Caley

With both of my girls, I was able to breastfeed them for the first full year of their lives. I was happy to do this and was thankful I was able to (and didn’t have the added expense of formula, etc). With Miss M, I never breastfed her in public. She was an October baby so we spent the greater part of that winter indoors anyway. If we were out, I would feed her in the car or just wait until we reached our destination. I would always go into another room if we were not at home. As a new mom, I was most comfortable nursing her this way and it worked fine.

When C arrived, I did not have the same luxury of staying indoors as I did with M. Now I had a 4 1/2 year old and it was summertime. My sister-in-law had bought me a nursing cover and I used that anytime we were at the park, etc. and C was hungry. I don’t remember there even being nursing covers when M was a baby. The cover was okay. C would get hot under it and sometimes bat at it instead of concentrating on eating. I was glad I had it but wasn’t completely satisfied using it.

When I was given the opportunity to review BabyBond, I jumped at the chance. It is a nursing cover, but one that doesn’t cover the baby! What a great idea! Even though my nursing days are very much behind me, I still wanted to see how the BabyBond would work. I even had a worthwhile accomplice to help me in my review, my niece Caley. She just became a new mom to a ten pound baby girl, “J”, a little over a month ago!

Here is her review of the Flex cover:

I think it is a really great concept. The thing that I like best about it is that the baby is not covered and you can have eye contact with the baby but you still are covered. The fabric is nice and soft compared to some of the other nursing covers I have seen, and it is smaller then most nursing covers so it would be easy to take with you all the time without having to worry about space. The detachable burp cloth is also really nice because it attaches and when you are out you won’t have to worry about dropping the burp cloth or anything like that. The only things I find negative would be that when you are getting baby to latch on it is less modest. Also you need to be sure you are wearing a nursing shirt for it to work or else your stomach will be exposed. I would definitely try it out, probably more in the house when I don’t want to be around people then in public because of the fact that I wouldn’t want the extra expense of buying a whole nursing wardrobe to be able to use this.

One thing that I would add to Caley’s review is that if you have shirts that will button open or a low v-neck, then you do not have to use a nursing shirt with it. Overall, I really wish I had known about BabyBond a couple of years ago, but I am glad that it is a real option for those moms that have to be on the go and those babies that hate being covered up.

Buy it! Go to BabyBond and get your own cover for $35! Enter coupon code QSP and get 25% off your order!!

Note: the sash should actually be on the left shoulder

and not the right as shown in order

for the cover to be used properly.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS!

Win it! Baby Bond has graciously offered one of my readers their choice of either the Original, Flex or Couture models.

Mandatory Entry: Visit BabyBond’s website and come back and leave a comment on which of three models (Original, Flex or Couture) you would choose AND in what color. You MUST do this first or no entries will count! Please leave your email address with this comment.

Extra Entries:

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One week ago, my awesome niece, Caley, gave birth to her first child. Beautiful “J.S.” was born at a bouncing 10 lbs 2 ozs and 19 inches long. She has a ton of hair and already has all of us wrapped around her tiny fingers.

In anticipation of Caley becoming a mom, I asked my facebook and twitter friends what words of advice they would provide to a new parent and/or what they would have done differently. The following contains their words and for that I am grateful.

Dear Caley,

Well, you have now survived the first out of hopefully a multitude of weeks with your new baby girl. It is an amazingly tiring thing, isn’t it? You are now somebody’s mom. You will hold this title for the rest of your life. It is a job that never ends. I remember thinking as we were leaving the hospital with Miss M., What? They are just going to let us have her now? Am I ready for all of this? The answer is no, you are never truly ready. No matter how old you are or how many babies you have cared for. Not until you have your own do you truly understand this.

I know that you are getting and will get a ton of advice right now. That will not stop. You will learn to take what you need and just nod politely and ignore those that you don’t. I wanted to use my blog as way of sharing some of my own advice and that of some my friends with not just you but also any new mom that may stumble upon this little corner of the internet. So here it goes.

Don’t give up on breastfeeding, it can take a good month to get into a rhythm. It is well worth it! (HM)
Swaddling blankets are your friend. (JJ)
Enjoy every moment. It goes by so fast, it is unreal. (JJ) (MB)
Nap when baby naps. Housework can wait. (JJ)
Invest in a good baby carrier like mint wrap or sleepy wrap. They help with bonding and also freeing up your hands to get other things done. (JJ)
No such thing as spoiling a baby. (JJ)
If someone offers to help, take it. (SB)
Take lots of pictures. (SB)
Relax. (MP) (MB)
“Never forget you know your child better than anyone else.” (MM)
“You’ll make mistakes; forgive yourself for them and start every day fresh.” (MM)
“Every day every moment is an opportunity to make a memory.” (MM)
“Beware of explosive pooping.” (MM)
“Trust your instincts as a mom and not worry so much about what the ‘experts’ say should happen.” (JB)
“They won’t go to kindergarten nursing every two hours.” (JB)
Take lots of walks as the weather gets warmer. (CD)
“Work as a team.” (CD)
“Write down everything they say and do…otherwise time goes by so fast you forget.” (CD)
“It’s tiring but well worth it.” (CD)
“Trust yourself.” (HS)
“Never wake a sleeping baby.” (HS)
Everything will be okay.

The greatest thing that I have learned as a parent is that it is okay to walk away and give yourself a time out once in a while. You need this and deserve it.

I am so proud to be your Aunt. I love you and Bryan so much and wish nothing but the best for you all. Remember I am only a phone call away.

With Love,

Angie

PS. If you are curious, the letters after the bullet points are the initials of those who provided me with the advice. My small way of providing credit where credit is due.

BabyBond: A Nursing Mom’s Dream (Review & GIVEAWAY!!) NOW CLOSED!

A Letter to Caley, a new mom, or, Beware of…