When it comes to baby products, especially ones that you will be using on a daily basis, like a nursing pillow, most people want to make sure they are getting the absolute best option. They want the best deal, the best look, the best quality product. All of these things must align so that a person feels that they made a good purchase. This is certainly the case with nursing pillows.
So is the Minky Nursing Pillow the best option out there? Well, it all depends on your preference, but I personally don’t think it stands out significantly from the crowd.
Here are the things you might want to know about the Minky Nursing pillow before you make a purchase.
What Is Minky?
In short, Minky is a type of fabric that is created to mimic the feel of actual mink. It is not mink and it is not a natural fiber. It is made of polyester, a synthetic material, so you don’t need to worry about hurting any animals.
Synthetic
There are several reasons why I love using this fabric with my babies. And the first, I already mentioned is that it is cruelty-free, but it does have that amazing texture of mink fur.
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Hypoallergenic
Another reason why minky is so popular among parents and babies is that it is hypoallergenic. Most hypoallergenic fabrics are natural fibers like silk or cotton. However, a microfiber like minky, is also considered hypoallergenic. There are no dyes or chemicals used in the process of making these textiles that would make you or your baby have an allergic reaction.
Most allergic reactions are not to the fabric itself, but the dyes or chemicals in the fabric. Minky fabrics do not use these kinds of dyes or chemicals. So whatever brand of minky fabric you are getting, should be completely safe for your baby’s sensitive skin.
Care Instructions
Caring for minky fabric is a lot easier than you might think. Because it has a longer pile than most fabrics like cotton or linen, you might think that it cannot be washed, however, you can definitely get it wet and wash it.
The Nursing Pillow Company states on its website that you should not wash the Minky Nursing Pillow in the washer. You can spot clean it with a damp cloth or you can even submerge it in a sink or a tub, if it is really dirty. However, they say to give the pillow the longest life, it should not be put in the washer.
You can dry it in the dryer on a low setting to fluff it.
Why No Washer?
The reason why you shouldn’t put the pillow in the washer doesn’t have anything to do with the minky fabric itself. It is more to do with the pillow. The pillow is not removable from the minky cover, so you cannot wash it separately. This is why the Nursing Pillow company suggests that you don’t put it into the washer, so the pillow doesn’t go flat.
Embossing
One great thing that the Nursing PIllow company offers is a lot of different embossing options. Embossing is when the minky fabric protrudes slightly in some sort of design.
Currently, the Nursing Pillow Company offers stars, hearts, and many different colored dots.
The embossing adds a bit of depth to the fabric, which adds interest into the pillow. Even though there isn’t a big, loud design, it is far from boring and it makes you want to just reach out and touch it. And when you do touch it, you are sure to be even more impressed with how soft it is!
Your baby will love to feel it and will likely spend a good amount of time rubbing their hands back and forth on the interesting texture.
Pillow Size
According to Nursing Pillow, they have crafted the nursing pillow to be just the right size. It is not as bulky and firm as the My Brest Friend Pillow (you can read my review on that pillow here!). It is a similar size to the Boppy (you can read my review for the Boppy here!).
The Nursing Pillow company provided this image to their website that shows how their pillow compares with other similar pillows on the market currently. These pillows may be similar, but you can see that the Nursing Pillow pillow looks about a standard size and plushy without being overly bulky.
How It Compares With The Boppy
Boppy Is More Popular
The Nursing Pillow Company is not quite as well known as the Boppy and I think there are a few reasons for this, but the biggest reason by far is that their company is called “Nursing Pillow.” Many people will search for nursing pillows online, which may make you assume that that would be a great keyword to make into your company name. However, because many people search it and it is an item that other people manufacture, you have a much more competitive field to enter into.
When I search for “nursing pillow” in a search engine, sure, the website does come up, but so do other nursing pillow options. When I search for “Boppy,” only things directly related to the Boppy come up.
Boppy is also just a catchier name than Nursing Pillow.
In fact, Boppy has become a bit of a proprietary eponym. A proprietary eponym is when people use the brand name of a product to refer to the object. For example, many people say “pass me a Kleenex” rather than “pass me a tissue” even though the object is a tissue and the brand is a Kleenex. They might even be asking for a tissue that is not a Kleenex, but everyone will know what they mean.
I have been to many baby showers where someone gives a nursing pillow and calls it a “Boppy” even though it isn’t that brand.
Perhaps Boppy doesn’t do better than other pillows, money-wise, but it is certainly more popular, which makes me assume that they are the most successful.
Bulkiness
When it comes to how the Nursing Pillow is filled compared to the Boppy, the Nursing pillow is slightly less bulky than the Boppy.
You can compare them visually in this image from the Nursing Pillow website:
Some people like that the Nursing pillow is a bit softer and less dense. It still offers a good amount of support for a baby when you are nursing. How much you enjoy the specific size of the Nursing Pillow vs the Boppy pillow depends mostly on your body, so it is almost impossible to explain which one you would prefer.
The Boppy is a bit denser and tends to be slightly taller than the Nursing Pillow, so if you are someone with a long torso, this might be ideal for you.
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If you are someone with a shorter torso and you don’t want your baby up in your armpit, then the Nursing Pillow might be the right fit for you.
The only way to get a natural fit for your body, whatever its shape, is to have an adjustable pillow like the My Brest Friend pillow. (You can read my review here!) Boppy does have another lesser-known option that is called the Best Latch Boppy. It also has a strap that goes around but is still not as firm as the My Brest Friend Pillow.
Fabric
The Nursing Pillow company places a lot of emphasis on their minky slipcovers when they are marketing. In fact, they have more minky options than regular cotton options.
