Nesting

What is nesting?

The uncontrollable urge to clean your house, organize the closets, get new towels and scrub rooms with a toothbrush is known as "nesting". Most women will experience some degree of nesting during their pregnancy. The nesting instinct usually sets in around the fifth month of pregnancy and can last for quite some time. If the urge to nest comes closer to your due date, it could be a sign that labor is drawing near.

Most women have funny stories to tell about how they acted during the nesting phase. Did you fold the baby's clothes neatly, put them away, pull them out and do it all over again? Perhaps you organized all of the tupperware or silverware in your kitchen. Did you find yourself throwing away bed sheets and towels because they needed to new and fresh?

While nesting can be good and provide a great sense of accomplishment, you must be careful not to overdo yourself. There are some things to keep in mind when the nesting phase attacks!

Because paint fumes are not healthy for pregnant women to breathe in, you should avoid painting the nursery. Ask your spouse, a friend or family member to assist.
A clean house is a healthy house. However, use caution when using chemicals to clean with. Do not mix cleaners together, wear rubber gloves and a mask. Avoid breathing in the fumes from the cleaners that you use.
Be careful lifting, reaching and bending. Pregnancy makes you slightly unstable and clumsy. Use caution when doing these activities so that neither you or baby gets hurt.
Drink plenty of water while you work and take breaks often so that you can rest.

Comments: Nesting

Comments 1 to 10 of about 10.

Suddenlyalone - 843 days ago.
I wonder if baking and cooking is part of the nesting phase?? I want to bake and cook everything from scratch. I just made a cake and did not have enough frosting so I made some!! Last week it was cookies :D Next is to make a cake from scratch it will be sooo fun!!!!

charmara - 933 days ago.
Have to be nesting. 27 weeks, but I have the cabinets ready for baby stuff, kids rooms clean and organized including babies room. Now reading about cleaning the van makes me think I should do that ! I am driving DH crazy I think.

ser0229 - 1111 days ago.
I must be nesting. I completely tore apart our bedroom Wed morning before my dr's appt. Packing up winter clothes for storage, washing the new babies clothes, packed our bags for the hospital. I'm 34 weeks 3 days now. I just came in from trimming the hedges with the electric hedge clipper! It was really hot so I was only out there 15mins but I felt like I could be out there all day. I came in to cool off even though I REALLY didn't want to. My DD came at 36 wks 5 days and they think this one will be about the same time. I didn't nest this hard with her. I've also had a bad pregnancy still taking Zofran every morning for nausea. I have no idea where this energy is coming from. I really, really want to go vacuum and wash my car! :)

leamerre - 1221 days ago.
i'm 36 weeks & suddenly at 5am I have the urge to clean. Dishes, trash, laundry it doesn't matter, I just can't sleep because I keep wanting to clean all of these things!

3rd babba due 9-1-10 - 1251 days ago.
im 37 weeks today, and woke up thismorning after spending the whole of yesterday in bed with a huge urge to clean the house-disinfecting random things, washing and ironing EVERYTHING sorting out old junk cupboards, tidied kids rooms, cooked, the full works. god i hope this is the start of something!

babynguyen2 - 1350 days ago.
I normally am the worst house wife there is, I just dont do anything! i hate cleaning but I have been nesting for about a week now, everyday my husband comes home he can't complain like before. It was funny he came home last night still a little upset from our fight from earlier and was like you didn't do anything on Tuesday but got to your aunts house, I looked at him with a smile and said bullsh*t, I came home and did some laundry and the dishes! He goes 'O', that shut him up!!! Hahahaha My house looks really good and I did alot of the cleaning myself cause normally I need help, I hope this nesting lasts cause I can't go back to DH coming home every night mad cause I didn't do anything!

Beautiful Bre - 1352 days ago.
oh my heck nesting is horrible! with my son i nested and i did it bad right before i hit the day i went into labor. they usually say that when you have that burst of energy you know you will go into labor. well, heck with this pregnancy i have hit many burst of energy. im a clean freak and it drives me crazy sometimes. my husband thinks i have taken some sort of crack cause i dont stop!

lynsey-3 - 1596 days ago.
hi, im 29+5 and nesting like mad!!! this is my 3rd baby, i dodnt nest at all with my 1st i wanted to cook ALL the time, i made things i dont even like jus because i wanted to cook!!! i did nest a little with my daughter now 2 but not much as i was sos o bad with morning sickness all the way thru my pregnancy i couldnt even eat as the smell of food made me sick. but this time around i have got the 'nesting' thing full whack lol, i am constantly cleaning and tidying EVERYTHING!!! its fab lol lynsey xxx

2b - 1638 days ago.
Joscelyn~ as much as I appreciate your need for clean right now (I too am going crazy cleaning) I want to warn you that washing your dogs too often is really bad for their skin :( Try to direct your nesting somewhere other then the pooches...

joscelyn - 1644 days ago.
When you use a carpet cleaner on your floors 3 times a week.... I think that is nesting. My husbnad laughs because are carpets are sooo clean but I just have the urge to clen them all the time. Bathrooms, kitchen whatever, I want to clean. Thats all I talk about to is what needs to be done and what I can do to make the house cleaner. We have 2 dogs and I am now to giving them a bath 2 times a week. I am sure they are suffering just as much as my husband is!