Throughout my pregnancy, countless people have asked if I have had any cravings, and the answer has always been no. With morning sickness, certain foods (like fruit and carbs) have been easier to eat than others, but I haven’t found myself desperately desiring something specific. In the past few days, however, another common pregnancy “phenomenon” has hit me in a big way: Nesting.
For those who are not familiar with nesting, it’s when pregnant ladies have an intense urge to clean and organize everything in sight before their baby arrives. And let me tell you, it’s no old wives’ tale.
This week in particular, I have found myself wiping baseboards, moping floors, packing our hospital bags, setting up the baby’s room, deep cleaning the kitchen, organizing our closet, stocking up on hygiene and pantry items, dusting all the nooks and crannies I can find, and even tidying up the yard. Some of those tasks make a lot of sense, but I understand that some of them don’t…especially the last one. But that’s what happens when instinct takes over. I also know myself, and I know that not being able to clean the house while I recover from delivery is going to be difficult for me, so I aim to start with a [very] clean slate to make things less stressful for myself and Mr. Handsome.
Ta ta for now! I’m off to go organize my shoe closet. Feel free to share your experiences with or thoughts on nesting.
I “nest” all the time and my baby is 40 years old….
I especially “nest” in the fall when winter is on the horizon. Starting in September, I start stocking up on non-perishable foods, paper goods, and cleaning goods to get us through the winter. Once the cold weather arrives, I get in house cleaning and organizing gear. By the time spring comes, the closets have been cleaned out and I’m ready to turn to outside tasks again.
I’ve always been a clean freak, so I never experienced nesting. It was trying to stay one with little ones running around, which didn’t happen. I would actually cry about my house, but my husband talked to me and helped me to overcome it. When I was pregnant with my 3rd child, my foot grew an extra size and width. I wonder if anyone else had that experience.
I never experienced nesting. I wish I had ha. Yes my feet grew bigger 3 out of 4 of my pregnancies!
Benita, I also had that, both with my second and third babies, my foot kept growing a half size, so I ended up being an entire size up, which meant I needed to give away my 10 sets of favorite heels! But our beautiful children are worth it:))
Yep, my feet grew! After my 3rd too. 🙂
I didn’t experience nesting either as I’m a cleaning/organizing/purging person all the time anyway.
My feet grew somewhat, also!
Yes my feet grew a foot size permanently
Yep, nesting isn’t just for pregnant people at all! Mine comes at New Years. We always take our Christmas Tree down before New Years Eve. Then after January 1st it’s on for me! All of the Christmas gifts have to find their place in the home. Old things have to leave to make room for the new. Project supplies come to the front of the storage closet to begin preparations for Spring vendor events!
As baby boy grows you will feel like you are in perpetual nesting mode simply trying to rotate out clothes and age appropriate toys and essentials as he grows SO fast!
Embrace nesting, it’s here to stay!
That’s good to know, J. Thankfully I enjoy organizing, so permanent nesting shouldn’t be a problem for me. Also, I’m curious what type of vendor you are?
Ellie
Ellie, I make handcrafted soap!
That’s awesome! How long have you been doing that?
Maybe 2 years now!
That’s wonderful. I pray 2019 brings you much success in your business.
Ellie
I remember the last two weeks of my 1st pregnancy, I got all this energy and the urge too clean and organize. Than while I was wiping the door my water broke and I thought , it’s time and I’m more than ready to get this over with and meet my little boy… Jane
I clean way too much anyways, and I can’t relax until everything is clean for the day. And it’s no easy task with 5 children and pregnant. But, I also experience nesting weeks before my babies are born. I think it actually helps with labor because I stay active and scrub and clean everything. Especially when I’m getting close to the due date, I feel that walking and cleaning seem to help things along.
I still have weeks to go until our 6th child is born but I organized his clothes whenever I switched seasonal clothes out for my children. I would like to have everything clean when he’s born. But my children will be home with Grandma and I’m not sure how that’ll go. I hope his delivery is like most of my other ones where I was able to clean, bake and whatever days later. I know it’s best to rest but when you have more than one child and not much family around, you don’t have a choice. We are taking a couple of weeks off from homeschool though to get adjusted.
On top of nesting, I like to move all of the furniture around in every room. I know pregnant women should not, but I do it even when I’m not pregnant. I have to every few weeks. I guess we are home all day, I like for things to look different. My doctor’s know and I’ll have to stop soon.
I know you can’t wait for the birth of your son. I pray everything goes great. I was in labor with one son and instead of going to the hospital I had to wash dishes and dress my children and such first. My son was born 30 minutes after we went to the hospital. I also wanted to go walk around Walmart but my husband convinced me to go to the hospital. If he hadn’t, we would have had a baby at Walmart.
Thank you for your prayers, Jessica! Sounds like you’ll have your hands full, so that’s great that you’re trying to get things nice and clean ahead of time. Wanting to wash dishes before going to the hospital sounds like something I would do, too. Much easier to relax for labor and delivery when you know your house is clean. Haha.
Ellie
Is there such a thing as pre-nesting? My husband and I are hoping to be pregnant soon. I am also a public school teacher and find myself organizing my classroom for the substitute teacher that will eventually be in my room when I do need to go on maternity leave. I want to make sure my “kiddos” are instructed in a certain way lol.
Sounds legitimate to me, Missy. Good for you for wanting to be prepared. What grade do you teach?
Ellie
Ellie, I teach 7th and 8th math.
I really enjoyed 7th and 8th grade math. You sound like a dedicated teacher.
I had nesting at the end, I like things clean and neat anyway but it was different in a way that I felt a definite urge to deep clean my tile and stuff, and it was like have to do it right now haha, hope you will take a little maternity leave and enjoy those baby snuggles!
LOL, Jess! I could definitely see myself feeling the need to deep clean my tile right now, too.
Ellie
Hi Ellie!
I enjoy your blog. You are a very accomplished lady.
Nesting is real, I agree. If you are an organized and efficient person like I think you are, it will be difficult to adjust to life with a baby. You just get so little done. It’s like having a 24 hour a day job while recovering from a car wreck. Just remember that you will get more efficient over time, but it’s such a shock in the beginning.
I truly hope delivery is quick and smooth.
Thank you very much for your words of advice and encouragement! I will keep them in mind as I adjust to life with a baby. Glad to have you as a reader. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday afternoon.
Ellie