Our weeSpring picks are data-driven, based on the feedback of tens of thousands of parents like you — and then subjected to an added level of testing by our editors. Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper The Bassinet is a swivel co-sleeper that has a ton of features: 360-degree range of motion, convenience, closeness and comfort for everyone. It sits beside your bed and its swivel design allows you to pull your baby right up close — or scoot her away so you can climb in and out of bed. The height is infinitely adjustable, so even if you have a tall bed, you’ll be able to easily scoop your baby into your arms for nursing or snuggles without getting up. Other bonuses: a night light, built in music with a white noise option, two levels of vibration and a nursing timer. The Catch: Some parents feel the mattress could be of better quality. The Lotus Bassinet is one of our all-time travel favorites and lots of weeSpring parents use it during those first few months at home, too.
It’s super lightweight, easy to transport (folds into a backpack), and a snap to set up (it takes 15 seconds – seriously). The height is right at your bed level, and the ClearView mesh sides provide visibility and breathability, ensuring you can rest easy, too. Free from PVC, lead, phthalates, formaldehyde, and heavy metals, this safe, top quality sleeper is a registry and travel must-have. babyletto Hudson Convertible Crib babyletto hits the mark with this modern, stylish crib with clean lines and neutral color options. Made with sustainable, sturdy wood free from chemicals and with a non-toxic finish, this crib gives you the peace of mind you’re looking for when choosing a place for baby to lay their head. It converts from a crib to toddler bed (it even comes with the rail) to daybed, and is reasonably priced. The Catch: A few parents mentioned it was a bit time consuming to set up. A compact (oval!) crib that will expand and grow with your little one from infant to toddler and beyond.
Parents love the rounded corner design that saves space while being beautiful and stylish. With locking wheels on the bottom, this mobile crib to easily slips through doorways and around the house. A pricey purchase, but most weeSpring user say it’s worth the money. The Catch: It doesn’t work well with non-Stokke accessories, and they tend to be pricey. Ikea’s cribs are solid wood, sturdy, and relatively easy to assemble — not to mention highly affordable. As one mom put it: “Excellent quality for a ridiculously good price.” Parents love their simple lines and small footprint. Most models come equipped with a conversion kit to convert the crib to a toddler bed, so you get even more bang for your buck. The Catch: Ikea cribs come with Ikea instructions, so… Lotus Travel Crib and Portable Baby Playard This super lightweight, easy-to-set-up (just 15 seconds!) travel crib actually folds small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, and it’s got backpack straps so you can tote it wherever you go.
It converts to a rocking bassinet so perfect for at-home use from the earliest days, and it’s side-zip means it also can be used as a play area for an older toddler. The Catch: Parents complained about the excessive amount of velcro tabs needed to secure the mattress. Babybjorn Travel Crib Light As if traveling with an infant isn’t overwhelming enough, figuring out where they’re going to sleep while away from home can be a real challenge. Enter: BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light. Super lightweight, a cinch to set up and take down (we’re talking a matter of seconds, here), and is suitable for kids from infancy to age 3. (You can check out our video demo here.) And the best part? As one weeSpring parent noted: “Baby slept great in this while traveling–almost better than at home…” The Catch: Baby is very low to the ground in it making it hard to lower baby into This playard is the “Cadillac” of them all! Sleek and modern but durable and built to last, the 4 Moms Breeze is truly a breeze to set up.
There is no trick to set up, like having to lock the sides first. You just push down in the center and it pops up and is stable. Folding it up is easy as well – just one step. The bottom is well-cushioned but not overly so and the frame is metal, not cheap plastic. It comes with a removable bassinet which is also simple to snap into place and has its own sturdy support system underneath. Combine that with the fact that it is simple to put into the included travel bag, and it’s a must! The Catch: It’s pretty heavy, weighing in at 26 lbs. You can also use weeSpring to see what your friends recommend! You’ll be able to see all of your friends’ picks alongside our community’s opinions. Check out more bassinet, crib & travel crib reviews on weeSpring!The wrong chair = real health problems. (Total read time: 8 minutes) In this post I’ll cover how I identified the best high-end chairs in the world, which I ultimately chose, and the tangible results that followed.
In January of 2005, I found myself on a veranda in Panama after the usual afternoon rain, dreaming of the upcoming year and reflecting on lessons learned since leaving the US. Maria Elena, the matriarch of the Panamanian family that had adopted me, sipped her iced tea and pointed at my bruised feet: “Tim, let me share some advice I was once given. Buy the most comfortable bed and pair of shoes you can afford. If you’re not in one, you’ll be in the other.” I followed her advice upon returning to CA and the results were sudden: Plantar Fasciitis disappeared, as did shoulder impingement after switching from coil-spring to foam-layered mattresses. But what about chairs? On January 4th, 2009, I tweeted out the following: “Is the Aeron chair worth it? http://tr.im/2uxd Do you have any fave chairs for extended sitting and writing?” Even though I’m financially comfortable now, I didn’t grow up spending a lot of money, which I’m thankful for. To this day, I’ve never paid for first-class airfare for myself.
