Today we’d like to introduce you to Ani Yemenidjian and Nora Manour.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ani and Nora. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We’re Nora & Ani; two childhood best friends who, after years of trying to conceive, along with countless fertility treatments, finally became mothers and were immediately fascinated by the world of babies. Our passion to create quality, innovative baby products is what led us to launch our baby brand, Norani Baby.
Our journey to parenthood was rough, but it made us appreciate our little ones that much more. We not only struggled getting pregnant as first-time moms but also again when we tried for baby #2. It was only after 9 IVF treatments, 8 IUI’s, Gestational diabetes, a blood clotting disorder and a baby in the NICU with two VSD’s, we’re happy to say we both have our two babies home and healthy with us.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our journey to parenthood has been a long one. Between the both of us, we’ve gone through 9 IVF treatments, 8 IUI’s, we both had gestational diabetes, Nora suffered from a blood clotting disorder, Ani had a horrific ectopic miscarriage, which resulted in the loss of the baby and also her fallopian tube. When Ani’s daughter Juliette was born she was born with two holes in her heart, which resulted in three months in the NICU followed by open heart surgery as a newborn.
But all these struggles have made us stronger. We’re mama warriors.
Norani Baby – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We’ve been best friends for 20 years and business partners for 15. After we both became moms, we realized there was something missing in the baby world, a really good swaddle that could prevent baby magicians (that’s what we called our babies) from breaking free from the swaddle. Ani was great at using traditional swaddle blankets, but most times had to double swaddle her son Sebastian. Nora never got swaddling perfected and was always frustrated trying to do it with her daughter Ayah.
It took us two years and dozens of newborns to finally get the design of the patent-pending norani ‘Snugababe Swaddle™’ perfected. So, what makes the norani swaddle different? It’s a modern take on the traditional swaddle blanket. Baby’s arms are inserted into specially-designed armholes and swaddled, and a Velcro attachment helps keep them tightly wrapped while making it difficult to undo themselves. The tight, cozy wrap reminds them of the comfort they felt when they were inside their mother’s womb, which, in turn, helps them sleep longer. The two of us started norani with one mission in mind: to help other mamas. We want to help your baby sleep better, so you can sleep better. We want to offer an alternative to traditional swaddles that is both easy to use and super effective. But most importantly, we want you to be happy, mama. Because if mama is happy, then baby is happy.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
When Juliette was still in the NICU, we got so much praise for our swaddles from the nurses and doctors we donated enough for every baby in the NICU. The parents, most of which couldn’t afford baby blankets, much less swaddles, were incredibly grateful for the donation, we decided to make the donation ongoing. We launched our ‘Donate a Swaddle’ program, where you can purchase a swaddle for a discounted price and it’ll go directly to babies in need at hospitals. Within just a few days, we had enough donations to help over 100 families in Los Angeles and enough to send back to our native country, Armenia.
Giving back and doing good is something we will always consider our greatest accomplishment and mission.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.norani.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @noranibaby
- Facebook: @noranibaby
- Other: Pinterest: @noranibaby
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