Today is your last chance to enter our free giveaway to win a FreeHand Baby Carrier .
If you have already entered, but want to add your recommendations for kid-friendly activities, restaurants, or hotels to DeliciousBaby for more chances to win, now is the time! Each recommendation will earn five extra entries in the giveaway.
Just visit this article: Win a FreeHand Baby Carrier and follow the instructions.
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Posted on August 30, 2010 |
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I just love this picture of Everest exploring the sand in Laguna Beach - he looks miffed that the sand doesn't behave the way he thinks it should.
Related Links
Orange County, CA With Kids
About Photo Friday:
You are invited to join us for Photo Friday! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers and to help them get to know you. Just post a "Photo Friday" picture on your own blog, and link directly to your post from the linky below (If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly)
What is Photo Friday?
- Post a travel photo on your site. It can be about any topic, as long as it is G-rated.
- The focus of the post should be on your photo.
- You don't need to be a professional photographer (I'm not), but do showcase your best work
- It's nice to include a few sentences about the photo, but it is not required.
- Link back here so that your readers can see all the other great Photo Friday posts.
The trickiest part of being the solo parent on a trip with the kids is mornings. I always worry most about how I'll get everyone to sleep at night, but that (eventually - and sometimes with unneeded drama) takes care of itself. A shower. Wardrobe changes. A day bag. Breakfast. That's a lot to manage when you're groggy after a late night of blogging and an infant who thinks vacations are the perfect excuse to wake up for a cuddle every few hours.
I've finally learned to shower and get everything ready at night, but I still have a tricky time with this:
How could you possibly wake up a kid who is so completely asleep that even his hair is relaxed?
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Posted on August 25, 2010 |
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If you missed my previous classes at the Rick Steves Travel Center, you're in luck. I am scheduled to teach a class about traveling with young children on September 25th at 12 noon.
This will be a fun class, and I'll be sharing my best tips along with some fun memories! What I like best, though, is the opportunity to answer real questions from parents in a face-to-face format. Plus, you never know what great swag I might bring along!
Free registration is required, and you can register here
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Posted on August 23, 2010 |
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Last week I published a Freehand Baby Carrier Review, and today I am excited to announce that I will be giving the carrier away to one lucky DeliciousBaby reader. It's easy to enter, just leave a comment telling me about a family friendly hotel, restaurant or attraction. It can be in your hometown, or someplace you have visited.
Thank you to TogetherBe who generously sponsored this giveaway
How To Enter
One lucky reader can win. If you would like a chance to win, leave a comment before 11:59PM PST on Aug 30 2010 and tell me where you are going on your next trip. Please include your email address in the comment form (your email isn't shared with anyone, and I will not send you email unless you win).
How to Earn More Chances to Win
There are several ways you can get additional entries in this contest. Each takes only a few minutes!
- For Ten Additional Entries: If you have an iPhone or iPadTouch, download TripDoc free and then tell me what you think here: TripDoc Feedback. You do not need to leave a comment here - I will be notified of your entries automatically
- For Five Additional Entries: Recommend a kid-friendly attraction, restaurant or hotel in our city guides. It takes only a few minutes, and it is a great way to share your favorite places with other parents. To make a recommendation, just Click Here. You may recommend as many places as you like, and you do not need to leave a comment here - I will be notified of your entries automatically.
- Subscribe to my RSS feed (either by reader or email) using the buttons on the top left-hand side of the page. Leave another comment telling me you did.
- If you have a blog, write about any article you enjoyed on DeliciousBaby, or write about the place you hope to visit, and link back to one of our kid friendly city guides. Leave a comment telling me you did so and show me the link where I can find it!
- "Like" DeliciousBaby on Facebook, and come back here to tell me that you did. I will be using my Facebook page to share exclusive giveaways, discount codes and other opportunities.
Winners
I will choose a winner randomly and announce the results here on Tuesday August 31 2010.
