Hi Amy here with a great giveaway from my #1 favorite place to purchase baby carriers: Carry Me Away! They offer the widest selection of baby carriers I have seen to date! They also offer free shipping on all orders $50 and up! Along with great customer service, they also break down all of the different options available in baby carriers to help you find the one that is right for you! They are a wonderful company, and I am pleased to be hosting an ERGO Backpack giveaway with them!

If you have never tried an ERGO carrier, you are truly missing out! You can put a child on your back without assistance with just two simple buckles! They are also incredibly comfortable, even when carrying a toddler while pregnant! While I was pregnant with baby John, I ended up flying with my very busy two year old, Jessica, and the ERGO carrier was a lifesaver!!! I had a direct flight, which unfortunately was canceled due to a busted windshield. I ended up having to go through Atlanta. I would have never made it with Jessica, her carseat, and our two carry-ons without the ERGO carrier! Being new to the ERGO carrier, I didn’t know they made an ERGO Backpack that attached to it….that would have made it even easier!!!!

Me and Jessica at the airport!

The ERGO Backpack is the perfect solution for a day hiking trip, an on-flight carry-on, and outings around town. It could very easily replace a diaper bag for most outings!

The ERGO Backpack stuffed to the brim!

...with 12 Bumgenius diapers w/inserts, 12 baby washcloths, 1 sippy cup of water, 1 plastic baggie for dirty diapers, 1 large receiving blanket, and 1 huge container of Goldbond powder....everything we HAVE to have for a day out with both kiddos!!!!

I actually prefer a backpack style bag to a diaper bag most of the time because it is not constantly sliding down my arm while I am dealing with my busy toddler (and this one is very comfortable)! The ERGO Backpack can be worn as a backpack, carried by the handle, or attached to the ERGO carrier. It attaches to the ERGO carrier by looping a tab around each of the top two straps. The older version has four looping tabs – two at the top and two at the bottom. I don’t see why they did away with the bottom two looping tabs. Even if you didn’t want to use them to allow for more expansion in the bag, there might be times you would want the bag better secured. Amazingly, once you are used to the ERGO carrier it is still pretty easy to put the carrier on without assistance even when the bag is fully loaded! I was also surprised that I was actually able to get some things out of the bag while wearing Jessica on my back. I do wish it was a little easier to get the bag off while wearing a child in the carrier. I also wish that the bag either had a lock or a drawstring….to keep my mischievous toddler OUT of it!!

Overall, I love the idea of having a bag that can be taken on and off of my carrier, giving me the ultimate arms-free experience when out with my little ones! If the quality of the ERGO Backpack is anything like the ERGO Carrier (and it seems to be), then it should last through all of my children and will be worth the retail value of $29.99-$64 (although I rarely pay that for a backpack…). I would definitely recommend it to others, especially those who find themselves needing the ultimate arms-free experience while out with their little ones!

Now you can enter to win an ERGO backpack of your choice of remaining stock at Carry Me Away!

Required entry:

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Giveaway ends August 16, 2010 at 11pm CST.

Hi Amy here again with a discount code for a product specifically intended to keep our littlest ones shielded from dangerous UV rays: The Gypsy Mama Water Wrap! I live on the coast, so my children begin getting in the water and learning to swim at a very young age! During the summers we love to spend time at the community pool! One of the nice things about the community pool is that they offer childcare for $2 an hour! Unfortunately, the child must be 6 months old. This presents a problem when it comes to working with Jessica on her swimming since I either must have John with me or leave him with a sitter at a whopping $10 an hour! Thankfully, I found the Gypsy Mama Water Wrap! The Gypsy Mama Water Wrap is made of a non-chemically treated material that blocks over 98% of UV rays! The fabric feels like swimsuit material so it dries very quickly and is very breathable! You simply wrap it on yourself, tuck your baby in it, and go!!

