In the weeks leading up to delivery moms-to-be will find that they will get the urge to clean everything in sight.
It is not uncommon for expectant moms to rush around the house reorganizing the cupboards, purge the closets and clean rooms that have not been in use for years.
“I’m just trying to get my house ready before the baby comes. It’s kind of hectic, it’s getting close and the house isn’t even ready yet.”
“I’m used to having to be somewhere all the time, and it’s kind of the first time in my life where I really haven’t been working in a while, and now it’s just about the baby being healthy, the house being ready, and nesting, it’s really different. It’s cool – I feel like I’m fully absorbing the whole experience.”
Many women acutely experience the nesting instinct in the final days of their pregnancy, and this can often be a sign that labor and delivery is close at hand.
It is believed that females are programmed to experience this nesting instinct in order to ensure that their offspring will be cared for properly after birth. By having your baby’s room ready, all her clothes organized, and her meals planned, you are ensuring that your baby will have the best chance for growth and survival after birth.
Some of the things that expectant moms find themselves doing during the nesting period are:
- packing and repacking your labor bag
- cleaning every room in the house
- joining new activities that you were previously uninterested in
- reorganizing your baby’s clothing
- painting and repainting your baby’s nursery
Even though my son arrived 16 weeks early, I nested obsessively for two weeks prior to his homecoming. I guess you don’t need to have a baby in your belly, you just need to know one will be coming home soon to get this instinct.
