Comfort and Style with Viva La Mama’s Milchshake Nursing Hoodie

I received this item at no cost in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.

Fall is just around the corner, and that means the weather is starting to cool off again. I can’t say I’m disappointed! There’s something really nice about the fall. The cool crisp air, the leaves turning a fiery orange, and the return of the Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte are a few of my favourite things about this time of year. But with the change in the season comes a change in the wardrobe. My “mom uniform” doesn’t change much over the course of the year: skinny jeans or leggings, and tanks or t-shirts will continue to make a daily appearance this fall. What can I say? It’s easy, convenient, comfortable, and at least still relatively on point (at least I think it is, but I’m not exactly spending my time flipping through the pages of Vogue these days). There is one wardrobe item that makes a frequent appearance in the fall, and that’s the hoodie! There’s really nothing better than a nice hoodie. It has to be warm, but not so warm that you feel the need to tear it off whenever you’re indoors, it has to be comfortable, and it needs to look great. Finding such a hoodie wouldn’t be too much of a problem except for one minor detail. As a breastfeeding mom, I want to be able to breastfeed in it easily. I don’t want to have to take it off or have to roll the entire length of a hoodie body up to my chin to be able to feed Petit Prince. This is where Viva La Mama’s Milchshake line of apparel comes in. I never thought I’d find a hoodie that was everything I want in a regular hoodie but with breastfeeding access. And yet, here I am wearing a hoodie that is precisely that (yes, I’m wearing it right now). Let me tell you all about Viva La Mama’s Milchshake Belly Boo nursing hoodie and what makes it so amazing! 

Viva La Mama is a maternity, nursing, and baby wearing apparel shop located in Berlin. Started by two moms who wanted beautiful and practical clothing to wear when they were nursing their babies, Viva La Mama has grown to have a huge variety of pieces in their collection and even opened their first brick and mortar store in Berlin this year. Every item sold by Viva La Mama is handmade in Europe (in both Germany and Poland) of high quality materials. From maternity tops to nursing dresses to baby wearing outerwear, Viva La Mama has nothing but the best for moms!

Now I want to tell you all about the Viva La Mama Milchshake Belly Boo nursing hoodie! I have the Belly Boo nursing hoodie in navy with red and white stripe accents. Navy and stripes are always a winning combination in my books, so when I received this hoodie in the mail I was thrilled with the colour combination. The Belly Boo hoodie is really a beautiful piece of clothing. One of the first things I noticed about it was how soft and stretchy it was. Although I use the Belly Boo hoodie as a nursing hoodie, it can be worn during pregnancy as well. I can absolutely see how this hoodie would fit right through pregnancy. It has a great deal of stretch to the material, and I have no doubt that it could accommodate a pregnant belly and then still fit well once that baby makes his or her way to the outside. Because of that stretch, I really don’t think you’d have to worry that wearing it during pregnancy is going to leave you with a hoodie that’s saggy across the front. It’s definitely going to bounce right back into its original shape every time.

As a nursing hoodie, the Belly Boo is perfect. The key to a functional piece of nursing apparel is the boob access. A hoodie can be as fashionable and beautiful as anything, but if you can’t easily access the breast for a feeding, it’s not going to work as nursing apparel! The Belly Boo’s nursing access is awesome. What I love about it is that it doesn’t add an overlapping layer of material to the chest area of the hoodie. Although that is one way to create boob access, I think the way Viva La Mama has done it is way better. On each side of the front of the hoodie there’s a small discrete zipper. The zipper doesn’t run the full length of the hoodie, but rather runs from the armpit and ends roughly in line with your belly button. When you go to open this boob access, you pull the zipper down. You can unzip it as much as you need to, whether that’s all the way down or not. When it is unzipped, the opening is absolutely large enough not only to drop cup and latch baby, but also large enough to really see what you’re doing. You also don’t have to pull any material up and out of the way, so there’s nothing to drop back down onto your breast or baby’s face. You’ll have both of your hands free to help baby to the breast and ensure a great latch. Because the boob access opens right down in line with your belly button, that opening keeps the hoodie out of the way of those inevitable milk drips. I don’t know about you, but when Petit Prince unlatches, he seems to always spill a bit of milk. The Belly Boo’s nursing access opening is large enough that I don’t have to worry that that milk dribble is going to end up on the front of the hoodie. The position of the boob access zips on the Belly Boo hoodie make it ideal for breastfeeding while baby wearing. Now I will admit that this is one of those skills that can take quite a while to master (Petit Prince was almost a year old before I managed to successfully breastfeed him while he was in the baby carrier), but if you can do this or even want to try, the Belly Boo hoodie makes it possible! Those zippers are far enough out to the side of the hoodie’s body that you can easily reach them without having to remove your baby from their carrier.

Since the Belly Boo is a hoodie, you will probably be wearing something underneath it. The nursing access zippers are fantastic, but (as with any nursing hoodie) whatever you wear underneath it will also need to provide boob access. I wear the Belly Boo over other nursing tops that I have, or I wear it over just a nursing tank. This way when I unzip the boob access on the Belly Boo, I’m not then having to lift a regular shirt up underneath the hoodie.

