Good week!

I had my 16-week OB appt on Friday, and all is well with Mama & Baby Reeder :) Brooke went with me & behaved like an angel. She hammed it up with all the nurses (who LOVED her, of course) and those in the waiting room, all while eating her Cheerios and grapes. She sat patiently in her stroller as the nurse took my blood pressure and weighed me (I set a personal record this month with weight gain....whoops....I more than made up for those 2 lbs I lost last month.) But my very expressive little one gave the nurse the evil eye as she lifted up my shirt and put the Doppler on my belly to hear the heartbeat. It was so cute; she's already protective of her baby brother or sister (and her Mom, too.) Even though she didn't know what she was hearing, she got to hear the heartbeat coming in right at 150 bpm.

It was the first time I've ever taken her in to the office with me, so my OB finally got to see how big Brooke really is (she didn't deliver Brooke, I had 2 other doctors in the practice during my lovely 3-day stay at the hospital.) Her first comment was "Oh my, she's really long." The only response I could come up with was "...& really heavy", which led right into the one & only question I had for her that day: how long can I continue to carry her? I (& many concerned family members) have been wondering what my weight limit is, considering Cheeks is weighing in around 32 lbs these days. I was very happy to hear the limit is 50 lbs, and that any heavy lifting I do up to that will have no effect on the baby. The only risk I run carrying her around is injuring myself, mainly ligaments or muscles in my back or legs. So she encouraged me to limit how much I carry her when I can, but totally understood that I can't not lift her multiple times a day. I realize that it's only going to get harder to handle Brooke as I get bigger, so we're practicing independence with her each day (going up & down the stairs, walking in public while holding my hand, fetching her own shoes/coat/whatever, etc.)

It's been a pretty decent week, so my whining should be at a minimum during my update today - hooray!

How far along?: 17 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: +1.5 this week, +6.5 in total. The OB's office has me up slightly from this, but I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on heavy winter clothes.
Maternity clothes?: The belly is "really popping out" as the doctor put it, so most of my regular shirts are too short.
Sleep: Not great. Nights without Tylenol PM are significantly worse, so I'm trying hard to remember to take it.
Movement: Oh yes. Still being jabbed pretty low in the abdomen, though the jabs are slowing moving north!
Food cravings: Well after the colossal weigh-in at the doctor, I guess I should be more mindful of my eating habits. The OB said she wasn't at all worried, but I'm taking it as motivation to start eating even better. I'm getting sick less often, so I think that will help. Oh, and I only had 2 Pop-tarts all week.
Gender: I still feel boy this week. I had a dream about it last night (not about having a boy, but feeling like it was going to be a boy...less convincing, I realize.)
New w/pregnancy #2: This pregnancy really is going very fast. With Brooke, time stood still some weeks. But this pregnancy is just moving right along. I mean, we're almost half-way, kids!
What I miss: I just realized yesterday that the Root Beer Stand will be opening soon. That makes me long for hot dogs! And I was super depressed to realize that it will probably close down for the season around the time I have the baby, meaning I'll probably go the whole summer without a foot long....so so sad.
What I am looking forward to: August. The baby, not the heat.
Best moment this week: Brooke loves to give the baby a kiss. She kisses Mommy's belly all the time. And Baby Reeder is privileged to get real, closed-mouth, lip-smacking kisses, unlike the open-mouthed slobber fests we usually get. She gets the biggest smile on her face when she does it, too, which just warms my little heart. It has happened so many times this week that the whole week has been the "best moment".
Weekly Wisdom: Not many pregnant women seem to admit this, but early baby flutters/kicks are weird, and not really a good-weird. I mean, it's thrilling beyond belief, but it feels super awkward. Just sayin'.
Milestones: I got my first "Congratulations, I didn't know you were pregnant" comment. Already. I guess I look pregnant and not just fat anymore!