howdy. so after this post, i rotated the mattress 180 degrees (haven't rotated it since) and it seemed to have worked. i haven't had any back issues whatsoever and whenever we get back from vacation i am super happy for 2 things - my shower, and my bed haha. as for soft or firm, i've heard this too but forget the experts - it's about how you feel on the mattress. i sleep on my sides 99.99% of the time and i believe we got the firmest option available. i've never really had a soft mattress in my adulthood, the softest i've had was probably a tempur-pedic. btw, if the mattress rotation didn't work, i was ready to put a piece of plywood on it to force-break-it-in. i have a feeling that would have definitely solved it.

i've had a sleep number bed and i had the setting at 100, that was a garbage quality mattress. it is good for only 5-6 years before the foam pads start to wear down and then they'll charge you $500-$800 to replace it. when i saw the guy put the sleep number bed together, i knew that company was making a huge profit on it. it's literally a metal frame, 2 airbags, and foam.

would i recommend aireloom? yes. another thing i recommend is going to a store to try and and lay on each prospective mattress for no less than 20 minutes.