Why natural??

When I gave birth to Grant I was younger and a lot less educated on what I wanted. I knew that I wanted to have a natural childbirth, but I didnt put in the time I should have to do all the research on how to successfully acheive everything I wanted out of this huge experience. This time I have done a lot more serearch (maybe to the point of obsession) and I feel like Jared and I are both ready to acheive the birthing experience we want for our second son.
Some may ask "WHY??" Why do I want a natural childbirth when I know it could be so much easier and less painful? Well, let me just start by saying that a natural birth to me doesnt mean just not using pain meds. A natural childbirth is just like it sounds "completely NATURAL" I dont want my labor to be augmented in anyway. I dont any type of pain killer. I dont want my waters broken. I want to allow my body to do what God created it to do. The body naturally knows what to do and when to do it. And the answer to that question of WHY? Because this is how I feel God meant it to be. I feel that this is absolutely what is best for me and my baby. And I know that I am strong enough to do it.
I am grateful that we live in the time we live in and we have many medical advances to use to our advantage, if absolutely necessary. But I will not use those things until Jared and I both feel it is absolutely necessary. I just hope that none of that will be necessary.
Because of the way I want my birthing experiance to go, I have thought long and hard about who I want to be at my side (or at my feet) while I am laboring and when Grayson enters this world. I was lucky enough to be at the birth of my nephew Bentley, and that was an amazing experience that I will hold dear for the rest of my life. So I thought to myself, do I want to give someone else the chance to experience that amazing miracle of my son being born. And the answer I came up with is a little selfish. I want this to be a very special experience and I want it to be very intimate and controlled. I dont want a lot of people watching me or gawking over Grayson when he first comes out. So I decided that the only people I want there with me are my husband and my mom. I want the doctor to imediately put Grayson up on my chest and I want the room to be quiet so that we can start our bonding. I want someone to wait just outside the door with Grant and to bring him in as soon as everything is covered up so that he can be a part of this family bonding experience.
I am well aware that this experience may not go exactly as I want it to. And I know that the nature of laboring and birthing is so unpredictable, but I am determined to make it the best experience possible for my little family.

Grayson Blake

Well I guess the cat's out of the bag, not that it was a secret, because we have told many people what we plan to name this sweet baby boy! As you can see the ultrasound tech felt it necessary to put his name on a bunch of these pictures, but I had to post them anyway! Well here is the story behind the name... As most of you know I was absolutely convinced that he was going to be a she, and in that case her name would have been Gracee Rose. Well when we found out that he was a he we obviously had to come up with a new name, so for a little while Jared and I would throw names out and neither of us could ever agree. I didnt like his names and he didnt like mine, so we just kept thinking, we had time. I really dont remember who it was for sure but I think it was Grant, one day threw out the name Grayson. Jared and I both liked it! I really liked that it is close to Gracee. So we started calling him Grayson, not sure that his name would really end up being Grayson, but it was something to call him until we came up with something else we might like better. Jared and I continued to talk about other names and everytime we did Grant would get mad at us and tell us he already had a name. So it started to really stick. We have all come to love the name and Grant is so happy that it starts with the same letters as his own name. So Grayson it is!

As some of you also know, Jared's cousin Cory passed away a little over 2 years ago. Jared grew up really close with Cory and his brothers and thinks of them as his own brothers. Jared thinks about and talks about Cory all the time, and misses him like crazy. Cory was an amazing man and such an awesome example of what a man and a husband and a daddy should be. I came to trully love Cory and the amazing influence he was on Jared. Cory's middle name was Blake and I am so honored to give my son the same middle name. One day Jared came to me and said "I thought of the perfect middle name for our baby boy". When I asked him what it was he was a little hesitant in telling me, thinking that for some reason I might not like the idea. But I love it! Like I said Cory was an amazing man and if my son grows up to be anything like him then I will be a proud mama! 

So that is how he got his name! And here are some pretty cool pictures of the handsome little man! 

He always has his hands up to his face! ALWAYS!

Here he is putting his thumb in his mouth!

