review – Bailey Gaddis Blog

My main issue with the classic Ergobaby carrier was that I could only (comfortably) have my son facing my chest. As he grew older, and had a desire to check out the happenings around him, he would get peeved when he was stuck looking at me (unless he was in the mood for some boob.) So, I’m happy to report that the Ergobaby Omni 360 carrier solves that problem and allows your babe to comfortably be carried in pretty much every position you can imagine: forward facing, outward facing, on the hip, and on the back.

And, there are other perks attached to this updated Ergobaby:

The structured bucket seat allows baby to sit in an ergonomically-friendly position, in all positions, minimizing “my crotch hurts” fussiness.
There’s also goodies for the adult. The crossbale shoulder straps and lumbar support allow you to go for hours with your child strapped to your body without feeling like your back is being slowly tortured. I would know – I went on a four mile hike with this carrier (and my child) and I could have gone further.
You no longer have to worry about losing that bulky newborn insert. You can now simply adjust the leg width and wa-lah (!), newborn ready.
It’s more comfortable for dads. My husband, who is a lot a bit larger than me, had problems adjusting our original carrier to suit his wider and taller frame. The Omni 360 carrier is so versatile and easy to adjust he gets a little twinkle in his eye when he gets a turn with it.

While I was already a devotee of Ergobaby before this new beauty was released, the Omni 360 is such a champ I’m now that mom who accosts people at the park telling them how they MUST get an Ergobaby Omni 360 in their life.

P.S. Dear Ergobaby, could you please figure out a way to add a cup holder and wine dispenser to your next model? Please and thank you.

Camping, Reviews and Giveaways

I Found the Unicorn of Water Shoes: A Bzees Review

October 4, 2016October 3, 2016 baileysandbabiesblog

Water shoes are notoriously ugly- so ugly, I’m fearful the fish I’m trying to spot as I wade through the water will glide away in horror as they lay eyes on my clunky footwear. No more little fishies- no more.

I’ve found a pair so non-water-shoe-y I can wear them to drop-off and pick-up at my son’s school, where mom-style is on point.

These unicorns of the water shoe world were birthed by the brand Bzees. These shoes look like sleek sneakers, offer a bevy of colors offering an option for every type of shoe-wearer, and are insanely light and comfortable- oh, and they can be worn in water.

I wear these suckers to water my garden, navigate waterfall hikes in Costa Rica, trod up natural water slides in Sequoia National Park or just walk around town feeling fly- and ready to step into a puddle.

My faves are the Wink Water shoes, but click here to view all the options.

Happy water walking!

*I was sent a free pair of these shoes, but waited three months to write the review, to ensure I could offer my honest opinion. I receive nothing if you buy these shoes- besides the satisfaction of knowing I improved the lives of your tootsies.

Camping, Reviews and Giveaways, Uncategorized

Review: GOgroove Mood Light/ Speaker- Camping Hack for Parents!

June 16, 2016June 20, 2016 baileysandbabiesblog

Hey campers! (Wait- you hate camping? Maybe living room camping?)

My son is not into the whole dark aspect of camping. When the sun goes to sleep he loses his… He also relies on a nifty sound machine filled with faux raindrops and ocean waves to lull him to sleep. Camping with him is hard.

The GOgroove has granted me sweet slumber when I’m sleeping under flimsy fabric outside. It’s portable (a camping must- they have yet to install AC outlets in trees), gently changes colors and will play the “ocean waves” track on repeat I have on my phone (it’s a speaker!) A light-speaker, and a good camper.

If you’ve been trying to convince your kids to camp, bribe them with this.

Uncategorized

Movie Review- Sisters

April 7, 2016April 5, 2016 baileysandbabiesblog

I’ve had a mega girl crush on Tina Fey and Amy Poehler since, um, forever. So, I swooned when I saw the trailer for Sisters.

“Tina and Amy?! Amy and Tina?! Together again?! AND sisters?! Too much. Too perfect.”

While I would have preferred this to just be a real-life film depicting them sitting in a room talking about their journey together (a documentary?) this film actually had a plot.

Tina and Amy (Kate and Maura) find out their parent’s home is being put on the market and they are summoned to their childhood home in Florida to clean out their old rooms. While there, they decide to throw one final epic bash to commemorate the fun they had in the house. Throughout the process chaos ensues (they say that in movie summaries a lot right?) and both do a deep (maybe just deep-ish) dive into their selves, learning all the fun movie-epiphanies that come with that.

