Name of Business:

Dreamgenii®

Name and age:

Mum of two, Vanessa Blake

I created the award winning dreamgenii^® pregnancy pillow when I was pregnant with my first child in 2005.  I was six months pregnant with my son and after weeks of tossing and turning I’d had enough.  I tried every pregnancy pillow on the market and none of them actually worked.  All of them woke me up in the night and they usually ended up strewn on the floor by morning!

I was also conscious of lying in the best position for my baby.  My midwife advised me that lying on my left hand side encouraged maximum blood flow from me to my baby.  I wanted something that supported my back, bump and knees – all the parts that were aching!  I also wanted to be able to use my pillow post birth as a feeding support (as many of my friends had shared their tales of back strain after using traditional pillows with no back support).
I bought a sewing machine and made a basic prototype pillow.  I showed it to my midwife at my antenatal class and everyone raved about it!  They suggested I should look into selling it to other women so I took it to a manufacturer and asked them to make up some proper samples.  It seemed unbelievable that no one had thought of doing something like this before.

I showed the samples to various midwives, healthcare organisations as well as many pregnant friends and volunteers.  The pillow was universally welcomed as a huge help for pregnant women.

It was hard work in the beginning, trying to get a business up and running with a new baby.  Most women in the nursery industry are mothers too, so everyone is incredibly understanding and flexible.  I even took my son along to business meetings with me at the start, and nobody minded. Trying to get something off the ground can be stressful, and I could never have done it without the support of my husband Stephen and all of our family.  I firmly believe if you can get through those first few months it’s well worth the effort!  It’s amazing to think that it’s almost five years since I first sat down at my sewing machine to make my pregnancy pillow.  Our pillow is now sold in over 18 countries worldwide and has helped thousands of women enjoy a magical night’s sleep during pregnancy.

www.dreamgenii.com