Official URL: simplynecessary.com
Price Tag: $29.95
Colors: Baby Pink and Baby Blue
Warmth Factor: Snuggly!
Rating:

I LOVE things that can multi-task. This pillow-blanket from Simply Necessary wins hands down in the multitasking arena.

A diaper-bag sized pillow that helps with breastfeeding or bottle feeding, a breastfeeding coverup, a comfy portable toddler nap-bed, a supportive pillow to help your toddler or preschooler hold his newborn sibling, a blanket, a cushy diaper-changing pad with a supportive headrest, an infant prop,  a travel pillow, and the list goes on. You an even tuck supplies such as a tube of lanolin, a burp cloth, a nursing necklace or a pacifier into the pocket where the blanket goes so that you’ll have them handy.

AESTHETIC/DESIGN

Let’s be honest. Most nursing pillows look at least a little bit goofy. This one at least has the dignity of not resembling a large hemorrhoid cushion.

The baby pink and baby blue colors are cute and soothing, reminding me of “Baby’s first teddy bear” more than anything else. While more sophisticated color options would be great to have, these two color options aren’t a bad start.

COMFORT & EASE OF USE

This pillow is very easy to use. To use the pillow alone you simply put your arm through it as if it were a sleeve. To use the blanket portion you pull it out of its fabric flap. To use it as a nursing cover you lay the baby down with his head on the pillow, the fabric looped under his body and then up over your shoulder, or even just around and over the baby like a blanket which you can then bunch up a bit to create a privacy shield without covering up the baby’s face.

The hardest part of using the pillow is folding the blanket back into its pouch. This requires two hands. Even this isn’t hard: Simply fold the blanket in half, tuck in the sides, fold in half  again and roll it into the flap. You might find another way that you prefer, but I found that this gave me the most uniform results and took only a few seconds to do.

WARMTH FACTOR

This little item is very cuddly and is about as warm as most warmer “crib blankets”. It’s made of a double layer of soft fluffy polyester.  It’s great for the early days of skin to skin snuggling that everyone recommends for bonding with your infant, and increasing your breastfeeding success without having to worry about your little one becoming cold. It’s also awesome if you have to breastfeed while outside during colder months as the cover up forms a comfy cocoon for you and your baby.

SIZE & SIZING

How big is this pillow? It’s about the size and shape of a large loaf of bread. (1 foot long, 7 1/2″ in diameter) It fits easily under an umbrella stroller or into most diaper bags.

The roll-out blanket is about 41″ long, 11″ wide at the side attached to the pillow and flares out at the far end to 23″ wide. It is long enough to reach your shoulder while breastfeeding an infant or toddler, and long and wide enough to use as a blanket for a breastfeeding infant or toddler as well. It’s pretty much the peffect size, really. Any longer or wider and it would be too bulky. Any shorter or more narrow and it wouldn’t be a good coverup or blanket. I love it when so much thought has clearly gone into a product.

The larger elastic open stretches to about 8″ diameter (approx 25″ circumference) and the smaller one stretches to about 6 1/2″ diameter (20″ circumference). The diameter of the inside of the pillow is larger than the 8″ opening which ensures that anyone wearing the Go Pillow will be able to bend their arm comfortably.  For reference, I have an average build and my upper arm is about 13″ circumference. Our editor’s arm is a slim 9″ circumference, my husband’s arm is 14″. The opening is large enough for most men and women to use comfortably.  To determine if this pillow will fit your arm, measure around your arm just above your elbow and below your bicep. If the measurement is smaller than 24-25″, this pillow should work fine for you.

Preschoolers can also comfortably use this pillow to hold their little brothers or sisters more easily and securely without the normal procedure of half burying them in pillows and blankets.

QUALITY/CONSTRUCTION

The pillow is tube-shaped with elastic gathers on either end. The larger opening has a long broad elasticised seam and the smaller opening has a two-tiered seam which is also elasticised. Both openings are very well designed to avoid putting too much pressure on the wearer’s skin.

The “pocket” where the blanket is tucked when not in use runs the whole circumference of the pillow which allows you to wrap it around and evenly distribute the blanket so that it stays smooth and wrinkle free when not in use.

The blanket itself is double layered so that both sides are the same soft fuzzy fabric, and to increase warmth. It flares out at the bottom which helps it stay compact while still being a great cover up or blanket.

The stitching is very well done with no loose or frayed edges or unfinished seams. The elastic is high quality and durable. The fabric is very durable and easy to clean. It all holds up very well to use and washing.

EASE OF CARE

The plush fuzzy texture of this pillow makes it a lot easier to keep clean than the “velvet” textured pillows or plain cotton covers. Spitup can just dry and then be brushed clean without leaving a stain (both formula spitup and breast milk spit up), and most other things will clean off easily too. One of the kids at the library somehow managed to draw on my pillow with a dark blue marker, the color most notorious for staining. A simple application of a stain pre-treater and a few quick brushes with an old tooth brush and the stain disappeared before it even went into the washing machine.

For harder stains or for larger spit-ups, a trip to the laundry will be necessary. Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. Unlike with many nursing pillows there is no worry about this pillow becoming misshapen in the wash. The only slight negative is that there is no slip cover and so the whole pillow needs to be washed.

The ease of spot cleaning means that with daily use with a newborn this pillow will need to be washed about once a week if no burp cloth is used. Not too bad.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

This product is mom-created and the company is mom-owned by Tangela Walker-Craft. She came up with the idea of the GoPillow’s roll-out blanket when she was caught in a rainstorm at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She was in a crowded area and her baby needed to breastfeed and so her husband was shielding her with his shirt to give her a little bit of privacy! It was then that she realized how much of a need there was for a supportive breastfeeding pillow that had an attached cover-up and that was still small enough for travel.

BOTTOM LINE

I wish that I had this at the hospital when my son was born. The nursing pillow that I did have back then took up so much room in my “go” bag that I left it home at first hoping that I could make do with bed pillows. This little nursing pillow is softer, smaller, less unweildy to deal with, and almost as supportive as the breastfeeding pillows that are three or four times the size. AND it comes with a blanket for keeping your little one warm. This pillow would also have been absolutely wonderful in the early days of breastfeeding on the go, which I had to master without any supportive pillow at all, as most pillows are the size of small cars. This little pillow is a genius idea and a true lifesaver for new moms. Not only that, but its value lasts from the first day of your baby’s life, all the way up to preschool! Name another nursing pillow that does that.