I was lucky enough recently to get the chance to review the
BFFL Co Mommy/Delivery BFFLBag (LINK). The company has recently been covered
in Time magazine, on FOXNews,
Huffington Post, and more, so I was really intrigued by their product line. There is a reason they’ve been covered –
co-founder Elizabeth Chabner Thompson, MD, MPH, has a pretty remarkable
story. She completed her residency in
Radiation Oncology and has a Master’s in Public Health. She devoted her career to helping those with
cancer after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer – and has even been
through a prophylactic double mastectomy and breast reconstruction because of
that family history of cancer (think of what Angelina Jolie recently did, and
why). Her brave decisions and personal
history, combined with her medical education, have given her a unique
perspective on what’s needed during a hospital stay. Using this wealth of information and experience,
BFFL Co has an entire line of recovery products for different surgeries and
medical conditions – including this innovative bag for new mothers to take to
the hospital.
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned in my previous posts that I’m
currently pregnant, and am always going to be a high-risk pregnancy. Our first daughter was born still at just
21.5 weeks, and I was on bedrest from 13.5 weeks on with our second daughter. I have to have a hospital bag ready to go
pretty much from the start of the second trimester on forward. However, with a precocious 3.5-year-old
tearing around the house, a full-time job, and trying to make time for my
wonderful husband, I don’t have a ton of time to sit down and write out lists
for months on end of what needs to go into my hospital bag. Even if I did, I’d miss something, even
having been through all of this before.
So, it’s safe to say I was really excited to see this
bag. I’m sort of a natural skeptic,
however, so I was positive that I’d find something that was missing or needed
adding. I can’t think of a single
thing missing from this bag. I
literally think you can just put your phone charger in here and head to the
hospital. But let’s not get ahead of
ourselves with uncharacteristic gushing from me, I’ll explain myself.
First things first – BFFL Co includes a designer bag to hold
all of the goodies inside. Much to my
delight, this is an adorable bag. It’s a
bag you would actually want to use as a gym bag or an overnight bag after you’ve
recovered from emitting a baby from your body by one method or another. Then, inside, there’s just a TON of
stuff. There’s a heart-shaped Axilla
Pilla comfort pillow (good for hugging when you’re trying to ride out a
contraction, or for nursing support), flip flops (so you don’t have to pick up
a foot fungus along with a newborn), a skin care gift set, Bio-Oil moisturing
scar and stretch mark treatment oil, some nursing pads, perineal ice packs and
disposable sleeves (if you don’t know why these are included, I don’t think I
should be the one to explain it), a collapsible water bottle, some nursing pads
(GENIUS, because everyone forgets these and then panic when their milk comes
in), and then several separated packets.
These are organized ingeniously – one is for toiletries (including dry
shampoo which is especially awesome for those post-op, lip balm, nail care set,
tooth care, and more), a wound care/incision pack for if you had a C-section, a
packet of fun entertainment stuff (playing cards, notebook, pen, slipper socks,
cards, etc.), and a pack that is filled with mesh underwear, pads, and all of
that fun stuff. I skipped over a lot of
little individual items in here (ear plugs, etc.) because it literally would
take an entire paragraph just to list everything, it’s so chock-full (but
packed into a convenient-sized bag). I
had assumed I’d need to add some of that little stuff like lip balm (to which I’m
addicted) and nail clippers, but they’re all just right there. I guess you could add a gown if you didn’t
want to wear the hospital garb, but that’s really not a necessity, and those
hospital gowns have snaps specifically useful for if you plan to breastfeed.
I know I don’t usually glow this much about a product, but I
just really was impressed by how complete it is. On top of all of that, 15% of the net profits
from the purchase are donated to the Harvard School of Public Health Women’s
and Health Initiative. With all of this,
not only am I glad that this is going to be going to the hospital with me, but
I believe this will start being my go-to shower gift. I can’t think of a single mom or type of
delivery that wouldn’t benefit from this – and there’s even some room in it to
take home the diapers that you paid 5x cost for from the hospital room!
