Aniball

[shivawn]

Hey! Just wanted to start a thread on the aniball in case there's any other ladies currently using it so we can share our progress and experience!

I'm 37 weeks pregnant and just started using it yesterday so I'm a little later starting then I should be! I got on okay with my first go, I inserted it fully deflated with lube and then went up to 4 pumps. The couple times I expelled it a bit too fast and it was slightly painful but the third time I went much slower and tried to focus more on consciously controlling my muscles to contract and relax so I could ease it out gently and that went much better.

The part I'm struggling with is the breathing but I've never been great at breathing exercises (don't have the patience). According to the manual you should relax the pelvic muscles while inhaling which feels unnatural to me...I'm more inclined to tense them on the inhale and relax them on the exhale.

Would love to hear from anyone else using it (or anyone who has used it in the past) to see how it's going for you!

I’ve not used to but am interested in trying I’m only 16+2 days at the moment so not sure if that’s too soon. I was wondering how far errr up you have to insert it? I’ve never really managed to comfortably use tampons I things to buying something I’d struggle with puts me off. Apologies for derailing your thread.

Yeah its too soon for you yet, they say from 36 weeks onwards but its worth looking in to it now to see if it's for you (I'm sure it wouldn't appeal to everyone)! It came really highly recommended from my midwives who have seen great outcomes from mothers who've used it.
I've only put it in so that the base is sitting at the entrance.

I def want to use this also, but too early for me. Friends have used it, and of the ones that did, no tearing or cutting. One friend did tear for her first (didn't use it), used it for the second and easy quick labour with no injury down there.

The advice to me was every other day, and just persevere - apparently tough at first but then gets easier after a week or two.

Pls let us know how you get on

I used it with my first one and will be using it again very soon. The breathing is tricky, this is something I asked them specifically because it looks confusing.

Apparently, the idea is that you should be able to breathe the baby out. I ended up breathing and pushing "normally" during my first labour and had no injuries whatsoever + it was reaaally quick. It also gave me a lot of confidence as I was scared as hell the whole pregnancy, hearing horror stories from my friends (don't listen to your friends, lol). I highly recommend it, especially if this is your first labour.

This time I would like to try breathing as they say. The thing is, almost all of us breathe incorrectly and we should be able to do what is called diaphragmatic breathing (hope I wrote it right). This looks like it, but it is really hard to just start breathing "correctly" after you did it the other way around your whole life. AFAIK, for example opera singers can breathe like this, so I guess they must be pros when using Aniball

@KatieDeeeeee Great to hear that you had such a good experience! I struggle with any breathing exercises but I feel like I'm improving this week. I'm only up to 6 pumps because I had a few days of bad back pain where I was too tense and uncomfortable to practice but hopefully I'll progress a good bit before labour!