Nesting
I'd never heard of nesting until a few months ago. One day a switch went off in my subconscience that told me I needed to get some things in order before our baby arrives. While I'm not going through all of the physical changes that Kelsey is during pregnancy, I am going through a lot of emotional changes: trying to figure out how our marriage might change, how selfless I'll need to be and things I can't wait to do with my daughter.
I guess my parental instincts kicked in at some point and the father in me felt the need to prepare to protect our nest.
It's kind of like getting ready to go on vacation. You try not to get too excited too early, but at some point, you have to start packing. Kelsey does this about a week ahead of time, while I know I can get it done the night before. Either way it always gets done.
5 Ways I've Nested
- Taking classes: I took an expecting daddy class at a hospital about a month ago. It wasn't a hands-on practical class, but it helped me to understand what to expect in the delivery room, after delivery and after baby comes home. We also took a birth class, a hospital tour, a baptism class (at church) and a breastfeeding class. We also are signed up to take a baby care class.
- Preparing the nursery: It was very honoring for me to be able to put together our nursery. Assembling the rocking chair, dresser, crib and bookshelf gave me great joy. I just kept thinking about how much love I have for this little one already, and all the things she will do in her room as she grows and changes.
- Cleaning out the basement: With the flood of baby equipment that has been brought into our home, it was very important to me that we have a system in place for how to keep our stuff organized. We moved in to our house 4.5 years ago, and it was time to tackle this with a strategy to help stay organized. We now have room and a place for all the baby items that we have gotten as gifts from our first baby shower.
- Preparing documents: While we haven't finalized these yet, it's on my list of things to do. We are finalizing term life insurance plans, something we've waited far too long to do. Dave Ramsey would give us an F on that test. We also plan to have a lawyer friend help us create a will after she is born. I also made myself a playbook for the delivery room because while we learned a lot from our birthing class, there is no way I will remember everything once the time comes.
- Safety measures: I've turned down our water heater to 120 degrees as suggested, installed the car seat base and we made sure to register for cabinet/drawer locks for when baby gets a little older.
It's not a real long list, but these are things I didn't really think about doing when we found out we were pregnant. I think we all come to a moment when the need to prepare for the baby sends us into nesting mode.
This is going to sound weird, but it's pretty hard being the father. All I want to do is fix things. So when Kelsey is in pain and not feeling well, it seems I can't do anything to help her and that hurts me. No amount of back rubs can release the pain of growing a human inside of you.
While I would gladly shoulder this pain for my bride, I can't. So it's only fair that she gets the good parts of the pregnancy as well. She gets to bond with our baby and experience the kicks and rolls firsthand. I get to watch and feel, but it's easy to tell that she has a special bond with our little one already and I feel like I'm missing out. So I do what apparently is natural to the human species. I nest.
Have any of you experienced nesting firsthand?