I remember somewhere around her 8th month, Candice posted a picture of her bed. She had one of those Snoogle pillows to sleep with and a body pillow that divided her side of the bed from Kevin’s. This was all helping her get the most comfortable night of rest possible. As someone with back issues, I have always slept with more pillows than “normal”. The current pillow count on my side of the bed these days is getting to be a bit much, however. I did try the Snoogle, as it looked like the perfect solution to both my low back pain and any discomfort I would have with a growing belly. It turned out that it made me even more uncomfortable. I decided that it would be easier to sleep with my own pillow, so I got a version of the Snoogle that doesn’t have a headrest. That still wasn’t comfortable, so I returned yet another pillow and decided to go with my default, the body pillow.
The body pillow worked for a couple weeks, but I found that sleeping on my (recommended) left side was causing me to wake up with a sore left ear. Sigh. So I got a tempurpedic-like pillow that helps my neck stay in position and conforms more to my face.
About a week after this, I started waking up with achy hips. A lot of women in my yoga class talk about having this, but I don’t think I’m quite big enough to experience it yet. I was getting it at night, however, so after a bit of research I decided to purchase a belly wedge. That’s the tiny, striped pillow in the picture below. It props up my belly just enough so that my waist/hips feel supported.
The final pillow came just about a week ago. Again, in my yoga class we do a lot of chest opening exercises to open up the chest and make room for the increased capacity that our lungs need during pregnancy. I started waking up in the middle of the night with a sore sternum (who knew??) from my shoulder falling forward. I’m not sure why this problem has arisen with pregnancy, but I took a feather pillow and wedged it between my side and my arm. Phew! I feel like the Princess and the Pea with this setup! Sleeping with a sore back now seems like nothing, compared to sleeping with a new ache every week.
The body pillow worked for a couple weeks, but I found that sleeping on my (recommended) left side was causing me to wake up with a sore left ear. Sigh. So I got a tempurpedic-like pillow that helps my neck stay in position and conforms more to my face.
About a week after this, I started waking up with achy hips. A lot of women in my yoga class talk about having this, but I don’t think I’m quite big enough to experience it yet. I was getting it at night, however, so after a bit of research I decided to purchase a belly wedge. That’s the tiny, striped pillow in the picture below. It props up my belly just enough so that my waist/hips feel supported.
The final pillow came just about a week ago. Again, in my yoga class we do a lot of chest opening exercises to open up the chest and make room for the increased capacity that our lungs need during pregnancy. I started waking up in the middle of the night with a sore sternum (who knew??) from my shoulder falling forward. I’m not sure why this problem has arisen with pregnancy, but I took a feather pillow and wedged it between my side and my arm. Phew! I feel like the Princess and the Pea with this setup! Sleeping with a sore back now seems like nothing, compared to sleeping with a new ache every week.
Luckily we got a king bed not too long ago. Kyle and I both fit comfortably with my 4+ pillows per night!
This all helps, but unfortunately I am still not sleeping that great. I still wake up, wide awake and uncomfortable some nights and can only get back to sleep when I’m sitting upright on the couch. Or sometimes I can prop myself and my legs up in bed and fall back to sleep that way. If this little girl is anything like her mother, Kyle is REALLY going to have his hands full! :)
I remember that ear problem! I hated that SO MUCH, but never really thought to do anything about it! You're the most diligent pillow researcher I've ever met - when I'm preggers again I'm coming to you for advice because you are way smarter about this than I was!
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