MIMOS PILLOW

I’d never heard of plagiocephaly when I became a Momma for the first time.  Like most things with babies, and after seeing the shape of our Little Adventurer’s head when he finally made his way into the world after 4 days of labour, I imagined that some baby heads were just differently shaped at birth and they would change over time (I was even scared his brain was misshapen).  After talking to some of my friends who had babies with this condition of course, I learned more.

As a first time Momma, it wasn’t something that I even thought about; mainly
because previously I had no knowledge of plagiocephaly but also because Jensen
spent (to my immediate alarm but not to my doctor’s) his (very few)
sleeping hours on his front, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he was being
carried around in a sling.  Being put down for any length of time was
not on his agenda until 5 months when he discovered crawling, and then at
8 months when he figured out walking, it was goodbye sling unless we
were going for huge distances.  Lying on his back never happened.

Fast forward two years and our second son, Baby
Dragon, is a completely different sleeper. He sleeps through the night
except when teething or sick, and on his back. Although he too was
carried almost constantly in his sling in the day, I did worry about his
head at night after having the condition bought to my attention.

So, when I was given the opportunity of reviewing a
product that could prevent or help with the condition by the very lovely
people at Mimos Pillow, I was delighted.  More than delighted even.
Prevention is better than cure I reasoned.  Then I panicked.  It was a PILLOW. 

Baby Dragon.  He does not enjoy photography whilst asleep.

 

No Baby Dragons were caused distress…one second later and he was in Momma’s arms.

 

A pillow. Pillows aren’t recommended for babies. I had a cold chill down my spine as I waited for the arrival of Mimos Pillow.  What would I do?  Dadda (the voice of reason) said to wait and use my own judgement when I saw the pillow, instead of just worrying over using a product I hadn’t seen yet.  He always makes sense.  Sometimes too much.

So, the pillow and a tiny sweet cover arrived and I began my inspection.
After trying repeatedly to smother myself with the pillow, (I hope the neighbours weren’t watching, they’re new and I don’t want to alienate them quite yet) I decided it
was safe enough to breathe through and due to the size and weight,
easily discarded by my baby.  Apparently the pillow is 94% air.I want to say here that the decisions I took are based on knowing my
own child and his capabilities.  He’s very strong (build like a little
body-builder and very hard to wrestle during nappy change or when on a rampage) and so I had no concerns about him being able to move free
of the pillow should he so desire.  I even checked with my own doctor who was happy for me to try it.

As friends, family and readers of our blog will know, we
are a bed-sharing family.  Lyoto has an Arms Reach Co-Sleeper (which he
and Jensen treat more as if it were a small clubhouse or husky-twitching platform) that he has used a
handful of times, and he sleeps next to me each night to aid
breastfeeding in the early days, to give me a fighting chance at being lucid in the
mornings…and because we enjoy it.

So, we positioned the pillow and began our Mimos journey.  Here’s what we discovered…

Well, that’s simple!  Its soft, supportive
backing helps to keep your baby from pressing on their head’s
flat spot. It’s like the physiotherapy kind of pillow you lie on when you’re pregnant (if you have spinal issues like I did), except your baby’s head is placed into it instead of your bump.  This stops the full pressure of your baby’s head being on a flat surface.

This is easier to do if your baby is asleep before being
placed down to sleep; awake, Baby Dragon got all excited at having a mini pillow he could play with and peep through, and wave in the air whilst he was feeding. It was impossible for us to settle him on it…but then it’s hard to settle him without holding, feeding or cuddling anyway.Did it work?
Well, his head is still beautifully rounded and he has never shown any vulnerability towards the condition and considering he too walked at 8 months, he has spent even less time asleep and more time causing mischief.  As he was never diagnosed with plagiocephaly and it has never been a concern of mine, I can’t say whether the pillow has medically had any impact.  However, it has been a comfort knowing that when he has been on his back, the pillow was available for his added comfort and prevention. Prevention is always better than cure, and if I had any doubt that my future children would be susceptible to the condition, this pillow would be implemented immediately.

We’re very grateful to the lovely people at Mimos Pillow (and they really are very lovely indeed) for the opportunity to try this pillow, and we would recommend their pillow to any of our friends and family with concerns in this area.  Thank you, Mimos Pillow!