And Finally.... The Weighted Blanket!

My weighted blanket finally arrived via UPS. I had arranged to pick it up at the store today. The box was very heavy. They said it was 21 pounds. I went on one stop on the way home. When I got home, I took a shower and started some laundry before I got the blanket out of the box. I sat on couch with it. The material is a lot thinner than I thought, even though it is flannel. The whole thing is very heavy, which is its purpose, so that's good. The pellets in the pockets are very tiny; I had pictured them a little bigger for some reason. I tried it sitting on couch watching tv. It is a twin size. If I'm sitting with my feet tucked up next to me, it covers me feet and up to my arm pits. I sat in it quite a while. Its kind of cold, actually. Maybe it will warm up at night with other blankets over it, or it won't matter because I have a heated mattress pad. I had thought that they hadn't taken the money out of my account, but I did a search on my online banking account and found that they indeed did- the day after they accepted my order three weeks ago! How did I miss that? Which reminds me: It wasn't cheap, so I'm extra particular about the final product. I haven't tried it while anxious yet. I haven't let my kids try it to see what they think. (Even though its technically too heavy for them.) I almost want to see about making a pocket for the whole thing in a thicker flannel that's softer. I wonder how that would work. This blanket is cold. The people who run the site that I bought it from say people who have hot flashes shouldn't get flannel but I find this blanket not warming at all. I will give it plenty of time before I make a final yay or nay on this blanket.

I just tried it in bed for a few minutes. Its much better this way. It still covers my feet up to my arm pits, but the weight is evenly distributed and I can feel the weight better that way. After only a few minutes in bed like this (and with my heated pad on), I started to get pleasantly dozey and fell asleep. More points in the positive for the blanket. Its still cold, but with a comforter over me and the heating pad under me I was plenty warm.

I had a thought about why it might be cold. Its been in delivery trucks and warehouses for the last five days and its winter. I know it at least sat all night at UPS here in Michigan last night. I'll let it warm up in the dryer tonight before bed and see if that helps.

The blanket's makers included a small letter with the blanket in the box. One of the things it says is please write and give your feedback soon. I think I'll give it a week to be sure.

There are many things that the blanket is said to help with. For me, I am hoping it will help with anxiety, stress and tension. On the outside chance, it may help with my sleep apnea. (I still will wear my CPAP.) And, happily, I look forward to it helping with menopause when that day comes. (I'm relatively close, but haven't reached that year yet.) Other things they say it helps with are alzheimer's, parkinson's, post traumatic stress disorder, restless leg syndrome, ADD/ADHD, asperger's and other autism spectrum disorders, and sensory disorders of any kind.

EDIT: for January 10: I slept with it last night. I'd put it in the dryer on low for just a couple minutes before I took it up to bed. It was a little too warm that way. Probably because I have the heated mattress pad and it had been laying on that, too. Once I got under it, it was too warm. I stuck my feet out and that was better. I think its either put it in the dryer, OR put the heated pad on- not both. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I noticed was that I remembered my dreams in a detail that I had not in years. In fact, I hadn't remembered them at all for time out of mind. I took this to mean that I slept very well with the blanket. Even now that I type this, I feel more awake than I have in ages. I'm not planning my next nap or day dreaming about when I can go to bed tonight. For me, that is huge. My criticisms of the blanket at first are giving way to love.