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...