Breastfeeding cushions. Fantastically useful or the cushion equivalent of those robo-bins for nappies?

[tigana]

I do remember struggling to get ds to right height to reach my not-ginormous boobs using normal pillows (am long bodied...also may have been cheapo pillows that would squish flat under weight of a small bird, let alone 7-8lb of baby).

I tried all sorts of combinations of pillows, v pillows, cushions, beanbags etc and ended up finding the widgey cushion worked best for us once I had got good at figuring out where to put DD. I went from a huge pile of pillows and needing lots of help to get her in position to being able to manage alone with just the widgey cushion, to nothing when out and about (but the widgey cushion is best for me at home, as we get more milk down her.) Having tried different things at the Children's Centres and BF support groups, I can honestly say that every mother-child combination is different, and it can change as your experience and child grow. With DS the widgey cushion didn't fit round my much-fatter-then waist and we only used it to prop him when he was in that not quite sitting stably phase.

So, yes, the right one can be fantastically useful, and the wrong one for you can be a waste of money and space.

(The biggest single difference for me between still being breastfeeding beyond six weeks, [still doing it at 11 months now], and not, was having help staying with me at home for more than just the two weeks of paternity leave, so I could get good at breastfeeding and move from piles of pillows and needing to get baby into place every feed to independence and also get past the 6 weeks of relentless feedfeedfeed while entertaining the toddler.)

I have 2 - one for upstairs and one for downstairs (to be fair I was given one just after I'd bought one) and I wouldn't be without them. You don't need one but I find that they make BF easier, even now. My dd is 15 months and equates her cushion with cuddles and BF - she tries to drag it to me when she wants me to sit and feed her. It's lovely - I put it on my lap and lay her down and she laughs in excitement. Also doubles as a useful head rest for DH when he is playing PS3.

You can get an inflatable BF pillow for about £10 in Boots here
I tried an inflatable today - don't know who made it, no label - and was surprised how good it is. It was roughly C shaped so would help with the rugby hold as well as the standard cradle holds.