This post is sponsored by CBR®
I am 18 weeks pregnant with baby #2 and SO excited! This pregnancy has been a lot different than Gracie’s. When I was pregnant with Gracie I was OBSESSED with every step of pregnancy. I had 5 different apps that told me the different sizes she was- a pea, a grape, a plum. I read blog posts after blog posts from other moms pregnant with their babies at the same time. I was obsessed LOL. With baby #2, it’s different. I honestly do not have the time or energy to look at those apps.
Don’t get me wrong, I am SO excited for baby #2. WAY EXCITED. I just find myself dreaming about the future, rather than focusing on the day-to-day of the pregnancy. This pregnancy is flying by. I’m more excited about when baby comes, than what fruit baby is. Ya know? Anyways, what I have been thinking about is labor with this baby. With Gracie, I had an all natural labor- which was awesome. I find myself thinking about my birth plan this time around. Will I try it all natural again (I think so!), will baby #2 come faster?! (Gracie came fast!), will I have back pain like I did with Gracie? All these things are what I like to think about.
And one thing that keeps coming up is cord blood banking. When I had Gracie, I only heard about cord blood banking one time- at the doctors. This pregnancy, I’m hearing about it all over the place and it’s really made me sit down and consider it! It’s actually Cord Blood Awareness month so I thought I’d share a bit about what I’m learning in my research!
So what is cord blood banking?
When a baby is born, they have a small amount of blood leftover in their umbilical cord. This blood + tissue contains very powerful stem cells. These stem cells are currently used to transplant medicine to regenerate deathly blood + immune systems. These stem cels can actually be used to help treat 80 known diseases + disorders including various cancers, and blood, immune, and metabolic disorders
It’s like a body’s personal repair kit.
One crazy thing I’ve learned in my research is that while baby’s cord blood cells are a perfect match for baby, it can actually be used to help other member of the family like siblings or parents! That’s super neat.
Every parent wants to make the world a better place for their children and CBR is here to help make that happen. CBR is dedicated to advancing the real life clinical applications of newborn stem cells. CBR’s commitment to parents and their babies is to provide the best service and quality in the collection, processing, and storage of newborn stem cells, so that families are confident entrusting their precious cells to our care. CBR represents a window into the future, through which families can see the amazing potential of these cells to promote healthier lives.
July is Cord Blood Awareness Month + after reading and seeing things about cord blood banking over + over, I am really considering this for baby #2. This is such an important decision, not one to be taken lightly. If you did Cord Blood Banking with your newborn, I’d love to hear about it!
If you are pregnant and want to register online – go with CBR at cordblood.com. A collection kit will be sent to you or in some cases, can be picked up from your doctor’s office.