6 “Out of the Nest” Ideas for…Nesting
As your pregnancy comes to an end, you may notice an increased desire to clean, organize, cook or otherwise prepare (mentally or physically) your “nest” for your baby’s arrival.
This may be in spite of your normal desire to do anything of the sort!
I spent more than one hour cleaning out the microwave a week before my second child was born.
This is a natural instinct and can feel very relieving and productive.
Here are a few “out of the nest” suggestions that can satisfy that instinct without involving oven cleaner, gloves or too much physical exertion after midnight. (I finished said microwave at 1 am.)
1. Test a few different fruit smoothie recipes and stock up the necessary ingredients in the freezer.
I love to throw whatever frozen fruit I have, a frozen banana, chia seeds, frozen, crunched up kale, whole milk yogurt and a bit of milk into the blender. (My big kids call it “breakfast ice cream.”) Yum.
2. Pick up an assortment of local take out menus and put them on the fridge for quick and easy access after the baby is born.
3. Make the baby’s crib and your bed up in a special way, taught to me by one of our lovely postpartum clients.
Buy 3-4 cotton crib and your-sized mattress sheets and flat mattress protectors. (Love IKEA for this kind of stuff!) Alternate one mattress protector, one sheet on the crib and your mattress. Then if baby spits up, a diaper leaks or your breasts leak, all you have to do is strip the soiled layer off to find a clean one below! (Ah-mazing for those late night sheet changes. Beats sleeping on a clean towel!)
4. Create mini-changing stations.
Take that big stock of disposable wipes and diapers you got at your baby shower and stash a package of wipes and 2-3 diapers everywhere you can think of. Car. Your nightstand. Near your couch. Partner’s car. Your purse. Diaper bag. Changing table. You can never have enough dipes or wipes nearby.
5. Make a list of places you can go with your baby once you’ve recovered from birth to hang with other moms and babies in your town.
Indoors and out, so that the options are weatherproof. If you’re super motivated, you can organize them by day of the week and time so that you can just quickly glance at the calendar on any given Tuesday if you really need to be around other grown ups that day.
6. Practice using whatever baby carrier you have with a stuffed animal.
Any effort you make on this front will save you precious time with your newborn later.