Mood: Light, fun, silly and shocking. Tina and Amy stay true to their style of comedy by throwing unexpected zingers that take it to the edge, then push the audience over it. If you’re a fan of the SNL “I have no freakin’ idea what to expect” vibe, you’ll be into this. There will be tears- but not the nostalgic brand.

Food: Classic movie food y’all. Butter and sodium up your popcorn, buy the big bags of candy in the candy aisle at the grocery store (not the one-offs you buy at check-out), and for good measure cook up a stuffed crusted pizza (with Ranch dipping sauce?! Kate and Maura would do it.)

Drink: A big jug of water because you need to stay hydrated after all that salt and sugar, OK? And maybe grab a six-er (or twelve-er?) of the beer you drank in high school.

Company: Your girl frands! (Or boy frands.) Pretty much anyone with a good sense of humor that will laugh even if they don’t fully get the joke. No negative Nellies, or Nelsons, or Neds, or… You know who I’m talking about.

P.S. I thought my dad was a negative Ned, but I watched this movie with him anyways and he laughed! A lot! Mind (and preconceived notions about my father) blown.

Thanks ladies.

Yays!: The queens of comedy playing sisters in a comedic film sprinkled with some SNL favorites? Gold. There’s also a pool incident, lots of color, overzealous soap, and John Cena as a thorough drug dealer.

Nays: Some of the jokes were lost on me, but I would still laugh- usually louder than I would laugh at the jokes that fully sank in. Oh, and I peed a little during one of the jokes. What? I’ve gone through childbirth. TMI?

You can rent this gem on Amazon, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play and likely plenty of other movie slangin’ e-joints.

Reviews and Giveaways, Uncategorized

Honest Co Product Give Away

February 1, 2016March 2, 2016 baileysandbabiesblog

original Hey friends!

I’m currently in a love affair with Honest Co. baby-mama products. (And they have not payed me to say this!) All these words are being written of my own volition.

They source natural, organic, sustainably harvested, renewable, pure raw materials for their products, ensure all the electricity used in their headquarters and warehousing is from 100% renewable sources (they use 100% renewable California Solar), their packaging is made entirely of plant-based materials, and so much more.

Because I love them, you, and giving gifts I’m going to choose (at random) five email address from my newsletter subscriber list for the month of February. The people behind those email address will receive an Honest Co. Happy Home gift set, Mini Diaper Cake, or Discovery set (will give out three of these).

I will reach out to the selected five on March 1st and have their goodies shipped to them.

If you want to throw your name into the pot, sign up for the newsletter here. Beyond a chance to receive Honest Co. prezzies, you’ll receive a weekly newsletter focused on fun and easily digestible ways to live a more simple, holistic, and happy life.

In case I did not have enough clear links for the sign up —> Sign up here!

Have a beautiful day loves!

*Added March 1st

And the winners are!

Agostina, Arie, Diana, Alexandria, and Valerie! Congrats ladies 🙂

Uncategorized

Science Is Fun! (Banooper Review)

October 4, 2015 baileysandbabiesblog

I recently had the fortune of rediscovering my fascination with how our world works. Science has an incredible ability to ignite a deep appreciation for the simple yet complex workings of our surroundings and inner world.

Where did this renewed zest for all things science come from you ask? Well lemme tell you. I was sent a simple experiment by the kind people over at Banooper, who are dedicated to “bringing science home”- providing a fun bonding activity for families (with plenty of learning snuck in there!) Kind of like those brownie recipes that call for a secret helping of spinach.

Banooper has an array of activities pulled from different areas of science- I was sent a ‘Vision Science’ experiment called Benham’s Disks. It explores (and explains) the way our eyes perceive color. We were provided a few patterned disks, wooden pins (to facilitate the spinning of the disks), a maker (my son’s favorite part) to draw our own pattern, and an instruction and explanation booklet (that was short, sweet, and simple, which this sleep-deprived mom greatly appreciated.)

My two-year-old was too young to appreciate the magic of the inner-workings of our eyes, but my five-year-old and nine-year-old nieces were fascinated by the process of discovery.

Another plus was that this experiment came in a small box and did not call for flour, glue, glitter, or any other fabulous yet exhausting common science experiment ingredient.

Next experiment, homemade volcano? Maybe when Nana is babysitting.