Fat gal...in a little suit.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/chris-farley-fat-guy-in-a-little-coat/2006692995

This is how I feel each time I wrestle myself into my Speedo for a morning swim, while singing to myself "Fat gal, in a little suit". Other thoughts that cross my mind - beached whale and sausage too big for it's casing (stole that one from Annie who made numerous sausage references to her own pregnant body approximately 16 months ago). And once I miraculously squeeze myself into the suit (after some pretty impressive acrobatic moves), I can't help but laugh as I look like a seven-year old girl at the pool, with a huge potbelly, and one serious wedgie. Yep, I think it's time to start shopping for a new Speedo.

21 weeks - Preparation has begun

We are definitely having a girl as she is already costing us an arm and a leg as we begin preparation for her arrival. We have numerous projects going on in the Osterhaus household!

We will be turning our upstairs office into the nursery and as such, have a few upcoming expenses. First, we have decided to move the office into the basement along with a 46' flat screen TV Ryan won with some freaky luck. Once complete, Ryan will have his very own "man room". While this sounds like a fun endeavor, you must remember we live in Prairie Village, our home was built in 1948, and while it's "quaint" and has a lot of "charm" this really means it's old and falling apart.

So in order to comfortably hang out in the basement, a few improvements must be made. First, we have a little mold issue from a couple floodings caused by an non functioning sump pump. Not a cheap fix, but obviously important. Ryan has also found himself a leather couch and chair (he is modeling his chair with our gals Lynnie and Elhers) as well as carpet for his hangout. Finally, we have new windows being installed upstairs which will hopefully help with the cold temperatures in the baby's room, and will then move onto nursery furniture, bedding, decor, etc. Busy busy in our house, and we are looking forward to enjoying our completed projects!

On a side note, here is an updated pic of my ever growing stomach. Though the doctor tells me I haven't gain much weight, I definitely have a pouch! Physically I am still feeling great and continue to run or swim most days of the week which helps me to feel somewhat "normal" in my changing body. My poor husband though...I've been a bit of an emotional basketcase lately. I'm sure it's due to the crazy hormones flowing through me and stress of trying to get the basement and nursery projects done as well as the start of my 'busy season' in public accounting. Ryan continues to be patient and understanding and for that, I am extremely grateful. Ice cream, Starbucks, and chocolate also seem to help! I'm out of town this upcoming week for work, and I'm sure Ryan is very happy to see me (or at least my emotions) go! :)

Maternity Clothing

Why, oh why, have I been resisting!

After trying on every single pair of slacks in my closet Monday morning, I had to make a choice - either squeeze into my regular clothes and be uncomfortable, or give in and wear the maternity slacks I bought the previous week. Comfort won. The verdict.............HEAVEN! Hello, these things are like wearing yoga pants to work (see previous posts on sweats obsession, maybe I have an illness). Seriously, I think every woman should be able to wear elastic waisted pants every single day! I am never going back to normal clothing!

Ladies, bring on the stretch pants.

Playing with Dolls

Ryan continues to have revelations regarding having a little girl. His entertaining comments have continued throughout the weekend with concerns that along with a girl comes lots of screaming, sleep overs, ballet shoes and dolls. Growing up with only a brother has not prepared him for a life with gals. Lucky for us, Ryan has been learning a few things about girls these past few years - we have a niece Aynslee who Ryan just adores (and Aynslee thinks he's pretty special as well). Aynslee is three years old and loves her dolls. Ryan is always telling me the story of hanging out with her this past Thanksgiving when she asked Ryan to play with her, and he said sure, what are we going to play. She sat him down surrounded with all the dolls she could gather at Grandpa and Grandma Osterhaus's house and began lining them up from smallest to largest. He said, ok, what do you want to do - she said, "Uncle Ryan, we are now playing!" He had no idea what was going on and was so confused....what do you mean, sitting with a bunch of dolls and then lining them up was playing? Poor guy has a lot to learn.

Aynslee and Liam with Ryan and I at Christmas.

Sonogram pics

A few pictures from the sonogram. My favorite is the middle pic - those feet are just too cute. Everything looked perfect - ten fingers and ten toes - and we are still on track for the end of May.

