Being the kind of person I am (a planner by nature), I’ve been dreaming about what a nursery in our house would look like for years. I have a pretty good idea of the colour scheme and the general feeling I’m going for (more on that later), and a decent running list of the spots I’d love to pick up any new furniture we need. But here’s where I’m stumped: do I actually need a rocking chair?

I’ve seen everything from those massive lounger-type gliders (way not my style), to those tiny molded Eames rockers (gorgeous, but seemingly impractical), and my tastes fall somewhere in the middle of those two—I want something comfortable but contemporary, and not too big (I love the look of the new Ryder Rocking Chair from West Elm, which is sadly not available yet in Canada. And anyway, the proportions don’t look quite right—arms too high and back too low for comfy nursing).

But I’ve read extensive debates online about the necessity of a rocking chair in a nursery at all. Some say they’re just an expensive piece of furniture that you’ll never use because you’ll want to nurse on the couch or elsewhere in the house. Others say that a rocker is an absolute must, especially in the dead of night when you need a comfy, quiet place to curl up with baby. Some say that the thing doesn’t need to rock, but you do need to have somewhere to sit. Still others say that the rocking motion is the only reason to have a chair in the nursery in the first place. So, tell me what you did. Rock on? Or rock off?

—Megan, pregnant lady and CF.ca’s Executive Editor and Senior Web Producer 

UPDATE (December 21, 2011): The Ryder rocker is now available at West Elm in Canada. It’s currently listed at $643.89.