The Progression of Nesting Syndrome

MercyC1130 · September 2015

Let me paint you a picture:

Pre-pregnancy idea of nesting:
Cute little birds fluttering around collecting twigs and leaves, skillfully piecing them together and holding them together with regurgitated worms. Adorable.

Early-pregnancy idea of nesting:
My cute little self fluttering around in clothes that fit, with a cute little feather duster humming a pretty little tune with no particular melody. Slight smile on my face and the tiniest bead of sweat on my brow. Using my homemade earth-friendly cleaning supplies and giggling at the toilet seat left up and shrugging my shoulders when I find huge (yet somehow adorable) dust bunnies under my bed. Placing adorable little infant clothes on adorable little hangers, smiling serenly as I put them in their own little spot in my shared closet.

Third trimester nesting:
Grunting and attempting in vain to pull my shirt down as I clean the ceiling fan for the third time this week. Muttering not so discreetly as I go to the bathroom to find the toilet seat up, again. Pouring sweat as I wonder how in the world I'm going to fit any more packages of diapers in my tiny closet. Tearing up when I look in the back of the closet to see if somehow its grown to give me more space, instead finding a pile of clothes that once upon a time I looked cute in. Going to the bathroom, only to glance over at the tub and see an unknown stain staring back. Getting my earth friendly homemade cleaning supplies, but after an hour am dreaming of just filling entire tub with bleach. Bursting into tears when I find puppy chewing on cradle leg, then apologize to puppy for dramatic outburst. Bursting into tears when I see dust on headboard. I swear I just cleaned that. Deciding to repaint bedroom. Deciding to repaint entire house. Going to the bathroom with eyes closed so I don't look at sink. Wondering how I could ever bring a real live human baby into this house when there are dusty demonic bunnies under bed (I swear I just cleaned under there). Falling down on bed and tearing up because baby is kicking and it's probably all going to be okay, right? Right. Having to sit up because I can't breathe.

modanz1 · September 2015

I hand scrubbed a large area rug outside today and I was sure had started nesting but after this story, I think I have not yet arrived!

kestes946 · September 2015

Oh man, the daunting tasks before baby arrives. Makes me shutter. #procrastinationismything

Alexis514 · September 2015

I'm right there with you! If I wasn't pregnant, I would definitely be diagnosed with severe OCD right now!

kmkrushi · September 2015

I just laughed so hard I cried. It's so true!

Gapeach83 · September 2015

Mine was
1st tri. Haha none got plenty of time
2nd tri re organize all closets and basement. Clean everything. Make all the cute stuff
3rd tri my brain says clean re - organize closets again. But body says lay on couch and eat all the foods. Cleaning changes every week one week clean clean clean next skew it it's not that bad.

MercyC1130 · September 2015

@Gapeach83 For my second tri I was pretty mellow about cleaning. Now it's defiantly becoming real so I clean so much for a few days and then for a few days I just feel accomplished if I make food and do the dishes.

Falchas · September 2015

"Wondering how I could ever bring a real live human baby into this house when..."

This. I yell this at my husband at least once a week (today it was about door that desperately needs to be repainted). And this is my second. You'd think I would know that babies are perfectly happy whether the doors look good or not. And just read this morning about how Honest Co. is getting sued for misrepresentation of ingredients! Blerg! I'm just spraying everything down with diluted vinegar and crossing my fingers no one in my family gets a cold. And nope, vinegar does nothing for the tub stains, so I too am just closing my eyes!

jsawicki · September 2015

Well said! This is totally me right now! My to-do list is so long and somehow went from decorating the baby's room to re-decorating and arranging the whole house. Everything seems dirty and I am also considering repainting!

MercyC1130 · September 2015

Falchas said:

"Wondering how I could ever bring a real live human baby into this house when..."
This. I yell this at my husband at least once a week (today it was about door that desperately needs to be repainted). And this is my second. You'd think I would know that babies are perfectly happy whether the doors look good or not. And just read this morning about how Honest Co. is getting sued for misrepresentation of ingredients! Blerg! I'm just spraying everything down with diluted vinegar and crossing my fingers no one in my family gets a cold. And nope, vinegar does nothing for the tub stains, so I too am just closing my eyes!