20 weeks - Pink or Blue?

It's a girl! We found out today at our 20 week appointment that we are having a little girl. Ryan was there (obviously) and my sister Mallory tagged along as well. Prior to the appointment, the three of us were discussing what our feelings were – Mallory and I said boy, Ryan said girl. Once in the exam room, the technician started out the appointment explaining at a high level what we were looking at - head, leg, arm, heart, ambilical cord, etc. After pointing out all the major organs and limbs, she told us we were having a girl - and I lost it. I knew that the sonogram would be interesting, but had always thought of it as very scientific and technical. But seeing a baby in there, and watching the baby waive at us with that little hand was one of the most surreal experiences. And then to finally identify the baby as a girl, an actual person, your own child, was so much more emotional than I could have ever imagine (I am still getting emotional typing this!). I looked over at Ryan after the technician handed me a tissue, and saw that he too had tears in his eyes. I must admit, this was one of only a very few times I have seen him cry!

Ryan’s reaction to having a girl is priceless. A few comments out of his mouth today “I am off to buy some cement panties” and his favorite mantra from the movie Cocktail “And if it’s a daughter that blesses our clan, the shit will certainly hit the fan.”

Our kids

Ehlers and Lynnie are taking the news of another sibling well. They are mostly concerned with sharing their dogs biscuits.

19 weeks

I'm showing! This past week, I am finally started to look pregnant, not just like I've gained a little weight around my mid-section. I think Ryan is most excited about this as I am no longer throwing him cruel glares whenever he touches my stomach and says, "look how big you are getting." Downside, I now must go shopping for maternity clothing as I have one pair of jeans that still fit, and let's just say I haven't washed them in at least five wears because they are stretched out and I am nervous I will never be able to button them once they are clean!

Maternity clothes shopping….so far the LEAST favorite part of this pregnancy. Maybe I am more of a clothing snob than I originally thought, but wow, maternity clothes, especially those appropriate for work, are hard to find. And to find trendy, but not budget breaking, clothing….good luck! Do you think I can get away with wearing yoga pants to work? Or maybe I am just struggling to adapt to my new body. Lucky for me, Ryan love it and tells me daily how great I look (and if he's lying to make me feel better, I'm ok with that too!)

18 weeks

Frustrating occurrence - Running with the husband, who by the way is out of shape (his self proclamation, not mine!), and watching him kick my butt up hills (ok, not just up hills, the entire run). I am definitely slowing down these last few weeks, though running is still feeling pretty good. I have also been swimming a couple times a week, which is definitely easier on my body and doesn't tire me out as quickly.


Increased appetite. This is the first that I have noticed a major increase in my appetite - though this might also be attributable to all the Christmas cookies, etc that have been around these past few weeks! I am not exaggerating when I say I ate a least a dozen cookies by myself within a three day span.

17 weeks

Either my stomach is going crazy, or I am feeling this kid moving in there! Feels like little popcorn kernels popping in there. Wow, how crazy is this.

Merry Christmas Baby O. On my Christmas list, I had asked each person in our families to give us their favorite childhood book (and sign it!), so that we can start our library. As much as I love to read, I am hopeful our kid will too! I had so much fun opening each book, and seeing whose favorite it was. From my cousins Darby, Cooper, Luke and Reece, to niece and nephew Aynslee and Liam, we received all the classics, new and old. And my grandmother, who gave us Uncle Wiggily's Story Book, which she read to Matt and I every night when we spent the night with she and Bobby, how special those nights were to us! And a Child's First Bible from my dad who said he loved to hear all the Bible stories growing up and found them so fascinating - Ryan is already starting to scan through these stories and I have a feeling he will be reading to my belly starting any day now! Good Dad in training. And of course, "The Gas We Pass" from my brother, the all-time favorite, "Love you forever" from Auntie M (Mallory), and a huge sack of books from Nanny (my mom), who I have to say was not upset that she had given us numerous duplicates - "oh well, we'll just have to leave those here for when my grandbaby stays with me!"

16 weeks

Here is a pic of me at 16 weeks - just barely starting to show!

