There are tons of rocking chairs.  Tons.  Most of them are hideous.  I mean, have you seen the Glider?  I know, I know, it works like a charm and some moms swear by them but I just couldn’t look at that thing day in and day out.

I was a bit overwhelmed on my search and didn’t quite know what to look for.  I mean, how do you know what you’ll need at 4 in the morning after being up all night walking and walking and walking the baby until finally you think, “I’ve got to keep moving AND sit down or I’m gonna loose it!”  Of course, in that situation, anything will do, but I found that having a rocking chair I liked to look at for all the other, more sane times of day was important to me.

First of all, here is what you absolutely need, no matter what the design:

1.  Arm rests.  Sure, babies are tiny and weigh next to nothing.  But, hold anything for hours on end and your muscles will start talking to you.  Do that after a string of sleepless nights and even a paperclip may seem like too much to carry.  And, don’t even get me started on the fatigue associated with breastfeeding!  So, when you sit down in your rocking chair you’ll need some place to rest your weary arms while your baby sleeps peacefully in them.  Don’t underestimate the necessity of comfortable, padded armrests at the appropriate height.  This one is a favorite of mine, though I just sat in one and it’s not as comfy as I wanted it to be…you can see it at Zac and Zoe HERE

2.  Silence.  Make sure that whatever makes the rocking chair rock is quiet.  Again, think of the hours you’ll spend swaying back and forth.  Look for parts that will either wear or grind or squeak.

3.  Neck support.  Now, I’m not talking about anything fancy here – just, when you test out your rocker, slink down in it so you can get really comfy, lean back and see if you can rest your head.  When you are beyond tired and you still have to keep moving so the baby will stay asleep, you’ll want a place for your head.  Remember, the human head weighs 8 pounds!

4.  Foot support.  Some people like to have their feet up while they rock, others don’t.   It’s not the most important factors in choosing a good rocking chair, but with all that time spent sitting there rocking it’s nice to take care of your feet and legs, too.

Now, on to the good stuff: design.  Clearly I like simple, clean lines and there are a few good options.  Here is a round up of modern rockers that, while beautiful, may leave you kicking yourself?

Why?  Arm rests from hell…the yellow bubble chair is HERE and the Barcelona rip off is HERE

Butt padding – what butt padding? (to see these online, go HERE and HERE

These are a few that I found fit the bill (all from Zac and Zoe)

And my favorite – I went for the casual, “I could be a regular chair” look,  clean lined and not too expensive.  It’s from Room and Board and you can see it HERE.

It comes with an ottoman which, if you have room, I’d recommend.  We didn’t get it because it won’t fit and I’ve often thought wistfully of putting my feet up while rocking.

Now, this isn’t an exhastive “How To” buy a rocking chair, just some things I’ve come across in my own research.  And here’s a shout out to Heather who supplied most (if not all) of the links!  Good luck choosing your chair!  Oh and if you already have a chair and want to tell me about it and why you like it or hate it, please, feel free!

Designing a modern nursery room doesn’t have to cost a bundle.  My big sister created this adorable jungle room for her baby boy to fit into her modern home.  It helps that she is an interior designer, but I’ll let you in on a few of her secrets…

1) Bold paint.  If you’re scared of that big color wheel, then Pottery barn is working with Benjamin Moore paints and has just released the 2008 colors that are terrific.  My sister chose a bright green that wasn’t typically a baby color but left the other walls white to “soften” the look.

2)  Use what you’ve got.  She uses a bookshelf that she already had.  Since it was black metal she chose a black crib to coordinate.  What you can’t see in this pic that that she also used a black dresser that wasn’t specifically for a nursery.  By using existing furniture for her changing table, she continued the modern theme but was still practical.  (And, FYI, she uses the changing table pillow top with a terry cloth cover – no tray.)  Here is my changing table – also a dresser (from Room and Board) with a changing tray on top.

3)  Coordinated frames and pillows (see first photo).  By having green frames, she use her photographs to dress up the walls and shelves.  What I did was add photographs to the wall…For an even more dramatic affect, use a large mat for the photographs to surround them in white and you can hang those on the colored wall if you don’t have any other art to hang.

4)  Who doesn’t like huge stuffed animals?  We both use stuffed animals as design elements as well as toys for the babies.

5) For lounging and those late nights, she put a single mattress and box spring on the floor for her to use…that and the rocking chair (again not pictured) completes the room!