Theraline The Plushy Moon review

At a glance

• A handy pillow for both pregnancy and nursing

• Contains millions of micropearls for flexibility and comfort

• The unique beads are anti-allergenic, naturally odourless and free of pollutants

Pros

• Comfortable head and neck pillow

• Really cosy and soft

• Flexible – can be used almost anywhere

• Machine-washable up to 40°C and can be tumble-dried

Cons

• The micropearls make a very slight noise when you lie on the pillow – but you’d have to have really sensitive hearing to be irritated by this

What are the specs?

• Multi-purpose pillow

• Terry plush: 85% polyester, 15% polyamide,

• Stretch: 90% nylon, 10% elastane

• Filling: EPS micropearls

• Dimensions: 140 × 27cm

• Weight: 662g

• RRP: £23.95

How comfortable and safe is The Plushy Moon?

Theraline's The Plushy Moon is so soft to the touch. The combination of the cosy terry plush and an ultra-flexible stretch fabric filled with microbeads provides a malleable pregnancy pillow that is comforting and feels lovely against the skin. There are no irritating tags, seams or labels either, making this pillow completely huggable.

Thankfully, the softness doesn’t come at the expense of support. The free-flowing micropearls in this pillow, that the manufacturer says are as fine as grains of sand, make it easy to position the pillow into exactly the right position to suit your needs. Our tester, Laura, found that she slept really well when using this pillow and felt reassured that her head was in the correct position at all times too.

As your pregnancy progresses, support is such an important factor – your needs will change, and (good news!) The Plushy Moon will accommodate those changes.

This pillow was particularly good at helping with aches and pains in Laura's shoulders and neck, and in her upper back too, as it could be manipulated effectively to concentrate support where needed.

The filling is so much more malleable than the softer fillings used in the Mothercare Narrow Sleep Body Pillow and the Love2Sleep Bolster and V-shaped pillows that Laura also tested. The micropearls squish into exactly the right place to give support in bed, on the sofa, at your desk and in the car.

How easy is it to use and clean?

With an inner shell packed full of micropeals and a lovely soft cover, The Plushy Moon is simplicity itself. You just shape the pillow into the position you want with no faff at all.

There are washing instructions on the cover and the Theraline website provides even more details. You remove the cover to wash it separately and if you want to wash the inner pillow then this should be done using a laundry bag – this ensures that any beads that fall out don’t get into the workings of your washing machine. It can all be tumble dried too.

Unfortunately you can’t buy spare covers for the pillow, which is a shame as it would be great to be able to use the pillow when the cover is in the wash, but the pillow washed well with non-biological powder during testing and everyday marks came out easily. A tea stain left a slight mark, but this came out with a second wash.

Laura felt that the pillow kept its shape well after washing and was still really supportive.

You can buy replacement micropearls – these don’t seem to be available on the UK site but can be bought from other sites – and there are instructions for refilling the pillow on Theraline's website. There are even instructions online for putting on pillowcases.

There are lots of details online about the materials used and a contact form for help and support. But it’s quite unlikely you’ll need that given how simple The Plushy Moon is to use.

What about day-to-day?

Wherever you are – in the car, watching TV, in bed or even at your desk – this pillow is really soft and easy to position, moulding easily into different shapes to provide support where needed.

It’s small and light enough to take with you wherever you go and it's great for holidays if you want to leave a bulkier pregnancy or nursing pillow at home. As such, it's really easy to store and, because it took up very little space, Laura was also happy to leave it out on the sofa when she was at home.

As its Mumsnet Best award title suggests, The Plushy Moon is really versatile. Pop it behind you on long car journeys, on the sofa, or when you're at your desk to support your head, neck or your lower back. When you're in bed, position the pillow to support your head, neck or your bump.

It looks good too (it isn't twee or bulky) so it won’t look out of place in your home – and it’s available in seven different colours, so you’re bound to find something to suit. Laura tested the grey, but you can also choose yellow, sunny yellow, stone grey, coral red or taupe.

While she only tried this pillow during pregnancy (not for nursing), she found that it provided a great night’s sleep, particularly in the later stages. She could easily mould the pillow to whatever position she needed and found that it offered exactly the right amount of support, so she felt very comfortable.

The size meant that she didn’t feel overwhelmed by, or claustrophobic when using, it as she did with bigger pillows like the Summer Infant Ultimate Comfort Body Pillow and the Love2Sleep U-shaped Pregnancy Body Pillow. There was plenty of room in the bed for her partner too.

Does it offer good value for money?

Theraline's The Plushy Moon is a good-quality pillow, and is very reasonably priced at only £23.95.

While it’s ostensibly a V-shaped pillow, it’s far more versatile than the Love2Sleep V-shaped Pregnancy Support Pillow, for example, and feels much more luxurious than pillows that have simple cotton covers, like the Mothercare Narrow Sleep Body Pillow which was also tested.

The Plushy Moon could be used as a back-up option for mums who also need a larger full body pillow, but it provided Laura with everything she need during her third trimester – she didn't see it as simply a back-up pillow at all.

Because you can also use the Moon for support when nursing your baby, you will get a lot of pillow for the price tag. Laura did envisage using the pillow for feeding as she found it really soft and comfy.

Final verdict?

High in quality, versatile and supportive, The Plushy Moon is a really great buy. With so many uses and such a reasonable price tag, you can’t really go wrong.

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of research and testing – this includes recommendations from the Mumsnet Talk boards. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.