Nesting for the uninformed mother-to-be and those who have to suffer (with) her

In this case the uninformed mom-to-be is writing this text! And I have a new ability. It is called selective perception. Haha, according to hubby it is not really new. Anyway, since I always strive to be better than average, I can do more. I also have the ability of selective thinking. Mom, midwife, doc and friends have told me about nesting and said that it lasts weeks, actually months! I understood that correctly, but somehow what stuck with me was 'a few days'. Therefore I thought I'd collect some basics about nesting...as far as I remember them.

The general idea behind nesting is pretty clear, mommy wants the nest ready for baby, so that baby has a clean and safe place to grow up in. In the animal kingdom this is a primal instinct, and it is surely similar for us.

Nesting usually starts around the fifth month, or later, like the beginning of the third trimester or even later. In some cases it might only happen a few hours before delivery, like an energy surge you want to get rid of. I for one know this one from my mom and some friends, who were obviously nesting, but a day or a few hours before labour started, it intensified and they were scrubbing the floors like mad, while washing baby's clothes, desinfecting the house and ironing shirts. For the record: I do not do all of this at the same time yet. :-D But I can tell you that you can sort baby toys and baby onesies not only by size, but also by colour and weekday! And cleaning the computer keyboard is suddenly important, too. I have thought about cleaning the cupboard tops, but they are too high and I am not allowed to climb.

Oh, and you should be able to recognize it for what it is when it starts, .... just saying. I had not thought about nesting at all, until DF spelled it out for me. :-D I thought I was doing my usual tidying routine, only a little more, because I want everything fine for baby. So far, hubby had let me sort and arrange all I want, but he stopped me when I had thought about rearranging the tins according to size, too. :) If you suddenly enjoy the ideas for deep and thorough cleaning on facebook more than anything else, then you are probably third trimester and nesting. I haven't checked yet, but I think exactly this happened to me before we went on holiday. I love those homepages about cleaning more than ever before. (Here is one link with good ideas for cleaning btw)

This morning I have asked my best friend, mother and sisters about nesting, and all of them said unanimosly that I have been more crazy about cleaning and tidying, even before we went to our relatives in Britain. They also agreed that it has become much more obvious after we returned. ... And hubby said that I have tried cleaning and tidying everything in my mother's-in-law house, too. "Your honor, I just wanted to help! I plead 'not guilty'!" 

For your information, my mother-in-law had two pregnant daughters-in-law in her house at the same time during the holidays, and she always wanted to do things for us, which we found embarrassing, because we are pregnant, not handicapped (apart from moving gracefully, constant loovisits, remembering things and thinking clearly, that is!). So, we created times when she could relax and we could take over. I mean, the house was crowded and she wanted to do it all, was awfully busy and really needed some relaxed moments.That's not nesting, that's just dividing some of what needs to be done.

precautions

There are a few things that I just wanted to mention. Hubby makes sure that even in my cleaning and tidying madness, I do not carry anything heavy under any circumstances. I don't do this intentionally, because it could cause harm to baby. Nevertheless, there are sometimes moments when you might carry more than you should. 

Ever thought about the weight of a bucket full of water? Or, what about a tub full of wet laundry?! It is summer, maybe your laundry will dry outside.Sure, you don't want to run two or three times to get it all out into the sun, but rather do run one more time, if your partner is not there to carry the heavy things.

What about the shopping bags?! We had some discussions here because of that, especially early in my pregnancy, when I felt I could do it easily. Ask someone to help you. If they need  a reason, push your growing bump right into their nose, that will leave no doubt that they are doing the right thing when they help you!

...Oh, concerning cleaning, avoid those detergents with unhealthy solvents in them. You don't want to breathe in the wrong substances, as some chemicals might pass the barriers and be harmful to baby inside.

What about renovating baby's room? You might find yourself in clouds of unhealthy vapours from colours and other things. I also know that there might be substances in colours which you should not have on your skin, because it might absorb it and virtually poison you.

Talking about colours, if you are into oil painting, be sure of what you have in your colours. There are many poisonous kinds of colour you should avoid for sure!

If you have a cat, maybe your partner should clean the litter box, or you should at least wear rubber gloves to protect against toxoplasmosis. If you know there are cats in your garden, use gloves while digging, so that you don't touch their feces.

Yippeee, it is weekly countdown time for us again! 

Woohoo, we are in week 34 now! 

This means that the due date is only (!) six weeks away. Sounds like peanuts.


.... I want peanuts now...