birthing ball

[gottaknit]

I borrowed my sister's pilates/exercise ball to use for labor (and also because there is no where comfortable for me to sit in our house anymore), and it seems too small. When I sit on it my knees are well above my hips and I feel like I am squatting rather than sitting. It's also really difficult for me to get up again without assistance. LOL

How big should a birthing ball be? I've tried adding more air - it's the diameter of the the ball that's the problem. It's about 20 inches. (Considerably less when I sit on it.) I'm 5'8" with long legs, and weigh... um, nevermind.

Should I buy something else? Where? How much do they cost?

Thanks!

[karendrema]

..That sounds way too small. You can get bigger excersize balls at a sports store. My understanding is that when you sit on it, you want your knees below your hips, so your hips lean forward. (Especially for optimal fetal positioning). I suppose if you are just leaning on it, it can be whatever size you are comfortable with. I actually owned two (I already had one for excersize before my last pregnancy but it wasn't big enough) so I bought a bigger one and used both - one to sit on (and keep my hips forward) and the other to lean on because I felt the that one was too big. Oh, I am about 5' 6"

The smaller one I had was 65 cm (approx 25 inches) and the larger 75 ~29. The nice thing about getting a larger ball is it isn't hard to inflate it less to get the size you want.

[Graceoc]

For me I found that I needed the large size ball - they usually come in 3 sizes 55 cm, 65 cm and 75 cm - sorry I can't to the conversioin from inches math is not my thing LOL!

Anyway I had the med one (65 cm) first and it was too small for me too - so I moved up to the 75 cm one and it works GREAT!

[Past_VNE]

About how much should we expect to pay for a ball? I was hoping to use my MIL's exercise ball, but it is only about 20 inches, also.

[karendrema]

..Definitely not more than $30, but I think if you shop around you should be able to find one for less, like $20. I know sporting stores like Sports authority sell them, but I've also seen them in target or walmart, etc. They are just with the excersize equipment.

[AmandaBL]

I got an exercize ball at WalMart that is big enough for me (5'6") but only supports up to 250lbs. It was under $15. I've been using it to sit on at work & it's so much better than the chair.

[mom2amelia]

Originally Posted by gottaknit

Should I buy something else? Where? How much do they cost?

Since I see we're in the same city, I'll tell you I got one for about $12 at Marshall's at Lloyd Center a few months ago. They had 3 sizes from a couple of different brands. They were upstairs (parking lot level) with yoga mats and other such products. Haven't been there recently, but I'd guess they still have them...

[gottaknit]

Originally Posted by mom2amelia

Since I see we're in the same city, I'll tell you I got one for about $12 at Marshall's at Lloyd Center a few months ago. They had 3 sizes from a couple of different brands. They were upstairs (parking lot level) with yoga mats and other such products. Haven't been there recently, but I'd guess they still have them...

Thank you!! I live within walking distance of Lloyd Center. Unfortunately, it is not within waddling distance. I'll send DH out tonight to get one.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

[Electra375]

www.naturalfamilyboutique.com use to sell a "birth ball" or excersise ball in different sizes, that is where I got mine. I am assuming they still do. It came with a pregnancy video that I never watched!
Funny thing is, I used it during pregnancy to sit on, it was comfortable and allowed me to sit forward during the end of my pregnancy to keep my baby in proper position for birthing. But when it came right down to her birth, I never used it. It was too painful for me to be on my knees leaning forward over it or anything else for that matter. I never even sat on it during labor.

[True Blue]

I was just going to add I found mine at TJ Maxx for about $10!!!