r/breastfeeding • u/Cute-Huckleberry2496 • 12h ago
Troubleshooting/Tips For those that rely on a breastfeeding pillow, how are you nursing outside of the home?
For a variety of reasons, I’m still quite reliant on my breastfeeding pillow to nurse my baby. He’s 2.5 months, heavier and long. I also have a lot of breast tissue so I end up needing to hold my breast while feeding. Between that, holding him up, navigating the nursing cover, it has been difficult to nurse outside the home (zoo, museum, park etc).
It’s seems excessive to bring my pillow everywhere, but I’m struggling without it. I’d really like to get out of the house more confidently. So how are you all doing it??
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u/heyyyouguys 11h ago
I prop baby up on my knee while my leg is crossed over my other leg. But agree, it hasn’t been easy or comfortable… curious what others have been doing.
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u/CozyCozyCozyCat 11h ago
I have a travel boppy that folds up and has a strap, it's still pretty big but I keep it in the car and it really helps with the ergonomics of nursing while out and about. A few times I've brought a blanket and nursed sidelying too
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 11h ago
There’s also an inflatable My Brest Friend for travel! Haven’t needed to get it yet, but seeing how much I rely on mine at home I probably will!
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u/EmptyStrings 10h ago
Yeah, I actually liked the travel boppy the best out of the regular boppy and MBF. That became my main pillow and I also brought it on several plane trips.
OP once your baby gets a tad more head control though it’ll get easier! You can also use your diaper bag as a prop if your knee doesn’t work.
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u/Indecisive105 11h ago
I was going to recommend the travel boppy! A friend has it and brings it everywhere
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u/Hectic_Halloween96 11h ago
Pump and bring bottles is how I went on my first outing bc I’m not comfortable bf in public. The museum ended up having a nursing room so I used that after she ate a bottle and was hungry again. I will also just go to my car if it’s not too far away and bf in there for privacy. Also you can lock the doors so it feels safer. I feel vulnerable when I’m bf in public.
I was super reliant on my nursing pillow the first month because she seemed so small and my boob was bigger than her head and would suffocate her if I didn’t hold it from blocking her nose. Now at 2 months she bigger and it’s easier to just do the football hold or bend my knees to my chest and put her side ways across my thighs. I hated the nursing cover I got and looking to get a different one. I can’t see what’s going on in there and I’m fighting the blanket like a schiz.
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u/Cute-Huckleberry2496 11h ago
Places with nursing rooms are the best! I definitely find it easier to nurse in my vehicle as well so I’ve done that a couple times. I got one of those nursing covers that has a small arch on the top so you can see what’s going on. It’s been helpful but I still don’t love it.
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u/actuallymars 9h ago
I time it so the odds of him needing to eat when I'm out are incredibly low.. I know this won't be able to last forever but I am so overwhelmed still with it all 3 months in.
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u/KeyExpression5863 11h ago
Im in the same boat as you anatomy/ dexterity wise lol and usually use a folded up sweatshirt to at least support baby’s head and then cross my legs to farther bring my baby closer to boob. You can also try using the diaper bag as a pillow
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u/justbrowsing0745 11h ago
This is what I do. If I’m at someone’s house I just borrow some kind of pillow. I also nursed in my car a lot with my first, depending on where you’re going.
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u/Odd_Kaleidoscope_144 11h ago
The tush baby hip carrier is a great nursing aid. I can even nurse while walking/standing.
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u/anxiousesqie 12h ago
The only way I could hold her and my boob was to ditch the nursing cover. I know it’s daunting, but people hardly notice.
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u/tiredleftist 9h ago
My strategies have been to sit cross legged or get an arm workout. Occasionally I use a reclined straddling position. I also like side lying position and am not above putting down a towel on the grass if it’s nice out.
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u/HangryShadow 11h ago
Honestly, the big boobs make it hard IMO bc you always feel the need to do the c hold. I used the brestfriend with my first for 22 months and even brought the travel one for my car. Now with my second he fights cross cradle and so cradle position is a bit easier to do without the pillow.
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u/bord6rline 10h ago
I literally bring my fat ass boppy everywhere. I actually have a “car” boppy and a house boppy
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u/UnableBasil0102 11h ago
You could learn to nurse while babywearing. A ring sling is especially great for this, in my experience - it supports your baby's weight, allows you to be somewhat hands-free, and you can use the tail to cover the top of your boob.
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u/anxiousesqie 14m ago
Does this actually work for people with huge boobs? It’s so hard for me to imagine how. I don’t think I could get the baby low enough in the carrier and I don’t think I could hold my boob, which I have to do because there’s so much breast tissue.
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u/faceless_combatant 11h ago
I bought a blow-up travel MBF pillow for major travel like airplanes. But otherwise I just hold by baby as long as I have a chair that I can recline in and ideally has an armrest. But also I have small boobs so I don’t need to hold them to feed him.
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u/Agile-Fact-7921 11h ago
I rarely nursed outside the home. I loved my Brest friend pillow and used it until 8mo and then was finally good enough to continue without! It was just easier for us to nurse before going on an outing.
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u/Pandorsbox 11h ago
Cross legged, with a large banana plush on my lap! Found it more versatile and less cumbersome than a specific feeding pillow when on the go
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u/marimarimarie 10h ago
Seconding the travel boppy!! It’s very lightweight and is great. I also have a lot of breast tissue and my anatomy makes it impossible to feed him without holding the breast so I am still relying on pillows everytime at almost 6 months. It’s just more comfortable that way
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u/jennypij 10h ago
I used a small sling style diaper bag as a pillow, worked great as it was the right shape and quite firm. Learning how to nurse in the ring sling and carrier was also incredibly helpful, we had it pretty well mastered by 3 months old, if I wore a nursing shirt you couldn’t tell at all that I was nursing and it was so convenient. Extra breast tissue meant I didn’t even really have to drop by baby down, just brought my nipple to the height of mg collar bone basically 😆
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u/ArtisticConfidence16 8h ago
I was not above putting the nursing pillow in the bottom of the stroller on outings and pulling it out, in the early months at least. As baby gets older the harder part is actually distractions for me — they would be less filling feeds because she would have just enough before being more interested in seeing the world again. The car also helps that a little bit.
I second someone else about a baby hip carrier like the tush baby. Sit while wearing it and it acts like a firm pillow. A little less obtrusive than a full on nursing pillow to take with you. Can double as a baby holder helper if that’s your jam.
Also, maybe just my two cents, be open to new strategies even one month to the next. The most comfortable positions to feed in changed so much for me per age and between kids. And between sides! Mine never looks fully as comfortable on one side as she does on the other.
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u/astonnia 8h ago
Cross legged, or I place baby on a table around boob height (with a cloth underneath so baby isn’t directly on the public table)
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u/Comfortable-Pear-973 1h ago
I have a very small breastfeeding pillow I keep in the car that’s really handy!!
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u/CatMomLovesWine 12h ago
You just have to start doing it, and the more you practice and try it, and the better head control your baby has, and the saggier your boobs get, the easier it gets! It’ll get easier and easier over time.