Birthing balls

[Nuttynortherner]

I'm looking at buying an exercise ball to use as a birthing ball but I'm not sure what size to get-any advice from fellow small people? I'm 5'1 and 65cm balls seem to be the norm, should I go down to 55cm or will that be too small? Thank you!

My 60 cm one is tiny!!! its ok for sitting on but not great for leaning forward on. I bought an 85cm one too

65cm sorry

I'm 5'4 and loving my 65 cm one for watching telly on! (25 weeks) Much more comfy than the sofa!

Thanks both! psmith I've been getting stuck on the sofa like a beached whale recently (33 wks) much to DH's amusement- maybe that's the way forward! I'm just concerned that if it's too tall I might go flying as my balance is a bit all over the place but I might give a 65cm one a trial run

I'm 5'6 and I love my 65cm one to sit/bounce on, but it's too tall to lean on if I'm kneeling on the floor. At your height I'd be tempted to get a smaller one tbh.

Oo thanks chiruri, I'll have to try some out - need to think about leaning over as well as sitting on it

On this topic, where did you buy your birthing balls from? I've bought cheap-ish gym balls from Argos in the past and they have been very squishy. I'd like a nice firm one this time, any tips?

I was looking at Argos too, any advice from anyone?

I bought a 65cm gym ball from Argos. I think it was £7.99. It was very firm once fully inflated, but the pump supplied with it was next to useless - you'd never get enough air in it to fully inflate. I ended up using a proper pump for inflatable mattresses etc.

I bought one from Argos this week for £6.99. 65cm. I'm 5ft 3 and it's fine for me. Dh pumped it up and didn't seem to have any problems. I'm 35 weeks and finding it useful to relieve some of my hip pain.

I got a davina ball from argos. I am 5"2 and it was the perfect size. However I lent it to a tall friend who swapped it with someone for a bigger ball so the ball I have now is a huge mans ball and it is too big!

Make sure you have good grip before you sit on it - tights and carpet are a potentially dangerous combination.

I bought a puncture resistant one from TK maxx- ATM try have loads of gym equipment out, so you can get yoga mats and gym balls quite cheaply. Mine was £10, marks down from £18.00. (I wanted a more expensive one with the puncture resistant coating)

The advice is to choose puncture resistant ball as it deflates slowly if punctured (!)

I found a gym ball in the cupboard yesterday (actually, i found 2- why do I have so many gym balls?!), and was wondering about sizes too- the NCT website was the first thing that came up and said...

Height 5'5"/165cms and under - 55cm
Height 5'6"/167.5cms - 5'9"/173 cm - 65cm 
Height 5'9"/173cms and over - 75cm 

I just need to get a pump now!

I Hired one through my Midwife for a refundable #10.