At 16 weeks I ran the Dallas Whiterock Marathon. To be honest, I was very nervous/anxious the night prior to the race - for a couple reasons - one, I am very competitive with myself and was worried I would be upset with the inevitably slower finish time I would be posting, and second, because I swear this kid has moved in and made him/herself comfortable on my bladder and I feel the urge to pee during every run somewhere around 2 miles! Not a huge fan of port-a-potties, so yes this was a concern of mine.

My concerns turned out to be unnecessary. First of all, no strong desire to pee mid race, so I was very relieved about that! But most importantly, I was able to keep my competitiveness under check. Race day was not ideal - a warm 60 degrees at the start (and for those of us training in KC and running in sub 20 degrees the past month or two, this was hot!) with 30 mile an hour head winds. My good friend Melissa raced with me, we stayed together the entire race, and did a little walking around Whiterock Lake where the wind was at it's worst. We saw Ryan at mile 18, who was with our best friends' Annie, Brian, and godson Sutton - Annie jumped in with Melissa and I, and kept our minds preoccupied with Dallas trivia the last eight miles of the face. Thanks Annie, we needed that mental break!

Side note - when Annie joined us, she was telling stories on Ryan. Apparently, he was a bit nervous and upset with me when he received the text message with our 1/2 time, which was on pace to finish around 3:35 - he said I'd better slow down, or would be in trouble when he saw me. What a good dad he is going to be!

Ryan didn't need to worry; we slowed down in the second half and finished with a time of 3:59. While this time is much slower than my Boston qualifying time of 3:34 in the prior year, I was very excited for this accomplishment and have always felt like a marathon under 4 hours is something to be proud of! Plus Baby O has now finished his/her first marathon!!!

15 weeks

Here are a few observations/comments at week 15:

• Do you think anyone notices my sly attempts to unbutton the top of my pants...every time I eat, drink, or really whenever I am not wearing sweats?!?!?! (And for those of you who know me well, I LOVE my sweats and would wear them 24/7 if I thought I could get away with it. I blame my mother for this trait!)
  
• My husband loves to touch my stomach and say 'wow, it's really getting big, how exciting' and my response is 'shut up, you #$*@, I'm not showing yet!'
  
• I am still in regular clothes, just not my 'skinny' jeans or pants or tops. I'm looking forward to actually looking pregnant so then I can wear whatever and say 'hey, I'm not fat, just pregnant!" And have a solid excuse to wear yoga pants and sweats 24/7 without seeming like a complete slob (again, see reference above to sweats obsession)!
  
• A friend told me she started wearing maternity clothes at 20 weeks. FIVE MORE WEEKS! Oh, there is no way I am going to make it five more weeks. I think because I am so short-waisted, I am going to show a lot earlier (that's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it!). I keep reading the baby is approximately three inches below my belly button or three inches above my public bone. Ummm, the entire distance between my belly button and public bone is three inches, so this kid must have NO ROOM down there. Guess that's my punishment for longer legs.

I have still been feeling great, and am no longer exhausted all the time. This is much to the relief of Ryan who is excited to have his "normal" wife back!

Expecting

Ryan and I found out around five weeks that we were expecting in late May. We (not so) patiently waited to tell our families our news, and at approximately nine weeks, Ryan could not stand the suspense any longer. We told our parents first via a sweet card and picture of the initial sonogram, and then told our siblings, extended families, and good friends. I was one lucky prego gal and had a fantastic first trimester – no morning sickness, just extreme exhaustion, and my husband tells me a few emotional moments. Around 15 weeks, I began taking week by week notes regarding the idiosyncrasies of pregnancy.

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog! Throughout the past few months numerous friends and family ask me each day how I am feeling, am I tired, can I still wear my normal clothes, how has Ryan reacted, and how are our two dogs coping with the news. Why you might ask? Well, my husband Ryan and I are expecting, due late May. Therefore, instead of fielding these inquiries via emails, phone calls, and facebook, I have decided to copy my friend Annie’s idea, and start my own blog. As such, I present "O", What a Ride, to describe our thoughts as we anxiously await the new addition to the Osterhaus clan.

I have been taking a few notes each week and will share with you in the next few posts.