Civil Engineer by Day, Baby Product Developer by Night
When asked what inspires her, Sarah Amritt replies, “My daughters. They are my everything, and everyday I work hard to be a better version of myself for them.” Supermom Sarah, a longtime resident of Miami, Florida, does it all. Amritt graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering and a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering. By day, Sarah wears the hat of a Senior Project Manager for an engineering firm. She oversees municipal water, sewer, and drainage projects. By night, after her daughters are tucked into bed, Sarah shifts gears and develops her passion project, The Omie View Bassinet Mirror.
The Omie View Bassinet Mirror is a remote controlled mirror that clips on to the side of a bassinet to allow caregivers to see an infant while lying down in bed, or cooking, for example. The remote also allows one to turn on a soft LED light for dark rooms. SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) is also a big worry for any parent, often caused by babies rolling to on to their sides or stomachs in their bassinets, and this mirror provides peace of mind.
The initial concept for The Omie View Bassinet Mirror came about after Sarah’s second daughter was born. A quiet sleeper, the newborn made Sarah and her husband, Omar, paranoid that she had either stopped breathing or had her face against the side of her bassinet. “I never had this issue with my first born. My first had cholic as a baby, and cried so much. She would never sleep, and never gave me the time to worry about her. She made sure I knew she was OK,” chuckles Amritt.
To calm her nerves, Sarah searched the Internet to order a bassinet mirror, to help her keep an eye on her baby while she did everyday chores, rested in bed, cooked, and more. Sarah was unable to find anything, even after posting on Mommy blogs and forums. The other mommy’s all pointed out that they made their own contraptions, using duct tape to add a mirror to their bassinets. Sarah was shocked that nothing out there existed.
A couple of months went by, and Sarah went to her husband, who is an intricate part in her journey. Sarah and Omar both realized what a great opportunity they had to develop this much-needed product. Omar took it upon himself to put together the first version of The Omie View Bassinet Mirror, out of a car rear-view mirror, a convex mirror from a baby toy, a clip from a portable fan, and a battery pack with jumper cables to power it. As someone who works in the heavy equipment industry, Omar has a lot of experience with mechanics and car parts, helping him put together a fully-functional prototype. It was so effective, that it served as the basis for the drafting of the patent documents and to inspire the current prototype design.
Last year, Omar traveled to Hong Kong to take on the task of finding a qualified manufacturer for the Omie View Bassinet Mirror. After visiting several trade shows, he made a connection with a highly-qualified, woman-run manufacturing company. Aside from their superb quality assurance and control procedures as well as knowledge of the US manufacturing standards, the fact that it was a woman-run company is one of the qualities that Sarah loved the most.
She remarks, “I feel as if the group of women assigned to the project, from the Vice President of the company, to the Plant Manager and Project Manager, can relate to the concerns of a mother and the extra care that goes into any product that is used for infants. I trust they will take the necessary measures to make this a reliable product for mothers and father alike.” The couple do not just see the manufacturers as business partners, but as a part of the team.
In asking Omar about how he feels about the Omie View Bassinet Mirror, he says, “This is a great product; if I didn’t believe in it, I would not have invested so much of my time and effort. This is a product we want in the market. It will really help parents have peace of mind and we really hope it will help decrease the number of SIDS related incidents.” He admits that the trip to Hong Kong was very challenging and at times second guessed whether he would find a manufacturer. This was Omar’s first time out of the continent, and made the trip by himself, while Sarah stayed in the states to look after their daughters.
The final product weighs approximately one pound, and is made of a beige plastic, allowing for a soft, gender-neutral feel. The mirror runs on AA batteries and the remote on AAA batteries, ensuring newborns have less exposure to electrical currents.
Sarah and Omar hope their product will provide relief and simplicity for parents and caregivers. New mothers are often exhausted after childbirth, and the mirror allows for more rest time, and peace of mind. The couple also aims to decrease the number of SIDS incidents by introducing The Omie View Bassinet Mirror into the market.
The Omie View Bassinet Mirror is available for pre-order, here. Email: info@OmieView.com.
