Pillows

A pillow by any other name would still be a pillow, yes?
No.

When it comes to my personal bed pillows, I have something of a "Goldilocks" attitude.  I can spend an hour scrunching and fluffing the pillows at the store until finding one that I think (and hope) will work for me.  Then it is time when the peddle hits the foam and I have to sleep on my new pillow and I am usually disappointed.

Weren't pillows just pillows when we were kids? Now the pillow has to be plumpfy, fiber-filled, memory foamed and ergonomically --but not necessarily economically--correct.   Scooped out just right to fit if you sleep on your side or on your back.  What if I am both a side sleeper and a back sleeper.  What then?

Well, you engage in the dance that I do when it becomes time to buy a new pillow. The ubiquitous memory foam pillows have such a toxic chemical smell that I think I am going to pass out before I can fall asleep.  The pillow cannot be too hard--that props my neck up in an odd way that cuts off circulation.  If the pillow is too soft, there is no support and as squishy-fun as it feels, my heavy head flattens it out and I wake up with bed head beehive hair.
No, it has to be juuuuuuust right.

I am willing to spend more money to find a pillow that is supportive and comfortable but the local stores here in Chico have a sparse supply of choices.  Buying pillows online is even worse than buying shoes online because you cannot try them out first and fewer stylish options.

So right now, I have three bed pillows I am juggling.  One pillow is the older memory foam one that has turned become senile. And then I have two new pillows that I am trying to 'break-in'. One pillow that is oh so hotel-plump until you sleep on it; the other is a new memory foam gel that is about 4" thick and has a chemical smell that I am trying to air out.  I sleep on one but have another at the side of my bed so I can exchange them in the middle of the night when my arms go numb or my head slides onto the mattress itsself.

There has to be a better way. I'm sure I could come up with some ideas if I could just lay down my head and rest for awhile...