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Home, Health, Motherhood & Happiness
Nesting is a real thing in pregnancy. It’s a strong feeling of wanting to organize, clean and well, ya know, get your nest ready for your baby. Nesting can also effect partners too. It’s basically a last minute scramble to get your sh*t together.
I’ve given you an idea here of how I set up my daughter’s diaper changing area in the last post and today I’ll be helping you to get the nursery closet organized. Let’s keep it simple. You’ve got this!
My spare-room-turned-nursery has an average size closet. I was able to fit a rod for clothing, a set of shelves and underneath there was room for my son’s old IKEA toy bin turned closet organizer. Let me break this down and perhaps it will give you motivation and the organization skills to set up your little ones closet.
During my entire pregnancy I collected disposable diapers. LOTS of diapers. When my daughter was born, the entire set of shelves were filled with diapers sizes NB-4. I was given boxes of them as gifts in various sizes from family and friends. I also combed the Facebook marketplace for extreme couponing moms listing their extra “stock”. This was a fabulous way to create my own stockpile and it also saved me time. The only downside to this is if your baby is allergic to a certain brand and you have collected many of these. Thank my lucky stars my daughter could wear any brand! I had a vast collection of Pampers, Luvs, Huggies, Aldi’s Little Journey, BJ’s Berkley Jensen and Costco’s Kirkland. Our favorites were Pampers and Costco although all of them did a fine job. The diapers I needed the most were sizes 1,2 and 3. Newborn she only wore for the first month and I could have skipped them altogether honestly, she was 7 lbs. at birth.
I also collected tons of wipes during my pregnancy to stick in this closet. Again, I was given boxes as gifts from family and friends. Some of the brands we tried were, Pampers Sensitive Baby, Wal-Mart’s Parents Choice Shea Butter, Water Wipes, Huggies Natural Care and Target’s Up & Up Unscented. I even tried to make my own with roll of paper towels cut in half and a mixture of water, baby wash and coconut oil. This one did not work out for us, the paper towels stuck together and I used wayyyy more than I needed.
Inside most of the IKEA bins, I have collected, washed and folded clothing which my daughter will wear in the future. Kids grow so quickly and if I can collect vintage pieces, sale items, hand-me-downs to make my life easier down the road, I’m gonna do it! I squirrel away any clothing that’s six months or more ahead of this growing girl.
The top bin I collected kid medical supplies and extra bath supplies that did not need to be locked away, but high enough so she couldn’t rummage through the bin. Things found in this bin are: thermometer, comb, brush, nasal bulb, boogie wipes, nail clippers, diaper cream, powder and baby wash. Any teething oil, fever reducer, gas relief drops are kept in an upper kitchen cabinet away from little fingers.
As a busy mom, I am always looking for ways to streamline my week while bringing my family high quality, nutritious foods. “Errand days” are for grocery shopping. Yes, I break my days down and have errand days. If I didn’t do this, I would be in the car everyday driving from town to town doing errands. If I have a doctor’s appointment, the car in the shop, etc. I combo those outings and make that day “errand day”. It forces me to be more productive and hey, we all need that. It’s a work in progress.
This grocery shopping trip came to $132.33 This is our food for the week for two adults and one child which is roughly $6.30/day per person. I’m going to tell how this breaks down for us and what I already have in our pantry. Hopefully, this will help you to be less wasteful, more organized and more productive.
Baby Toothbrush
Tom’s Baby Toothpaste
Teething Maple Biscuits
Super Puffs
Ginger Beer
Beef Jerky
Wasabi Chickpeas
Blueberries
Cherry Tomatoes
Strawberries
Raspberries
Broccoli
Frozen Corn
Frozen Peas
Stir Fry Mix
Onion
Potatoes
Mushroom Mix
Bananas
Unsweetened Peanut Butter
Pork Kielbasa
Sour Cream
Feta Crumbles
Spicy Black Beans
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Frozen Salmon
Sour Cream
Feta Crumbles
Against the Grain Gluten Free Rolls
Frozen Vegetable Potstickers
Instant Oatmeal
Frozen Waffles
Watermelon Sparkling Water
This list can be broken down into meals so you can see what I’ve done with this and what I already have on hand in the pantry. Enjoy!
