Nesting
They say pregnant women go into a nesting mode shortly before the baby arrives. Supposedly, they thoroughly clean the house like a whirling dervish and aren't satisfied until even the canned goods are lined up in alphabetical order, walls are washed down and upholstery steam cleaned, every last weed has been plucked from the yard and cards for the next three months of loved ones' birthdays are purchased (or better yet, mailed out). Even outside the house, co-workers have been drilled ad infinitum about what to do during maternity leave. It's all to get ready to bring that baby into a clean and organized world.
With about three weeks of pregnancy left, I'm nesting too. So far, I've deleted old numbers out of my cell phone address book. Oh yeah, and checked to make sure I still have some scented drawer liners for the vintage dresser where the baby's clothes and blankets will go.
My husband, however, has removed old furniture from what will be the baby's room, installed a new ceiling fan, shopped for and installed new window blinds, had new carpeting put in (it's made out of corn!) and even patched and painted the wall outside the room when he found a crack. Just as he did for our son, he also is painting murals on the walls. Because we aren't finding out the baby's sex, we decided to go with a birds and bugs nature theme. (We'll just add more butterflies and ladybugs if the baby turns out to be a girl.) My husband asked me to take a look at what he has done so far:
I love it --he made the leaves with his thumb -- but I was a little disappointed when I first saw it.
"Oh," I said.
"What's wrong?" my husband asked.
"I was going to stencil some little birds in the tree. Maybe even a nest with little eggs or baby birds."
"So?"
"There's an owl in the tree. Owls eat baby birds," I told him.
"Well, it's a vegetarian owl," my husband said, not at all concerned about the food chain playing out in our baby's nursery.
"I'll let you explain that one to the baby," I told him, still thinking about the cute little birds' nest and how to keep the new carpet blood- and feather-free. (Owls can be messy.)
I'll find a way ... after I clean the lint out of the dryer ....
- - - - -
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With about three weeks of pregnancy left, I'm nesting too. So far, I've deleted old numbers out of my cell phone address book. Oh yeah, and checked to make sure I still have some scented drawer liners for the vintage dresser where the baby's clothes and blankets will go.
My husband, however, has removed old furniture from what will be the baby's room, installed a new ceiling fan, shopped for and installed new window blinds, had new carpeting put in (it's made out of corn!) and even patched and painted the wall outside the room when he found a crack. Just as he did for our son, he also is painting murals on the walls. Because we aren't finding out the baby's sex, we decided to go with a birds and bugs nature theme. (We'll just add more butterflies and ladybugs if the baby turns out to be a girl.) My husband asked me to take a look at what he has done so far:
I love it --he made the leaves with his thumb -- but I was a little disappointed when I first saw it.
"Oh," I said.
"What's wrong?" my husband asked.
"I was going to stencil some little birds in the tree. Maybe even a nest with little eggs or baby birds."
"So?"
"There's an owl in the tree. Owls eat baby birds," I told him.
"Well, it's a vegetarian owl," my husband said, not at all concerned about the food chain playing out in our baby's nursery.
"I'll let you explain that one to the baby," I told him, still thinking about the cute little birds' nest and how to keep the new carpet blood- and feather-free. (Owls can be messy.)
I'll find a way ... after I clean the lint out of the dryer ....
- - - - -
Can you take a few seconds and vote for Tropic of Mom in the Nickelodeon Parents' Picks Awards here? You can vote every day!
For Local Blog in MiamiLabels: design, domestic life, parenthood, the dad crazies, the mom crazies, wildlife
posted by Holly at Tropic of Mom at 7:47 AM
For Local Blog
14 Comments:
I like the owl- he doesn't look too sinister. But you still might want to check the area for regurgitated bones of small animals.
Love the detail!
It's a good thing you know stuff like that. I'm pretty animal stupid and probably would've done a mural with a lion laying down by a lamb like they are best friends. Oh wait....isn't there a scripture about that somewhere....?
The nesting is useful at least. I suffered instead with the less practical "hibernating" symptom of late pregnancy. I don't even remember the last four weeks. ;) Love the owl, whatever his intentions for the baby birds.
I am soooo tired as of late I cannot imagine nesting ... I just want to sleep sleep sleep.
I still have so much I want to do :(
Your husband made one very cool looking owl. I'm sure it won't eat the baby birds also living in the tree. But, then again, you're pregnant, you can always make your husband paint over the owl, so your birds can have peace.
Sounds like I nested just about as much as you :P I think I finally did some of her laundry around week 37, but cleaning? AS IF. If being pregnant made me want to clean, my husband would make sure we had like 25 kids...
I did not nest at all with any of my pregnancies. I was so disappointed because I'd hoped I would get tons of stuff done. Nope.
I didn't have the nesting instinct at all. It wasn't until after she was born that I was like "holy crap, we have a kid and need to get our act together!"
I love the mural!
um. I was not a crazy nester who keep a running list of all the baby supplies she needed next to the bed and would wake up in a cold sweat to check and see if i had something written down or not. I will not admit to any other than a love for Cheez its during pregnancy.
You two are so artistic!
I'm sure it's a very friendly owl.
You have quite the husband! I suppose you could add some little painted mice scurrying along the ground to distract the owl from the little baby birds. Well, maybe that wouldn't actually make it easier to explain. ;)
LOL! You are too funny pointing out the owl's diet :)
That is so sweet you guys are painting a mural in the baby's room. I remember some of that nesting phase. I think I vacuumed a lot. Perhaps a few times a day.
Wow! That's a pretty amazing mural...owl and all! And I started nesting about 3 months before my babies arrived!
I would love to be a fly on the wall in your house! You and JP have such interesting conversations!
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