Halfway There!

Happy 20 weeks to me! In pregnancy timelines, that means I'm officially 4.5 months along even though it looks like 5 months to the layperson. (Okay, it looks like 5 months to me too. I'll never figure this pregnancy timing thing out.) I can't believe how fast it's gone! I mentioned that to Kevin yesterday and his reaction was the total opposite. He can't believe how long it's taking. I think it's because he is getting tired of his drinking partner being AWOL.

And speaking of drinking, I finally got a chance to ask my doctor about alcohol. Specifically how much and how often. She gave me the all clear on a glass of wine 1-2 times per week. Thank god. Not that I've desperately needed a glass yet, but I have a feeling the time is coming. Especially since we're house hunting after work tonight. Yes, house hunting as in looking to buy a new house. You know, because last Saturday we were putting in a pool and pool house at our current house. My, how things change in a week. Turns out, the pool and pool house would run us close to $100K. We can buy a bigger house with a pool in a similar neighborhood for that and let someone else eat the cost of the pool. So we're off! I am really hoping that we find our house soon. I just need to be HOME. I don't care where it is.

CHECKING IN - WEEK 20!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Okay, I forgot to weight myself this morning. Oh darn. At my appointment on Wednesday I was up one pound from the week before so we're running with that.
Next Appointment: July 21 - 3.5 weeks. This one will be for the gestational diabetes testing. They already gave me my bottle of Glucola to drink 1 hour before my appointment. Like I'll remember that 4 weeks from now when the appointment comes. I've got it written in my planner, entered into my phone as an alarm, and on my email calendar to help remind me. I'll still forget.
Maternity clothes? I despise shopping. Even when shopping for regular clothes. That is just not something that I enjoy doing and shopping for maternity clothes is even worse. My goal in life is to one day have a personal shopper to do it all for me. Including shopping for my shoes, because that is even worse than shopping for clothes. Yes, I know I am a minority here. That being said, I did have to hit the mall this week. I realized that one of the reasons that we are going to Michigan over the 4th is for a wedding! Oh goody! That means that I have to find a spandex dress to squeeze into while giving off the appearance of total pregnant hotness. I'm still looking.
Sleep: It's starting to get a little uncomfortable. I'm supposed to be sleeping on my side, which I already do, but I tend to roll more toward my stomach than my belly wants to let me right now. This is only going to get worse I'm sure.
Best moment this week: Finally confirming that we have a boy in there! I can't imagine the total freakout that would have happened if the ultrasound tech had announced it's a girl. Panic? Panic comes to mind.....
Movement: Definitely becoming more consistent. I feel him daily, usually a handful of pops at 4 or 5 different times throughout each day. Last night we drove around looking at houses and were in the car what felt like forever. Let's just say that by the end of the trip, I was pretty sure Bob the Baby wanted out. I can only imagine how much he's going to like the 20 hour car ride to Michigan.
Food cravings: None at the moment.
Planning/Preparations: Well, I guess we have no more excuses as to why we are putting it off the whole baby buying / registering thing. Other than the fact that neither Kevin nor I have any idea what we need. Or don't need for that matter. I'm terrified to even drive by Babies 'R Us. Today I got the phone call that I've been dreading. Kerry called me to find out where we're registering so that she can put it on my shower invites and get them sent out. Um.....um.....um (I wasn't meditating on the concept, I was trying to figure out what to tell her to get her off my back.) Looks like we're going to have to step up to the plate and get registered. Or at least decide what stores we're going to do it at. I'm also accepting applications for volunteers to do it for me.
Belly Button in or out: Still in. We're holding strong.
Stretch Marks: None!
Showing?: There is definitely no mistaking me for having a thyroid problem now. I'm showing. Unfortunately I am not showing in the way I had originally planned. I had fully intended on being one of those cute, pregnant, model-looking types. You know the kind.....tall, skinny, volleyball under their tight little t-shirt. Somehow, I ended up with an upended watermelon under mine. Granted, I was already behind the bus with the whole "tall" thing, since no one would mistake me for tall. Or for a model. But I was really pulling for the volleyball thing. Not sure how I missed out on that one.
What I miss: Well I can't say wine anymore. Maybe sleeping through the night. That's running a pretty close second. Oh! And my pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm really ready to have those back now.
What I am looking forward to: Leaving for Michigan!
Milestones: Halfway there!!! (Does anyone else have Bon Jovi stuck in their head now? Ooooohhhhh, we're half way there. Oh OH! Living on a prayer......)


