Get to Know Baby in a Fishbowl!

I've really enjoyed using Theresa's products and I wanted to get to know her a little better. I asked Theresa a few questions about motherhood and her shop.

1. What led you to babywearing?
I hated strange people touching my all baby the time, I would be anywhere and strange people would want to kiss her and pick her up. I wanted to keep her as close to me as I could, so I turned to babywearing and fell in love with it.

2. What inspired you to open an Etsy shop?
Actually I believe my step sister turned me towards etsy. I was amazed that I had never heard of it before.  Although I have had a slow go on etsy, I enjoy the less stress buyer/seller relationship. As everything is handmade, people here seem to understand the time it takes to create an item and have a family too.

3. What is your favorite item in the shop?
My favorite item, right now, is my wrap skirt. I just started selling these. I actually spend more time making myself skirts than making them to sell - heehee.

I do use everything I sell, from bibs, burps, blankets, pouch sling, ring sling, aprons, skirts, etc.  I have made other items for myself, but never duplicated them, since I didn't use a pattern.  My diaper bag is one example. I enjoy not using a pattern, but I sometimes fail to ever re-create the same thing over again. :)

I also love the Silk Ring slings! I think they are so pretty to wear, and great to feel. I only have 3 left, and am not sure I will stock anymore, but I look forward to finding homes for them. 
Adds Angie:  I love the silk ring slings too!  I 100% endorse them:)

4. What has been your best/favorite/funny adventure of the mom kind?
There has been so much in the past 7 yrs since I became a mom. I never thought I wanted to be a mom. I hated to babysit when I was a kid, because kids just didnt like me.
I guess my best adventure was finding the Mom in Me, and discoving how much I LOVE being a Mom!

5.  How did you get the name Baby in a Fishbowl??
How we came up with "Baby in a Fishbowl"- Well...While pregnant and trying to explain to how a baby grows in mommies belly, I told my oldest daughter(then 2.5y old), that the baby is in my belly swimming around like a little "fish" and the baby will stay there until it is ready to come out.  

Fast forward about another 1.5 yrs... while pregnant with number 3, my daughter was talking about the baby in my belly being a little fish.  Her brother was in the sling at the time and she came to the conclusion that being in the sling was like being in my belly again, just like the new baby.  I said "Yes, sort of like a fishbowl".   She said he was a "baby in a fishbowl"!  Now you know the story!

Theresa has a lot of great items in her shop (more than just baby gear too!) and it's all mom-friendly!.  Please visit her shop and check out what items might look good on you!  Also, become her fan on Facebook to hear about specials or enter into her giveaways!
Don't forget to enter a giveaway of $25 toward any item in her shop!  Click here to go there.  

Baby In A Fishbowl Ring Sling Review AND GIVEAWAY

Baby In A Fishbowl Ring Sling Review

Basic Information About The Sling:
This slings come from a great Etsy Shop, Baby in a Fishbowl.  There are a lot of fabric options available and she can make custom orders too.  The particular sling that I purchased is made of Duponi Silk in Summer Sun color and the ring color varies by sling.  The width is about 26" and the length is 85". 

This information about ring slings is from her Etsy Shop site:
Ring sling are great for multiple wearers. They go where your stroller cannot. The open style tail gives you great coverage for nursing privacy, especially for first time moms who are still getting the nack of it. Tuck the tail away when not needed or you can use it for a changing pad, blanket, wiping up spit-up.

Care of sling:  Wash alone Gentle cycle, cold, or hand wash.  Hang dry is recommended.

How it works:
Pretty simple:  put the sling on, put the baby in the pocket, and tighten the sling by pulling fabric through the rings.  It honestly seems more intimidating more than it really is.  The best way to figure out to put it on is to search YouTube for instructions on the different ways to wear your baby.  There are a bunch of videos that demonstrate different holds.  It took me two or three times to get to the point where I could get her in/out quickly.

Price:
The regular price for this sling is $48.  However, I got mine on sale.  If you become a Facebook fan of Baby in a Fishbowl, she posts sales and specials there, so you can keep a lookout for deals.  She also has giveaways pretty often on Facebook, so you may win a great item from her shop.

My Experience:
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sling.  I have another ring sling that I bought at a garage sale and while I liked it, I never felt 100% comfortable that she was secure.  I have NEVER felt like that when I have used this sling! 

I noticed the difference between the slings immediately and I put my other sling away (I think for good).  Anyway, I love the fabric, I love the rings, and I love the cute detailed stitching.  I think that the silk is really easy to adjust. One cool thing that I like about the fabric is the color, it seems to change color depending on the light and I think that it is really beautiful.

