Name that Baby!

Baby made - check. Nursery started - check. Showers galore - check. Baby names - not so much. Not having a name wasn't such a big deal a couple of months ago. We had plenty of time so no rush. We just figured the perfect name would come to us in a burst of song from above. Or, more realistically, someone would say "hey you should name him this" and we would agree. Ideally because we liked the name, not because we had no other options. Now, we have 11 weeks left. Holy cow, where did the time go? I thought this was supposed to be the longest 10 months of my life. It sure doesn't feel that way, especially now that we have less than 3 months (actually only 8 weeks until I'm considered full term) and the most important decision is still the most elusive.

I actually have the perfect name picked out - Lucas. I LOVE that name. LOVE IT. However we can't name him that. You see, our last name is Hockenberry. And 99% of the time, Lucas will be shortened to Luke. And when you join Luke and Hockenberry together you get - say it fast now - Lu Kockenberry. Some other names that are out? Jacob, Nicholas, Richard (come on, think about it! Richard? Dick? Dic Kockenberry? Are you laughing yet? No? Is it really just me?) I happen to blame my darling husband for this massive dilemma we've been presented with. Since the time I was about 8, I had an absolutely foolproof plan. When I grew up and got married, my future husband's last name was going to be either Smith or Jones. I mean, when you're coming from a lifetime of Shagene you really just want to keep it simple. Then Kevin Hockenberry comes along and decides that HE is the chosen one. Convincing me of this took some inital prodding on his part, but then I figured what the heck. (I'M KIDDING HONEY.) After that came the getting married and taking his name issue. After much debate, I decided that Hockenberry was the lesser of the two evils (at least it's pronounceable) so I took his name. But not without a fight. My first idea was to hyphenate - Leah Marie Shagene-Hockenberry. Yeah, that doesn't accomplish much, does it. My next and most BRILLIANT idea was to combine our last names and make a new one. Are you ready for it? SHAGENBERRY! See? How perfect is that? (When we had kids, they'd be cute little Shagenberrys - adorable!) Unfortunately I couldn't convince Kevin of the brilliance of my plan. We would have ended up being Mr. Hockenberry & Mrs. Shagenberry. And that's if I could have convinced him to go through with the wedding at all.

Actually, I shouldn't say that we haven't come up with any names. I'd be lying. Kevin has decided that the name to end all names is Clayton. Yes, Clayton. You know, like our janitor back in middle school. And since this appears to be "The Name," he is being no help whatsoever on choosing "backups". (That's what I tell him the alternate names are - backups for when just in case the baby doesn't look like a Clayton when he's born. Again, sheer brilliance on my part, right?) So we've been working on our "backup" names. Okay, my boss and I have been working on the names - she keeps a running list on the white board in my office and wanders in randomly to add to it. So far our favorites are:

Cole
Austin
Grayden
Wyatt

Also on the list are Logan, Tyler, Ryan, Samuel, Dillon, and Dane. To be honest, Dane is a little to close too Great Dane for me, but since we're already working with slim pickings, it stays. Makes the list look a little less pathetic. I also like Hunter, but not sure about the flow with the last name. I had no idea picking a boys name would be so hard! Girls names are so much easier. I had those picked out and written in my planner before we even thought about getting pregnant. I have no idea why I never thought about boys names too. Heck, I even keep a list of dog names - Braxton, Baylor, Cooper, Bentley, Gus, Molson, Diesel, and Nacho. Maybe I could just go with one of those? Gus?

So in a last ditch effort, I'm reaching out to the world all 4 of my loyal followers. Give my your ideas! What are your thoughts on the ones we already have? Do you have any others that you think would be perfect? TELL US. We will take all of the help that we can get!

CHECKING IN - WEEK 29!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Up another 2 pounds! I'm officially in the 170s. So I'm up 22 pounds from 148. I was also at 170 last week so hopefully I continue to do the slow, steady gain and don't step on the scale to find myself at 201 next week.
Next Appointment: September 2 - doctor check up and another shot at 4D photos. Hopefully Junior is a little more cooperative this time and doesn't insist on keeping his back to us.
Maternity clothes? Still in the originals. Everything appears to still be fitting well so no more shopping for me just yet.
Sleep: Getting less and less. I've graduated from getting up once per night to twice per night consistently now.
Best moment this week: Well, the best moment for last week (since I slacked on my blog yet again) - I had my birthday! I am officially the big 3-0. My birthday turned out amazing too. My boss and co-workers threw me a surprise party at work (have I mentioned that I LOVE my job???) Kevin got me a Coach purse and a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings that seem to glow on their own. Then we went out for dinner at Jasper's which was beyond amazing. They have fresh sliced potato chips that they toss with a bleu cheese glaze. I could have bathed in those stupid things. And the smoked gouda mac 'n cheese......mmmmmmm. I also had my first glass of wine this pregnancy! I figured what better day to do it then on my 30th birthday? It was really, really good too. And then the best moment this week will be this evening when I pick Kevin up from the airport! He left on Sunday and it has been a loooooooong and boring week for me. Although I will say that I've gotten a ton of stuff done around the house. It's all clean so we don't have to worry about that this weekend either.

Movement: Bob is apparently running out of room, because the movement is constant and getting a lot harder! I can feel him rolling around in there all the time. I don't think the kid sleeps. Hopefully he grows out of that phase before he's born.

Food cravings: Still none. This is getting ridiculous. I'm considering just saying that I have a craving for pizza so that I have an excuse to eat it every night, since that's what I'd like to do regardless of whether I'm pregnant or not.
Planning/Preparations: Still working on the nursery, we signed up for the breastfeeding and newborn care classes at the hospital, and I have another shower coming up on October 9th! I can't wait!
Belly Button in or out: In. I don't think it's going anywhere.
Stretch Marks: None.

Showing?: Everytime I walk by a mirror I do a double take because I'm pretty sure I wasn't quite that big 30 minutes earlier when I walked by the same mirror.
What I miss: Sleeping through the night. And my husband.
What I am looking forward to: Picking Kevin up tonight, my shower that my friends are throwing me in October, finishing the nursery, picking a name, and getting the 4D photos done.
Milestones: I guess it would be considered a milestone to be getting less and less sleep every night - apparently that means that I'm getting close to having this baby. They say it's practice for when the baby comes. I say it's bull. I'm also having Braxton Hicks contractions once or twice a day. They're not painful at all, but can be uncomfortable at times. They're kind of cool because my belly gets rock hard which makes it fun to poke. That usually keeps my occupied for the minute or so that they last.

Since I skipped my blog entry last week, here is my 28 week picture on the left. No, I am not stoned. I do look incredibly tired though. And compared to the 27 week picture (right), I guess I don't look that much bigger. I feel like I'm growing by the minute though.

And here are a couple of the 29 weekers!