NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – A New Braunfels mother invented an innovative solution to help with breastfeeding.
The product is a pillow called the Nursie. Inside her small New Braunfels business, mother of three Tiffany Meinhart uses sewing machines to churn out orders for the portable nursing pillow.
The Nursie slides onto a mother’s forearm, thereby putting baby in position for breastfeeding.
“You’re not having to lean over. It helps promote better posture for the mom, and it reduces gas and reflux for the baby because they are at an angle,” Meinhart said.
It was an invention born due to Meinhart’s necessity. With a bad back, she struggled to nurse her youngest son, so she came up with a solution.
“It was huge and it was pink. And I have three boys, so it didn’t make sense, but it worked,” Meinhart said.
Meinhart posted a picture on social media showing her invention, and soon she was peddling pillows out of her minivan. She opened an Etsy shop later to help her with sales.
“When you make a sale on Etsy, it goes ‘cha-ching.’ And my phone didn’t stop ‘cha-chinging’ for days,” Meinhart said.
Between mommy blogs, Facebook, Etsy and Pinterest, Meinhart harnessed the power of the internet, and her bouncing baby business was born.
The business, Meinhart to Yours, is booming and has filled more than 5,000 orders so far this year. Meinhart has sold to people in places as far away as Saudi Arabia and Japan.
The Nursie is already on Amazon and will soon be on Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby’s websites.
The nursing pillow sells for about $32.