5 reasons a nursing cover is the best baby travel accessory

(Even if you’re not nursing)

It’s a bittersweet day for me. I get the honour of celebrating Mothers’ Day again this weekend – this time for us hard-working UAE mummas! (Spring equinox ~ 21 March).

I have been so touched by the lovely artworks the Globetrotters have brought home for me this week and the tender reminders that they will only be this little once.

It is also a sad day though as it’s time to accept that I am coming to the end of an era. My milk has just about dried up. The dairy is closing, my maternity wear is about to go in the rag pile once and for all and I’m very unlikely to be nursing a baby again.

I thought I would cheer when this day finally came but it’s made me realise after nearly six years of being pregnant or breastfeeding a baby, that’s it. My body can be it’s own again and life moves on; my Baby Globetrotters are growing up.

While my now very tattered looking maternity bras might be tossed this week, one thing I am holding dear still is my nursing cover. I have to admit these things are pure genius – and for more reasons than you might think!

Here are 5 great reasons any travelling mum should invest in a nursing cover (Hooter Hider, Udder Cover, nursing scarf – call them what you will):

1. The blindingly obvious, a wonderful way for you to relax and feel comfortable bearing your boobs in public while your baby feeds. A properly designed cover should have some sort of tie around your neck that holds the cover in place and a soft wire that creates an opening big enough for you to see down but no one else to see in.

(I know several mums that have tried and failed with a nursing cover because baby simply doesn’t like it; it may not work for everyone but my best advice is to get baby used to the concept early on, even if your feeding at home practice using it so baby doesn’t then get flustered by it when you’re out and about.)

2. On the bottle, not the boob? No need to worry, they are great for you too! Little ones can easily be distracted from feeding when you’re out and about as there is so much going on, so its a great way to still give them a cosy, darkened place to feed in private. (You could run into the same issue as nursing babies that they just don’t like being covered over, but if you use it early on it will become familiar to baby). Also great for discreet breast pumping on the move.

2. A sunshade! Forget buying expensive accessories to cover your pram or stroller, a strategically placed nursing cover is all you need to give bubba some shade and perfectly darken things off ready for a nap – even the shortest trips out of the house or in the car, ours comes everywhere.

2. Out and about and forgotten a rug? Fear not, the nursing cover is the perfect size to provide a little ground cover to your pre-crawler. On a patch of grass, in a cafe or don’t want an accident on someone’s lovely rug, it’s perfect!

2. When all else fails, it’s an utterly brilliant superhero cape. Long after its other purposes have passed I suspect mine will be ending up in the dress-up box.

What sort of nursing cover?

There are many different brands of nursing covers available and for the more crafty among you, super easy to make.  I have been a big fan of the apron-style Bebe au Lait. Their range covers everything from the very subtle to bright delights, they are gorgeous and the perfect design for everything we need.

Infinity nursing scarfs are another subtle and fashionable alternative or look out for designs that are purposefully made to double as an infant capsule cover.

You can see our complete review of our favourite nursing covers here, as well as all our top breastfeeding and pumping on the move tips here for those of you still breastfeeding your beautiful babies.

Anyone else love their nursing cover as much as me? Any other fabulous uses you have found?

© Our Globetrotters 

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