Soon-to-be parents Kate Middleton and Prince William are looking to add a little spice to the traditional palace birth announcement when the duo’s royal bebe arrives next month. Traditionally, royal staffers post a bulletin signed by the mum’s medical team on an easel on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, while at the same time, staffers on the electronic end would send out an announcement to be received by the digital world — and it seems as though the Duke and Duchess are intent on keeping up with the royal tradition, for the most part. But Kate’s birth will mark a first for England and the royal family.

People is reporting that the public will get its first clue that the royal baby has arrived when someone from Kensington Palace leaves the hospital in London with an envelope, which they’ll hand over to a member of the royal household who’ll then deliver it to the palace to be placed on the bulletin. When the announcement is placed on the easel, it will mark the first time that the sex of the royal baby is revealed (uh… hate to spoil the surprise and all but we already know Kate and Will are expecting an heir to the throne!). Today, a royal spokesman alerted the world that the couple still do not know the sex of their baby (fat chance!), but that baby will most likely be born at the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, where William and Harry were both delivered. Kate will most likely give birth naturally with her husband by her side — another first for the royal family.

In addition to the envelope carrying, the bulletin and the email blast — Kate’s birth will reach the foremost corners of the globe faster than ever before. Here’s just how it’ll happen:

Press Release

Let’s call it a modern-day email blast, shall we? Because that’s essentially what it is.  The release will give details on the baby’s sex, the time of birth, the gender and if we’re lucky, baby’s name. It will include the details on baby’s arrival that the public will be pining for and might give us some insight on just how the Duchess’ delivery went down. This seems to be the most likely option for the royal family, since this is how it’s been done in the past and since it doesn’t look like the press release will ever become dated, the royals will likely include a press release with every royal delivery. Le sigh.

Social Media

The Queen B and Diana didn’t have to worry about scheduling out tweets, Facebook posts and Vine alerts with each of their pregnancies. Today, all of the those options are available. The British Monarchy has a twitter (@BritishMonarchy) that will most likely be updated immediately after the birth announcement’s been made. Never before has a royal had to worry about a tweet marking the delivery of their baby. But the monarchy isn’t the only royal with a Twitter: Clarence House also has a Twitter account that will reveal the birth. Lest we not forget the millions of parody accounts and fan pages on Facebook that are dedicated to covering every ounce of royal news that we hear.

The Internet

The Internet in general will give way to Kate’s birth news. Once the Duchess’ due date draws nearer and nearer, writers and reporters will be suctioned to their keyboards waiting to break the news. It’s highly unlikely that the Interwebs will wait for the envelope to make it from the hospital to Kensington Palace and then over to Buckingham Palace before the Internet catches wind of it. The royals also have a website they update and maintain and it’s loaded with royal news. This type of resource wasn’t as desirable when Diana have birth to William and Harry.

Funky 21st Century Ways to Announce:

Here’s something I bet even the Queen never thought she’d see! The royals could completely outsmart us all and shock the globe by making the Duchess’ birth announcement entirely digital, personalized and fun. By sending out out a e-Card press release, the Royals would successfully make every nation part of the royal circle. Here are some ways they could do it to really jazz things up:

Instead of just a dated bulletin, why not perk things up a bit with this stork? No one would be expecting it — and plus, it’s fun!

Somewhere in Britain, there is a bakery that’s thanking us for coming up with this idea. What better way to celebrate a baby prince or princess than with a sweet treat all of Trafalgar Square can enjoy?

The Brits are known for their love of drink — so why not throw a chewable, tasty and themed cigar into the mix? We vote yes!

A Facebook digital album. The Royal Gang is on Facebook, y’all — and this is how they should commemorate baby’s arrival. It could include photos of Kate as a wee little baby, William’s birth and other photos of royal family members. It could even be filled with well-wishes from fans, royal family members and candid photos taken throughout Kate’s delivery. They invited the public to their wedding — why skip baby’s delivery, too?

Do you think the royal family will add any fun elements to the royal birth announcement?

Plus, more from The Bump:

6 Royal Nursery Ideas Fit for Life in the Palace

What Will William and Kate’s Baby Look Like?