Rules
Please, only one comment per person per giveaway post (except as outlined above where the comment is related to an extra entry). Duplicate comments and Anonymous comments will be discarded. Please make sure that the email address in your comment form is valid (email addresses are never public). Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize. A Sweepstakes winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three business days will be considered such Sweepstakes winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. To enter, you must be a U.S. resident, age 18 or older. Employees, partners and vendors of DeliciousBaby and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology. When applicable, the winner may be required to execute and return within five business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. All prizes will be awarded. No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that DeliciousBaby reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize.
Related Links:
Freehand Baby Carrier Review
Amazon:
Freehand Baby Carrier
P.S. If you like this giveaway, and want to share it with your friends, just click the "Like" button
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107 comments |
Posted on August 23, 2010 |
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The Blue Angels visited Seattle a few weeks ago, as they do every year, for our annual Seafair festival. Every year I moan about the noise - they practice for two days, and then they perform for two days. There's the inevitable sonic boom when one of the pilots decides to break the "rules." And the traffic - we can't get in or out of our neighborhood for hours. But the truth is, I enjoy the show.
The kids have been buzzing about it for weeks, and I couldn't resist digging up this old picture of them pretending to be Blue Angels pilots at the Boeing Museum of Flight.
They look just like the real thing, right?
About Photo Friday:
You are invited to join us for Photo Friday! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers and to help them get to know you. Just post a "Photo Friday" picture on your own blog, and link directly to your post from the linky below (If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly)
What's Photo Friday?
- Post a travel photo on your site. It can be about any topic, as long as it is G-rated.
- The focus of the post should be on your photo.
- You don't need to be a professional photographer (I'm not), but do showcase your best work
- It's nice to include a few sentences about the photo, but it is not required.
- Link back here so that your readers can see all the other great Photo Friday posts.
The whole family is headed to Hawaii soon on a trip sponsored by the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. This will be our first visit to Hawaii with kids, and since summer never really arrived in Seattle this year, I'm especially looking forward to some much-needed sunshine. I know from past comments that many of you have been to Oahu with your own kids, and I would love your help!
If you have a suggestion for what I should do on Oahu with kids, please add it here!
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Posted on August 19, 2010 |
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Disclosure: I received an Freehand Baby Carrier from TogetherBe for review. I received no compensation, and TogetherBe did not require that I express a particular point of view. My review policy does not allow me to keep products valued over $40, and I will give the Freehand away to one lucky reader in a giveaway that begins next week. I do receive a small commission if you purchase the Freehand using one of the links on my site, and that commission helps me keep this site running.
Most new parents seem to start out with either a hammock style sling or a Baby Bjorn. Unfortunately, when baby reaches about 6 months old, he or she usually becomes too heavy for those slings, and the parents either stop babywearing or upgrade to a more supportive sling. I've long recommended the Ergo Baby Carrier
because of the extra back support it offers.
As new products come out, I'm always curious about how they perform compared to my own favorites. When the TogetherBe company contacted me, and asked whether I would like to review the Freehand Baby Carrier, I jumped at the chance to try it out. I wanted to compare it with the other baby slings I have owned over the years (the Moby Wrap, the Baby Bjorn Active Carrier, and the Ergo). Because sling fit differs considerably from person to person, I also asked two other moms to try the sling. One mom has a newborn baby, the other has a 1 year old, and this review also reflects their feedback.
Features
My favorite thing about the Freehand was the sleek fabric and design. It looked so much less bulky and messy than my Ergo. It also folds up easily and could be stowed in a diaper bag or daypack.
The Freehand sling is designed to be used one of three ways:
- With baby on the front, and facing in towards a parent
- With baby on the front, and facing out towards the world
- With baby on the back, and facing in towards a parent
The Freehand has a hood that can be pulled over baby's head to keep it from falling back when baby is asleep. The hood can be completely detached, but if you detach it, there is no pocket to place it in.
