Lila Bean Nursing Cover: A Review

Today’s breastfeeding product review comes from Amanda, a mother whose nursling Sam celebrates his first birthday this week! Amanda tried out the lila bean nursing cover a few months ago and shared her thoughts with me.

“Hi, my name is Amanda and I nurse in public.

I was so excited when I was asked to review the lila bean nursing cover. Sam and I have overcome many breastfeeding challenges and are heading into our — gasp — 9th month of nursing.

While I have no problem “whipping it out” as my dear husband likes to say, I do have a Hooter Hider that I’ve used when I’ve felt the need to exercise a little discretion. I won’t lie; initially I used it to camouflage more of the belly rolls than the boobs, but it has come in handy at least a few times in places more atmospheric (posh restaurant) than nursing-friendly (most everywhere else). I actually have a friend who nurses with hers at all times — even when in the confines of her house — because baby Sydney is too distracted at 10 months of age to nurse nicely and the cover helps her to focus.

The lila bean website is gorgeous. It’s a company founded by a nursing mom, which I love, and the covers themselves look like they’re of superior quality and function. They’re available in cotton and silk (though the silk covers are “dry clean only” which can be tricky) and come with a small matching pouch in which to stuff them.

It might be that I’m not that coordinated, but I had a bit of a hard time with the cover. My right side has the most milk, so I tried that first. The lila bean nursing cover is different from others in that the entire edge is elasticized — presumably, it’s meant to work like a hammock or little cocoon for baby. I just couldn’t get Sam in there decently and wished that the cover came with instructions to help with positioning. I tried to get his whole body in there, and managed well enough, save for one foot. He nursed happily, and while I didn’t feel genuinely covered, my husband said that you couldn’t see anything. Sam was content and focused, which was nice. I was wearing a nursing camisole at the time, but if not for that, the belly rolls would have been on glorious display.

Switching to the left side didn’t go as smoothly. Sam was excited, I was confused and couldn’t manage to get much of him inside the cover. I tried butt-only, thinking he could hang out a little, but my lack of coordination skills got the best of me and I gave up.

I feel bad because I wanted to LOVE the cover — maybe it takes practice and I’m sure some people do love using theirs. I think that for the easily-distractible baby, the lila bean makes for an excellent quiet environment for baby to nestle in and focus. Because of the gathered edge, there’s no risk of baby flailing and sweeping the cover aside, as Sam likes to do with the Hooter Hider, (our hilarious “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” routine). For the mom who’s looking to also hide her stomach, I’m not sure this is the cover of choice. There’s also the whole argument that nursing covers call more attention to the whole process, but that’s probably a story for another posting.”

Thanks for your review, Amanda! If any other readers use a nursing cover, please post a comment and let us know which one you use and whether or not you recommend it!