12 Unique Birth Announcement Ideas

A few weeks ago, we invited our NYC Bumpies to come hang out with us, our amazing co-host Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow, and a dozen of our favorite pregnancy vendors for an evening of pampering, fun and (most importantly!) free stuff. While our mamas-to-be snacked on mini cupcakes, veggies and dip and sipped on cool, refreshing pregnancy-approved drinks, they also had the chance to check out some of the most innovative, amazing and bump-safe products on the market.

There were massages, make-up tutorials and more! Huge, huge, huge thanks to our sponsors because we couldn’t have done it without you! Special thanks to: Aden+Anais, Belli Skincare, BioCorneum, Boots Beauty, Capri Clear, CV Skin Labs, Kelo-cote, La Voila Beauty, Mama Mio, Nine Naturals, SkinFoto, Vitacare and Enaltus.

We also wanted to say a special thank-you to our food and beverage providers for making sure our VIP guests were well fed and hydrated all night long: Balance, Franchia Cafe, Lee & Marie’s Cakery, Organic Avenue, Runa and Tumeric!

Check out a few of our most stylish highlights from the event (and tell us if you spot yourself!):

What’s your favorite way to unwind when you’re pregnant?

According to the results of a new study put together by a team of Dutch researchers, women with low risk pregnancies who choose to give birth at home have a lower risk of suffering from severe complications when compared to women who planned a hospital birth.

The study, performed in the Netherlands (which has the highest percentage of home births assisted by a primary care midwife), tested whether low risk women at the onset of labor with a planned home birth had a higher rate of rare but severe outcomes (known as SAMM — severe acute maternal morbidity) than those with planned hospital births. Researchers defined SAMM as: admission to an intensive care unit, uterine rupture, eclampsia major obstetric hemorrhage, postpartum hemorrhage and manual removal of the placenta. Using data collected from a national study on maternal morbidity and the national birth registry data taken from August 2004 to 2006, researchers identified over 146,000 low risk women in primary care at the onset of labor.

Of the 146,000 women in the study, 92,333 women had a planned home birth and 54,419 had opted for a planned hospital birth. For women giving birth to their first baby, the rate of severe outcomes for a planned home birth was 2.3 per 1,000, compared to 3.1 per 1,000 for a planned hospital birth. The rate of postpartum hemorrhage was 43.1 for ever 1,000 women compared to 43.3 for every 1,000 women giving birth in a hospital. Women who had already given birth and were giving birth to another child, the rate of severe outcomes for a planned home birth was 1 per 1,000 compared to 2.3 per 1,000 for planned hospital births. The rate of postpartum hemorrhage was 19.6 for every 1,000 women and 37.6 for every 1,000 women giving birth in a hospital.

Researchers involved in the study found that adverse outcomes were less common among planned home births than among planned hospital births — but the differences were only statistically significant for women who had previously given birth. Despite their findings, researchers still emphasize that these conclusions may only apply to regions where midwives are well-trained, in order to assist women at home births and where facilities for transfer of care and transportation in case of an emergency was adequate. Also, researchers noted that the fact that they did not find higher rates of severe complications among planned home births “should not lead to complacency” and that “every avoidable adverse maternal outcome is one too many.”

The heated discussion of the relative safety of a planned home birth lives on and studies continue to be too small to compare severe maternal complications between planned home and planned hospital birth among low risk women. Researchers, at the end of their study, concluded that, “Low risk women in primary care with planned home birth at the onset of labour had a lower rate of severe acute maternal morbidity, postpartum haemorrhage and manual removal of placenta than those with planned hospital birth. These differences were statistically significant for parous women.”

In a policy statement on Planned Home Births, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated, “The AAP concurs with the recent statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) that the safest setting for a child’s birth is a hospital or birthing center, but recognizes that women and their families may desire a home birth for a variety of reasons. Pediatricians should advise parents who are planning a home birth that AAP and ACOG recommend only midwives who are certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board. There should be at least one person present at the delivery whose primary responsibility is the care of the newborn infant and who has the appropriate training, skills and equipment to perform a full resuscitation of the infant. All medical equipment, and the telephone, should be tested before the delivery, and the weather should be monitored. A previous arrangement needs to be made with a medical facility to ensure a safe and timely transport in the event of an emergency.”

Do you think it’s safer to give birth at home?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Should I Plan a Home Birth?

Alternative Birth Methods

10+ Things No One Tells You About Labor

Feeling like you deserve the royal treatment, mama? We do, too!