And the pictures:





Crap! How did THAT get in there?





Hmmm.......we seem to have a wardrobe malfunction. That purple shirt is making me look fat. Costume change!





MUCH better.

Survey Says......

IT'S A BOY!

Yup, a bouncing baby boy. Well, I take that back. To say that the baby was bouncing would be a bit of an exaggeration. In reality, he started the ultrasound curled up and face down, then promptly rolled over on his side with his back to us. He proceeded to stay in that position for pretty much the entire 20 minute ultrasound. We were pretty sure we weren't going to be able to catch a glimpse of his face, but just as we were giving up on him he flipped onto his back so we were thankfully able to get a shot of his face too.

The ultrasound tech has zero problem figuring out the sex. I'm pretty sure she hadn't even put the wand on my belly before saying "that was too easy." See below:




Yeah, he wasn't so shy with the goods. Unlike with his face. But according to the doctor everything looks good. All of the fluid levels are perfect and the baby is measuring right on at 20 weeks, so only 2 days ahead of where my due date puts me. The doctor said that Bob the Baby is weighing in at 13 oz. And yes I am sure that is a slight error on the part of the doctor. See, I've gained about 10 pounds which means the baby must be right around 9.5 pounds, give or take a few ounces. I didn't bother to correct her though. After all, she IS the doctor and I wouldn't want to wound her pride. I may need her later. Although I am questioning her so-called "medical" degree now......

The best part of the ultrasound is that they gave us a whole slew of pictures. I've attached them below.

The basic ultrasound pictures:

And the cool ultrasound pictures:

This is a shot from the back. You can see the ear and shoulder. The little nub sticking up from the shoulder is his fist.

This one is a side profile. You can see the hand in front of the mouth, and the thing that looks like a rope is the umbilical cord over his shoulder.

UPDATE!

I would like to point out for the record that by Saturday morning I was back down to my pre-Mexican fiesta weight. Told you so.

Well THAT wasn't very Intellegent!

Yesterday was one of those days at work....long and boring. So last night when I got home, I was in the mood to get out of the house and do something fun. In mine and Kevin's world, fun = food (and/or beer. Those terms are completely interchangable). Since I was in the mood for fajitas and he was in the mood for margaritas we decided to head out and hit up one of the local Mexican joints. We haven't been out for Mexican in ages since for the last few months it has been on my "I don't want that" pregnancy food list. But don't worry, we subsequently made up for lost time. I probably ate a whole basket of chips (with extra salt of course) then polished off 3 fajitas. And I tend to make my fajitas so big that they hardly close. Normally I can get down 2 before feeling like I'm going to explode. Never fear, I courageously pushed through the pain to get that third one down. But talk about salt overload. When I went to bed last night, my mouth still felt like cardboard from being so dry. I warned Kevin that I was probably going to wet the bed with all of the water I had been drinking all evening (for the record, I didn't). But maybe I should have because I am beyond bloated today. And of course, I wasn't thinking when I suggested Mexican last night because this morning is my weekly check in morning! It probably would have been a lot smarter to save my Mexican fiesta for tonight instead. But being the courageous pregnant lady that I am (3 FAJITAS PEOPLE!) I got up this morning, took a deep breath, and bravely stepped onto the scale. Then I got off. Then I got back on. One more round of off/on just for good measure, then I just about passed out. I hit the 160 mark this morning. At first I honestly thought my scale was broken (it was only 5:15 in the morning after all) then I did the math and realized that 160 is only 2.5 pounds heavier than where I have been for the last couple of weeks. But still, I haven't seen 160 since my Sophomore year of college when I finally found my Freshman 15 (okay, 30. Whatever). Let's just say it was quite a jolt that early in the morning.


