RECAP SINCE JULY 2014 (or at least the things I can remember):
- Working like a wild chicken
- Took a new position with more responsibility and not enough hours in the day to finish everything
- Stayed late 90% of the time
- Still doing hair after work, making for long days coming home close to 11pm and short nights returning to work at 7-8am
- Not a free minute to pick my nose or have a thought in my head
- Got my hook and screw out of my gums! That was interesting
- Tyson and I FINALLY bought a house!! Our very own private place to live (hard work pays off)
- Renovated the house to our likings and moved in 3 months later to what felt like a brand new home due to the changes. I feel so spoiled and could not be happier with our home!
- We got a new puppy! We have one dog, Teeka, who is almost 7 and we adore her. She is our child. Teeka is a Schipperkee mix and new pup is a Pomeranian. I am obsessed with her
- We decided to build a salon in our basement
- I started working part time- the stress of overworking myself was getting to me and I really wanted to get the salon going in the basement so I could spend more time doing what I love- hair!
- Salon is currently on hold (more on that later)
- Dr A formulated a plan to wean off meds!!!!!! I have LONGED for this day for over 2 years!!
- Due to getting sick and not taking my meds, I weaned off a little faster and was done with meds a little sooner than planned. The result........
WE'RE FINALLY PREGNANT!!!!!!
This news is the most amazing news I've ever had!! I took 5 pregnancy tests because I couldn't believe it. I waited 5 days to tell Tyson, because father's day was right around the corner and well, duh, I just had to tell him on father's day. He couldn't believe I could hold it from him that long. This pregnancy has been the easiest, most fun and empowering, and most enjoyable thing I have ever gone through. I am so blessed with the ability to be able to become pregnant and grow a healthy baby, but also to have an amazing pregnancy. Literally. No morning sickness. No cravings. In fact, up until my last month, I didn't even want or care for sweets. No smells or things that make me sick or never want to eat/touch again. It's literally been normal life with a growing belly. Smooth sailing. I LOVE being pregnant! I love my pregnant body. I don't even care that my face broke out like crazy and was completely uncontrollable for awhile, because I'VE GOT A BABY IN MY BELLY!!
I've loved learning and educating myself on all things pregnancy, birth, baby, breastfeeding, etc. Knowledge is key! Between learning so much and taking my Hypnobabies classes, I am so ready and excited to BIRTH my baby. Not just meet my baby and to finally have a baby, but the actual birth process. It used to scare me to death! It was my number one fear. And that was going through a hospital with an epidural to numb everything. Now I am completely taking the other route. I am planning a natural, unmedicated water birth. My coping mechanism is hypnosis, hence, the 'Hypnobabies' method I mentioned above. I have REALLY enjoyed my hypnobabies classes. It is the perfect choice for me! I am a firm believer in 'mind over matter' so putting myself in a state of hypnosis works for me. It's definitely not for everyone. However, hypnosis is more common than you think. We have all been in a state of hypnosis many times in our lives. For example: You know when you are driving somewhere, you reach your destination and all of a sudden realize you didn't "see" the road on your way there? You think, I do not remember the drive, the turns, did I run any reds or stop signs? You were so deep in thought, your mind was completely somewhere else, yet you were still present enough to reach your destination safely.. Ta Da! Hypnosis. Hypnosis is NOT what you see on TV and at comedy shows where people volunteer to come up on stage and are 'controlled' by someone else. Definitely not the same type of hypnotic reaction. Hynobabies is a method that teaches you to relax into a state of calm hypnosis on your own. You are in control and you come out of your hypnosis whenever you please. You are able to have your eyes open, walk around to change positions during labor, talk, snack/drink, whatever you need to do to stay calm, relaxed and comfortable during your birthing time. There are scripts that I practice every day to train my mind. It's so calming and relaxing, it even relaxes my dogs to sleep. No joke :)
So about the babe..
We decided not to find out the gender. We were undecided for a bit, but thought the idea of not finding out sounded fun. A few days before the 20 week ultra sound, Ty was anxious and really wanted to find out the sex. So we decided we'd find out and do a gender reveal party. Baby had other plans. Babe's legs were closed together with the umbilical chord running between them the entire hour of our appointment. We tried everything to get baby to move with no luck. So our decision was final. We decided not to find out. The news was killing our family and some of them said they would pay for us to get another ultra sound just to find out. Some thought we were lying and had found out but we're keeping it a secret. Nope. We really want it to be a surprise!
