I try not to promote the AirCrib too much in my posts because this blog isn’t about our products, it’s about ME. So let me make things easy and tell you right off the bat that this post is about how my hard work at marketing the AirCrib is finally starting to pay off. I just like to show you the results of what I am doing here behind the scenes. And be prepared - you should start seeing more and more results.
So the big news today is that we have an independent, outside product review on the Daily Dish! And the even better news is that Emily, the wonderful reviewer, loved it! She took one with her on vacation and put it to the test. If you read the review then you will find a nice promotion code at the bottom.
So here I sit in my car in the parking lot at work while Miles takes a much needed snooze in his carseat. Why am I sitting in my car in the parking lot at work while Miles takes a much needed snooze in his carseat? Because these days I will do anything, ANYTHING to get that kid some much needed sleep.
We traveled to my in laws’ house for Thanksgiving where we had a wonderful time. The only issue that we had was in getting Miles to sleep past 4 AM and trying to find time for him to get some good naps. Because my in laws live in the central time zone and we live in the eastern time zone I decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle to convert Miles’ internal clock from eastern to central time and then back again in four days. We had just recovered from daylight savings and I did not want to go through that again. I tried to be understanding when Miles woke up at 3:50 AM but even when I converted the time to eastern time (4:50 AM) it was still not an acceptable hour to be up. Miles didn’t care. At 5:00 AM we finally emerged from the bedroom, Miles victorious and me battle scarred, and had breakfast. He did take a nap later but only for about an hour. Each morning he slept a little later but the damage was done.
Back on the daycare front we have another sleep issue going on. They have switched from a two nap per day schedule to only one. Miles’ classmates (”friends” as the daycare likes to call them) are all within about 4 months of age of one another but Miles is the youngest. Some of the friends were ready to switch to one nap per day and some weren’t. Miles is one of the unlucky ones who was not ready. The poor kid is exhausted when I pick him up. I am very thankful that he is only there three days a week so the other four he is able to catch up on his sleep.
This morning Miles woke up at 4:50 and would not go back to sleep. I almost had him asleep a couple of times but he never gave in and settled down. I could tell that he needed more sleep because while I was trying to get ready for work Miles was very clingy and whiny, not his usual chipper self. As soon as I strapped him in the car seat his eyes rolled back in his head and he was out. How could I let him sleep for the ten minute ride to daycare/work and then make him get up for another four hours? I just couldn’t do it. So I pulled into work, parked the car, and fired up my laptop. Miles is still sleeping and I have had to run the extension cord out to my car because my laptop battery died. It is starting to get a little chilly too (don’t worry, Miles has a warm blanket over him) but I’ll be damned if I am going to wake that kid up.
This morning I could hear the wind howling and sleet hitting our windows as I lay snug and warm in bed from 4:30 until 5:30. Why was I awake enough to hear such noises? Because the dog was shaking in fear and letting out sad little whines every few minutes (he hates the wind) and Miles kept dropping his pacifier as he tried to go back to sleep post pajama change. Yesterday the news predicted a wintry mix of weather for today but I didn’t believe them. I love snow and so I try not to get too excited when they predict it because nine times out of ten we get nothing. When I finally got out of bed (at 7!) and looked outside, this is what I saw:
A winter wonderland! This is perfect for getting into the mood for the upcoming holidays.
Our new web store went live yesterday! Check it out. We have some very cool products perfect for making the holiday travel easier. I am going to put some to the test on Thursday when we fly to the in laws. I will let you know how it goes (the products and travel that is, the in laws are always wonderful).
Happy Thanksgiving!
Haha, want a good laugh? Watch me stutter my way through this video. Note - it was filmed at the end of a 4 day show and I was tired and ready to go home. And it was before I got to the airport for a 12 AM flight that did not leave until 4 AM. Want to know why? Because they were one flight attendant short. Seriously. I thought I was going to lose my mind. My first time away from Miles and I was stuck in an airport at an ungodly hour.
Enjoy! (and if you actually can view the video then I am a genius at this - shhhhh, just let me enjoy feeling internet savvy for a minute or two)…
Okay, we’re still working on this. So for now, just click here
It finally happened. I am no longer pumping on the job. When I first started this blog I was hiding away in a spare office pumping three times a day. That is a lot of pumping. I never thought that I would see the day when I no longer had to lug that awful black bag in with me every day. Yes, it was the right thing to do and I am very proud of myself for sticking with it. But the freedom now is incredible! I no longer have to schedule meetings around my milk schedule or worry that I am going to leak through my shirt. The downside is that the girls are shrinking.
So my question is, do I have to rename this blog now? I am kind of attached to the name and since it might ring true again some day can’t I just keep it? We joke in the office now that it signifies the pumping of all of the AirCribs but that should come to an end soon too. Maybe I can bring some weights in and pump iron.
We finally received our much anticipated shipment of AirCribs last week. We can finally start filling all of the orders that have been piling in since our launch at the ABC Kids Expo in September.
The shipment arrived last Wednesday late in the day so I walked in on Thursday morning whistling away as I envisioned shipping package upon package and seeing the backorder report whittle down to nothing. My bubble was blown to pieces when my coworker, Nathan, so meanly informed me that he planned to test every single crib before I could ship it. Every. Single. Crib. Can you hear me sobbing? Because I am. Still.
Testing each product is not a simple task. It means opening a case, getting out the box, pulling the AirCrib out of the box and stuff sack, and inflating it. But the testing does not stop there. Then we have to let them sit, inflated, for 48 hours to ensure that there are no problems. This means that every AirCrib that leaves our warehouse has been tested in the factory and tested again by us personally.
Why do we do this? Because we are out-of-our-minds-control-freaks that is why. It means tons of time invested on our part to ensure that you, the consumer, have a top notch product that we are very proud of. Can this go on forever? No way. My plan is for it to end with the next shipment!