I didn't know that about honest co. I wonder to what extent they were misinterpreting themselves. I read, although they haven't had the lawsuits I don't think, that babyganics isn't all they seem either. Guess its easy to cash in on the going green thing.
Lol. Yeah, I doubt baby's going to care about the color of the room or door or much of the other million things we worry about.

logarithm3 · September 2015

I've cleaned places that had never been cleaned since we moved in 2 years ago!

Not that they were really dirty or anything but they were not "perfectly clean"

VexedMommy · September 2015

When I was pregnant with my first, I would sweep and mop the nursery floor every single night. I was the only person going in and out of that room and even then I only went in and out to clean it after it was set up. lol.

This time around, I'm not as crazy about the cleaning since I'm working 40 - 50hrs a week and have two older kids. Something had to give or I would end up in a ball in the corner crying over everything I don't have time to do. I'm also lucky enough to have a SAHD as my bf so I'm passing the buck on some of the major cleaning. I wish men got nesting fever too. He really doesn't understand why I freak out when the floor hasn't been vacuumed, or the bags of goodwill stuff haven't been removed yet.

rebeccalynn27 · September 2015

This is all so true!!!! I started laughing hysterically then I started sobbing thinking about all I have left to do before baby comes. DH asked if I was losing it. Lol.

)

grapesoda1111 · September 2015

So funny and true! Especially the part about closing your eyes. I scan the bathroom every time I go in there expecting to find a spot I missed. FIL will be down this weekend, the house has to be clean! Must. Close. My. Eyes Must. Scrub. Floors. By. Hand.

FilbertTree · September 2015

It totally hit me this weekend. I tidied and rearranged the living room, scrubbed the kitchen counters, cobwebbed the entire house, cleaned the bathroom including another dose of Liquid Plumbr down the bath drain because it's still clogged, made a boppy pillow, went to walmart in search of baby stuff and ended up buying more cleaning products and flatpack furniture... DH and DS are driving me completely BSC because they're not doing anything around the house. Yes, DH works about 82659461 hours a week and I work about 25, but I'm making a human over here. We're still mid renovation, and that's not going to magically change before this little spud arrives, but we do ABSO-EFFING-LUTELY have to get an electrician and a plumber in to hook up the washer and dryer before I have infant laundry to do, because there is no way on this planet that I am dragging myself, a tiny human, and a shit-tonne of laundry out of the house to the laundromat in another horrible New England winter. /endrant

AmyReneT · September 2015

i really didnt even think "nesting" was a thing, and for sure if it was i would be one to not get it cus i am not usually an organized person.... cut to 31 weeks- cleaned out my front closet and had hubby help me put in shelves for all shoes, cleaned all of the inside of my fridge, planted flowers and put down mulch outside (while sweating my ass off), completely finished baby room at like 15 weeks (I know crazy), and now reno of BOTH bathrooms, and there's more I won't bore you with... ugh the nesting is REAL my friends

AmoLovesAud · September 2015

My nesting so far has mostly taken the form of "Must Pack Everything for the Move (in like a month) Right Freaking Now!" and also "KNIT ALL THE THINGS!" I'm not even knitting baby stuff much anymore. I pulled out a shawl I started over a year ago and abandoned because it was a PITA, but now it MUST be done before baby gets here!

I'm sure once we're in the house nesting will give me a huge urge to unpack all the things, but thankfully the house is quite a bit bigger than our apartment, and there's a lot of built-in shelving, so there is plenty of space for stuff (at least that's what I keep telling myself!)

Kitta+1 · September 2015

I can't focus on one thing to clean - every time I go to put something away something else looks dirty and I have to scrub that. I used to just start in one room and work it on through the house methodically. Now I feel like a manic spazz airhead because I can't concentrate long enough to finish one task. Two weeks til mamma comes to vacation here for a little while - at that point I'll be only 6 weeks from my due date, so I'm hoping she just decides to stay and call it an extended vacation. She's got OCD, so between the two of us by the time baby comes you could probably consider my house a sterile field, lmao.

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