I bought a Gypsy Mama Water Wrap at the beginning of the summer, and I absolutely love it!!!!! The material is stretchy yet supportive. It really looks fabulous on….perfect if you want to wear your baby out to  a dressy occasion. It is incredibly breathable!!! When we are going to be out on a particularly humid day, this is the wrap I reach for! Keeping John close to my skin also helps him regulate his own temperature during our hot hot summer days!! There are so many wonderful uses for this wrap. You could take a shower while wearing your baby. You could go to the beach or splash pad. You could even get in the pool while wearing your baby. I always wear John when I take Jessica swimming because I need both arms free for her; however, I will add as a retired lifeguard that if you choose to get in the pool while wearing your baby, you need to be very very careful to be continually aware of how deep you are and how you are moving. I also don’t take Jessica swimming anywhere that does not have a lifeguard because i cannot rescue her while wearing John. Everyone at the pool is always so fascinated by the Gypsy Mama Water Wrap, and John absolutely LOVES getting in the water!!! I wish I had a picture of us using the Gypsy Mama Water Wrap, but I use it when I need both arms free, which means I don’t usually have someone around to take a picture! The Gypsy Mama Water Wrap also has the added benefit that it protects most of my trunk as well as baby John. Also when you are not wearing it, you could use it as a UV blocking blanket!

This wrap has allowed me to get Jessica out of the house and into the water this summer while helping John regulate his body temperature and protect him from UV rays. It is an absolutely brilliant idea!!! Now you can get your own Gypsy Mama Water Wrap with 10% off when you use the discount code SUNFUN at www.wrapsodybaby.com through July 28, 2010!

Hi Amy here again, to tell you about a very exciting giveaway that will help you protect your little one from damaging UV rays! If you have checked out our “About” section, then you know that I am a huge fan of babywearing!! Before having Jessica, I had read about the benefits of babywearing: building a strong attachment between parent and child, calming effect on parent and child, keeping both arms free for other activities while keeping baby close, etc. However, it wasn’t until I could not get Jessica at one month old to take a nap during the day that I fully appreciated the benefits of babywearing! She would get up in the morning with me and would not go to sleep until I went to bed that night, and she would get horribly cranky in the afternoon because she was so tired! I tried everything but nothing worked until I started wearing her every afternoon. It was at that point that I was able to get her to take one 3 hour nap every day! It was also at that point that I became an avid babywearer!! I now own several baby wraps, but if you are looking for a wrap made of strong, quality fabric that will truly support your child from birth up to 35 lbs or even twins for daily use, then you are looking for the gold standard in baby wraps: the Moby Wrap! The Moby Wrap is recommended by pediatricians, childbirth educators, NICU nurses and physicians, lactation consultants, and chiropractors. In fact some lactation consultants use the Moby Wrap as a treatment for low milk supply in nursing mothers! Moby has become a name that babywearers trust with their most precious bundles!

One of the many different styles of Moby Wraps.

Now the same people who brought you the Moby Wrap in all sorts of fun colors and prints have really out done themselves this time withe UV Moby Wrap! Although there are some sunblocks that are safe for baby’s sensitive skin, they are not always effective at shielding your little one from dangerous UV rays. Covering up and keeping your little bundle of joy out of the sun remain the best ways to protect that oh so soft baby skin; however, that is not always easy when you have a 2 and a half year old that does NOT like to stay home! Thankfully that is a lot easier for us now with the UV Moby Wrap! The UV Moby Wrap utilizes the patented Rayosan technology by Clariant to increase the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of the fabric to 50+ without changing the appearance, feel, or breathability people have come to expect in Moby Wraps. Baby John absolutely loves being in the Moby Wrap. It is quite obvious that he feels very secure (and safe from his overly enthusiastic big sister)!! When he is particularly fussy, he will calm down and even go to sleep in the UV Moby Wrap, and best of all, when we are out and about in this oppressive heat, I don’t have to worry about his sensitive skin, which as a melanoma survivor is a great relief!! Being so close to me also seems to help him regulate his body temperature even on the hottest of days! It is made of 100% cotton so it is very breathable, and the fabric does not have too much “give” to it. Also, great when you have a toddler and a new baby –  they are washable!! Not to mention, I think we look great in turquoise!

Baby John as happy as a lark in the Uv Moby Wrap AND protected from damaging UVrays!

The UV Moby Wrap retails for $44.95. (Other Moby Wraps retail for between $39.95 and $69.95.) One of you will soon be the lucky owner of a new UV Moby Wrap for free!!! All you have to do is post a comment below stating why you like babywearing or why you think you would like babywearing!

Required entry: Why you like babywearing or why you think you would like babywearing?

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Giveaway ends July 10, 2010 at 11pm CST.