If you have been a parent for long, you know how other parents go crazy over soft things, so it makes sense to focus on minky fabric. I’ve gone to a lot of baby showers in my adult life and more often than not, it turns into a feeding frenzy. Every gift that comes out of a package needs to be oohed and ahhed at, and also felt. So if you get a minky fabric anything, you are sure to be congratulated at your shower.
Both Boppy and Nursing Pillow offer Minky options. Boppy tends to get the minky softness with a cute design while the Nursing Pillow company leans more toward textured embossing with a solid color.
Whatever your style, you are sure to find something you love.
Cleaning
As mentioned earlier in this post, the Nursing Pillow is fairly easy to clean. You simply spot wipe it or you can submerge it in water to get some deep stains out. You can then let it air dry or put it in the dryer on low.
So that sounds pretty easy, right? But what happens when your baby has a full-on blowout on the pillow? Then submerging it in water just doesn’t seem like enough.
Boppy
The great thing about the Boppy, is that it can be cleaned more thoroughly. The pillow itself can be washed in the washer, which is something that is really important to parents. Babies have a limited immune system, so you want to be as vigilant as possible, especially in the first year, to make sure your baby is as safe as possible.
The Boppy also does a better job at protecting from stains. Each Boppy pillow does not automatically come with a waterproof slipcover, but it is an option you really shouldn’t go without. You can fit this slipcover on and easily put on a decorative one on top of that. This way you won’t need to even wash your pillow every time there is a spit up or blow out. You can simply unzip the slipcover and wash that.
Nursing Pillow
Unfortunately, the Nursing Pillow just doesn’t have the option of a waterproof slipcover. It also doesn’t have any slipcovers period. The fabric you get on the outside is the fabric of the pillow, which can be annoying when you just want to wash the fabric thoroughly.
One option you have though since the Boppy is such a similar size, is you can buy a Boppy slipcover and see if it fits your pillow. Though if you’re going to do that, you might as well just buy a Boppy, since they are similar prices.
Price
As I said, the Boppy and Nursing Pillow are very, very close in price. In fact, I wouldn’t even mention what the price is exactly or which one is more expensive because it could literally change in a month or two. That is how close in price they are.
The one that you decide to buy will probably not be determined by price, but rather the size or the fabric.
Other Uses
You can, just like with the Boppy, use this pillow as a positioner as well. Many parents love the options as a lounger, tummy time area, and sit up seat, just as much as they love the pillow as a nursing pillow.
Lounger
When your baby is brand new, they cannot move themselves at all, so it is nice to have an extra little space to set your baby, so they aren’t laying on the ground every time you aren’t holding them. The pillow is a great resting place to lay your baby as you are getting ready to nurse or just as a little prop area for them to be able to look around.
Tummy Time
When your baby gets slightly older, he or she will be able to start working on tummy time. You can use the Nursing Pillow to do tummy time. In fact, it is a great space for this since it is so soft and familiar to your baby. They will get tired quickly in the beginning, so don’t be surprised if they seem to hate it after only a minute or two. Just keep at it every day for a couple of minutes and their necks will get stronger and stronger.
Seat Positioner
When your baby is about 3 to 4 months old, they will start to be able to learn to sit up on their own. At first, it can be pretty difficult and babies often cannot sit up for long periods of time. The Nursing Pillow gives them just slight support to help them keep their balance and work their trunk muscles.
When they fall, as they all do, they will have something soft to fall on.
Just remember to supervise all these activities!
How to Get A Good Latch
If you are a first-time parent, you might wonder why you would even need a nursing pillow at all? Can’t you just hold your baby? They only weigh a couple of pounds at the beginning. Can’t you just use the arm of a rocker to support your elbow?
Well, once you have your baby, you learn pretty quickly that breastfeeding isn’t as easy as many superhero mamas make it look. It can be pretty complicated.
You might be surprised to know that your body doesn’t naturally just fit your baby’s body. You would think that your baby, who fits snugly in the crook of your elbow, would be at the perfect height to latch onto your breast, but it doesn’t always work that way. (And I’m super grateful that it isn’t that way because those ladies would be dangling looooow!)
Support Pillow
What a nursing pillow does, whether you get the Nursing Pillow, the Boppy, My Brest Friend, or any of the other pillows out there, is it lifts your baby up to the nipple. You can hold your baby up to get a latch, but your arm will get really tired after a while–especially in the beginning when each feeding is like half an hour long. So the pillow allows your baby to be supported by the pillow while the pillow is supported by your lap.
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Posture Aid
This allows you to have the proper position to breastfeed. If you used your lap to support you without a pillow, you would likely be hunched over, which is terrible for your back. It makes me hurt just thinking about it.
When you are pregnant, your body releases relaxin, which helps your cartilage and joints become looser. This might seem like a terrible idea, but it helps your body to be flexible enough to push your baby out of your lady parts.
However, working out, walking, and bending can all cause you extra pain as your joints aren’t held together as securely as they used to be. As your relaxin levels start to normalize, it is really important to have good posture. This ensures that your body will come back together as normally as possible.
If you want to watch a video that helps you understand getting a good latch better, you can watch this video:
Conclusion
So is the Minky Nursing Pillow a quality nursing pillow. I would say so. I think that it has all the necessary features that you would want in a nursing pillow and it isn’t too expensive. Is it the absolute best pillow out there? In all honesty, I think if it were me, I would probably choose to buy the Boppy instead, solely based on the option to remove slipcovers from the pillow and to have a protective waterproof slipcover. But in all other aspects, they are so similar, it’s a toss up of which one you decide to buy.
Of course, there is always the option to explore something completely different and research the My Brest Friend Pillow. You can start with some of my reviews that I have on this site!
Here is a list of some of my helpful posts about the My Brest Friend Pillow and the Boppy:
My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow Review
My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow For Twins
Boppy Nursing Pillow and Positioner
My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow Vs. Boppy
My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow Cover