Pregnancy Calendar – Week 36

Nesting

Despite feeling whale-ish and slow and awkward, and despite not even remembering the last full night’s sleep you got, many pregnant women get a burst of nervous energy in the final weeks. You’ll get the patronizing “oh, you’re just NESTING” from everybody else, but not from me. I understand. There are fingerprints on those windows and unless you just go get the Windex right this minute you’ll be looking at those fingerprints six months from now oh my God get the Windex right this minute WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR.

Yes, I washed every windowpane in my house — inside and out — this weekend. I also had contractions at Pier One while shopping for chairs. I came home and assembled a swing and a bouncy seat, then installed the infant car seat base in my car. I bought shelves and spackled drywall and then scored myself a freshly painted basement ceiling when I announced my intention to do something about some old water stains while conveniently holding a painter’s mask and a can of surely terribly toxic stain sealer/primer stuff in front of my in-laws.

(My husband, for the record, is nesting just as badly as I am — he’s rearranged the furniture in three rooms so far, has plans for two more and has sketched out an impressive-looking diagram of a new kitchen island he apparently intends to build himself.)

(HAAAAAAAAAAAA.)

Some women don’t nest at all, some keep it confined to baby-centric preparations, and some of us lose our entire damn minds during the entire last month of pregnancy with a constant obsession of finishing long-procrastinated tasks and a ravenous compulsion to KEEP MOVING, STAY BUSY, CANNOT SIT STILL.

Whether it’s an ambitious decision to install a new tile backsplash or organize the linen closet or re-file everything in your office desk and cabinets, nesting can actually serve a noble purpose. You DO get things done that you’ve been putting off for ages and that likely won’t ever get done soon with a newborn in the house. You DO channel your nervous energy into something productive. Time WILL pass more quickly. You WILL feel calmer and more prepared for maternity leave and weeks of 24/7 baby duty when you cross things off the to-do list. And the constant activity and exercise CAN aid your body in preparing for labor (or even induce labor, depending on how much stock you hold in old wives’ tales).