I'll start off by saying that these can be easily made by hand if you have even the slightest bit of know-how with a sewing machine, for WAY less than $34.95 tax shipping. Wal-Mart's craft/sewing section carries blocks of fabric in tons of cute designs for 97 cents each, and they're the perfect size for this project. The slider buckles are likewise 97 cents. And if you really MUST have the flexible rod thingy at the top to stylishly hold your cover out so you can gaze adoringly down at your nursling, there's all kinds of stuff laying around most homes that can suffice. So, there's a whole two bucks investment, plus maybe a half hour at the sewing machine, and you've got a cute nursing cover that you can proudly say you made yourself.

So - I actually did buy one of these, because I got one of those email offers to get it free and pay only shipping. Why it cost nearly $15 to ship is beyond me, I mean it's about 4 ounces of fabric and four ounces can ship for around $2.30 through the USPS, but whatever. I think honestly $15 is what these are worth and they know it, so instead of getting one free and paying shipping, what you're actually doing on this "deal" is paying for the cover and getting the shipping free. But I digress.

The fabric I chose was pretty - the Grace pattern, which is grey with a sort of victorian design. The cover functions nicely, but anyone who knows us knows that my youngest doesn't cooperate with much of anything, and being covered up while getting his dinner is just not acceptable in his world. He fought it mightily every time I tried to use it, and in the end it was a total waste of time, effort, and money. I ended up reselling it at a childrens event, and I recouped almost all my investment because I guess not a lot of moms have the time or energy to just make one themselves.

I suppose it's a good enough product and deserves decent marks for quality and effectiveness, IF your child doesn't mind being covered up when he's having lunch. My kid also doesn't like to be looked at while he's eating, so the flexible thingy at the top that creates a viewing window only served to irritate him more. He'd catch me looking down at him and would hike his leg up and kick me in the face through the viewing window. So much for that being a good idea.

I guess my point is that these are kinda useless and pointless unless your kid cooperates or is a newborn and hasn't decided to be a hellion yet. But the price is just ridiculous, as are the prices of most maternity/nursing things on the market these days, just because these so-called "mommy run" companies know that modern mothers are too busy, too harried, and too tired to do it themselves.