Bebe au Lait {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway has now ended.  Thank you for entering!}

I love when one of my favorite companies send me a gorgeous brand spankin’ new product to review and provides a giveaway for my readers!  Bebe au Lait sent me an absolutely gorgeous and super soft nursing cover in the Papillon pattern for me to review.  You can win a fabulous nursing cover (as I model in this post) or set of burp cloths  in your pattern of choice!  What a great gift for you or for a new or expecting mom!

I have used my first Bebe au Lait cover since just days after Sophia was born in 2006 and I was sort of itching for a new pretty thing and with the gorgeous fabrics I was not disappointed.  Now I have 2 covers, one for home and one for away and I use both of them daily.  How very cool!

As a Nursing Cover

I used the cover to nurse within hours of Violet’s birth as my in-laws came to hang out with us in the hospital.  While I firmly believe that moms can nurse with or without a cover and wherever the heck they want to, I personally prefer my brother-in-law and mother-in-law remain unaware of how my boobs or nipples look.  You know, cause I am a prude like that.  So I whipped out my gorgeous cover in the hospital and seriously people, I got ooh’s and ahh’s from my family and from all the vital check nurses and from Violet’s nurse and from my OB.  These covers are gorgeous!

And yes, they work.  No one saw my goods who was not supposed to.

I present to you a picture of me and Violet in the hospital before she needs to eat. 

Then, easy as pie, here is a picture of her nursing.  Can you see my boobs?  No ma’am.  See – it works for what it is supposed to.  As you can see – I can see baby Violet when she eats.  She can see me.  It is my favorite thing about these covers.  I still feel connected to my little one and she does not feel totally covered up with a plain ol’ blanket covering her head.  This cover does not really even touch her head.  The rigid neckline keeps the cover away from hers so she has the room to breathe, eat and be comfy!

I use the cover at home when I want Violet to have a calm place to nurse without all the excitement of Sophia and Miles running around.  I also use it at home if a repairman or contractor is in the house.  I can nurse her while doing a walk through of a project with no boob showing and a very satisfied baby.  I also use the cover when we are outside so that she is not blinded by the sunshine.  When we are out and about – I use it all the time for my comfort and hers.

Other Uses for this Gorgeous Cover

It is a burp cloth.  It has two little terry triangles on the bottom corners that also have tiny pockets for pacis and stuff.  These are awesome to have!  I sometimes curl one up to put under Violet’s cheek to help deal with the enormous amount of milk that comes out with my hyper lactation.  This way I have something right there that can absorb some of the milk the sprays out when she needs to take a break from gulping!  Not sexy I know, but SO helpful!  Saves my clothes and hers from being soaked!

We use this as a light blanket all the time.  After nursing I just wrap Violet up and put her in her rocker and she is happy as a clam!  I also lay it over her car-seat to provide protection from sun or wind when we are running from the car into the store or something.  It can also be used on top of a baby carrier like an Ergo Baby or a Bjorn for coverage of the head and extra warmth and then you have it available to nurse!

We play peek-a-boowith the Bebe au Lait.  All of my babies have loves grasping the rigid neckline so it is fun!

Sophia and Miles use the Bebe au Lait as capes.  I think this is hilarious.  My own nursing super heros!

This works as a travel changing pad too.  I do use the pretty side just in case anything got on the blanket it would not ever be next to baby’s face.  It is much better than laying your baby on the ground or a public nursing station.

An emergency outfit / diaper.  I went through 2 full outfits on my first plane trip with Sophia and all but one of my diapers.  Her little 2 month old tummy exploded multiple times on our way to New Orleans.  I ended up with nothing clean except my Bebe au Lait cover.  I wrapped her up in it around my last diaper and asked the stewardess for a clean blanket.  This was how Sophie met her cousins.  I thought it was a great alternative to being naked or covered in poop.  For other great travel tips with little ones you can read my full post here.

Other Products:

Bebe au Lait also makes the cutest and softest burp cloths, which I purchased before Violet was born.  I have not yet tried their 4 way bibs or hooded towels but I may just have to break down and get them because they are just gorgeous and the reviews of them are great!

They also have a line of jewelry called Family Ties that expresses the bond between parent and child.  Well, be still my heart – how adorable!

Overall Bebe au Lait is a wonderful company with a fabulous product that I recommend over and over to nursing mothers.  The nursing cover is listed on my Things I used in the First 2 Weeks with a Newborn, which you can find here.  I really don’t have any negatives.  My firstcover is still great after 3 years and while it is a little faded from so many washings it is still beautiful.  Any product that lasts that long through that many kids and daily use is awesome in my book.  The craftmanship is commendable and the fabric is super soft!  My only suggestion is that they start making adorable blankies and swaddlers out of these fabrics.  I love them!

Giveaway!

One lucky Mommy Words reader will win a Bebe au Lait (a.k.a. Hooter Hiders) nursing cover or Set of Burp Cloths!  How do you win?  It’s easy!  Simply comment and let me know your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Required Entry:

Visit Bebe au Lait and leave me a comment telling me your favorite pattern or favorite product.

Extra Entires:  You must leave a separate comment for each extra entry to count and extra entries won’t count unless the required entry is done.  If you already follow / fan Mommy Words or Bebe au Lait this counts – just let me know!

1.  Follow Mommy Words publicly by joining through Google Friend Connect and tell me you are. 

2.  Become my Facebook fan here and leave me your Facebook name.

3.  Become a Facebook fan of Bebe au Lait here and leave me your Facebook name.

4.  Follow @mommywords on Twitter here and leave me your twitter name. 

5.  Follow Bebe au Lait on Twitter here and leave me your twitter name.

6.  Tweet about this giveaway 1 time each day and let me know you tweeted!  Try tweeting…Win a fabulous Bebe au Lait nursing cover from @mommywords here http://bit.ly/bVUiXO Ends 3/15.

7.  Subscribe to Mommy Words via RSS reader or Email and tell me you are .

8.  Click to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs. Just click the cute banner on the right side bar and tell me you clicked. You can can click up to 3x for more entires.

Giveaway Rules and Disclaimer:

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. It begins on March 8, 2010 and will end on March 15, 2010 at 9 pm. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. The winner will be announced on this blog and contacted if I have his or her email and must respond within 48 hours to claim. Otherwise, another eligible entry will be chosen. Good luck!

I was provided the Bebe au Lait nursing cover in order to facilitate my review.  I was not compensated for this review.  These are my own opinions and honest experience with this product.