Breakfast-Berries and Oatmeal
Lunch-Tomato, Cucumber, Feta and White Bean Salad (cucumber and white beans from the pantry)
Dinner-Chicken Stir Fry and Jasmine Rice (from pantry)
Breakfast-Waffle and Banana
Lunch-Leftover Stir Fry and Jasmine Rice
Dinner-Pork Kielbasa, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots (from pantry)
Breakfast- 1/2 ATG Roll with butter (from the pantry) and Berries
Lunch-Leftover Kielbasa, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots
Dinner-Baked Salmon, Parmesan Couscous(from the pantry)and Broccoli
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Berries
Lunch-Leftover Couscous, Tuna (from the pantry) and Salad Greens (from the pantry)
Dinner-Chicken, Black Bean, Shredded Cheese Soft Tacos, Mexican Rice and Salad Greens (cheese, tortillas, mexican rice, salad greens from the pantry)
Breakfast-Waffle and Bananas
Lunch-Leftover Soft Tacos and Salad Greens
Dinner-Baked Salmon, Parmesan Couscous and Peas (lemon and couscous from the pantry)
Breakfast-1/2 ATG Roll with butter (from the pantry) and Berries
Lunch-Tomato, Cucumber, Feta and White Bean Salad (cucumber and white beans from the pantry)
Dinner-Frozen Pizza, Macaroni Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Olives, Broccoli, Feta, Cucumber, Tomato (macaroni, roasted red pepper, olives, cucumber and frozen pizza from the pantry)
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Berries
Lunch-Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches and Carrot Sticks (sandwich bread and carrots from the pantry)
Dinner-Potstickers, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Onion and Garlic (garlic from the pantry)
As promised in my last post, I am going to go deeper into the realm of nursery prep. For some mamas, co-sleeping and one bedroom for all is the answer to their prayers. If you are already in this camp, then this post will not neccesarily be helpful for you. It honestly may create more work pre-pregnancy. You know what’s best for you and your family. I will not be sharing my thoughts in this post about sleep habits. (Fear not, that will come up later.) In this post, I will help you to ready a nursery for your wee one, specifically the changing area. This post will even be great before your baby shower if you are struggling with what to include on your registry. Prepped and ready is the way to go. Feel less stressed and more prepared to tackle anything! Let’s talk changing area!
Diapers will be a way of life for the next couple of years. An area to manage messy diapers, dress, moisturize and powder baby. Staying organized and keeping everything within arms reach is key in this area of your nursery. Pretty, yet practical.
My changing area is made up of an unused dresser I had on hand and a rolling cart. I looked for months trying to find a pretty, white changing table but in the end I chose to save some cash and paint an existing dresser that was just the right height. 3′ is a fabulous height for most adults, right around the waistline. It’s not too tall that you will have to reach upwards and not too short that you’ll be hunched over. I spray painted the knobs gold, white washed the rest of it and slapped a changing pad on top. The drawers underneath were perfect for extra clothes, swaddles, burp cloths and socks. BOOM. DONE.
The cart I painted the same gold as my dresser knobs and it works perfectly to store all of my daughters bits and bobs. On the top layer I have a small amount of diapers and wipes nearest to me. In a round container, I store diaper cream, a “distraction” toy, teether, lotion, powder, alcohol wipes (for the umbilical cord when she was tiny). The next two bottom layers can be a handy collection of more diapers, blankets, swaddles or decorative objects. (When they start pulling themselves up, the bottom layers are too open to store anything away from little, curious hands).
When the feeling of nesting sets in, it’s hard to ignore. Some women go on a full out cleaning spree scouring every nook and cranny. Others go on a rampage for an hour and feel better after organizing their kitchen cabinets. Nesting is a real thing that happens during the final months of your pregnancy. For me, once the eighth month comes along, you will find me cleaning, organizing and making lists like a fiend. There’s no corner of the house that is safe. Some things really do need to happen before your bundle arrives, there’s no doubt about it. Enlist help if you can from neighbors, friends and family so that you don’t hurt yourself lifting, bending or climbing.
Let’s start with general cleaning and laundry. I wanted a nice, clean space for my bunny to come home to. I dusted, swept, mopped furniture and floors. I washed all the towels and bed linens. I scrubbed all the bathrooms. I cleaned the dog beds and dog dishes. This will be the most clean your home will be in quite awhile. After baby arrives, there will be more important things to do. Bonus: When friends and family come to visit, they will also have a nice, clean space with fresh linens.
The nursery is next. I’ll go into more detail in the following posts but I wanted to make sure everything in the nursery was decorated, organized and stocked full. I knew in the weeks and months to come, this room could get messy.
The kitchen and food prep. I made sure to clean out my fridge and kitchen cabinets before my baby arrived. All expired or questionable foods were tossed. I restocked and cooked up meals for freezing. I also left a whole shelf open in the fridge for meals and snacks that would be dropped off by loving friends and family. It was helpful to have a months worth of healthy meals and snacks on hand.
The car. To keep this task very easy, I took my car to have it detailed and washed before my daughter arrived. I travel quite a bit and also have a teenage son so my car often is sprinkled with sand, gravel and random crumbs. To make it even easier, on the way home I stopped at the hospital and had her carseat base put in properly by a certified tech.
Randomness. This is the odd-ball category. This is also the bottom priority of the nesting prep. Randomness is for after you have completed everything else. It’s where you may get a bit crazy. It’s ok, most of us go through it. Let out your crazy girl. For me, it was trying to clean and organize all the boxes in my basement. Haha. I think I went through five and called it quits. For my best friend, it was changing every single light bulb in her house. For another, it was sending her husband outside to paint the entire exterior of her home!
Whatever nesting means to you, be safe, take care, do what you can. Perfection won’t happen so let that shit go.