Age and Weight Specifications
The Freehand Baby Carrier is for children 8 - 35 lbs, and adults size 0 - 22
Ease of Use
The Freehand is easy to put on and remove. Similar to the Ergo, there are just two clips, one around the waist, and one that sits at shoulder-blade level. Straps make it easy to adjust the carrier's size to better fit you and baby.
A newborn baby over 8 pounds can use the Freehand without any sort of adapter or insert. The newborn mom who I asked to test the freehand said that it was easy to adjust the sling to her baby's size, and that the baby seemed comfortable and well supported in the sling. In contrast, when I tried to use the infant insert with my Ergo, I had a difficult time getting it (and Eilan) installed correctly, and I often had to readjust things because he seemed uncomfortable.
It's slightly more tricky to put a baby in the Freehand forward-facing than it is to have baby facing you. Baby's legs must be inserted through straps, and Eilan never did get comfortable riding forward-facing in the sling. It's difficult for me to tell whether he was actually uncomfortable, or just so used to facing towards me that he didn't like the change.
The Freehand does not have a pocket that you could use to store the detachable hood or an extra diaper. There is also no cold-weather blanket specifically designed to clip onto this carrier.
Style
Both the fabric and design are sleeker and nicer looking than the Ergo and Baby Bjorn (including newer, sleeker models).
Comfort
For me, the Freehand was just as comfortable as the Ergo. The cross-over support straps kept Eilan closer to my body, which seemed to reduce the sensation of heaviness on my low back and shoulders. The shoulders have little padding though, and both of the other moms who tried the Freehand complained that their shoulders hurt as a result.
Eilan never got comfortable sitting forward facing, but seemed very cozy in the other two positions, and I was equally comfortable with this sling as I was with my Ergo.
Conclusion
This is a great option if you are looking for a sling to carry an older baby in and want a more fashionable look than the Ergo provides.
Related Links
Buy on Amazon:
Freehand Baby Carrier
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product-review
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Posted on August 19, 2010 |
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II'll write about my favorite travel-related kids books every other week. Most books are from my personal collection, or checked out from the library, but whenever I do accept a book for review from a publisher, I will always let you know. If you buy the book using the Amazon link at the end of the post, I earn a small commission, and that income helps me keep the site going.
Follow the Line Around the World
is one of those books that's more engaging visually than it is to read. A single line twists and turns its way through different eco-systems. It travels, for instance, through Kenya where it becomes a giraffe, a group of elephants and a tree trunk. My kids can study the illustrations for eons, and on the rare occasions when I do read the prose too, they learn a little bit about destinations from Sri Lanka, to the Sahara, to Greenland.
Related Links:
Buy on Amazon:
Follow the Line Around the World
Kids books about travel and the world
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Posted on August 18, 2010 |
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Corrinne of Have Baby Will Travel and I had a fun (if mildly embarrassing) conversation on the bus ride to the airport about how little we had known about Puerto Rico before visiting. We figured that if we were "in the dark" some of our readers might be wondering too! Here are some of the things I learned on this trip.
- If you are a US Citizen traveling to Puerto Rico from the US, you don't need a Passport.
- The tap water is safe to drink
- While the local language is Spanish, you are unlikely to encounter many people who don't speak English well
- There's a Rainforest!
- Puerto Ricans LOVE kids, and yours will be fawned over when you are out and about
- Coconut Candy, Shave Ice and Plantains. You need more of these things in your diet, and you can get them in Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rico was a Spanish Colony, had a brief period of autonomy, and was invaded by the Americans in 1898
- Puerto Ricans elect their own local leaders, and have their own court system, but are subject to U.S. jurisdiction (similar to a US state). Puerto Ricans are considered to be US Citizens, but cannot vote in US elections unless they become residents of the United States.
Readers: Have you been to Puerto Rico? What surprised you? Let me know in comments.
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travel-stories
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Posted on August 18, 2010 |
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