I use this ring sling when I go to the store and we both like it.  The baby hates sitting in the car seat so she’s glad to be out and about.  I think using a ring sling is much more convenient than lugging a car seat or stroller anywhere. I’ve started keeping it in the car, so that I always have it available when I’m out.  In fact, I just got back from CostCo where I wore her the whole time!  I seriously use this sling almost every day!

Features We Love:

• Sturdy construction 
• Cute detailed stitching  (see picture below)
• SO EASY AND CONVENIENT

The Downside:

• Wearing her for long periods of time does make my shoulder get a little sore.

We Vote:

• Excellent Value 
• Easy to Use 
• Convenient for Everyday Use 
• Love it, Love it, Love it

Overall Rating (out of 10):  10
 
HERE IS THE COOL PART!  BABY IN A FISHBOWL is generously giving away $25 towards any item in her shop!  
Leave a comment for each entry.  CLICK HERE TO GO TO COMMENTS.

This is a mandatory entry:
Visit her shop and tell me what you would purchase with the $25.
Extra Entries:
1.  Follow this blog 
2.  Become a Facebook Fan of Baby in a Fishbowl HERE 
3.  Become a Facebook Fan of Adventures of the Mom Kind HERE 
4.  Announce this giveaway on a blog, forum, or Facebook and leave the url in the comment

This giveaway will end at 7pm on May 3rd.  Please leave your email or a way to contact you.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn. 

The Best Baby Shoes...Period

Well, I call them slippers...they're soft soled baby shoes, so they seem like slippers to me.  I wish I would have bought a pair much earlier!  Socks never stay on Baby A's feet and I can't figure out why.  She does have a little bit of a case of the cankles, but it is not so bad that I would expect socks not to work.  However, I won these WONDERFUL shoes about a month ago and she has been wearing them almost everyday since then.  

The shoes are elasticized, but they aren't tight.  They are very soft, made of natural materials, and come in many cute prints.  She is 5 months old and still has plenty of room to grow in them.  But, the main reason I love them is that I'm not always looking for where they fell off (which happens all the time when she wears socks)!   

I've already written about the SunflowerRadiantLove Etsy Shop and this is another awesome product from Saskia.  They sell for $10.95 and I think they are well worth it!  This is definitely a product that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

 

More Products I Love!

I'll be honest with you, the giraffe baby is 100% the reason that I became obsessed with Etsy.  I bought her a few months ago for Baby A.  I love the doll and she loves to eat her:)  I stick one in my purse to keep Baby A occupied when we go out.  I recently won the mini baby in a giveaway. I'm so glad to have these well-made toys. 

These are Waldorf-inspired* baby dolls.  Each baby in SunflowerRadiantLove's Etsy Shop is handmade and unique.  They are made with all natural materials and stuffed with wool.  They are super soft!  Her shop had big babies, mini babies, and root babies (which look like little sproutlings).

I'm most excited about these because I think they will inspire imagination.  Since each one is unique, no one else will have a doll like either one!  I hope that has meaning for Baby A in the future.  I'm also thrilled that they don't have batteries!  We have too many of those toys around here.

*In case you haven't heard of Waldorf (which I hadn't), click here for the Wikipedia entry.

Want to Win This Hat?

Do you want to win the hat pictured here??? 

I've been thinking about making another hat just like this one and giving it away for several days.  I recently won a giveaway for a cloth diaper and it made my day.  I want to pay it forward. 

The winner will receive a hat made by yours truly to fit the circumference of your child's head.  Since it will be custom made, it will take 10-14 days to receive. 

In order to win this hat, you must complete the following mandatory entry:
Follow my blog AND comment on this post about your favorite Etsy.com shop or other handmade/homemade goods website.  Please leave your email in the comment.

For Extra Entries, you can do any/all of the following:
1.  Become a fan of my Facebook Page (leave a comment)
2.  Add to the discussion about GroBaby diapers on my facebook page (leave a comment for each facebook comment)  FYI-there is a longest chain contest going on and if this ends up to be one of the 4 longest, we all win a 15% off coupon for the next Gro Baby purchase:)
3. Read and comment on any of my Reviews (leave a comment for each)
4.  Blog about this giveaway (leave a comment and post url)

Please leave your email in all comments.

 The contest ends March 1st at 7pm Central Time.  The winner will be selected by random.org and have 48 hours to respond to my email.

Good Luck!