Again, I'm getting WAY behind on my blog posts as life continues without drs controlling it. So I just forget to update. And let me tell you, pregnancy brain is REAL people. I totally thought it was a lame excuse.. until now. I always thought "how can growing a baby in your STOMACH(uterus), affect your BRAIN?!" Ooh but it does! I don't know how or why and can't explain it to you, but growing a human in your body is a SERIOUS ORDEAL. The body is on over-drive, over-stimulation, over-compensating, over-working in all manners, that I can see how the brain just slows down and forgets things. I was quite surprised at how many things I completely forgot. I literally forgot, for a moment, who one of my coworkers was, who I worked with for over a year and a half! And he wasn't just a coworker who was 'there'.. we interacted and joked around daily. Whoops.
So my point was that this post was supposed to be posted quite some time ago. More specifically about a year ago. Double whoops.
On that note, baby is a GIRL!!! And she just turned one! ONE! She is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, the greatest, funnest, cutest, best and most amazing baby!! There are no words to describe how WONDERFUL (and hard) being a mom is. It is by far the greatest thing I have ever done in my life!!! I am loving every minute of being her mom. We named her Saeda. Pronounced "say-duh". I'll post pics of her below, but if you're interested in following my life and what it's like with no more drs and a baby, you can look me up on Instagram (@lanaleemehl) or Facebook (Lana Lee Mehlhoff). With that being said, March of this year, 2017, marked FOUR YEARS post-op!! Holy moly. And just a few months ago, I visited Dr Arnett's office for the LAST TIME! Back in January, January 17th to be exact, I graduated to real life! I was told everything looks great and I do not need to make another appointment. FINALLY. I'M FREEE!!! My life is my own again.. no. Lie. My life belongs to my baby girl. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
We decided not to find out the gender. We were undecided for a bit, but thought the idea of not finding out sounded fun. A few days before the 20 week ultra sound, Ty was anxious and really wanted to find out the sex. So we decided we'd find out and do a gender reveal party. Baby had other plans. Babe's legs were closed together with the umbilical chord running between them the entire hour of our appointment. We tried everything to get baby to move with no luck. So our decision was final. We decided not to find out. The news was killing our family and some of them said they would pay for us to get another ultra sound just to find out. Some thought we were lying and had found out but we're keeping it a secret. Nope. We really want it to be a surprise!
Again, I'm getting WAY behind on my blog posts as life continues without drs controlling it. So I just forget to update. And let me tell you, pregnancy brain is REAL people. I totally thought it was a lame excuse.. until now. I always thought "how can growing a baby in your STOMACH(uterus), affect your BRAIN?!" Ooh but it does! I don't know how or why and can't explain it to you, but growing a human in your body is a SERIOUS ORDEAL. The body is on over-drive, over-stimulation, over-compensating, over-working in all manners, that I can see how the brain just slows down and forgets things. I was quite surprised at how many things I completely forgot. I literally forgot, for a moment, who one of my coworkers was, who I worked with for over a year and a half! And he wasn't just a coworker who was 'there'.. we interacted and joked around daily. Whoops.
So my point was that this post was supposed to be posted quite some time ago. More specifically about a year ago. Double whoops.
On that note, baby is a GIRL!!! And she just turned one! ONE! She is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, the greatest, funnest, cutest, best and most amazing baby!! There are no words to describe how WONDERFUL (and hard) being a mom is. It is by far the greatest thing I have ever done in my life!!! I am loving every minute of being her mom. We named her Saeda. Pronounced "say-duh". I'll post pics of her below, but if you're interested in following my life and what it's like with no more drs and a baby, you can look me up on Instagram (@lanaleemehl) or Facebook (Lana Lee Mehlhoff). With that being said, March of this year, 2017, marked FOUR YEARS post-op!! Holy moly. And just a few months ago, I visited Dr Arnett's office for the LAST TIME! Back in January, January 17th to be exact, I graduated to real life! I was told everything looks great and I do not need to make another appointment. FINALLY. I'M FREEE!!! My life is my own again.. no. Lie. My life belongs to my baby girl. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
