What is a Nursing Chair and Do I Need One?
What is a nursing chair?
A nursing chair (also known as a glider chair / baby rocking chair) has become a staple purchase for many parents-to be. Used since the Victorian times and predominantly by the upper classes, nursing chairs were designed for mothers to use for feeding and soothing their babies.
Although the principal is the same, nursing chairs have moved with the times and there are now plenty of added features that ensure that both mother and baby can relax with maximum comfort and of course enjoy their precious bonding moments.
Do I need a Nursing chair and what are the benefits?
The honest answer is that you do not “need” a nursing chair. However there are huge benefits to having one and many people say that it ends up being one of their best baby related purchases.
Here are just a few of the ways in which a nursing chair can help new parents:
1. Feeding
Whether your baby is breast or bottle fed, establishing a good position for feeding can be difficult. A nursing chair will give you support where it is needed and will ensure that both parent and child are comfortable. Babies can vary immensely in the time that they take to feed and at Kub, we know from experience that the whole process is much easier for everyone if the parents can get themselves into a well-supported and comfortable position.
2. Soothing
The soothing rocking motion of a nursing chair will help to calm even the most fractious of babies and is very often part and parcel of getting little ones to sleep.
3. Developing a routine
Most babies respond well to routine and will quickly associate a feed in the calm and comfortable surroundings of their nursery with bedtime. Having somewhere to sit in your nursery whilst feeding helps to establish an evening routine in the early days. When your baby is old enough to sleep in their own room, the nursery will already be a familiar environment for your little one and the transition should be much easier.
4. Comfort
Nursing chairs are wider and lower than normal chairs enabling more flexibility during a feed – this is especially useful in the early days of breastfeeding when mothers are trying to find the best position for themselves and their baby.
In the early postnatal days, many mothers find sitting and standing up uncomfortable due to the effects of the birth. A lower chair makes it infinitely easier for parents to get up at the end of the feed with minimum disruption to a sleeping baby.
5. Convenience
Most nursing chairs have handy storage pockets on their arms. These pockets enable you to have everything that you need during a feed to hand. (We have been known to use these pockets to store dummies, bibs, muslin squares, breast pads, magazines, water bottles, bedtime story books and more!)
6. Good back support
Many mothers struggle with back pain during their pregnancy and beyond. A nursing chair will ensure that your back is well supported and not put under any unnecessary additional pressure from bad posture during lengthy feeds.
7. Ideal for swollen feet
Few mothers escape the dreaded swollen feet during pregnancy. We believe that ALL Mums (and Dads) deserve the opportunity to put their feet up regardless of whether they have “cankles”, which is why we include a matching footstool with all of our chairs!
8. Toddlers and beyond
Some people suggest that nursing chairs are only used in the early days - we beg to differ! As your baby grows, your chair will become the ideal place to snuggle up with your little one for a bedtime story. Moments like these stay with you and your child forever!