I received this product free for review. All opinions remain my own.
Oh, sleeping. Ever so important during pregnancy, yet oftentimes so difficult to achieve. Achieving any kind of comfortable position, lying down or not, becomes rather challenging by the third trimester (at the beginning of which I currently find myself). My Coussins Etc. maternity body pillow is my new best friend!
When I was pregnant with Cub, a friend gave me her Snoogle. That’s the typical maternity body pillow you’ll find at Toys R Us. I didn’t even know that there was such thing as a maternity body pillow, and my Snoogle got plenty of use. But with our move across the country, I gave it away since it wasn’t going to fit well in my suitcase! For baby two, I wanted to try something similar, but different; something better… something made in Canada!
I discovered Coussins Etc. at the Montreal Baby Expo in April. What initially caught my eye were the bright patterns on the selection of pillows. I also loved the versatility of the pillow as demonstrated in their promotional poster:
Annie was so enthusiastic about a blog review that she wanted to send me home with a pillow right then and there. I explained that I had to move across the country first, and I’m so grateful she was willing to ship it out to me, because not a day or night day goes by that I don’t use it!
How I’ve been using it:
Okay, I’d love to tell you that Coussins Etc. cured my pregsomnia. It has not. It has just made the time I spend not sleeping infinitely more comfortable. I can confidently say that I am not having trouble sleeping any more due to discomfort. I basically ride my Coussins Etc. like a sea horse (I’m hoping that gives you a good mental image of how I sleep with it… I’m loathe to post a picture). I lie on my side and basically hug the pillow and straddle it. It pokes my husband in the bum a bit, so he has a not-so-polite name for it. But since he’s one of the reasons I do have trouble sleeping, too bad for him! I have trouble sleeping because I’m writing three blog posts in my head, wondering how I’m going to manage moving into our new house at 9 months pregnant, wondering when my husband will stop snoring, because I’m being kicked by a toddler and because I get up to pee every 20 minutes. At least, thanks to my Coussins Etc., I’m comfortably not sleeping!
Here’s the actual shape of the pillow:
Filled with polysterene beads (like a bean bag chair), it’s totally malleable. It’s not so stuffed with beads that it’s firm the whole way through, there’s just enough empty space inside for you to move and shake the beads around to perfectly cushion your body, however you position yourself.
And Coussins Etc. isn’t just for sleeping!! I prop myself up on it when I’m sitting in bed to read or work on my laptop. I also use it as a laptop desk when I’m on the bed or sofa.
Cub and I use it when we read bedtime stories, too!
Also, it’s apparently a “rainbow” that cars really like to drive on:
And you know what the most amazing thing that my Coussins Etc. pillow has allowed me to do is?? Lie on my belly!
Now, not everyone is a fan of lying on their bellies. I will grant that if you are large-chested, you probably stopped finding this comfortable at puberty. I, on the other hand, have maintained my love of working from this position now into my thirties. Because the Coussins Etc. pillow is so firm, I can put all my weight on my chest and shoulders and very little pressure goes on my belly. I lie on my cushion this way to get down on the floor and play with Cub! It’s also great for those rare times I’m offered a back massage by Mr. Snores-A-Lot.
Beyond Pregnancy
I am confident I am going to love my Coussins Etc. pillow well beyond pregnancy. I plan to bring it to the birthing centre to help with labour, for one thing. Then, I will use it as a nursing pillow. My Snoogle was not very useful for nursing because it wasn’t firm enough to properly position baby. For that same reason, I didn’t find it useful for Cub to do tummy time. The Coussins Etc. rocks for MY tummy time, so I don’t doubt Cub 2.0 will love it. Big brother Cub approves, in any case!
The pillow has a fully removable and washable cover, so all the marvelous fluids that can escape from baby can be cleaned! They also sell a waterproof cover which is recommended for use during birthing. In fact, several maternity wards in Québec use Coussins Etc.!
Update (6/6/2015) Just wanted to add that the cushion cover is super easy to remove, wash and replace. (Cub had a nose bleed…) I always had to wrestle with my Snoogle to get the cover on and off. The Coussins Etc. cover, thanks to its long zipper, is easy to take off and much easier to put back on than the Snoogle.
Update 5/24/2016) Little Miss Cub is almost 10 months old now, and we still LOVE our Coussins Etc. pillow. I had it with me at the hospital when I gave birth, using it in labour and in bed during my recovery. As a nursing pillow, it is amazing. I also snuggle it around Little Miss so she feels secure when I put her down to sleep, especially since she is used to co-sleeping. It keeps her feeling safe and secure until I join her in bed, and also is a nice buffer to stop her from rolling off the bed. It’s my favourite pillow to prop myself up in bed with my laptop, too!
Shop & Connect
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To purchase your Coussins Etc. maternity pillow, visit their online boutique (currently under translation) or find a retailer near you.
If you need help ordering because the site isn’t fully translated, don’t hesitate to reach out to me via my Facebook page so I can help you place your order!
Have you tried a maternity pillow for pregnancy or postpartum?
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