Noelle Has a New Bed

It seems that we have beds on the mind these days. Not long ago I wrote about Doah's bed, which Doah used as late as New Year's Eve, staying overnight in our guest room, ostensibly to see the new year in but in reality getting a good night's sleep instead while Donnie partied alone. (I, too, fell asleep early.)

Noelle's bed is another matter. It was our Christmas gift to her, and I cannot describe it without writing a mini-commercial for the Number Bed. To do that, I have to go back about six months.

Around nine months ago, Donnie suggested that we look into purchasing a Sleep Number Bed. He and I have separate firmness needs. I have a broken back (compression fracture at the T-5 level in 1980 that had me in a back brace for three months), and I cannot sleep on a soft bed. (Hotel beds can leave me in pain in the morning.) Donnie loves soft beds; his weight makes it difficult for him to sleep on a bed with the level of firmness I need. With the ability of the Sleep Number Bed to split firmness between sleeping partners, it seemed like a good choice. So, off we trotted to the Sleep Number Bed store, where we learned our "numbers." On a scale of 1-100 of increasing fimness, Donnie's "number" was 40, and mine was 100. No wonder we have had trouble sharing a bed for the past 30 years! The Number Bed was not cheap. I blanched at the cost: in the thousands (although a bed can be obtained for less than a thousand, depending upon sleep needs and local sales). Given the 30-day guarantee of return and the offer of credit to spread payments over two years, I figured it was worth trying out. Indeed, it was. I have not had any back pain since; neither has Donnie. The bed has remained.

When Noelle heard about our experience with the bed, she volunteered that she wished she had a bed like that because she was always in pain when waking up in the morning. Not sure whether the bed would be helpful with spina bifida back issues, we nonetheless ordered a bed as her Christmas present. Same deal: return in 30 days if not satisfied. The cost at $1300 was well beyond any amount we had ever spent on Christmas, all kids' gifts together, yet would be worth it if it helped Noelle. Again, we were able to spread out the payments over two years, making the cost manageable. Talk about the perfect Christmas gift! Noelle has spent the past week telling everyone who will listen how much her life has changed now that she has a bed that will perfectly match her firmness needs.

I cannot recall commercializing for a particular company on this blog before. However, in the case of the Sleep Number Bed, I am a fan -- a fan without back pain. (I imagine that there are other beds that will meet similar needs. I did not test out tempurpedic beds, for example.) If any reader or any reader's family members is waking up with back pain, I recommend looking into the possibility that the Sleep Number Bed will make a tremendous difference in your life.

End of commercial...