We’ve been on Kate Middleton pregnancy watch since the moment the two were married (can you believe it’s been two years already?!), stood by with bated breath as they traveled down their very royal road to their very royal pregnancy and cheered for joy at Kate Middleton’s knockout royal maternity wardrobe — but now it’s time we gave ourselves a little pat on the royal back, wouldn’t you say? That’s why we’re partnering with People.com to give one very lucky mama the chance to take home this amazing Kate Middleton-inspired giveaway. When all is said and done, you’ll feel like the Duchess of Cambridge from head to toe (and baby will, too!).

Want details on exactly what you’ll take home? Get ready…

You and your little prince (or princess!) will win:

• the Bellini Stella Collection Crib and Dresser (valued at $2,640!)
• the Serena & Lily Bedding Set in Damask and Mocha print (valued at $239)
• the gorgeous Bloom Fresco Chrome High Chair (valued at $550)
• Ergo Bundle of Joy Carrier (valued at $163),
• Isabel Oliver Maternity gift card (valued at $250)
• the Magnificent Baby Clothing “An Heir is Born” Collection (valued at $122.85)
• the awesome Bugaboo Cameleon3 Stroller (valued at $998.95)

Yep, you read that correctly. We’re giving one mom-to-be all seven of those prizes, valued at nearly $5,000! We’re pretty sure the Duchess herself will be throwing her name into the ring for a chance to win. We love these products for their royal and regal look, their durability and their over-the-top wow factor. If you can’t be Kate, might as well be like her, right?!

Enter to win the Royal Baby Sweepstakes now and you could be welcoming baby into your very own Buckingham Palace in no time!

If you’re planning to breastfeed we highly recommend you invest in a good quality breast pump — and we love the Medela Pump In Style (especially if you’re going to be a working mama)! It’s portable, powerful and discrete for your trips to and from work. It also comes with a freezer bag complete with storage bottles that’s perfect for tucking away in the office fridge — a big plus for keeping your breast milk fresh. Watch this video to see more on why this pump is a must-have!

Register for the Medela Pump in Style here, or buy it here.

What is your favorite breast pump?

Plus, more from the Bump:

Top 7 Breast Pumps

Tips for Pumping at Work

Worst Breastfeeding Advice Ever!

Father’s Day is just a hop, skip and a jump away and it’s time to celebrate the dudes’ who’ve made it possible for us to become mothers. Though we love them, sometimes hate them and always wish they’d take a more active interest in doing the laundry (and the dishes), we’ve got to admit: There’s nothing quite like a daddy. For our daughters, daddy is a girl’s first (and longest!) love and for our sons, dad is the first guy who teaches them how to throw a football, how to suck down a hot dog at a baseball game and to make it look like you cleaned you room without ever really trying.

Daddies are defenders of the night, feared by all monsters under the bed and in the closet, respectively. And since we’re all about celebrating dads — we thought we’d take a look back on the journey that got our beloved father’s to where they are today. So pull up a chair, perhaps a tissue or two and a snack, because we’re traveling back in time. Here’s to fatherhood, every step of the way:

1. You have “The Talk” and decide to try for a baby!

2. You come home to a POSITIVE pregnancy test.

Seriously, dude — it’s POSITIVE. As in, you’re going to be a DADDY.

3. You want to tell EVERYONE, but you try to play it off really cool.

4. You realize — babies cost money.

5. You go to Babies ‘R Us for the first time.

6. You try to set up the stroller.

7. And the crib.

8. And that weird cradley thing that baby’s apparently supposed to sleep in.

9. Your wife tells you to start planning your Dadchelor Party.

10. You take a birth class with your wife.

11. You think you can balance this whole work-life-newborn baby thing.

You think you’ll be all:

But really, you’ll be more like this:

12. You find out baby’s gender — and it’s exactly what you guessed!

13. The doctor suggests you watch a Birth Video… and OH MY GOD THAT’S WHAT REALLY HAPPENS?!!?!?!?!!?!

14. You hear baby’s heartbeat — for the first time.

15. You feel baby kick.

16. You’re ready to change your first diaper.

17. You think having a newborn will be easy peasy.

But you forgot there’s a lot of this:

And this:

But mostly, this:

18. SURPRISE! It’s go time, daddy! Your wife is in labor.

19. The moment you first meet your baby, you realize there’s nothing more beautiful than the life you’ve created.

20. And how much you’re going to love this new job as Daddy.

Happy Father’s Day, dads! We love you!