Look at that little nose

Look how big his hand is and he doesnt even have his fingers stretched out. OMG

Here he's got his thumb in front of his lips.

30 weeks and more

I often wonder will baby boy look like his big brother??

6 mo.

7mo.

8 mo.

year and a half

9 mo.

9 mo. Supreme King

OK so I had a doctors appointment last week and when the doc measured my uterus, like he does every week, it was measuring large again. It just keeps growing! This time doc was a little concerned, because it is growing like crazy. Last month I was measuring I think 5cm larger than normal and this month it was 7cm. So he sent me in for yet another ultrasound! I was actually pretty excited because it has been awhile and I got a bit spoiled in the beginning of the pregnancy. Anyhow, baby boy looks GREAT! His heart and brain and all other body parts are developing wonderfully! He is just really big. Last week at 29 weeks he should have been weighing about 2 1/2 lb. but he weighed in at almost 3 1/2 lb. When you are talking such small amounts and considering the fact that he still has 10 weeks to bake, that is pretty big. Oh and he has got a HUGE head! Just like his daddy and brother!

When I went to the doc I did my routine glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. The results came back elevated, so I had to go in for the 3 hour test, which was really not fun. So all week I worried that I had GD because it can be a possible reason that the baby would be growing so big. I did a bunch of research and found out a lot about it. I changed my diet completely and was really watching and counting every carb I ate. Turns out that I dont have GD, but I am still being careful and minding everything that goes in my mouth.
So if I dont have GD, then why the *%#$ is my baby so big? Well when I was pregnant with Grant he started measuring big at about this same time and he was born three weeks earlier than his due date. At the time we thought that my very incompetent doc just screwed up the date (which was changed three different times throughout that pregnancy) But I have a new doc now that I love and trust, not to mention this baby was very precisely calculated and timed. I know exactly the day this baby was conceived, so I am pretty sure his due date is correct. I guess maybe I just have big babies, although Grant was only 7lb. 15oz. when he was born. Which is on the larger side but not gigantic. To be honest I am hoping that this baby boy comes a bit early like his brother did! That would be really nice! Just not too early!

July 5th

July fifth just happens to be my birthday and it was great this year that it happen to be a national holiday, because everyone had the day off. Unfortunately, with Grandma's passing, I spent the afternoon writing her obituary. Mom and BJ helped too! And then the party started.

Grant helped Maama with my flag cake!

I think they did a great job!

We had all my favorites. Tequila lime chicken, Maccaroni salad, fruit, and of course flag cake! Papa BBQed the chicken and Maama did the rest, as usual! It was so delicious!

My hubby and my brother!

Mom and dad always know how to make me feel special, even if we are all a little down about Grandma. It means so much to me that they would take the time to do all this for me on my birthday when I know that things were already overwhelming enough. They are the most amazing parents and I love them both soo much!

July 4th

On the fourth this year we went to Aunt Cassie's for a BBQ and some fireworks! It was a lot of fun!

Here is my cute little man! Gosh I love him so much!

Grandma, Bentley, and Chelsea getting ready to watch some fireworks!

Grant's favorite part was the snakes. He loved how they would creep out of the ground. It was funny!

We had delicious root beer floats for desert. I asked Jared to hold mine for a minute and this is what I turned around to find him doing! Crazy guy!

Everybody enjoying desert and fireworks!

Grant loved the fireworks this year, unlike last year. Last year he was still a little affraid of them!

Bentley was so tired, but there was way too much going on to just go to sleep.

My crazy boys!

Me and both of my babies. (one is hiding under my sweatshirt)

I know this post is late, but thank you so much to Cassie and Jared for an awesome night! We had tons of fun and made some great memories!! Love you!

Can breastmilk kill cancer??

I found this article http://www.mamasandbabies.blogspot.com/. Very interesting, and if really works wouldnt that be amazing! I would be first in line to donate my breastmilk to such a worthy cause!

"Swedish researchers have discovered that a substance found in human breast milk has the ability to kill cancer cells, according to a study published in the PLoS One Journal.

