Small pregnancy pillow

A standard UK double is 135 cm wide. Split evenly, that is 67 cm each, and our full U shaped pillow is 70 cm across. The maths is the whole problem: the biggest shapes work beautifully when you have the bed to yourself, and start an argument when you do not.

The Bump Wing was chosen for exactly this. The two wings sit against your body rather than spreading across the mattress, joined by a flat band that passes under you. Nothing has to be dragged back into place when they turn over. Across the bed it takes 64 to 78 cm, depending on the band, which is about the same as our full U (70 cm); the difference is the length, 36 cm instead of 130. The free mini knee pillow sits between your knees and adds nothing to that footprint.

If you have a king size, or the bed to yourself, the U shaped pregnancy pillow gives you more support. If your bed is a single, or you want the smallest thing that still works, the pregnancy body pillow is one straight line of about 122 cm and takes less room again.

One more shared-bed detail people only discover later: a wing pillow does not need repositioning when your partner gets up in the night. It stays strapped where you put it. That is worth more at 4am than any specification on this page.

Most pregnancy pillows do not travel. A full U shape is roughly the size of a small child and lives in the boot of a car at best. The Bump Wing is two small wings on a flat band, 36 cm long, so it goes in a holdall far more easily than a 130 cm U.

For a hotel or a night at your mum's, that matters more than it sounds. Strange beds are where pregnant sleep falls apart: unfamiliar mattress, unfamiliar pillows, nothing where your body expects it. Bringing the support you already sleep with is the difference between a lost night and a normal one.

Two practical notes. Vacuum bags work, but only use them for storage and travel, never for months at a time, because the filling needs air to keep its loft. On a plane, check your airline's cabin bag rules; the mini knee pillow on its own is the easiest part to carry on board.