Holo Lilo

Louise writes:

The Holo is one of those ingenious ideas that could only have been thought up by someone who had been through pregnancy and experienced its numerous aches and pains. It’s an inflatable airbed with a hole in the middle that your belly goes through, enabling you to lie on your front. Simple eh? But there’s a bit more to it than that – it has a raised lip around the hole which supports your back and hips and makes it super-suitable for a pregnant body, and is one of the reasons it comes recommended by numerous midwives, osteopaths, yoga teachers, physiotherapists and obstetricians.

I first saw the Holo a couple of years ago and was intrigued by it so trying one out when pregnant was a bit of a wish come true. I’m not much of a front-sleeper, more of a front/side sleeper but I do miss having the option to flop down on your front when pregnant. Apparently there’s no real reason a pregnant woman shouldn’t lie on her front except that it’s not very comfortable with a big bump in the way. I first tried it out at about 32 weeks and wished I’d got one earlier – the feeling of relaxation being able to lie face-down was amazing, and somehow the Holo supports you in a way that means you can’t feel the weight of the bump, so you feel considerably lighter than you have for months. We have wooden floors and I did find it a bit weird to have the bump touching the cold floor, but I put the Holo on a sofa and it was perfect.

It comes in two sections so you can inflate the main part and the top, or just leave the top inflated and use your own pillows. Although it was originally designed to be used like a normal lilo, for floating around in pools, you can use it to nap on, rest on, read on, or to get your husband to give you a much needed back massage on. I didn’t really like it to sleep on for a longer period but I think this is down to not really sleeping on my front anyway, rather than any problem with the lilo. To just lie and watch a bit of TV or have a rest, it’s lovely.

The only downside is that it’s quite big so if you’re like me and can’t be bothered to deflate and reinflate it every time you have to find room for it and people who come round don’t really understand why you have a big lilo in your house! Also, having it inflated in the living room means that my children have assumed ownership of it and like to sit in the hole pretending it’s a canoe, or just to watch the telly in. They now seem quite put out when I ask them not to jump on it and want to use it myself.

All in all, this may seem like an odd pregnancy buy but it’s a good one. If you buy it early enough in pregnancy you could get a lot of use out of it, and passing it on to a pregnant friend when you’re done may be the nicest thing you could ever do for her.

The Holo Lilo is available in pink and blue and starts at £39.99 including P&P