It’s Breastfeeding Awareness month and naturally we are thrilled at the opportunity to talk about one of our favorite products, the Niche Nursing Pillow. While Nook has products for the whole family, we started by making organic healthy products for babies and we returned to that focus when we designed the Niche. Continue reading to learn more about the Niche! As an extra gift from us to you, save 15% on the purchase of any Niche or Niche cover all month!
The Story Behind the Niche
It comes as no surprise that we love babies here at Nook. We all have babies of our own and know the joys and, let’s be honest, occasional frustrations, of parenthood. In the beginning, it feels like all babies do is sleep, eat, play and poop. We knew we had the sleeping part taken care of with our organic and breathable crib mattresses. And our Pebble Changing Pad made all of those diaper changes just a little less, well, messy. That left us with the second biggest thing babies do—EAT! We wanted to offer a safe and healthy solution and the Niche Nursing Pillow truly does all of that and more.
When we decided to expand our product line into the feeding space, we were up against some pretty stiff competition. We knew it was important to do our research and really understand what was missing from all the big name feeding pillows. And there was no better resource than the experts—moms, dads, trusted retailers and lactation consultants. We didn’t want to design just another nursing pillow. As with all Nook products, we wanted to provide a solution for what was missing in the market. Most of all, we wanted to create and design something that would be helpful to new parents while maintaining our goals of creating healthy and eco-friendly baby products.
You Spoke, We Listened
We discovered a lot during our research journey: what works and what doesn’t, what do real moms and dads like and dislike, what kind of an investment are our customers wanting to make, etc. Here are the top 6 things we discovered that matter most to parents:
"I have three kids and tried the Boppy, Ergo and My Brest Friend for my first born. I never got comfortable or felt like I had the support I needed during those early breastfeeding days. I always stacked a pillow underneath to get the pillow high enough. Once I got the Niche when my second son was born, I was completely hooked. Thanks for always thinking about us mamas, Nook!"
- Haley R., mom of 3
Comfortable and Breathable Support
We know from first-hand experience that the nursing journey isn’t always easy, so the pillow you use shouldn’t add to the existing challenges of figuring it all out. The options available to parents either had a non-supportive, flimsy poly-fiber core or a foam core that was more like a cement landing pad than a nice place where you’d like to cuddle up with your new baby for feeding time. Additionally, the materials weren’t breathable, which made for a sweaty, sticky space whether nursing or bottle-feeding.
It became our mission to source an organic core material that even Goldilocks would approve of. It had to be not too hard, not too soft but just right, all while offering a breathable, cool and comfortable feeding space for both mom and baby. The first version of the Niche featured organic cotton filling inside the pillow insert. When supply chain challenges arose, we switched it up to an organic cotton filling. Now we also have a polyfill verison of the Niche for parents to have their choice of filling!
Size and Shape Matters
Babies and their parents come in all shapes and sizes and we wanted our Niche Nursing Pillow to be the one that our moms and dads could both use comfortably. The nursing pillow options parents had available to them lacked the surface space needed for the squirming and shifting babies do while nursing, bottle feeding, burping and, well, just being babies.
Entirely unique, the Niche’s square design provides a larger surface area that is ideal for newborns, older babies/toddlers and twins. It also interchangeably works for breastfed and bottle-fed babes. The flexible arms offer a truly one-of-a-kind comfort that no other nursing pillow out there can.
Make it Stylish
So many baby products look like the pages of a children’s book with trains, ABC blocks, baby zoo animals and cheesy patterns. And, let's be honest, while the plan may be to nurse in the glider/rocker in your beautiful nursery, it doesn't always play out that way. It was important that our feeding pillow seamlessly fit into any space within the home (nursery, living room, master bedroom, etc.) There is NO need to hide the Niche Nursing Pillow. Its modern, simplistic, beautiful color and shape is a conversation starter.
The Niche uses our cooling Tencel Pebble fabric in a variety of colors. It truly is a beautiful pillow that can enhance any room in the house.
Made in the USA
All of our products are made in North America and we stand behind continuing that mission. The Pebble fabric is woven in North Carolina, the organic cotton is from our supplier in California, and the Niche pillow assembly happens just across the Texas border in Mexico before it arrives at our warehouse in Dallas.
What’s in a name?
Not every mom is able to nurse or chooses to nurse—and that’s okay! Nook respects everyone's journey because, in the end, a well fed baby is truly the goal. The Niche Nursing Pillow isn't just for the breastfeeding mom; it's for the bottle-feeding mom, dad, grandma, sibling, nanny, etc. too. We believe that regardless of the situation, every little one (and the person that loves and feeds them) deserves a breathable, safe and comfy place to snuggle and eat. And thus, the Nook Niche Nursing Pillow was born!