Review: Hip Baby Wrap Ring Sling

*Product provided for review. All opinions are mine. Post contains affiliate links*

I had the awesome chance to try out the Hip Baby Wrap Ring Sling in Sky. Ever since having Olivia, I wanted a good way to carry her around when out doing errands, or even things around the house. 

Here is a description of the sling from their website:

"Featuring a colorful print and a simple design, our wrap provides an elegant and traditional way to carry little ones. Promotes bonding and physical development as Baby grows. Our soft cotton construction are uniquely hand-woven to provide a bit of give so they mold perfectly to the body and create a very comfortable fit for Baby and Babywearer."

This sling is 100% cotton, machine washable, is also great for nursing on-the-go and for using as a nursing cover. It can be used for babies from 8 pounds, all the way up to 35 pounds. You can find them on their website here for $68, or also on Amazon here for $39.95 or $49.95 depending on the style. 

I adore this ring sling so much, and am tempted to get one in every color! I will say, there is a learning curve to figuring out how to use it properly and safely, so I recommend watching some YouTube videos on how to actually use one, if you've never tried a ring sling before. Now that I've used this a few times, I feel like I can safely carry Olivia around while grocery shopping, or doing some light housework. I even noticed that when she's fighting sleep, I put her in the sling and she's out in 5 minutes. Works like a charm! 

Hip Baby Wrap has so many different colors and styles to choose from! If you have a new baby, or an older one who likes to be held all the time, I highly recommend this sling. This would make an awesome baby shower gift as well for the mom who wants to babywear!

If you have kids, what do you think about this ring sling? Is it something you're interested in?

January, February & March 2017 Empties

As promised, I'm showing you all the products I've used up so far since the beginning of the year. It's not alot since I wasn't really taking care of myself because of being with my daughter in the hospital. Now that she's home, it'll be much easier using up products and caring about my health and happiness again. 

Starting off with skincare, I have finally used up the Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control Facial Scrub. I used to like this, but over time I ended up actually hating it. The scent is overpowering and the scrubbing bits can be kinda harsh. 

The Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is something I'd buy over and over again if it wasn't so expensive! I LOVE this cleanser so much. It makes my skin feel clean, without stripping it dry. 

Jack Black lip balms are incredible. I had been trying to use up the Natural Mint scent since before Olivia was born. Granted, I lost it a couple times, but always ended up finding it. I have a few more of these in different scents to use up and would consider repurchasing once I go through my stash. 

Philosophy skincare is hit or miss for me, but the Renewed Hope in a Jar is a hit! I'm not a fan of the cult classic original moisturizer that everyone raves about, but this one is nice. I'd consider purchasing once I use up what I have. 

I got a sample of the Exuviance OptiLight Essential 6 Serum with a product I was sent to try ages ago. I got quite a few uses out of this, but I didn't find it to be anything special. Exuviance is a pretty expensive brand, and I'm sure if I had a bigger size, I would've seen a difference in my skin. 

I tend to get a few samples of the DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew, and I think I may have another to use up. This is a pretty decent moisturizer that has a gel consistency, so it's great for Summertime use when my skin is more oily. 

You all know my love for Valentia and their skincare. I did a review of their Royal Rose Hydrating Serum, and completely love it. The rose scent isn't too strong, and it helps to hydrate my skin well. If I didn't have a million serums to use up first, I'd buy this again in a heartbeat. 

I didn't care for the Murad Oil Control Mattifier SPF 15. It smelled weird and made my skin look super pale. 

Philosophy body products are my jam, and the Gingerbread Girl body lotion is no exception. It's not the most hydrating moisturizer in the world, but it does the job well enough and smells like baked goods, which is a plus in my book!

The next four products I used up were hand creams. I went through so many handcreams while my daughter was in the NICU from all the hand washing. The Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Cream with Aloe is probably meant to be a body moisturizer, but it felt so nice and luxurious on my hands, and made them feel like soft baby skin. The Mitchell and Peach Luxury Hand Cream is far from luxury to be honest. It smells like nothing and didn't hydrate my skin at all. I think it made the dryness worse. Everyone talks about the Soap & Glory Hand Food and for good reason! The scent can be a little strong, but the hydration it gives is amazing. Out of all of these hand creams, the L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream is my favorite. It smells like baby powder and hydrates like no other. It's expensive as hell, but worth it and I will probably repurchase when I use up my stash. 

Lastly, we have some random products. Bath & Body Works hand soaps are amazing, but expensive, even when there is a sale. Crisp Morning Air smelled nice and fresh, but I like sweet smelling hand soaps more. 

The Colgate Cavity Protection Toothpaste is something both my husband and I used. He used it more than I did since I prefer toothpastes with sensitivity protection. 

Since having Olivia, I have been shedding like a German Shepard. It's so bad, but I know it's postpartum hormones that are causing it. I like the Natrol Biotin 10,000mcg because I feel like it really helps in normal, everyday life, and works great at making my nails super strong as well. 

Number of products used up: 16
Total used up for the year: 16

I'll be going back to monthly empties now that things are starting to settle down. Hopefully I can make my goal of using up 150 products, and that does include foil packets as well. I'm so bad at using my foil packet samples and need to make it a point to use some up this year. 

What are some products you've used up recently?   

April 2017 Goals

I haven't done a monthly goals post since November, which I had failed miserably at achieving any. My life was put on the back burner as our daughter was in the NICU, and then going through open heart surgery. I want to get back into doing things for me and setting attainable goals for the month of April. 

- Reach 2,000 pageviews on the blog. In March I had just a little over 1,600 pageviews. That's not terrible, but my pageviews definitely took a hit during my time away with my daughter. This month I want to work hard on reaching more people and set a small goal of just 2,000. 

- Have some ME time! I'm my daughter's primary caregiver being a stay at home mom. My husband works crazy hours, typically putting in 50-60 hours in a week. While I totally love being able to stay home with my little girl, there are times where this mama just wants a little time to herself, whether it be to just hide away in the bedroom reading a book, or taking a shower and doing a face mask after. No matter what it is, I want to be sure I'm taking care of me as well. 

- Continue writing 2 posts a week. This was my goal when I started writing here again, and for April, I want to keep it up. Eventually, I'd like to work up to 3 posts, but for now, 2 will have to do. 

- Organize our house. I feel like this is a goal I have every month! Seriously, before Olivia was born, I was doing so well getting things organized and throwing stuff away or donating things we don't need. Then she decided she wanted to meet us 10 weeks early, and all that basically went to hell. It's not her fault by any means, we should've taken more time beforehand to really clean up and have things ready for when she came home. I'm slowly starting to make our house look much better, and we're only a few days into April so far!

What are some of your goals for this month?