The Nesting Bug

I found out I was pregnant in April of this year, and while I had the elated, YEY feeling, I quickly panicked. For many, nesting doesn’t really set in until closer to the time of the baby’s arrival. For me, it was almost immediately. I felt completely unprepared. My two step-children have lived with us for five years, and we did not keep a single baby item. I waited, quite some time, to buy anything, but then an array of baby showers struck and it seemed like every time I bought a gift for someone, I bought something for my little bundle of joy too. Then came the day of my 12 week appointment, and panic set in again. I had some small items (diapers, wipes, a bottle rack dryer, etc.), but nothing that screamed, “We’re having a baby!” So, that day I bought the bassinet. Immediately everyone told me that I was getting ahead of myself, I had plenty of time, and that I would get a lot from the baby shower. My fear was, yeah, I would get a lot from the baby shower, a lot of clothes. I was super concerned about the big stuff. Let’s just say, my panic has subsided a little. I’m not so worried about “stuff” for the baby. Other than a breast pump, I have enough here at home to survive with a baby (and I still have 4 ½ months to go). But my nesting hormones have far from subsided. I’ve moved on to stressing about the house. Where do we put the baby, how will things fit? We have to replace our carpet, it’s just not sanitary. How will we get all of Hannah’s (our 6 year old) Barbie stuff up off the floor and keep it out of baby’s mouth. Needless to say, I have spent the last two months concerning myself with making kid friendly places, and having a clean and sanitary home. Unfortunately, I have neither the motivation nor the energy to get a whole lot done in one day. What used to take me a few hours on the weekend to “deep clean” is now taking me weeks because I over analyze each room. I have the upstairs almost completed, but there is still a long ways to go, and there are a total of 6 rooms to clean downstairs, all of which have been touched on, but not finished. When I realized, I might be going to the extreme, and my hormones were getting the better of me by unleashing anger at Chad because he was sitting on the couch watching TV while I cleaned, I sat down and did some “research”. I Googled “pregnancy, nesting” and read some pretty funny stories about other women and their nesting stages. I can honestly say, I may not be as crazy as I thought I was getting. I have yet to tackle my house with a toothbrush, or washing out the washing machine, but I definitely do have the cleaning bug and a sudden sense to create “home-made” crafty projects for the house. I even learned how to use a sewing machine so that I could “save a few bucks” by making my own receiving blankets, burp cloths, and car seat covers. It’s funny the way baby hormones can change a “don’t care what it looks like” attitude into a get it spotless and organized one!