Some relief from the sleeping issues.

I recently made the big announcement that I'm indeed pregnant again, hence the gaps in posts, and this pregnancy is SO much more different than the first with Connor. The biggest issue seems to be the constant lack of sleep. I just can't sleep when I want to and when I don't it feels like I can't avoid it, but yet still can't sleep. Though nothing seems to totally remedy the situation there is one thing I've come to the conclusion that I can't live without. So much so it will be going with me to Blogher later this month and I don't leave it at home if I'll be gone overnight at all.

Temper-pedic sent me two fabulous pillows to test out a few months ago and I couldn't imagine then exactly what they would mean to me now. Sure I'm a huge memory foam fan and I've been drooling over the chance to get my hands on a real Temper-pedicfoam pillow for years but after the last month I can't even remotely imagine where I'd be without one. Especially lately when it seems almost impossible to get comfortable in bed.

Originally I was excited to do this review as a mom with a toddler I've had my fair share of sleepless nights and I'm all for anything that helps you not only get to sleep faster but have higher quality sleep. My mother also suffers from chronic neck pain and swears by a neck pillow. This was the first pillow I tried and though I don't suffer from any neck pain I did feel as if my shoulders (which is where I carry all my stress) were far less sore in the morning after using it for a few days. Though seeing as I toss and turn a lot during the night and tend to turn my pillow in every direction possible depending on how I'm sleeping, I'm not sure a neck pillow was the best option for me. If your a side or a back sleeper and you have trouble with neck or back pain I'd highly recommend one however.

The second Temper-pedic pillow I tried was the Comfort Pillow by Temper-pedic. Wow, this is exactly the kind of pillow I've been dreaming about. The memory foam is firm enough that it supports my head but soft enough that I can easily scrunch it up like I would a normal pillow. I love the pillow so much that I made it about 15 miles outside of town on my last visit to my parents house and turned around and drove back home as I couldn't imagine sleeping without it. Though it hasn't cured my recent baby induced insomnia problems it certainly has helped quite a bit! Really my only wish was that it was bigger. We got a standard sized pillow and I'm normally used to sleeping on a king sized pillow so I think that will be my next big investment is to move up a size when I can. Otherwise no matter what your sleeping style or pillow preference I can't imagine a better pillow. I've tried sleeping on regular pillows since I got my Temper-pedicand there is just no comparison. I've also had other cheaper memory foam pillows in the past and they all had a slight odor and tended to flatten down way too fast. Thus far I've not noticed any odor with my Temper-pedic (there might have been a very faint odor the first few days but that's common in memory foam products and honestly if there was it wasn't anything that put me off) and my pillow is still very fluffy and soft after sleeping on it for quite a few weeks now.

Now if only we had the Temper-pedicbed to match. heh. Just remembering how difficult it was to sleep when I was pregnant the last few months with Connor makes me wish even more so we had one! Ahh well at least we now live in a single story house and I won't be banished to the couch as I was terrified I would fall down the stairs when I got so big I could no longer see my feet. Don't laugh Chris did it and he CAN see his feet and almost flew out the window at the bottom of the stairs. Ok, laugh.. its funny.. he was ok but the window was not so lucky.

In the meantime check out the Temper-pedic website and all of their fabulous products!

A good night's rest.. what ever mom wishes she had.

Connor is 19 months old and I still have to tell you I have yet to get a full eight hours other than the few days that someone wakes up with him other than me, or he is out of town. Though I cannot blame it totally on him I do stay up insanely late every night answering emails and working on reviews but regardless our ideas of "morning" are very different.

So what little time I do get to sleep in bed needs to count and though previous to having a baby I was a horrible insomniac who tossed and turns hours a night I do not have that luxury anymore. Not that I would call insomnia a luxury by no means but needless to say I cannot afford to spend half my sleeping time attempting to sleep. So I've turned to upgrading my bedding to help myself go to sleep faster and stay asleep.

The biggest improvement to my sleep has been by far upgrading my pillows from standard pillows to memory foam pillows for two reasons. I just do not get enough support being a side sleeper on any standard fill pillow I have found to date. As well standard fill pillows tend to leave me hot and I end up waking up several times a night to flip my pillow over. This doesn't seem like a big deal but seeing as every time you wake up you are missing out on deep sleep which is the most important type of sleep waking up is really bad when your only getting four to six hours a sleep a night.

Memory foam pillows offer at least in my opinion much more support than a typical pillow and I've found I never feel the urge to flip my pillow over as they do not retain heat like a normal pillow. Also for those of you who have never bought pillow covers, and no I'm not talking about pillow cases, you'll be glad to know that most memory foam pillows come standard with their own case so when it comes time to wash your pillow you only have to wash the case and not clean the pillow itself. Not to mention I have never had an issue with a memory foam pillow and my allergies.. ever.

Lands End sells a fabulous really reasonablly priced memory foam pillow which would be great for a first time memory foam user or someone looking to add or buy a new pillow. Memory foam pillows can vary from very firm to pretty soft and the Lands End Memory Foam I would rate on the softer of scales. It offers enough support to make even firm pillow loves like me happy but still is soft enough that Connor's dad who loves a soft pillow loves it enough that he has attempted to steal it from me on several occasions. I've been using the pillow a little over two months now and I have to say side by side compared to a Memory Foam Pillow I bought several years ago and paid twice as much the Lands End Memory Foam has performed equally as well and other than being just a tad be on the softer side of what I would usually buy It's fairly hard to tell a difference. Actually usually the only way I can tell any difference at all without looking at the pillow covers is by weight. My more expensive memory foam pillow is a heavier than the Lands End Memory Foam which ironically has always been my number one complaint about my older pillow is its really quite heavy. I have not noticed any compression or wear on the Lands End Pillow and for those of you that are used to using standard pillows you will be pretty pleased to find out that from what I have seen in the 8+ years I have used memory foam pillows they last much longer than a standard pillow as I tend to throw out a standard pillow at the first sign of lumping where a memory foam pillow will never lump up.

If you have not tried sleeping on a memory foam pillow or thought they were just too expensive you will be pleased to know that the Lands End Memory Foam pillow starts at $49.50 for the standard sized pillow and it comes with its own pillow cover. Seeing as most pillow covers sell for between $9-19 the Lands End Memory Foam gives you much more bang for your buck than buying a standard pillow and personally I have to say I'd venture to guess that if you have never tried one once you sleep a night on a memory foam pillow you may think twice about sleeping on your old pillow again.

The Lands End Memory Foam pillow comes in standard and queen sizing and you can pick one up from the Lands End website!