Now that you know how well the Viva La Mama Belly Boo hoodie functions, let’s talk about its style! This hoodie looks fabulous. I love the contrasting cuffs and trim. The red and white stripes complement the navy so well. That contrast pops up inside the hood, along the edges of the overlapping v-neck, and along the edges of the pockets. If you follow my Instagram feed, you’ll know that I love stripes, so this Belly Boo hoodie colour combo was the obvious choice for me. If navy with red and white stripes isn’t your thing, don’t worry! The Belly Boo hoodie is available in a variety of colour combinations. There’s sure to be one that fits into your wardrobe perfectly. The neckline of the Belly Boo hoodie is an overlapping v-neck and I love that. I always find that I prefer the look of a v-neck, so having a nursing hoodie with that style of neck opening is awesome. The hood of the Belly Boo is really a nice size. When I pop that hood up, I love that the contrasting material is visible. The pockets on the Belly Boo are a great size. They are large enough for my hands, but also hold my iPhone and keys when I don’t have my diaper bag with me.

One thing that’s really great about the Belly Boo is the length. I have the Belly Boo in a size small (this is the smallest size available). This hoodie is nice and long. What I mean by that is that it covers your bum! Now I’m only 5’3″ tall, so it comes down to about mid thigh on me, but I did have my 5’8″ tall friend try it on, and it easily covered her bum too. That means it’s the perfect length to wear over leggings! One of my biggest pet peeves about hoodies is when the sleeves are just that little bit too short. This is not a problem with the Belly Boo. Those cuffs are really long. I wear them folded back completely in half and they still cover the palm of my hand. That’s how I like my hoodies to be. I want my hands to be partially covered. My “tall” friend also found the sleeves more than long enough for her. She needed them unfolded, but at their full length, her hands were also well covered. I will say that if you’re petite and much shorter than I am, you might find the small Belly Boo to be a bit too long.

How about the warmth of the Belly Boo? It’s really perfect. I wouldn’t say that the Belly Boo hoodie is a super warm hoodie, but I think that’s a good thing. The last thing I want is a hoodie that’s so warm that I have to take it off whenever I go inside. In the fall and winter, the heat seems to be cranked up everywhere. Whether we’re at the mall, the library, or the science centre, these places keep the temperature inside quite warm. I don’t want to be overheating in my hoodie! The Belly Boo is not so warm that I feel the need to take it off when we get inside. If I’m going to be wearing it outside to the park through the fall or winter, I’m going to be layering it over a t-shirt or long sleeve shirt.

Pros:

• Made in Europe
• Great stretch to accommodate pregnancy
• Very soft
• Contrasting trim adds a pop of colour
• Zippered nursing access is discrete
• Nursing access creates a large opening
• Nursing openings can be accessed while baby wearing
• Long enough to wear over leggings and have bum coverage
• Sleeves are long and adjustable by folding the cuffs
• Not too warm to wear inside
• Stylish design

Cons:

• Smallest size is a small and is quite long
• Not available in x-small

Final Thoughts:

I really do love my Viva La Mama Milchshake Belly Boo nursing hoodie. This hoodie ticks all the boxes for what I want in a hoodie: stylish, comfortable, soft and stretchy, long enough sleeves, covers my bum, warm but not too warm, and fantastic boob access for breastfeeding. I especially love that all of Viva La Mama’s apparel is handmade in Europe. There’s nothing better than knowing you’re getting top quality clothing that’s made with love and care by workers that are treated fairly and earning a fair wage. Since the weather here in Calgary this August has been less than stellar, I’ve practically been living in my Viva La Mama Milchshake Belly Boo hoodie. I’m wearing it almost all the time! It’s become a staple in my wardrobe and I know it will continue to be a top pick for me right through the fall and winter!

The Belly Boo nursing hoodie retails for $112 CAD and is available to purchase directly from Viva La Mama.

Viva La Mama doesn’t just have nursing hoodies. Their line of breastfeeding shirts are amazing too! The Nixie top is the perfect top for fall! It’s navy and red with those killer stripes that I love, and a 3/4 length sleeve. It retails for $67 CAD, but one lucky reader has the chance to WIN one of these fab nursing tops! How would you like the chance to WIN one Nixie nursing top from Viva La Mama’s Milchshake line? Just scroll down to the giveaway and get your entries in for a chance to win. This giveaway is open worldwide, 18+, and closes on September 19th, 2016. Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment. Don’t forget to follow the Ready To Pop giveaway “hop” and enter the other awesome giveaways linked up below!

Welcome to the Ready to POP! [a Labor Day inspired Giveaway Hop] hosted by Viva Veltoro and Lindsey Blogs!

This year we’re celebrating Labor Day in a totally fun way – by offering fabulous giveaways for Mamas and Babies who have done some of the hardest labor out there! Each blogger in this Hop has a fabulous Mama or Baby prize for you to enter to win – so be sure to hop around to them all in the linky at the bottom of this giveaway!

Disclosure: So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, and the Ready to POP! participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.