Pregnancy Body Pillow - What Is The Best Pregnancy Pillow?

This is my second pregnancy and it has been a little more rough on me than my first. I'm feeling a lot more pressure from this baby (I seem to be carrying him a lot lower than the first). So when I lay down for a nap or to sleep, I want to have the ultimate in comfort and relaxation. No tossing or turning, just a nice sound sleep.

I have tried a few differet pregnancy pillows. I've tried memory foam pillows, pillow wedges and body pillows. Memory foam pillows are great, but they didn't provide all the support I needed. I would much rather have a complete memory foam bed...which I will be upgrading to soon! (I've bought those memory foam bed toppers, but they're not the same) Pillow wedges, or just a pillow folded up between my legs or knees, also provided some support. But I needed all over back and belly support, so I opted for a Back and Belly pregnancy Body Pillow.

There are generally 3 different types of shaped body pillows on the market. I am going to refer to them by their shapes (see images):

• "J" shaped
• "C" shaped
• "U" shaped

The "J" shaped body pillows are ok. I don't think they are ideally made for pregnancy, although they are sometimes marketed as such. They provide good head and neck support, but didn't cut it for me in the department of back and belly support.

This pregnancy, I upgraded to the "U" shaped pregnancy body pillow and found the perfect match! I loved the way it supported both my back and belly at the same time, as well as my neck, head, and even somewhere I could even support my feet when needed.

I have to admit the "U" shaped pregnancy body pillow is a bit awkward at first. And it takes up a little more space, so your spouse (and in my case our son cosleeps with us) will need to get used to the extra space being taken up in the bed, although it's not much. But once you get settled in, it's well worth it. Hey, I'm the one who needs to be comfortable right now! ;)

When searching for "U" shaped pregnancy body pillows, you will need to know that they are usually called "total/full support body pillows" or "back n belly body pillows."

Of course, whatever pregnancy body pillow you decide on for your comfort doesn't need to be used just for pregnancy. It can be used well after pregnancy - I used my "C" pregnancy body pillow to help me at times when breastfeeding. Shortly after, my husband kidnapped my old "C" shaped pillow and swears that it helped him fall asleep better at night since he couldn't always hug me (our son cosleeps between us)!