I have nursed my son in a cave.
I have nursed my son in a moving vehicle by putting my boob over the carseat, and was seen by a man next to us at a stoplight.
I have nursed my son at the base of a waterfall with my feet in the water.
I have nursed my son next to the ocean in Florida.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a slideshow with my breastfeeding photos from the past (almost) year.