Pregnancy is a beautiful nine-month whirlwind adventure that, in the end, will completely change everything. But while baby’s busy cooking in mom’s belly, there can come a point where daddy-to-be feels a little left out. It’s not that we don’t want him to be part of the adventure every step of the way, it’s just that, quite frankly, it’s pretty tough to put into words all the amazing, unbelievable and brand new things happening inside your belly for a dude.

But now, there’s an answer for even that. Huggies has created the “Pregnancy Belt” as a way for dad’s to feel baby’s kick, in real time, as it’s happening. The belts come in both his and hers waistbands — one to fit mom and her growing tummy and one to fit dad. Whenever baby kicks in mama’s belly, feedback sensors send the sensation on over to daddy in the exact spot that baby kicks. Filmed in Spanish, the subtitles help reveal just how taken back dad is with the sensation of his little guy (or girl) moving around.

It’s a total tearjerker, so seriously: Prepare to melt. In honor of dads, moms and baby-to-be, check out these adorable dudes feeling baby’s movements in the own bodies, for the first time:

How amazing is this? Go, dads!

Plus, more from The Bump:

The Most Beautiful Baby and Dad Photos Ever

“Holy Crap — I’m a Dad!”

How Big Is Baby? Daddy-to-Be Edition

We’ve been hitting up moms who are entrepreneurs and businesswomen and finding out what it’s like for them to start and run a company. Now that we’re gearing up for Father’s Day, we thought why not get the behind-the-scenes scoop from a dad who’s similarly juggling career and family? And what better person to talk to than Neil Grimmer, whose company, Plum Organics was — and still  is – inspired by his two daughters.

The Bump: What inspired you start Plum Organics?

Neil Grimmer: I was a designer before this. Back in early 2000′s, I also was an Iron Man triathlete and distance runner, and I was making these crazy concoctions for myself so I could do these races. Everyone at work knew this, so one of the assignments I was given was to work with a food company that wanted to realize the future of food. What we came up with was that is was about healthy, more sustainable foods and that it was about healthy, sustainable businesses. It was a unique opportunity to not only create better food, but also a better company. Life changed, and I went from being a designer to being a dad.

When my kids were 1 and 3, my wife and I were packing healthy lunch boxes for my eldest, Paxton, in the morning, and making my youngest, Izzy, squash at 10:00 at night because we were working parents. We thought, there has got to be a better way to offer healthy food to our little ones. We had this idea that active parents needed to find ways not to compromise their values, even if they had crazy, hectic lifestyles. That’s where the food pouch came in. We needed to find packaging that would let us bring kids the healthiest food we could find. It had to be super convenient and as flexible as young parents needed it to be.

TB: So you were the first baby food company to use food pouches?

NG: Yes. That innovation has transformed the category. There wasn’t a whole lot of innovation happening, and baby food companies weren’t engaging young, modern parents who had very busy lives. So the innovation hit at right time. I think we were successful because we were a young, smart brand. We didn’t take it too seriously and knew all the follies of being parent. We wanted to be a brand for those young parents because we are our core consumer, in a way. Bringing that packing to the market meant we could make a product with Greek yogurt and quinoa, that’s jam-packed full of health and nutrition that never really had been a part of that category before.

TB: What are your top three pieces of advice for people looking to start their own business?

NG: Make it personal. There are some great brands that I admire, and they all started with very personal connections to what they were doing. For me, it was being inspired by my two daughters and, quite frankly, by the challenge of being a young modern, parent. Everyone in our company has some connection to it, whether they’re parents themselves or they care about healthy eating.

Define the purpose of your business around a mission. How will you change the lives of who you serve? We talked about being advocates for tiny taste buds. Make sure everyone in your business knows that mission.

Take the leap. It can be really scary experience to start a company. There are often super talented people interested in starting companies, but they’re already well employed and have income that’s hard to step away from. You have to step out of that comfort zone to start a business and take a risk. If you get the first two things right — making it personal and having a mission — that will give you the confidence to take the leap.

TB: What was your biggest challenge in starting the company?

