Finally/So soon! It's Here!/It's almost here!
I don't know quite the best baby birthin' metaphor to use for The Nightlight's soft launch today: was it born a little premature, and needs to spend a few weeks in the Kinja NICU? Or is it on bedrest in anticipation of the big reveal soon? Since there are actual in-depth reviews of actual products, I'm inclined to go with the former.
So, mazeltov to Joel and the The Nightlight team. If you don't already know, The Nightlight is basically The Wirecutter for babies, providing deeply researched, regularly updated top product recommendations in highly specific categories. The Wirecutter is for electronics. The Nightlight, so far, is for co-sleepers, bottles, and baby thermometers.
And The Best Baby Thermometer, they say, is The Safety 1st Advanced Solutions High Speed Rectal Thermometer. Which seems like a pretty bold claim to stake on their first day. I admire that, even though I disagree.
Writer/tester Melanie Rosen provides a thorough and well-reasoned explanation for why rectal thermometers are the best--because they're the most accurate. But ease of use has to be a factor, too, I think, and I can't think of any situation where sticking a thermometer in a kid's butt is going to be anything but a hassle.
And Rosen's second best pick is the temporal artery scanner, the kind you swipe across the kid's forehead, and you're done. BAM. It's so easy, and non-invasive, and is being used by so many pediatricians and health practitioners already, it seems like a no-brainer.
Rosen tested the Exergen Temporal Scanner TAT-2000C, which costs 90% less than the one actual doctors use. I'd be interested to hear how the accuracy varies between these two products, or if there are other distinguishing features. Maybe it's a cheap imitation, or maybe it's the real thing.
But either way, I think their baby thermometer recommendation shows the real promise of The Nightlight's approach by cutting through the crap and the hundreds of online reviews, and by doing real testing to come up with the single best recommendation.
And it also shows the power of the Daddy Types approach, where I'm happy to go with second best if if means a little less hassle and buttstickin'.
The Nightlight on Kinja [thenightlight.kinja.com]
The Nightlight's recommendation for the Best Baby Thermometer [thenightlight]
ZOMG BEST TWITTER HANDLE EVER SO JEALOUS: @babies [twitter]
Previously, related: this is the last thermometer you'll buy
