One of the first things I brought waaaay back in August was a pregnancy pillow. I am a stomach sleeper so normally I'd be found star-fished, head on my arm, one leg bent up probably dribbling happily through the night. But this unfortunately had to stop. Pregnant women are not meant to sleep on their stomachs, and to be honest a few months in and you don't have the choice anyway because you're belly is too big and I am terrified of squashing baby. Hence the early purchase of this bad boy: The Pillow Pleasure.
These style pillows are quite pricey, this one being mid-range at around £35 and watch out for those that come without a cover. There are a large range of different styles and shapes but I choose this one probably because of the price and shape. There are some more shaped like S's and some shaped like C's, I guess mine is a big U.
You will probably need to invest in one of these at some point in your pregnancy so my reasoning was to get it early and get lots of use out of it. You can also use it for nursing after baby is born too so although you're looking at £25 minimum you probably will get a fair amount out of it. It has trained me to sleep different. Although sometimes this is on my back which isn't ideal either. As you get bigger, sleeping on your back may cause dizziness and some other side effects. The ideal sleeping position is on your left side for babies circulation. I do try and aim for this but I seem to prefer my right hand side. Possibly because I prefer facing the wall. Nothing against the husband (!)
Recently (at 23 weeks) my lower back has been getting more painful throughout the day so my new position is to have the long side of the pillow actually between my legs which is super comfy and seems to take the pressure off my back which is much appreciated. I'm sure I could sleep without it, which I did do whilst on holiday for a week (it wasn't fitting in any suitcase!), but I have grown quite fond of it.
Downsides of this particular pillow are: it's pretty big. I leave it in when I make the bed every morning* and it looks like there's a giant still sleeping in there! Also because it's double sided it does create a barricade between you and your partner so there's less night time cuddling, which depending on whether you enjoy a good spoon, is a pro or con! If I particularly want to have a big cuddle with Sam I could just ditch it for a night. I can still hold his hand while I fall asleep which is most normal for us anyway. I need a bit of my own space in the night!
However, I would definitely recommend getting a pillow of some form as it gives you night comfort, which I imagine is only going to get worse as time goes on. This particular model is nice quality and very comfortable but I haven't had anything to compare it with. The 'posher' pillows may be another level! Quite hard to know until you've tested them though, and I doubt many stores will let you return them after use so you just have to take a gamble and rely on word of mouth and reviews!
*most mornings
These style pillows are quite pricey, this one being mid-range at around £35 and watch out for those that come without a cover. There are a large range of different styles and shapes but I choose this one probably because of the price and shape. There are some more shaped like S's and some shaped like C's, I guess mine is a big U.
You will probably need to invest in one of these at some point in your pregnancy so my reasoning was to get it early and get lots of use out of it. You can also use it for nursing after baby is born too so although you're looking at £25 minimum you probably will get a fair amount out of it. It has trained me to sleep different. Although sometimes this is on my back which isn't ideal either. As you get bigger, sleeping on your back may cause dizziness and some other side effects. The ideal sleeping position is on your left side for babies circulation. I do try and aim for this but I seem to prefer my right hand side. Possibly because I prefer facing the wall. Nothing against the husband (!)
Recently (at 23 weeks) my lower back has been getting more painful throughout the day so my new position is to have the long side of the pillow actually between my legs which is super comfy and seems to take the pressure off my back which is much appreciated. I'm sure I could sleep without it, which I did do whilst on holiday for a week (it wasn't fitting in any suitcase!), but I have grown quite fond of it.
Downsides of this particular pillow are: it's pretty big. I leave it in when I make the bed every morning* and it looks like there's a giant still sleeping in there! Also because it's double sided it does create a barricade between you and your partner so there's less night time cuddling, which depending on whether you enjoy a good spoon, is a pro or con! If I particularly want to have a big cuddle with Sam I could just ditch it for a night. I can still hold his hand while I fall asleep which is most normal for us anyway. I need a bit of my own space in the night!
However, I would definitely recommend getting a pillow of some form as it gives you night comfort, which I imagine is only going to get worse as time goes on. This particular model is nice quality and very comfortable but I haven't had anything to compare it with. The 'posher' pillows may be another level! Quite hard to know until you've tested them though, and I doubt many stores will let you return them after use so you just have to take a gamble and rely on word of mouth and reviews!
*most mornings