Singaporean mum's horrific discovery in baby's buckwheat pillow

Buckwheat pillow for babies has become very popular in Asia and are now also gaining fans in the US.

Filled with buckwheat husks, the main characteristics of a buckwheat pillow are similar to micro-bead pillows in that they are very conforming, mouldable and supportive.

Buckwheat pillow becomes a home for ants! 

Having said that, what happens if you find a bug-infested one in your home, and worse still, it’s in the one your beloved baby uses every night?

What this Singaporean mum found in her baby’s buckwheat pillow will make your skin crawl... literally!

Liz Warti is a Singaporean mum of adorable 8-month-old baby boy named Adam.

In September last year, Liz’s mum-in-law got Adam a gift - a buckwheat pillow from a pop-up stall at IMM.

At that time, Adam was only 2 months old. The pillow came in very handy- Liz absolutely loved it, and Adam was enjoying his comfy little bedtime buddy.

But two months later, Liz and her husband found undesirable guests in Adam’s cot. Ants!

Upon taking everything apart, they found (to their horror) that the culprit was the buckwheat pillow. When they removed the pillow cover, they were shocked to see an army of baby ants running around in the casing.

Liz’s husband dumped all the husks into a pail and soaked them in water. Liz added tea tree oil, just in case. They soaked the husks overnight and when they rinsed them the next day using a sieve, they discovered a whole lot of dead ants!

The new parents were extremely disgusted imagining the ants making their home in the husks. And to think that little Adam was sleeping on it every single day!

Liz still uses her pillow, but has been religiously rinsing and drying it out.

“I also sun it once a week now- you can never be too sure, and  want to keep my baby safe...want to make other parents aware of this incident so that they will be careful when buying a buckwheat pillow...told my mum-in-law about our findings, and she went back to complain to the shop.”

Buckwheat Pillow talk: Other similar cases reported

A few other concerned parents also shared with us, saying that they have found the same in their child’s buckwheat pillow.

One daddy alerts parents, “Be careful when buying your pillow, ours took some time to be noticed - they are as small as a speck of dust! The bugs I found were basically like the ones you find in your pasta or rice. I’ve heard that these bugs can bite too, so do look out for them.”

A new mummy with a 2 week-old baby girl told us,” When I bought my pillow, I came home and unzipped the pillow casing, to look at the husks, just for fun, and found lots of tiny moving bugs. Needless to say I was grossed out. It’s quite dangerous for babies, so parents, please check before you bring these potentially unsafe pillows home!”

Be safe, not sorry

This raises the question on how safe these pillows are, and to be sure that we aren’t bringing home a bagful of creepy crawlers.

Please check your pillows thoroughly when you’re purchasing them, and frequently after that. Keep to a routine of washing, drying and sunning your buckwheat pillows.

A vital part of your child’s health is his sleep. A school-age child needs roughly 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night. This simple fact means that almost half your child’s life is spent on his pillow. A pillow that could potentially expose her to toxic materials. Always be on the safe side (and we can never be too safe when it comes to kid's health and safety), and be alert in observing new things you bring home for your child.

How long have you been sleeping on your pillow? If you can’t remember, it’s probably been too long! Do a thorough check and make it a practice to regularly clean out your bedding.

Mummies and daddies, ever experienced anything similar to Liz? Do share with us below!