CHECKING IN – Week 19!


Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: 12 pounds. But I'm sure most of that is salt and Mexican bloat. In fact, I'm positive that's what it is. I'm sure I'll be back to my normal, svelte self by next week's weigh in.
Next Appointment: Still next Wednesday. Which cannot get here soon enough, even though I have a sneaking suspicion that Bob the Baby is going to keep his (okay, okay....or HER) legs closed. Just because the not knowing is driving me crazy. And I hear that's what kids do to their parents.
Maternity clothes? I am going on a shopping spree! Or if Kevin asks, I am going to go buy a pair of maternity jeans. I originally had no intention of buying any jeans or long pants (besides those for work) since I will have no use for them in Texas until November, but I realized today that in less than 2 weeks I am going to be in Michigan for over a week. I also realized that all of the shorts, sundresses, and tank tops that I've bought thus far are not going to cut it in the cool, Michigan evenings. So I'm off to wrangle up a couple pairs of pants. And maybe a shirt or two. And possibly a cute dress for a wedding in two weeks.
Sleep: Yes please.
Best moment this week: Making it to Friday. Does that count?
Movement: Still the random pops here and there. But they are pretty consistent in when they happen. I always know I'll feel a couple of pops around 1 pm or so.
Food cravings: Fajitas. See above.
Planning/Preparations: We're still waiting to find out the sex before making any plans. Or at least that's what we're telling ourselves. In reality, I just don't think we quite know where to begin. Although we started talking names a couple of days ago. Then we realized that neither of us have any very strong preferences yet so it looks like we're back to Bob the Baby for at least another week or so.
Belly Button in or out: Ummm.....I'm not really sure how to break the news, but it's looking like my belly button may be making an appearance to the outside world. It's getting kind of shallow. I feel like I'm watching a turkey waiting for the timer to pop. My belly button ring is still holding out though.
Stretch Marks: Still none.
What I miss: Wine. But my mom sent be a book in the mail called "The Newly Non-Drinking Girl's Guide to Pregnancy." I'm sure I'll finish that one this weekend. Any tips are greatly appreciated.
What I am looking forward to: Next Wednesday for now. After that, our road trip to Michigan!!! It's funny how we always used to whine about how we never get to take real vacations since all roads seem to lead to Michigan. But for some reason we are really looking forward to it this time! Maybe because we know we'd never get our money's worth from an all-inclusive resort in Mexico with me not drinking.
Milestones: 19 weeks today!

And the picture:



CLOSE UP!

I'd like a drink please.....

No, really. I'd like a drink. Preferrably NOW!

I have to say, I find it completely ironic that at the time in your life where you need a drink the most, you can't have one. Or maybe you can have one. But just one. Call me a lush, but I do NOT drink wine just to have one glass. Two is a much more realistic goal, although still pushing it. And if I'm hanging out with my mom and sister in the hot tub, you can bet there will be multiple bottles magically disappearing. And let me tell you, those two can put those bottles away (but that's a whole different blog). Speaking of hot tubs, there's something else I'd like to partake of that is off limits. (Is anyone else noticing a pattern here?)

I had my first real food aversion yesterday. I went down to my company's cafeteria where nothing was looking that great (even though all of the food is delicious to the normal, non-pregnant person), so I figured I'd go with my latest standby: chicken salad sandwich on ciabatta. As the chef was making it, I began thinking to myself that it really wasn't sounding that great after all, but it was too late too stop him so I figured I'd be fine to eat it once I got back to my desk. By the time I paid for it and got back up to my office, I was done. I asked my boss if she liked chicken salad, handed it to her, and went to Jimmy John's. Yes I paid for two lunches, but avoiding the impending nausea was well worth it.

