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.