a BlogHer12 NYC review

This was my third year at BlogHer, but it seemed so different. It feels like there are hundreds of things I want to tell you… but we’ll save the 24+ hour trip home (thank you, Southwest), my favorite products and gifts, and my tips for another post. Right now I just want to share my pictures and recap what I did in NYC!

The trip out was great–even though I had a 6am flight, got up at 1:40am, and left my house at 2:15am to drive to the airport. It kind of set the pace for the rest of the trip… lots to do, no time for sleep!

Rebecca’s first airplane ride!

My friend Allie was on the same flight so we went together–and thank goodness because I wouldn’t have made it through the airport without her. I was not prepared for security… trying to collapse my stroller and lift it onto the conveyor while holding Rebecca was… entirely impossible.

We arrived at the Hilton NYC to meet Christa and Becca–two of my best bloggy buddies. We checked into our room and missed a group lunch because of some room issues, but headed out a bit later for some food.

We headed to the Iconix party at the Sheraton, which was super crowded, but really nice. Basically you walked in a line past different brands and reps to chat and see products and then picked out some gifts at the end. They had servers walking around with drinks, Snoopy was there!, and lots of delicious food. I got some really great Sharper Image products here and some fun Snoopy stuff for Ryan.

We did a lot of walking. Our hotel was just a couple blocks from Times Square and a lot of private events were held in that area so we were always going back and forth. I went to The Big Toy Book’s Sweet Suite party in the Viacom building–great views on the rooftop of the city! Some awesome brands and products here, too. I love the layout of this party because you can easily mingle and chat with each rep.

Rebecca in the city

Obama addressed the BlogHer attendees by live video feed, which is pretty cool, but I missed it. They extended an offer to Romney as well, but he apparently declined.

My roomies and friends all went out for dinner at a nearby diner. It was pretty late and Rebecca was over-tired and needed to sleep so I stayed at the hotel with one of my roomies, Sarah, who also had her adorable baby girl with! Our friends brought us back some food–I think it was like 11pm at that point–but it was delicious french toast and bacon.

Anddd I lost it in the middle of the night. I laid awake for at least an hour (about 4am?) with an upset stomach, repeating to myself over and over “I will not throw up, I will not throw up…” And by 5am, I was racing for the bathroom. I did not make it. Sorry to the first person that got up to shower on Friday 😉

I was still feeling weak and queasy in the morning (No, I am not pregnant!) so I missed my breakfast with Highlights magazine 🙁 They launched a new magazine for children under 2–I got to see it and love it! But that was the end of that–I felt fine the rest of my trip! Thank goodness!

Friday I attended the MomSelect party with more great brands and products (all my favorites coming in a later post!) and then a party with Summer Infant and Born Free. LOVED that party. It was just the two brands so it was very intimate and we really got to spend quality time chatting with reps. I actually spent a long time with the Summer Infant engineer that designed a new line of products… he was awesome and so excited about his products. I love to see that passion. We actually had such a great time here, we missed a party with Fisher Price!

We then attended a rooftop party at the Ava Lounge for Room Key. I’m not sure how we were selected to get an invite, because we did not seem to match the demographic of everyone else there. I mean, here we come up the service elevator because of strollers and babies. We apparently were SO out of place we were even approached by security and told we had to leave because it was a private party. Um, yea, one we were invited to, thankyouverymuch. They did a drawing for something no one even gave us tickets for – and we left shortly after.

Back to the hotel for a short break–which ended up being a long break because we just couldn’t stop chatting and catching up. I love my girls! <3 That meant we ended up going out for a super late dinner at a nearby brewery… I got some looks for wearing a baby at a brewery at 11pm, but what can ya do. She was sound asleep the whole time.

Rebecca was dressed in her Sparklecorn outfit and we ended up not even going! It was so late by that point and she was asleep so I wasn’t about to wake her for a loud, noisy, mainly drunk party, haha. I didn’t even get a picture of her IN the dress I made, but it was cute:

Saturday morning… I missed my breakfast with Groupon AND a meeting with Starbucks because Rebecca was fussy (the only time, ever) and then I couldn’t get her to stop crying. I showed up ~20 minutes late to my appt with Starbucks and was let in for the next session (thank you!). More on them later because I LOVED their new Verismo system.

 I attended the Getting Gorgeous party and then went to get ready for our first annual Blogger Baby Shower for a Cause! So much fun–I got to spread the word about a wonderful cause, save babies, meet some awesome bloggers, and give away gifts and prizes.

photo by Nikki

Then we got to relax a little bit! We went to the Townhouse Spa for the Lifetime Blogger Retreat where we got manicures and pedicures (both at the same time! Now that’s service!) We rushed back to the hotel to catch the bus for the Land’s End party, only to be told that no babies were allowed to go! Ah well, I took the much needed down-time in the hotel room instead. We ordered pizza and hung out–some of my best memories from BlogHer are just sitting with my roomies and my friends. Oh and this pretty girl:

tutu made by Me as a Mommy and onesie from WeeUrban!

My flight home was at 9:30am so I was up and out the door before my roommates were even awake. Then I wasn’t allowed on the plane… put on a flight 5 hours later… then delayed another 6 hours… oh it was the trip from hell. And it deserves its own blog post–all dedicated to Southwest Air.

Rebecca was the star of the show. Yes, a baby gets you lots of attention and is a great conversation starter, but try to talk business and blogging with a rep when all they want to do is goo and gahh over your baby. By the end of the conference, I wanted to hang a sign around Rebecca that said: 5 months old. She’s doing great. No, my back doesn’t hurt. Yes, it’s her first time in NYC.

But really, who can blame them. She was super cute in her blogging outfits. One said “I <3 blogs.” Another said “Blogging Coach.” And of course, the one that said “I am Baby Dickey.”

She even got me brought out of the crowd for a picture with this lady. Know who it is?

Yea, that’s Kate Gosselin. Of Jon & Kate + 8. Took me awhile to realize it, too, she looks so different. She gasped at my sleeping baby and my carrier and said “So THAT’S what it’s like to just have one at a time! They don’t make those things for 6 babies!” She’s very awkwardly showcasing my baby in this photo though… Vanna White style, I think.

Rebecca was amazing. She was so calm the whole time… I was a little nervous about all the people and loud noises and afraid she’d get too overwhelmed. She didn’t like it much in a stroller–I barely used it–so she was nice and comfy in my carrier most of the time. Or in the arms of my friends!! Thanks for all the baby help! 🙂 There were a lot of breaks to feed her.. lots of nursing in public… but no problems there either.

nursing at a party – photo by Nikki

Love to my roomies: Beth at Me as a Mommy, Becca at Mama B, and Sarah at Sweet Lil You (yes, that is four women and three babies in one hotel room) and love to Christa at Little BGCG who may as well have been a roommate too 🙂 It was great to spend some time with Kristine (from Cora’s Story) and sooooo many other bloggers I got to meet or see again. Ya know, people that you don’t have to explain to what a BLOG is or why you’re rudely sitting on your phone during dinner–because everyone else is doing it, too 😉

And a HUGE THANK-YOU to my sponsor, Baby’s First Test. I loved working with you and helping to spread awareness on newborn screenings–something soo important.

Next year, BlogHer is coming home to me! It’s July 25-27 in Chicago and I can’t wait! See you there!