Eating while pregnant is not fun. Yes, being able to eat whatever you want is great in theory. Too bad it's a complete myth. Whatever you eat now WILL stick to your ass and you WILL have to figure out a way to get rid of it in a few short months. That being said, if you are willing to put forth the extra effort at the end then by all means, indulge away. I've been VERY busy convincing myself that I'm willing to put in that extra effort later. Actually I've been lucky so far. Yes, I'm up 9 pounds at 18.5 weeks but I consider myself to be doing incredibly well considering pizza has been on my menu weekly (if not more) for the past 12 weeks. (It's funny how my food aversions make me give vegetables the side-eye, but put a pizza crust underneath and dip it in ranch dressing and those veggies are gone within minutes.)

I've also been good about going to the gym lately. Now that I'm past the stage of needing to sleep in until 7 am, I'm up and at the gym by 5:30 am. And I've been feeling great! I'm sure I'm still just as flabby as I was when I started back to the gym after my first tri hiatus, but at least I feel like I'm doing something to counteract the pizza. Ordering onions and mushrooms on it to fullfill my vegetable food group was apparently not cutting it, nor was parking in the furthest parking spot from the front door at work. Not that I am actually doing the parking spot trick. It's way too hot this time of year. But it's just one of those things that I KNOW won't work, so why bother?

18 Weeks Today!

Wow, apparently I should have waited to make my first post. A lot has happened in the three days since. First and foremost, it looks like we sold our boat! Of course I'm sad, but I'm happy about it at the same time. This is something we have been talking about doing for a long time and tried to do a few times before. But in this economy it has become increasingly difficult to sell a boat. The time must have been right on this attempt because it was snapped up quickly! I'm going to miss it terribly, but we've decided that with baby on the way, the time has come to move on. For one thing, even pre-baby neither Kevin or I were 100% happy doing it anymore. It was becoming more of something that we had to do since we were spending so much money on it, instead of something we wanted to do. And let me tell you, when you're spending that much time and MONEY on a hobby that you're both not 110% into, you know you need to move on. So I'm happy about starting the next chapter in our lives. But also sad, because boating has been our life for the past 4 years. We have had some awesome times and made some beyond amazing friends. It's going to be hard to jump into something new, but in true Hockenberry fashion, jumping we are.....

We're putting in a pool! We got our first bid last week and have a meeting scheduled with another contractor this afternoon. I am incredibly excited! This will at least give us something to do on the weekends since we won't have our boat anymore. We've been wondering how we're going to keep ourselves busy this summer. This should just about do it.

And on top of that, I felt the baby move for the first time on Wednesday. I was sitting at my desk at work when I felt a pop. It took a few seconds to register what it was and I realized that I had actually been feeling it all day but not really paying attention. I've felt it a few times since then too. Apparently when I got so worked up over having sold the boat (worked up = bawling in your office for an hour) it didn't make Bob the Baby very happy. So he punched me. Cute.

So here are the baby pics so far:

6.5 weeks (the big round ball is the yolk sac)

8.5 weeks

12.5 weeks (the dots by the mouth are the hands and fingers)

Onward and upward to the next check in!

