The Benefits of the Boppy
I’ve heard a lot of moms say they received a Boppy pillow and never used it because they weren’t sure what to do with it. Then there are Boppy enthusiasts who say they couldn’t live without the comfy horseshoe-shaped pillow. I fall into the latter category. I use it for everything! So to help Moms who aren’t sure what to do with this odd-looking contraption, here are uses for a Boppy pillow!
I didn’t bring the Boppy to the hospital with me, so I used my memory foam pillow to prop the baby on my lap in bed for a better feeding position. But when I returned home, I wouldn’t have minded having two Boppies. I used one to support my back while I sat up in bed to feed her during late-night nursing sessions. By the time she was three weeks old, my daughter got all excited when she saw what I affectionately called “the Boppy Bears” come out. (Our pillow has a three little bears design on the front.) I often say, “Thank goodness for the Boppy Bears!”
- The other night, desperate to finish an article, I sat cross-legged on our floor and placed Ashley on the Boppy pillow to nurse, so I had both hands free to type on my laptop. This put her in the perfect position to latch on without assistance. Since nursing is such an important bonding time, I don’t do this often… But hey, WAHMs have to pay the bills, too!
- As Ashley began to sit up with assistance, I used the Boppy to let her sit on the couch beside me and my husband. Propping the Boppy at a 45-degree angle against the back of the couch, I sit Ashley inside the opening. It gives her the side-to-side support she needs and she feels more like part of the family. Most places that infants can sit or lie put them down near the floor, not up on-level with the rest of the family.
- Yesterday morning, I fed her breakfast on the couch sitting up with her Boppy, rather than setting her up in the kitchen where it gets very cold in the morning. The Boppy pillowcase is easily removable and machine-washable, so I didn’t worry about oatmeal drips on the pillow.
- We use the Boppy as a prop in photo shoots, to position the baby exactly how we want her.
- The Boppy is also great for tummy time. You can prop baby’s arms on the pillow so she’s not lying flat. This makes tummy time more tolerable for many babies.
The other night, I got quite a laugh when I saw my husband napping on the couch, using the Boppy as his pillow. The shape creates fantastic neck support, and the covering is just warm and cozy.
As Ashley grows into a toddler, I’m sure she’ll find her own favorite position to lie using her Boppy. And I’m considering buying a Boppy for everyone in the family!
A safety tip: never leave the baby alone with the Boppy pillow as it could create a danger of suffocation.
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Kimberly says...
I’m with you! I don’t know how we’d live without the thing! And I ALSO thought having two when my baby was tiny would have been handy. What we do have that I can’t imagine being without is 2 covers for our 1 Boppy pillow. I started out with only one cover and that was hard.
Melissa H says...
Here’s another one… we used it when Ashlynn got a really bad cold and needed to be propped for sleep. We put her in the boppy between the two of us in our bed. That way she was in a good position to breath and we were in a place that we could hear her. It worked like a DREAM.
Dawn says...
I actually used a one-inch high, square memory foam pillow when Ashley had a cold. It filled the whole top half of the bassinet and was firm enough I could leave her alone w it.
Kim– I agree about 2 covers, although the first time I *had* to wash it due to a spill (n not just normal washing) was the other day when I fed her on it. So my ‘Boppy Bears’ are now green dots. lol