NG: In the early days, the tough part was getting retailers to embrace the pouch. They already had their shelves stocked with jars, and jarred baby food companies were telling them it was a bad idea. We had to sell the vision. After that, when they started seeing sales and seeing that the consumer was interested, then it was easier. Later, it was the scaling of the business. We’ve had rapid growth in the past six years. We’ve had to match that with the size of the team and the production capacity, and that has been a challenge. Now we have 90 employees and three offices — Bay Area, New York and outside of London.

TB: What has been your biggest joy?

NG: For me personally, bringing home a product that just launched and having my girls freak out about it is the best thing out there. Or if they say, “Hey, my friends want some fruit Shredz. Can you hook us up?” As a dad, I think we want to not only raise great kids but to also please our kids, and I get a ton of pleasure out of that.

TB: Looking back, is there anything you’d do differently?

NG: There have been tons of lessons learned. It’s important for young companies to be really nimble and flexible. As a designer, I worked with rapid prototyping. That meant getting an idea out there quickly by mocking it up with duct tape and hot glue to look at, learn from and iterate on. I’ve used that concept to help build a business. Last year, we launched 45 products. Some worked better than others. You have to make sure you always have a foot forward and you’re always flexible to get something off the table if it doesn’t work out, and to try the next thing.

TB: Would you say that being a father make you a better businessman?

NG: I would! We talk about this company being inspired by love. We have empathy at the core of what we do. I’m a huge advocate of that being our way of doing business. We’re about hugging it out, as opposed to fighting it out. We take a personal approach to everything we do in business.

TB: Plum is doing some exciting things to help children in need. Tell us about them!

NG: We started our company to change the way kids eat in America. Our goal was to bring them the best food from their first bite. Once we became successful and gained a toehold in getting healthier foods to kids across the country, we became increasingly aware that there were 16 million kids we were not servicing. 1 in 5 kids in the US go hungry, even though it’s known as the land of plenty. I think it’s a travesty. We saw a pre-screening of A Place At the Table and were inspired to do something about that issue. We wanted to figure out what we could do to really solve the problem. At the end of the day, we designed The Super Smoothie, a product with the nutritional content to help hungry kids thrive to their full potential. We developed it with Dr. Alan Greene and it has spinach, white beans, carrots and chia. The product was designed to be donated, and along with our partners, we’ve donated a half million this year to be given out to little ones in need.

We believe that when little ones are full of the right nutrients, they have the potential to affect the world. I think the next phase of this is to figure out how to get consumers to really care about this issue and get them involved. We’d like to create a broader network to get this thing to scale bigger.

Plus, more from The Bump:

5 Amazing Inspiring Dads

Best (and Worst) Foods for Baby

More Inspiring Entrepreneur Stories

Looks like it’s going to be something borrowed and something blue for Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez!

The parents-to-be confirmed that they are planning to welcome a baby boy this fall. Speaking with reporters at opening night of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival where he’s serving as this year’s honorary president, Olivier spilled the beans by admitting that his son “will be an American” but he will stay a Frenchmen.

Berry, who’s mama to adorable daughter, Nahla, from a previous relationship with Gabriel Aubry, admitted that her current pregnancy is the “biggest surprise” of her life. She told CNN, “Thought I was kind of past the point where this could be a reality for me. So it’s been a big surprise and the most wonderful.” Shortly after her exciting baby-on-board announcement, Berry was hit with a bit of of publicity for become a mom, again, at age 46. The star, however, has no fears when it comes to her parenting skill set. She said, “I’m a much better mother at 46 or 41, when I had her, than if I were 21 or 25. I was just a little baby, just trying to figure it out, trying to figure out who I was, let alone have the responsibility of trying to help another little soul develop and grow. I’m so glad I waited.” She’s right — family planning is a personal, intimate decision. If Halle was pregnant at 16 or 46, who cares? It’s her decision.

So far, Halle’s looked happy, healthy and absolutely radiant throughout her pregnancy. Here’s to the rest of the second and third trimesters! Congrats to mama, daddy-to-be and Nahla — can’t wait to see her as a big sister!

What do you think Halle should name her son?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Fun Ways to Announce Your Pregnancy

How to Find Out Baby’s Gender?

Boy? Girl? What Are the Chances Baby’s Gender Could Be Wrong?