Maternity Pillows - a --life-- sleep-saver or waste of money?

[Petalouda]

Hello,

I'm 25 weeks and starting to get really uncomfortable at night.

I've just looked at a whole range of maternity pillows.

Are they any good?
Would you recommend any?
What should I avoid?
Am I better off with a bunch of standard pillows?

Thanks! x

Well I looked at the prices and thought -nah, can't be that good. I get by quite marvellously with a feather pillow between my thighs and squashed under my bump and my special spongey neck pillow.

I must admit when I couldn't sleep during my last pregnancy (i'm 22 weeks now), it was because baby was partying in my belly and husband was snoring. I found that eye masks and a meditation CD on an MP3 player worked for me getting back off to sleep. ;)

I think they work for some and not others. I bought about 5 different pillows, including a dream genii which everyone raved about, but I was still bloody uncomfortable right till the end.

If you want my dream genii second hand then feel free to PM! I just found anything bigger than a rolled up pillow case under my bump made me feel sick. But I could just be weird!

Hi Petalouda,

We ended up buying the Theraline (?) pillow, which I'm happy with b/c it's quite flexible. I can use it under my feet, I can hug it and place one leg over it, and I can use it to prop me up when I'm sitting up in bed, which means it will probably be great for bf. My DH is a bit jealous as the pillow has come between us, but sometimes I let him rest his leg on it as well! :)

If you have a nice range of pillows at home, you could probably make do. Because I've always had back problems (though oddly not now at 27wks), I couldn't sit up in bed...but now I can with my flexi-pillow! (No, I do not own stock in the company!) :)

Good luck with your search!

Have you tried a normal pillow yet (if you have a spare one) to see if that helps? I find sleeping with one between my knees stops me trying to roll over onto my front and so keeps me comfortable. I'm only 26 weeks though so may need something more heavy-duty yet, who knows!

I bought a V shaped pillow from argos last week for 6.99 - its like a little bit of heaven for me. Helps me sleep much better (31 weeks now!)

I gave up on things like the Dream Genii and found that normal pillows (a mix of hollowfibre and feather/down) work best for me. A much cheaper solution too...

dream genii was great in the second trimester but did not work during the 3rd trimester when the things start getting big, its just not bulky enough. Regular pillow between my knees works just fine now, I am 34 weeks. Good luck!

I bought a theraline big v pillow at about 16 weeks (am 26w now) and have been thrilled with it as it has really helped my back / pelvis and lets me stay comfy at night. Worth every penny of £40 I'd say. Only problem is that it doesn't come with a spare cover so I end up whipping the cover off in the morning and racing to get it dry at night when it needs a wash as I don't want to be without it.

I had one I bought in John Lewis, my dh gave it a name and said it was like having another person in our bed. I loved it! I had loads of back problems and found having my arm over it and the bottom bit between my knees really helped. I'll see if I can find out what it was called.

Hmmm, they don't seem to do it anymore, it was a like this

I have a big long pillow from mothercare (it's like a double length pillow) it's brilliant.
I can use it to support my bump, and sleep with the bottom end between my legs. Very comfy.
Hoping it'll double up as a BFing pillow too.

I agree I think you'll find....the baby kicking the hell out of you at 3am in the morning more annoying...!!! (IMO) I've been getting up in the middle of the night to make a nest of pillows in the spare room...snoring husband and kicking baby..!

I went to John Lewis and brought 2 small pillows, 1 for my front and the other for my back. Just using a normal pillow for my legs.

www.johnlewis.com/Home+and+Garden/Bedroom/Pillows/Pillows/799/ProductCategory.aspx#&&/wEXAgURU2VhcmNoRXZlbnRUYXJnZXQFOmN0cmxGaWx0ZXJMSE4xX3JwdEZpbHRlcnNfY3RsMDNfY3RybFNpemVGaWx0ZXJfdXBkVmlld0xlc3MFE1NlYXJjaEV2ZW50QXJndW1lbnQFUUZJTC9Ib21lK18yNitHYXJkZW4vQmVkcm9vbS9QaWxsb3dzL1BpbGxvd3MvNzk5LzEvMC9Qcm9kdWN0Q2F0ZWdvcnkuYXNweD9hPTE4NDMwOME9EShB+4tLGYjVc0byuODprvyi

Try and borrow one of those long pillows, everyone i know didn't used it again and it might be a waste of money..

I actually really like my Dream Genii pillow. Used it since 20 weeks in my last pregnancy and LOVED IT. Slept well every single night.

I have to say, i used 2 covers on it in my last pregnancy. Washed my covers... 2 years later and I can't find one of them (grrr). This time, I just cannot seem to get as comfortable with just 1 cover. It's still good though and works. Also, in this pregnancy I've not been using it as 'instructed', rather I'd just adjust the position of the dream genii to suit. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back to bed..

I have one of those long straight pillows which I thought would be great after trying normal pillows without any success, but it's spent most of it's time on the floor - I just can't get comfy with it. The only thing I've found which helps a tiny bit is to sleep on a folded duvet - I found a cheapo kingsize one in Homebargains and it's helped a bit with hip pain.

thanks for asking Petalouda - been thinking of asking the same question myself.

Last pregnancy I just used normal pillows but I was thinking of treating myself esp if they are useful for BF afterwads.

I bought a dream genii and found it great first pregancy but not finding it as good this time round for some reason. I also lost the cover so am using it without- which isn't ideal. I find putting part of it between my knees definitely helps but you could use a normal pillow for that.

I finally cracked and bought the Dream Genii on the weekend. It's definitely made a difference. I LOVE it. However, it seems a very personal thing as some people just don't get on with it.

I was in a complete tiz when I bought it as a cough and being uncomfy meant I hadn't slept for a couple of days. I was just lucky that the gamble paid off.

I could not have survived without my Theraline pillow. Lots of standard pillows just fell out of place for me and didn't give enough support. But I had very uncomfortable pregnancies both times.

Thanks for all your feedback!

I think I'm lucky with all the kicking/wriggling, little thing seems to be more active during the day at the moment, and pretty quiet overnight (hope that lasts!).

I'm getting an achey back & pelvis about halfway through the night, and though I keep going to bed with pillows, I often wake up with them on the floor, or else wake up every time I roll over, to take them with me!

I used to sleep on my front, but haven't since about 7 weeks (hideous digestive bloating stopped that!). Now I wake up on my back, remembering every book/article which says not to!

I loved my dreamgenii and used it from early on and even took it into hospital with me (was in for 4 days before baby born). Never had any sleep problems and found it really comfy - I felt it was better that it's a bit softer and lighter than others as was less bulky in bed and a small bit to go under the bump (instead of the awkward wedges you can get). Good to use for breastfeeding after too.

I have two feather pillows, one under my bump and the other behind my back - it's superb, I'm firmly 'wedged' on to my side - I don't have many problems sleeping!

I didn't bother getting one with my first PG, then ended up buying a V-shaped pillow after DS was born to support him when breastfeeding. It was really useful during my second PG; I slept on my side with half of the pillow supporting my bump and the other half between my knees. I had a bad back, and using the pillow really seemed to help. And now I'm using it again for breastfeeding DD!

LIFESAVER. I just got a mothercare 5ft standard one on ebay secondhand. Best thing I ever did. Saved my hips.

And P.S. I was using extra standard pillows before but having a proper long maternity one is much better.

Dream Genie (the one that has an extra sausage for your back) - life saver! I wavered on buying cos I'm skint, but I figured I had another nearly four months of pg to go and couldn't be doing with the massive hip pai, back pain, general discomfort.