CHECKING IN – WEEK 18

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: I’m up 9 pounds. I feel like I’m up 99 pounds. One of my friends sent me a cnn link about a beached whale in New England. I was afraid to open it for fear of seeing a picture of myself. The only reason I did decide to open it is because I realized that I haven't even been to New England. I can't wait to see how I feel at 36 weeks...
Next Appointment: Still June 23rd. 1.5 weeks left….
Maternity clothes: Yes. I have no choice. I can’t even zip my old work pants. I’m rotating two new pairs of work pants, two stretchy dresses, and an elastic waisted skirt that I hadn’t worn in approximately 6 years. I have no idea why I even kept it, but now I’m glad I did!
Sleep: The past two nights have been rough. Like I said, my dreams are super vivid, and the last few have been incredibly frustrating. So I wake up feeling stressed out. Not fun.
Best moment this week: Best and worst: Selling our boat!
Movement: FINALLY! I felt my first kick on Wednesday afternoon. Actually, it was more like a pop. A very, very strange pop.
Food cravings: I have been craving salt lately. But that's nothing new. I'm a salt fiend anyway, even when I'm not pregnant.
Food aversions: None besides the smoked meat. Thanks, Kevin.
Planning/Preparations: Still none. Unless you count working on getting bids to put in a pool. Some people might say our priorities are in the wrong place right now. I’m thinking that our priorities are just fine.
Belly Button: Still looks the same and I’m still wearing my belly button ring. Hopefully I can continue to wear it because I have no idea what the protocol for belly button rings vs. pregnancy belly actually is. Although I did notice today that the ball on top is starting to show through my shirt and is making it look like I have a tiny outtie belly button. I may have to figure out that protocol sooner rather than later.
Stretch Marks: None!
Showing?: Definitely - I got my very first “are you expecting?” from a stranger on Wednesday. I’m taking that to mean that I have moved out of the lumpy stage and into the showing stage. And yes, that was a very brave stranger. I also walked by a mirror at work today and literally had to stop and back up (beeeeep.....beeeeep.....beeeeep.....) to look again. I swear my gut wasn’t this big when I got dressed this morning.
What I miss: Being able to easily pick out outfits. Now I have to try everything on to make sure it still fits. Easy enough when I’m getting dressed at home and can change multiple times. Not so much when I’m getting dressed at the gym in the morning and have a whopping one outfit stuffed in my gym bag.
What I am looking forward to: My friend Joe’s 40th birthday party tomorrow! Eight of us are getting a limo, riding downtown, hitting Artista for dinner, then Howl at the Moon for dueling pianos and cocktails. Well, cocktails for everyone else. I'm hitting the water. With a twist of lime.
Milestones: First baby movement – June 9. And as of today I'm officially in my 5th month of pregnancy. Only 22 weeks to go.

And last but not least, the 18 week porkchop belly pic:

It's been 18 weeks for him too...

Something to Blog About!

After about two years, here it is - my first blog post! I have wanted to start a blog for quite some time now but, being the perfectionist that I am, was afraid that it wouldn’t be, well, perfect. I’ve finally realized that 1) I don’t really care if it’s perfect or not and 2) I finally have something to blog about so I need to get cracking! Without further ado:



Yup, that’s the new HockenBean. Affectionately referred to as Bob the Baby, after my sister’s cat Bobbles. As my brother said, “Bobbles is a good, strong name.” Once we get the 99.9% gender guarantee from the doctor (two weeks from now!) we’ll start seriously talking names. (Sorry, Kerry. We weren’t serious when we said we were naming it after your cat.) For now though we’re going with the 90% guarantee that it’s a boy! So Bob the Baby it is.

How are Mom and Dad-to-be holding up? As well as can be expected. I am 18 weeks today and it is finally starting to become real that we are going to be parents in a few months. Hey now, I heard that collective gasp. We’ll be fine. I hope promise. My pregnancy so far has been a walk in the park. For me anyway. I haven’t actually asked Kevin if I’m being a pain in the ass or not, and to be honest I don’t plan to. For now, let’s just assume that I am still very much my normal, peachy self, okay? Moving on…..

Like I said, my pregnancy has been pretty easy so far. Now I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I am perfectly aware that it could change at any minute and the pregnancy symptoms could nail me to the wall. I have heard the horror stores (from everyone and their brother, but that's beside the point). I’ve only had two mornings where I was nauseous (but no puking) and that’s it for the whole morning sickness thing, although I did wake up feeling hung over every morning from about weeks 6-12. My lack of energy kept me out of the gym from weeks 12-16, but I think that’s only because I go at 5 am. There was no dragging me out of bed before 7 and even that was pushing it for those weeks although I was still staying up until my normal bedtime with no problems. I’d have to say that the worst symptom so far was the cramps. They were HORRIBLE. Like, “waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night” kind of horrible. Those were only in the beginning though, from about week 6 through week 9 or 10. After that, nothing.

