Monthly Archives: June 2017

Gender Reveal Sneak Peek!

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

AHHH! We know the gender of Baby #2! Actually we found out at 9 weeks. There is this awesome company called SneakPeek. They make an at home blood test kit that detects the gender of your baby around 9 weeks! Are you dying to find out what we’re having??!

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

It’s a BOY!!!!!!

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

 

I took my SneakPeek test at 9 weeks pregnant. The test comes in a little box with all the necessities inside. You prick your finger with the little needle kit provided and you ship your sample to their lab! Within 24 hours of receiving the sample, they will email you the gender of your baby! And guess what?! They are 99% accurate!

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

How does it work? 

SneakPeek® utilizes the natural process of shared fetal DNA circulating inside the mother’s bloodstream. From the small sample of blood you supply via a finger stick they are able to test for the presence of male DNA. If it is detected then the baby’s gender is male and if it is not detected then the baby’s gender is female.

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

Because of this science, there are a few rules when using this kit. You don’t want it to pick up on any male DNA (besides your baby, if it’s a boy!). So because of this, Dave was not home when I did the test. I didn’t want to contaminate it by having it pick up Dave’s DNA. You should also do this on a table (clean it throughly, first), as opposed to the bathroom.

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

How do you actually get your blood sample?

The kit comes with these easy little finger prickers. It comes with more than one just in case you need another one. You take the top off, and push it into one of your finger tips until it pops. Then you fill up a tiny blood sample bottle by holding  your finger over it. The finger pricking part didn’t hurt at all, however my finger was a bit sore the following day. Getting the blood into the little tube was the hard part for me. I thought I was not going to have enough blood, but OMG. blood was literally going everywhere LOL! It honestly looked a bit like a murder scene on my kitchen table.

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

Would you recommend this? 

Yes!!! I am horrible at waiting. I loved being able to find out the gender at 9 weeks instead of at the 20 week ultrasound. This kit arrived SO fast, and it was fairly easy to collect the blood sample. Everything in the kit is very organized and clean. And once you ship the sample out, they notify you every step of the way. They let you know when they get the sample, and then they email you so fast with the gender results! It’s awesome!

The kit also comes with cute tattoos so once you find out the gender, you can rock the tattoo!

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

We are SO SO SO excited to have a boy!!!!!

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

SneakPeek Gender Reveal at 9 weeks! Read more at www.gracefulmommy.com

Get your SneakPeek kit here! 

It’s a Boy Onesie can be found here.

Baby Kimonos + Teaching Diversity


Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com
Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com
The other day, Gracie received some gorgeous mail! This package was wrapped up in the prettiest box with a gorgeous bow wrapped around it. Inside were the most beautiful kimonos ever from Haha No Yume. Haha No Yume makes baby kimonos out of 100% soft cotton fabric that is handpicked from Japan. How cool is that?! They strive for minimalism + simplicity in their patterns. What I love is that I am getting a handpicked, authentic piece of clothing for Gracie. It gives me the opportunity to teach Gracie about other cultures and their traditions.
Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com

Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com

Gracie and her friend Emma hung out in their kimonos for a playdate and looked SO adorable. These kimonos are so comfy for playing around the house. They have snaps on the bottom for easy diaper changes, too! The quality is also exceptional. I was very shocked!

Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com

One thing I want to do as Gracie’s mom is teach her about other cultures and different people’s traditions. I used to be a Kindergarten teacher and it was one of my goals to teach my students about the world and the people that live in it.

Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com

I wanted to share some of my favorite activities for teaching diversity + culture.

1+ Get a map. A map is a fun way to teach your child about the different parts of the world. There are tons of fun ways to introduce this. There are map puzzles or even globes!

2+ Get a monthly subscription. My favorite is the Little Passports subscription– the world edition. Each month your child will get a package with activities and lessons about a certain area of the world. It’s a great way to teach your child about other cultures in a fun, easy way!

3+ Watch movies and read books about other countries! This is such a fun way to introduce a new culture.

4+ Pen pals! When Gracie is older I would love to get involved with a pen pal program where we can write to someone from a different country. This would be so fun and a really easy way to connect to someone that’s different from us!

5+ Encourage an open environment. We try to get toys of a variety of skin colors for Gracie, as well as a variety of different kinds of books showing different cultures. We love to take her to disney where you see TONS of different races and cultures. We also like having her try different foods from other countries. Anything you can do to embrace the differences of others is awesome.

That’s why I love the kimonos from Haha No Yume. It’s such a fun (and comfy!) way to teach Gracie about other cultures.

Gorgeous Baby Kimono and ways to teach your child about other cultures. Read more - Gracefulmommy.com

Shop Haha No Yume now for some awesome Kimonos. You won’t be disappointed.

See the Kimonos in action with this cute Emma + Gracie video!

 

First Trimester Favorites

First of all- I cannot believe I’m pregnant again! It’s just crazy! And second- I’m shocked that the first trimester is already over. This pregnancy is going much faster than Gracie’s. I think it’s because I’m so busy with Gracie that moments are just flying by. Anyways, I wanted to share my favorite items I used during my first trimester. These are some great products that I used weekly, if not daily the last 12 weeks.

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

ONE+ Bella B Mama Soak. This stuff is awesome. I’m not a HUGE bath person, but when I am pregnant, I crave baths. I think this Bella B bath powder is actually created for after birth- to heal and soothe. But, it’s safe to use during pregnancy (or anytime actually!). It smells delicious because it contains extract of acai, green tea, and pomegranate. Definitely makes a normal bath feel like a trip to the spa.

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

TWO+ Psi Bands. While I haven’t had the worst morning sickness this pregnancy (thank God!). I have had occasional bouts of nausea. We also traveled a bit these 12 weeks so my Psi Bands were a MUST. Psi Bands are wrist bands that help relieve nausea due to morning sickness, traveling, and even chemotherapy. They work by using acupressure. I used them on my trip to New York and our several road trips! Lifesavers!

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

THREE+ Preggie Pop Drops. These ginger candies really helped when I would start to feel sick. My morning sickness only comes after I eat certain foods (like Mexican), so I always keep a few of these in my purse just in case something doesn’t sit right.

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

FOUR+ Little Nugget App. This app is amazing! There are over 450+ stickers and artwork to help you decorate and capture moments from your pregnancy as well as baby’s life! I use this app to draw on my bump photos as well as the ultrasound pics! It’s super fun + extremely easy to use! And you can print your photos from the app!

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

FIVE+ Bump Journal from Polka dot Print Shop. This book is so awesome. It’s designed to help you document the precious moments throughout your pregnancy. There are journal and photo pages to help you keep track of baby’s growth and pregnancy memories. I love the look of it too! I opted for more of a gender neutral color 🙂

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com

There are my 5 favorites for the first trimester! I’ll be sharing more of my pregnancy favorites as my bump grows.

First Trimester Favorites- www.gracefulmommy.com