May 2017 – Graceful Mommy

Summer With Baby

Posted on May 31, 2017June 1, 2017 by Graceful Mommy

31
May

I cannot believe June starts tomorrow! Summer is HERE! This year, we have a few trips + activities planned for this Summer and I am so excited! Gracie is almost 2 and she’s really starting to enjoy our short vacays! We just recently went on a long weekend beach trip and I’m ready to share some tips + tricks that we learned. Hopefully it will help your summer trips go more smoothly! We all need more of that. LOL.

*This post is sponsored by Pampers + Babies “R” Us, but all opinions, photos, and video are my own! *

TIP #1 – Go to Babies “R” Us before your Summer getaway! They have everything you need from sippy cups, to insulated cooler bags, an endless supply of Pampers diapers, and even Dreft detergent to help get out those pesky vacation stains! I love Babies “R” Us because it really is a one stop shop for all Gracie’s needs – especially stocking up on diapers.

Watch this video to see some of my favorite Babies “R” Us essentials for Summer!

TIP #2 – Go with the FLOW. On vacation, it’s good to have a plan not necessarily an itinerary. When the days are TOO scheduled, it leads to stress. Have an easy-going plan, and be okay when it has to change. Gracie was NOT supposed to find this puddle of water and get soaking wet in her clothes, but it’s okay. We took her back to get changed + bathed and then we went on with our night! That’s the fun part about vacation!

PS- Gracie was wearing Pampers swaddlers during her little *accidental beach swim* and although her diaper was full it actually still wasn’t LEAKING. I swear these things are magic. You’ll always find these in my diaper bag.

TIP #3 – Get a hotel room or a house with a washer + dryer. Okay, no one likes to do laundry on vacation. But you know what’s worse? Doing loads of laundry when you get home. I always like to book our trips with a washer + dryer. Gracie is a messy girl and always gets stains on her gorgeous vacation clothes. When we are done for the day, I use my Dreft stain remover to get out the tough stains. Then I wash her clothes with Dreft detergent and they look like new!

TIP #4 – Wear baby out. LOL. I love this about vacation. All the beaching, boating, and swimming wears Gracie out so MUCH. She always sleeps really great on our getaways. Sometimes she’ll sleep till 11 AM. I’m not even kidding. It’s GLORIOUS. We always make sure to put a dry Pampers Swaddlers on her at night after her bath. Pampers Swaddlers have up to 12 hours of overnight protection – which helps Gracie sleep even longer. I also love the color changing strip on these diapers. It helps to know when she’s gone when we are out and about on vacation.

TIP #5 – Have fun! Seriously, enjoy this time with your little ones. Make time for adventures + take a million photos and videos. Have you ever thought about this? You only have 18 SUMMERS with your little one before they are off on their own. EIGHTEEN. Make the most of it!!

Shop now for Pampers Swaddlers

Shop Babies R Us

Here are some amazing deals!

From 6/4 – 6/10: Get a Free $10 Gift Card with any 2 Pampers Super Packs of Diapers, Easy-Ups Training Pants and Swaddlers Overnites!

From 6/16 – 7/4: Get a Free $20 Gift Card with any 2 Pampers Value Boxes of Diapers. Regularly $42.99 – In-store only.

My Reviews

TODDLER BED UPDATE (with Washabelle)

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Graceful Mommy

26
May

About 5 months ago, we received an amazing kid mattress from a company called Washabelle. You can read my first post about it here. At the time Gracie was 18 months and was sleeping in our bed still. It wasn’t the worst, but we were ready to have some peaceful sleep again (she moves A LOT).

At first, we put pillows and blankets all around the bed. We were so paranoid she would roll out- even though it’s on the floor! She did roll out a few times. Sometimes would stay asleep on the floor, but sometimes would cry. I would always just go in and move her back to the bed and sneak out again. She took to her bed INSTANTLY. Naps + nighttime sleep for the most part were no problem. The Washabelle bed is honestly like a temperpedic, it’s SO COMFY.

HOW DOES SHE SLEEP NOW? Gracie sleeps awesome in her Washabelle mattress. Every now and then she has a rough night (as any kid does) and I end up going in there to lay with her until she falls back asleep. The one problem is her bed is SO comfy- I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally fallen asleep in it. LOL!

DOES GRACIE ROLL OFF? Rarely, now! I don’t even need to put pillows at the edge because she has adjusted to the bed so well. She knows where the edge is and tends to stay right on it. It’s on the floor still, so even if she does roll off- she can’t get hurt. I also have it still in the corner so two of the sides are against the wall.

DOESN’T SHE JUST GET OUT OF BED + PLAY ALL NIGHT? Surprisingly, she NEVER did this. When it’s bedtime, she’s tired and ready for sleep. She never just plays in her room when the lights are off. The thing she sometimes does is knock on the door and yell “MOMMY!” if she can’t sleep. Then I just either wait a while and she’ll go back to her bed, or I have to go in and lay with her for a few minutes (or hours if I accidentally fall asleep).

HAVE YOU WASHED IT? Did you know the Washabelle mattress is washable!? It still blows my mind. I have washed it once to test it out. Read about that experience here. Since then, I haven’t needed to wash it. Although we are starting potty training so I’m sure I’ll be washing it soon.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS MATTRESS. Oh my goodness. I seriously can’t stop talking about it. Anytime someone comes over, they are always so curious about her floor mattress and I seriously rant and rave about it. Gracie sleeps so good + I love knowing it can be washed at any time if we need to.

Shop now: www.washabelle.com

My Reviews

A Baby Keepsake Box from Savor

Posted on May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 by Graceful Mommy

19
May

If you’re anything like me, you have a giant tub full of life’s most important memories + keepsakes. Things are being crushed and bended. There’s probably a bug or two crawling around the baby blanket or nestled in some sonogram photos. It’s disgusting + a giant mess. And when you get the urge to go through some of the items to relive those memories, you either can’t remember where you put the box or it’s so far up the attic that eh, maybe you’ll look through it another day. UHHHH this was my life before SAVOR.

Now, all of Gracie’s most important keepsakes are displayed BEAUTIFULLY in our home in our Keepsake Library from Savor. Her teeny tiny footprints are ready to be looked at whenever I feel like. And when she wants to see a picture of what she looked like in mommy’s belly, I can just open the sonogram folder and show her!

Guys, you NEED Savor in your life!! Savor makes these amazing systems to organize, enjoy, and store your most important childhood memories. You can put baby’s first blankie, first tooth, or first lock of hair in these adorable little personalized cubbies. The system comes with stickers so you decide what you want in each drawer or folder. I love that about the system!

What I love most is how beautiful the Library is! They are meant to be displayed like beautiful books and passed down proudly to each generation- way better than the nasty attic box. Ours is on display on our shelves in our entry way!

The Baby Keepsake Box has a lot of awesome features. The front of the box has 2 little spots to personalize each box. You can put your child’s photo or their initials. This is perfect if you have more than one child. There are 2 boxes in the Baby Keepsake Box- the Collections edition and the Chronicles edition. The collections edition has 9 drawers to protect baby shoes, locks of hair, and other mementos. You can personalize each drawer for what you think you need.

The Chronicles edition comes with file folders to hold baby cards, sonogram photos, and other documents. The files are made with acid free lining to protect your keepsakes.