and baby makes 6!

Squishy

My pillows are a disgrace. A complete disgrace.

I do not like a firm pillow. I tend to get a really stiff neck. This is not to say that firm pillows are bad. It just shows the degree in which I have ruined my vertebrate by sleeping on something that amounts to air.

Exhibit A:

This is my beloved pillow. It is squishy. Can you see its wonderful squishiness? At night, I squish it all together, and lay my head upon it and slumber wonderfully…….and then I wake up with a crick in my neck. Or sore shoulders from tucking my arms under the pillow to make it higher.

Billy has one of these as well, but he just holds his. See, he likes to hold something at night, and since my body pillow (also feather, God love it) has replace him, he clutches 100% goose down in compensation.

I have tried other pillows. I squished mine to the side once and tried a memory foam pillow. The sales clerk assured me that the smell of toxic chemicals would fade from it once it was in use, but that never happened. I even tried to wash the smell out, which killed the pillow. Have you ever tried to pick up memory foam that has absorbed every ounce of water from the washer? I didn’t think so, but let me tell you it was heavy as I heaved it in the trash.

Alas, I was back to my squishy pillow.

Way back in the spring, I was asked by Select Comfort if I would like to receive for free and objectively review their Customized “Create Your Perfect Pillow” by Sleep Numberon the blog. I normally don’t do reviews this time of year (Christmas time, sure. Giveaways are so fun), but I jumped the chance for a free pillow after checking out the site. Look, they have down fill! Squishy! So, one afternoon I sat down with one of their pillow experts and created my perfect pillow . She talked me through the three step process, and helped me make choices based on my preferences, allergies, and such.

Then I waited anxiously for my pillow.

When I opened the box, I was all “Look! 2 pillows!!”, but it was actually the outer and inner shell. Also in the package were two different pillow protectors, which I will talk about later.

My first impression was how amazing the fabric and the quality of the construction were. The outer shell fabric is cotton with a light teal piping. The edges are squarish, and there is a zipper that unzips one end and side. When you open it, the interior is all sealed into a pouch to hold the inner support core.

For my pillow I chose a down outer shell, with a down inner core. I wanted a pillow that I could shape and squish under my head, so my pillow expert recommended down all the way.

To assemble your pillow, all you have to do is insert the inner core into the outer comfort shell.

Carnivorous, cannibalistic pillow.

and zip it on up.

As I mentioned, creating your custom pillow is a three step process. Step 1, the outer shell, step 2 the inner core, and step 3 involved selcting your pillow protector. I could not make up my mind between the cotton and the In Balance protector. I was intrigued by the idea of Temperature Balancing material, but love the feel of cotton. The sent me both to try, and right now the In Balance is on my pillow.

Sleeping on it was tough the first few nights. I was sooo used to the other pillow, that having a bit of support took some getting used to. Even though both the shell and core are made with down, there is some support. You can still squish it up, but there is most certainly more form to the pillow than just a plain old down pillow. This is what I needed, but like I said, it took some getting used to.

So far, I am happy with my pillow. My 11 yo is as well, and he keeps stealing it off of my bed to sleep on it. Although it is a bit more firm than I like (read this to mean it actually has some form instead of the weight of your head parting the down and inevitably resting on the mattress like my old pillow) I am getting used to it and have noticed less neck and shoulder pain when I sleep with it. Why less shoulder pain? Well, I don’t ball my arm up under the pillow to add support, so my shoulders are not at odd angles all night. Also, my head is more in-line with my spine, so less neck kinking. I know I need this, especially with all the surfing we do and the strain it puts on my shoulders and neck from paddling.

As for the pillow protector, I have been using the In Balance, and it actually works. It seems to keep the pillow cool, which is awesome. It is also 300-thread count cotton for the high thread count snob in me. I like it so much, I haven’t even tried the other plain cotton one yet.

For myself, I asked for the down+down+In Balance, and that combo has worked. The other materials you can use to custom make your pillow are down alternative, feather, memory foam, contoured memory foam and even a silver down alternative that has antimicrobial properties.

Go make yourself a pillow! I priced pillows like this in the store, and the prices were comparable, so it makes sense to get a custom one instead if you are in the market for a nice pillow.  There is even a sale going on there now.  I have my eye on this.  Wonder if it comes in down squishiness?