Posts Tagged ‘weight’

Maternity Pillow

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Although conceiving a child is a miracle that brings hope and joy between couples, the stages that both husband and wife would go through during the duration of the maternity is painful, stressful and uncomfortable. To make things a lot easier for the partners, maternity pillows are made to help couples, especially the wife, to get through the ordeal with a more comfortable sleep.

When a woman becomes pregnant, a lot of things in her body would experience change. The most obvious would be the enlargement of her belly and the increase of her weight. With the gradual enlargement of her belly, a conceiving woman’s weight displacement changes that and it will require an adjustment to her posture. This will cause a stress on her lower back and neck leading to back pains and shoulder pains. With the growth of the baby in her womb, her abdominal muscles weaken which makes it difficult for her to tuck her stomach in when standing and thus, will contribute to the pains she feels.

All these would lead to the discomfort of the wife and there’s not much that anyone can do to relieve her of the burden she has to go through everyday for the whole maternity period. What can be done however is to provide comfort for her during sleep by allowing her to sleep in a more comfortable posture.

To achieve this, she should sleep in the most comfortable position where blood circulation in her body is least obstructed. Also, all the stress points of her body during this period should be supported to prevent soreness of the muscles. The important areas in her body that needs to be supported are her knees, belly, back and neck.

By propping pillows on these areas, support for her body could be provided. But pillows could lose their position and may not be as snug as she wants them to be. So, what could be done is using maternity pillows.

Maternity pillows come in different sizes and shapes with ergonomic designs that could help support the stress points and delicate parts of a pregnant woman’s body. This would be the ultimate source of comfort for w woman during her pregnancy and such a product would be advisable for her use.

In terms of postures, there are proper postures that a woman should have while standing, reclining, on her side or lying on her back. Listed below are the proper postures that she should have:

When Standing:

  • Don’t lean forward, this will cause a strain on your neck. Keep your chin up as much as possible

  • Try not to sway your hips as much. This will cause lower back pains

  • Don’t wear heels, it will cause a shift in weight forward and might cause you to lose your balance.

  • Keep your head straight

When Sitting Down:

  • Don’t slouch, this will obstruct circulation

  • Don’t cross your legs, this will also obstruct circulation

  • Keep your knees level with your hips to avoid stress on your lower back

  • Sit with the whole leg supported by the chair

When on your side:

  • Support your uterus by putting a pillow under it

  • Support your back as well with a pillow

  • You’re head should obviously have a pillow that should support the neck as well

  • A pillow between the knees to support the top knee and to avoid obstruction of circulation

When on your back:

  • Elevate your head by propping a pillow under it

  • Place a pillow under your knees to keep it bent. This will make your pelvis tilt as well as keep your back straight.

Considering all these postures should be enough to cause stress to a pregnant woman. But with the help of maternity pillows, there shouldn’t be much discomfort plus she could feel at least a bit more convenient with just having only one pillow to adjust and move every time she changes position.

Floor Pillows

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Kids, teens and even the young at heart like to sit down on the floor. Whenever there’s a gathering and everyone’s playing scrabble or monopoly or some family oriented board game, it won’t be unusual to find yourselves sitting on the floor of the living room. Kids who play video games wouldn’t sit on the bed or a chair while they play Play Station or Xbox. They would most likely be on the floor while their shoulders flinch with controllers on their hands.

It’s fun and it feels free to be on the floor doing fun stuff. Unfortunately, in terms of comfort, the floor doesn’t provide much of it. Floors are flat, hard surfaces that won’t adjust to the shape of your body. And because it doesn’t bend or follow the shape of your body, your weight is focused only on the areas or part of your body that makes contact on the floor’s surface. What this entails is discomfort and stress on the person’s body, specifically the lower back.

Games don’t end quick and video games end longer, and the longer you sit on the floor, the more stress there will be on your back. To avoid the pain from seeping in because of the wrong posture and the improper weight distribution, it is highly suggested that you use either chair a cushion or at least sit on a floor pillow.

With a floor pillow, you will be seated more comfortably and you will experience less stress on your spine. Your posture could also be more proper since you don’t have to endure the hard floor anymore.

There are various types of floor pillows available out there. There are cotton pillows, foam pillows and bean bags. Each of these have their own characteristics and depending on your need or preference, one of these would be the best type of floor pillow for you. They come in different colors and shapes as well. There are square floor pillows, round floor pillows, and huge, chair like bean bags and more.

With these bean bags, playing, hanging out and even spending holidays would be fun not only for kids but anyone who likes to join in the fun. Floor pillows, although it is more of a luxury than a need would be something that you’d end up loving having in your home.