WOW. Just wow. I slept on this last night. You know that desperate feeling when you realize you have lived without something absolutely necessary for your whole life and you are suddenly panicking that you are going to lose the opportunity to hold on to that necessity? If this things dies, flattens...whatever, I must ensure this company continues making it, so I can obtain a replacement! I am actually tempted to order a back up right now. It was THAT GOOD. I had forgotten how good sleep can be (*crying tears of joy*). You see, I am a petite (5"5, 112 pounds) back sleeper. What this means is that I can never get comfortable. I wake up if my husband taps his foot. Every time there is a hint of needing to use the bathroom. Any excuse, really, to get out of bed so I can give my body a break from sleeping in one position all night, since doing so means I often have an aching pain in my ribs. I assume this is b/c my petite size means I never really sink into any mattress, so every mattress feels like I am on the floor. Ever slept on the floor? You know that aching feeling you get, where you have to breathe in and out to "de-compress" your ribs? That is what I feel like, all the time. I may be alone in this, but I suspect most petite back sleepers need A LOT OF CUSHION. I hesitate to say we need "soft" beds, since my Sleep Number's version of "soft" is really just "less support" (ie air leaves the mattress). That does not help me much. No, what I NEED (to not wake up in pain all night) is basically a PILLOW under my BODY. Extreme pillow top mattresses are the only thing that helps me--and they always compress, after time. I have tried everything: the priciest version of Sleep Number pillow top/adjustable bed (only helpful when the pillowtop was fluffy, during the first few months, although the adjustable part is helpful); medical sheep skin (minor help); wool (fairly helpful until it flattens, after a few MONTHS); down (fairly helpful until it flattens, after a few WEEKS); memory foam (hot and terrible); latex (felt ok but still had pain). The best sleep I ever had was in Japan, in a Buddhist monastery, and that is b/c I took down-filled tatami "mattresses" (which are like fluffy down comforters, but thicker--similar to this pillow) and put them on top of each other. I have not been able to replicate that sleeping experience, UNTIL THIS PILLOW. This thing was much better than any other topper I have ever tried, even before they flatten. I cannot believe how quickly I fell asleep! I always blamed taking forever to fall asleep on a busy mind, but I now realize it had more to do with not being comfortable enough to lull me into slumber! Anyway, I started looking for a "body pillow," after reasoning that my neck pillow does not need to be replaced (from flattening) over time, so why don't they make something thicker and more "pillow" like for the body? At first, I was really annoyed that all I could find were U shaped pillows. However, then I began to realize that U shapes may keep their form better, since the body is heavier than the neck, and everything I have ever tried ends up with filling shoved towards the edges, since my body weighs it down/pushes it outward. If the filling is contained in a tighter/thinner envelope, with some "give" where the body is, the filling has less chance of getting shoved in an outwards direction. Hopefully, my theory holds up and this retains its shape. Anyway, I chose this, specific, pillow bc it indicates it is for "back and belly," whereas most of them seem to be just for side sleepers--for those people who want to hug a pillow, basically. This one seemed to be a better shape, too, and more like an actual "body" pillow you can put your body on top of (vs a pool noodle). I also liked that they claim not to use many chemicals. If they would make a certified organic or "green" version, I would be ecstatic! Another brand pillow on Amazon got in trouble with the FTC for false advertising about the "green quality" of their pillow, which makes me not trust them, so this company seemed a lot more trustworthy, by comparison. Anyway, I found the "back and belly" pillow to be the perfect cushioning amount, even better than every other fresh out of the box "toppers," and I suspect it will not be easy to flatten, like all of the others, but I will update this review, if it does... Until then, YAY, for this pillow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
