Getting a good night’s sleep while pregnant was important—and elusive. But when I got the Leachco Back ’N Belly Pregnancy Contoured Body Pillow for my second pregnancy, sleeping became a pleasure again—and leaps and bounds more attainable than it had been during my first.
When the third trimester of my first pregnancy began, I found that sleep was impossible—and just when I needed it most! I couldn’t lie on my back anymore, lying on my side hurt my hips, and stomach sleeping was, of course, out of the question. I often propped myself up with pillows into a seated position and tried to sleep that way; this worked until my husband would nudge me to stop my incessant snoring. Many nights around 4 a.m., I would wake up and wander around our one-bedroom apartment, wondering if there was somewhere more comfortable for me to sleep. Sometimes, I found respite in the breastfeeding chair/glider we’d purchased in anticipation of the baby’s arrival. But more often, I’d stay awake for an hour or so and then force myself back into bed for another couple of fitful hours.
For my second pregnancy, I was determined not to let this unacceptable sleep situation happen again. Once I was deep into my second trimester, I knew I needed some kind of pregnancy pillow. Having heard raves about it from a friend, I invested in the Leachco Back ’N Belly Pregnancy Contoured Body Pillow, a behemoth that basically took up our entire queen-size bed. I promptly kicked my husband out of the bed and into the guest room, and I will not apologize for it. He was allowed conjugal visits, but when it came to actual sleep the bed was 100 percent mine.
The Leachco pillow was a revelation! I slept better those last few months of my pregnancy than I had in ages. For me, the key was the U-shape. Having support for both my stomach and back was essential. I laid my (enormous) stomach on one side of the pillow and wedged the other side under my back and rear, which kept me in place and prevented me from listing. When I was tired of sleeping on one side, I could just roll over and the pillow would stay in place—no adjusting necessary! Since I have a Tempur-Pedic pillow that I love, I didn’t use the pregnancy pillow for my head. Instead, I flipped it upside down so that the bottom of the U-shape was at my feet. Thus, the pillow provided a barrier between my knees and ankles, which was something I didn’t even know I needed. For me, it was perfection. The pillow hugged my ever-growing body in all the ways it needed and completely transformed my third-trimester sleep experience. I loved it so much that I passed it on to my sister-in-law when she got pregnant a few months after I gave birth. But if I ever had another baby, I would demand it back.
I remember talking with a friend at work once about the agonies of pregnancy sleep. She told me she’d bought a few pillow wedges for her third trimester and that she’d stick one under her belly, one under her back, and one between her knees, and then any time she changed positions, she’d have to readjust all the pillows. This was unacceptable to me. Why sleep like that when you can have a giant U-shaped pillow that hugs your pregnant beached whale of a body in all the right places? Accept no substitutes, mamas: The Leachco Back ’N Belly pillow is the way to go. At $85, it’s a bit pricier than some of the other pillows, but not by much. The transformative sleep experience was worth every penny.
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