Not that it isn’t worth it — I just can’t do it. Similarly, I had trouble believing a chair could possibly be worth $850-$1,200, but my back pain led me to pose the question to the omniscient Interweb. More than 95% of Aeron users replied with “yes, absolutely”, but it wasn’t the only chair with a cult-like following. Four of the five are manufactured by Herman Miller (HM) and Humanscale (HS). Prices are from Amazon, as are the star reviews, but discounts of $200-400 can be negotiated with dealers. Both eBay and Craiglist offer similar discounts. In descending order of popularity: 1. Aeron (Fully loaded) (HM) – $879 (1 review; average review: 5 stars) Used at NASA mission control and tech start-ups worldwide.2. Mirra (fully loaded) (HM) – $829 (14 reviews; average review: 4.5 stars) Note: the Herman Miller sales representatives I spoke with preferred the Mirra seat feel for shorter legs vs. the Aeron. Easier to adjust: Mirra is about 9 revolutions from loosest to tightest settings;
3. SwingChair – $495 Recommended by a strong contingent of writers, including one of my favorite visual storytellers, Kathy Sierra. I like the design concept, but I would suggest other forms of “core exercise”. 4. Liberty (HS) – $899 (6 reviews; average review: 3.5 stars) 5. Freedom Task Chair with Headrest (HS) – $999.99 (1 review, average: 4 stars) Used at the FBI and by other governmental agencies with three-letter acronyms. 6. Embody – $1,800 list price (negotiated with dealer: $1,200-1,300): Basis of chair design – sitting is bad; Even in locked position, it still has some backward flex at the top position. No forward tilt option. For personal testing, I also added a Swiss-ball chair (Isokinetics Balance Ball Chair – $75) to the mix, as seen below: Surprisingly, the Isokinetics chair is more comfortable than most fixed chairs I tested, though there is some minor… ahem… testicular compression that isn’t nearly as pleasant as it sounds.
If you don’t have jewels to worry about, this chair could well be an ideal cost-effective choice. The chair I most wanted to test was the Mirra, which seems to have the best combination of price point (bought used or via eBay) and multiple 5-star reviews. Not to mention it’s also the name of one of the best BMXers of all time. In the end, I bought a used C-size (technically a bit too large for me) Aeron for $450 on Craigslist. I’m impatient and didn’t want to wait over the weekend to schedule sittings for other Herman Miller chairs with a certified dealer. Once I have some conclusive comparable data, I want closure.I’m 5′ 8″ and 170 lbs., but the C works with no problem. 1) The lumbar support is — by far — the primary determinant of comfort or pain. I’ve lowered this adjustment and found that maintaining the natural S-curve through pressure on the lower back is what prevents pain most consistently. Comfortable sitting time is now 7-8 hours vs. less than 2 hours, with no ill after-effects.
Sliding lumbar support on the Aeron. 2) Seat height (and secondarily, depth) will determine the rest. If the flats of your feet don’t make complete contact with the floor, you will move your hips forward and slouch, eliminating the S-curve in the lower lumbar. If your seat is too low and your knees are above your hips, you will shorten the habitual range your hip flexors (negative neural adaptation) and end up with severe lower-back pain. Aim to keep your hamstrings parallel to the floor, and if the seat is too long for your femur (thigh bone) — as is mildly the case with my C-size Aeron — just separate your knees a bit. If you’re not wearing a tight skirt, I’ve found a basketball of space between the knees to provide the best lateral stabilization, which reduces torso fatigue. Take off heels when sitting at a desk, lest you end up with hot calves and Quasimodo-like posture. Not good for mating. If you are wearing a tight skirt, I suggest taking up the Japanese tea ceremony and sitting on tatami side saddle.
It’ll be more comfortable than crossing your legs all day.True, I’ve thought more about chairs in the last few weeks than anyone should, but I do it to save you the trouble. Benefit from my OCD so you can obsess on other things. 3) Using a 3′ long and 6″ diameter foam roller three times per day for 5 minutes can eliminate persistent middle-back pain from mediocre chair use; conversely, it can extend your comfortable sitting time by 30-40%. Knowledge workers often log more ass-in-seat time than sleep. Coders, in particular, are often subjected to a steady diet of Mountain Dew and hunching for 12+-hour marathons. I don’t put in these hours, but I found myself with severe mid-upper back pain from using a non-adjustable chair and craning over a desk that was too low, even for 30-60 minutes per day. Two doctors suggested various therapies, but a quick experiment (placing a laptop on top of a dresser and writing while standing for two days) proved that posture was the problem.
In less than a week following my switch to the Aeron, all upper middle-back (lower trapezius, rhomboid major) pain disappeared completely. The results: better output during work and writing, faster and deeper sleep, and a huge smack on the forehead. Why the hell didn’t I do this earlier? In my case, was it worth it at $450? Particularly looking at the value of time per hour and the lost income due to doctor visits, massage, etc., this is $450 I should have invested years ago. Odds and Ends: Twitter Giveaway WinnersThe travel bag and Fujitsu color travel scanner are gone. More giveaways coming here this week… Posted on: January 27, 2009. Please check out Tools of Titans, my new book, which shares the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers. It was distilled from more than 10,000 pages of notes, and everything has been vetted and tested in my own life in some fashion. The tips and tricks in Tools of Titans changed my life, and I hope the same for you.
