Lila Bean Nursing Cover
What is a Lila Bean Nursing Cover? Well, up until a few weeks ago I had never come across one - but essentially it is a stylish cover-up which allows nursing mums to effortlessly breastfeed their babies in public, away from prying eyes.
Stored in a neat little pouch in a wide range of contemporary designs, from cheerful polka dots to pleasing stripes, funky swirls to trendy denim, the Lila Bean is available in either comfortable cotton or luxuriously soft silk - making it an ideal gift for a breastfeeding mother.
Crucially, the creator of Lila Bean, Charlotte Penenberg, thoughtfully designed it in such a way that it allows mums to maintain all-important eye contact with their nursling as they feed! It is also incredibly easy to use - no fussing around with clips and buttons; you simply tie the straps around your neck and place your baby within it!
Now, never having used a nursing cover before, I was curious as to how I would find it. So I tested it out on my little boy, Jack, who is 17 months old. Cocooned inside the cover, my little boy was perfectly protected, snug, cosy and contented, next to me. In contrast to my usual mode of covering up for breastfeeding in public, ie throwing a towel or blanket over my baby, I know which both Jack and I preferred!
However, considering that Jack is an older breastfed baby, I thought it would also be good to get some feedback from the mums at my local breastfeeding group where the babies range in age from a few weeks old to almost 18 months old.
Much to my delight, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
Many mums agreed that it would make a great gift for new breastfeeding mums who are often reluctant to breastfeed in public. After all, if you are standing in a shop or restaurant and your baby starts screaming for a breastfeed, well at some point you just have to get on with it! And although it is possible to breastfeed discreetly in public most times, there are some situations in which it can be a little more tricky to do so. As one mum, Aine, pointed out to me, the swimming pool can be one of those places... but with the Lila Bean easily fitting inside a swimming bag, it could be quickly accessed if you chose to breastfeed pool-side!
Mums also were surprised at the portability of the product and commented on how its light weight and small size meant it was neat enough to fit easily inside an average handbag. Many of the mums also thought it cleverly resembled ordinary everyday clothing and could simply be mistaken for a blouse or a baby sling - meaning that many people wouldn't realise that a mum was breastfeeding at all!
Overall, the nursing mums I showed it to were extremely impressed with the Lila Bean Nursing Cover and many were surprised to find I wasn't actually selling it myself, just testing it out! If I had been, I think I may have got a few orders!
The Lila Bean Nursing Cover is priced from $40.00 for a cotton cover to $95.00 for a silk and is available from http://www.LilaBean.net.