I think the hardest part of the pregnancy so far was the "not-able-to-cook" phase, which lasted from weeks 6 – 11. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to cook. During those long weeks I could manage Kraft mac and cheese, but that’s about it. Our meals consisted of a going out to eat, ordering pizza, or, if we did decide to stay home and “cook,” mac and cheese, frozen waffles (yes, in the same meal), or hot dogs. Thankfully I am back in the kitchen again. What’s funny is that even though I couldn’t cook during those weeks, I could eat with no problem. (No comments from the peanut gallery, please.) Sure there were things that didn’t sound appealing (pork chops, smoked meat, sometimes shrimp to name a few), but I could alwasy find something that I could eat wherever we went. My only craving thus far has been candy, which I normally have no need for. And that disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving me with an entire cupboard still full of Easter candy.

I'm already a bit behind, but from here on out I will be keeping up with my pregnancy progress. So here’s my first of my weekly check-ins, just to play catch up:

CHECKING IN – WEEK 17.5

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: So far I’ve only gained about 8 pounds. Now that my old eating habits have returned and I’m back in the gym, I feel a little more in control. And I'm no longer worried that I'm going to turn into a giant pizza (since that was my staple food group for quite a while.)
Next Appointment: Wednesday June 23 – this one is the “big” one. Anatomy scan and gender determination!
Maternity clothes: Ugh, I finally had to break down and buy some. I had been doing pretty good staying in my old clothes using the Be Band from Target, but when my dress pants got to the point where I couldn’t even zip them, I had to suck it up and buy some. Let’s see, I have a denim skirt (my first elastic banded denim skirt since I was about 6), a couple of pairs of khaki shorts/capris, a pair of denim shorts, and for work I bought a couple of stretchy, jersey knit dresses and two pairs of dress pants – one brown, one black. I’m hoping that this gets me through for at least a couple of months although I know I’m going to need some more work clothes soon.
Sleep: I have been sleeping like a brick. If I do wake up it’s to use the bathroom (maybe 1-2 times per night) and I have no problem going right back into a deep sleep. I’m relishing this phase, because I know it’s too good to last.
Best moment this week: Finding out that my best friend is pregnant!
Movement: No movement yet. I woke up during the night I few nights ago and when I laid back down I could feel a faint popping/fluttering sensation in my abdomen. Of course it could have been a dream, being as I also dreamed that I had my engagement ring reappraised and it was valued at $305K. Nice. All of my dreams are very, very vivid now so it is highly possible that it could have been in my head.
Food cravings: No real cravings for anything specific. I’m trying to get back into vegetables because those really don’t sound that great right now. I've been supplementing with fruit instead.
Food Aversions: Just smoked meat right now. Although I'm not sure if that's due to my pregnancy or due to the fact that smoked meat was all we ate for about 3 weeks straight at the beginning of my pregnancy when my husband bought his beloved smoker. Regardless, I'm over it.
Planning/Preparations: Let’s see. None. Up until this morning when I found out about my friend’s pregnancy I really wasn’t that excited about the whole pregnancy thing. It was something that was there, but not really real. Luckily with her pregnancy, I'm able to look at it from an outsiders view and I'm starting to realize how exciting this really is! Bring on the nursery!
Belly Button: I’m an innie and I plan on staying that way.
Stretch Marks: None. Again, I plan on staying that way.
Showing?: I think so, but I'm at that in-between stage where I look pregnant if you know I'm pregnant, but if you don't, then I look like I'm rocking one hell of a beer gut. And yes, that comparison is coutesy of my darling husband (who also made the mistake of referring to me as "Mama the Hutt" a couple of weeks ago, but that is another post. And believe me, it WILL be a post.)
What I miss: My friends back in Michigan! Now that they are all pregnant too, I am bummed that I am doing it all alone way down in Texas.
What I am looking forward to: My next ultrasound! I’m wondering how I’m going to hold out for two more weeks. Oh, and my friend Joe's 40th birthday this weekend. It's going to rock!
Milestones: Almost done with month 4. Month 5 starts on Friday!

And since I won't be taking any more pictures until my 18 week shots this Friday, here's a teaser from 16 weeks. I can assure you that this will be the last picture taken sans clothing.