"The substance known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells), was discovered years ago, but has just recently been tested on humans.
"In the trial conducted at Lund University in Sweden, patients suffering from bladder cancer were treated with HAMLET. After each treatment, the patients excreted dead cancer cells in their urine, healthy cells remaining intact.
"Previous laboratory experiments showed that HAMLET has the ability to kill 40 different types of cancer cells, but this was the first test conducted on humans. The next step will be to test the substance on skin cancer and brain tumors.
"The trial breakthrough increases the hopes that HAMLET will be developed into a cancer treatment medication in the future."

July 3

On Saturday the 3rd, we took Grant to the festivities in Sandy! It was a lot of fun too!

Grant has never been to a parade. Sad I know! So we stayed for the parade and he loved it. They handed out flags and he kept telling us, "I'm proud of my country" It was so cute.

When it got dark Daddy bought him a light up sword and he played with uncle BJ until the fireworks started. We layed on the blanket together and watched the fireworks. Perfect ending to a perfect day!!!

July 2

On Friday July 2nd we took Grant to the Riverton Carnival. It was hot but it was a lot of fun! We all started getting hungry and we didnt want to eat there so we went to Goodwood and then went back to the carnival for some more fun! On the way home we went to get snowcones. It was a fun night!

28 weeks

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

With the passing of my grandma and the planning of a funeral, this week has been a little stressful. I am trying to enjoy the "moments" that I have been given with my family this week. Moments I know I will always be grateful for. Monday was my birthday and my mom and I spent the afternoon writing grandma's obituary. Then we had a delicious BBQ and I got a little spoiled. Tuesday night Jared and I started our "natural childbirth class" which was great. I cant wait until next week. Baby boy is very active right now, which I am loving. 12 weeks or less and he will be in our arms! I can not wait!!!

My Grandma

I remember when I was young, sleeping over at Grandma's house with all of my girl cousins that I was close in age with. We would all camp out on the floor in the living room and watch movies all night, giggling and munching on movie snacks. The four of us had some fun sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's. Man, there are so many great memories I have of Grandma! When I was young, Grandma made porcelain dolls, amazing beautiful porcelain dolls! She would enter them in the state fair and she would take me to the fair to watch the judging. I always thought it was so neat when Grandma won first place. She made me a cabbage patch doll with a porcelain face, it had pretty green eyes and long curly brown hair just like me. I loved that doll and never played with her cause I wanted her to stay nice. My Grandma has also always loved elephants! That is where I got my love for elephants. I love to collect them and they always remind me of her. My Grandma always had a great sense of humor, she could always make me laugh. When I was about 14 she took me and my cousin Jen to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. We had so much fun! I was Grandma's first grandchild to get married and I also gave her her first great-grandchild. She absolutely adored my little man and it always made me so happy to know that!

About a year ago Grandma was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We wre all very upset by this. Over the past year Grandma went through many different treatments and it was hard on her and the family. Cancer is so horrible. Not long ago she was able to go to Europe with her sister and daughter and some other family. Though she was sick she did have a lot of fun. It seems like after she got home it was all downhill from there. Some people live with cancer for many many years and sometimes the cancer takes over so quickly it leaves your head spinning. They found a tumor that measured 22cm and was full of cancer. It soon filled her abdomen and took over completely. In the past couple weeks I was able to spend some quality time with Grandma and I am so grateful for those moments I had, that I will remember forever. Grandma peacefully passed away in her sleep early this morning. The past week or so she has been in so much pain and has really been suffering. I am so sad to see her go, but I am also so glad that she is no longer in pain and she is happy and healed. I would like to think that she is in my Grandpa's arms again, where she should be! And maybe she is cuddling my sweet baby boy for me before he joins us here. This is hard and I have been crying a lot. It is really hard to see my mom lose her mom. My mom is so strong and such a great example to me.

I love you Grandma! I will miss you more than you will know. Thank you for all the great memories and thank you for just being the amazing woman you were!
-- Until we meet again! XOXO