Writing by Freya Bennett
Every parent of young children will be familiar with the game of musical beds. For the last 6 years of our daughter’s life, my husband and I have bed hopped like it’s a sport, resigning ourselves to the idea that no two nights look the same.
But we can’t just blame our daughter’s cute but clingy need for human contact the entire night. There is snoring, insomnia and the conveyer belt of illnesses that come with early childhood to deal with.
Being well acquainted with our lifestyle of the rotating bed schedule meant it was no surprise when, at 12 weeks pregnant with our second daughter, another bedtime issue reared its head.
As my body started changing, and my belly began to need support, I realised our fairly new, king-sized mattress was about as supportive as a wet sponge.
From the moment we bought this mattress online, deep in lockdown, I felt something wasn’t quite right. Within a few weeks, my side had a subtle dip (my husband’s side was still perfectly flat which might tell you something about my daytime nap habits).
Before ordering our dream king bed, I had done my research. I thought I was ordering a really great online mattress that would last us years and many children, but the early warning signs were not ideal.
My husband insisted the bed was comfortable and I just wasn’t used to a softer mattress so I ignored my slightly achy hips and lower back and slept in my Freya sized dip without complaint.
A year later, with a growing bump and at my insistence, we bought my daughter a Koala double bed and mattress, using her as our little experiment before we splashed out on a new king bed for our growing family. Ordering another online mattress was a bit nerve-wracking as the first hadn’t turned out well, but I knew Koala had been around for longer and was the big name in the game so I felt a little more secure this time around.
The mattress arrived within days and was set up immediately. With excitement and nerves, I decided to spend the next few weeks in my daughters joyfully pink and yellow room to road test the Koala.
After just one night– my body felt better. I noticed immediately that my bump was nicely supported and I didn’t have to shove a small pillow under it just to avoid the stretching and pulling pain I’d been feeling in my old bed. My lower back and hips felt like I was a teenager again and my sleep was uninterrupted (well, nearly … I still had a snuffly little head glued to my upper arm half the night).
I then spent the next few weeks enjoying the benefits of a beautifully supported sleep. I was more than happy to bed-share with 12 teddies and a human child– just to feel the sweet relief of a well-oiled body upon waking.
Meanwhile, my husband who had given the new mattress a test run over a night or two himself – began complaining of aching hips and knees from the old king bed, as he conceded the sinky, sponge bed wasn’t going to last in this house much longer.
We agreed to get a new Koala king for ourselves, and were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t going to bankrupt us like many mattresses have the potential to do.
Our daughter still ends up in our bed most nights and one of us will usually find ourselves in her bed to avoid snoring/illness/sleepy kicks to sensitive areas but having the comfort of a Koala mattress in both rooms means there’s no anxiety about having a good night’s sleep.
I can happily say that we’ve now slept on our Koala king mattress for nearly six months without a whisper of sinkage, and at eight months pregnant, I can’t tell you how good it feels to be supported from head to toe.
