Leachco - Snoogle Total Body Pillow

My mother sent me this product as a gift when I was 4 months pregnant, at a time when my hips and lower back were consistently stiff and achey after a night's sleep. Here are my thoughts in conjunction with the other reviews:

1. Yes, it is big and takes up space, however I now use two pillows instead of seven to get comfortable, so it's a lot less hassle to adjust when I roll over. I like to sleep with my belly propped on the long supportive side, but do find a need to keep a standard pillow on the side that has the opening, so if I turn over I have something to support my belly... otherwise my lower back is very achey by morning.
2. I like the curves at the top and bottom. When lying on my side, it supports head, neck, and knees. I also have awakened several times lying on my back, feeling VERY comfortably cradled (which is different for me, as I NEVER slept on my back pre-pregnancy).
3. I am a fuller figure mom, and the added pregnancy weight in my chest and stomach area by four months was causing significant problems with aches and acid reflux/heartburn pain. I find that this pillow can be manuevered to prop me up without shifting through the night, as my standard pillows did, which is imperative to lessen these discomforts.
4. After using it nightly for a few months, the filling has not lost any supportive qualities.

Over all, I do find sleeping with it to be more pleasurable than standard pillows, and my aches and pains upon waking are quite minimal. Reading other reviews, I cannot help but wonder if my being fuller-figured makes it a better product for me. I have a fuller-figured friend whose experience with it has been the same as mine. I could understand if it seems more imposing and cumbersome to a smaller framed woman, though.

I do regard it as a sleeping necessity at this time and am thankful to have received it as a present, however I took a "star off the rating" as I do not feel the materials are worthy of the price. It is no different from standard pillows in filling material or firmness. $$$ is quite an inflated price for a product whose only difference from other materials on the market is shape. If money is not an object, or nights are miserable and one is desperate, I could see investing the money. I personally will get the money's worth because I received it early in my pregnancy. (I would feel bad that my mom spent so much on it if I used it only for month or two, but that's just my opinion of value.) After pregnancy, I don't think that I will keep it in the bed, as I would prefer to lie next to my husband rather than a pillow. Right now I am so large that I can't get near my husband anyway without my belly getting in the way, so it's not a major problem that we have a barrier between us.

The other "star rating deduction" is about the "cover" that comes on it... It is made of a coarse fabric that causes mild discomfort when directly touching my skin. I rectified this problem by sewing my own cover (out of two yards of soft cotton fabric that added additional cost to the use of the product) that I traced from the cover that came with the pillow. This is not a pillow that one can just throw a regular pillow case on, so a custom one must be made or bought (if they even sell them). If you don't have the time or ability to do this, then the "scratchy" fabric could definitely pose a discomfort to sensitive skin. With my homemade cover, there is little STRUCTURALLY that I can complain about.

I DO use it daily and it offers me relief from a certain level of discomfort, however the bottom line is what price you put on comfort. For some, the comfort attained will not justify the price, for others it may be priceless to get even a small amount of relief.

My personal rating is 3/5 stars as it comes. If it were less costly and came with a soft pillow cover, I would change my rating to a 5/5 star.

This pillow made me more comfortable at night and I could sleep easier. Around my fifth month, I had a hard time sleeping. I could not get comfortable and was awakened by frequent leg cramps. I put this pillow under my head, around my back and between my legs. It kept me on my left side during the night and the extra support between my legs lessened my leg cramps. The cover washed up very nicely and the pillow rolled up and fit right back into the plastic bag after my baby was born.

My only complaints are that it takes up so much room in the bed when the sheets are tucked in, the pillow case is difficult to get off and on when it needs to be washed and the pillow doesn't fit me as well as it does the woman in the picture. I am 5'10" and my head just fits on the top end and the bottom end goes between my thighs instead of my knees. But overall, I was very happy with this purchase.

If you are NOT a side sleeper already, this pillow will probably be great for pregnancy. When you sleep on your side, your hips and shoulders are not evenly aligned, which can be uncomfortable plus one shoulder is always uner you and can fall asleep - not to mention the belly that hangs out as you become more an more pregnant.

If you already are a side sleeper, you probably have solved these problems. I sleep on a Temperpedic-type pillow for my neck/bottom shoulder plus use a king sized pillow paralell to my body to align hips and top shoulder. This is basically what this and other body pillows do for you.

The problem I found is with this "C" shaped design, you are forced to use the Snoogle as the pillow under your head. It is like using a brand new cotton filled pillow -my head was propped up high, causing a neck ache. I only want to sleep with my existing pillow. Also the material was hot. Every night I tried it I threw it out of bed within an hour or so.

My solution was to instead buy a "cuddle U" pillow which is shaped like a "U". I put the curved part of the U at my feet and can use my existing pillow for my head. I tuck the covers around the entire pillow and still get the body support I am looking for. I am a tall person (5'10") and the curve being at/near my feet is not a problem.

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