Feathering the Nest

[buxxxom]

Feathering the nest.

There is an antique store in the town near where I live, called "The Feathered Nest." Saw that sign yesterday, and started thinking about the DL family, and their new bundle of joy. It made me remember some of the things I was so obsessed with during pregnancy, and getting ready for my own two kidlets arrival.

I was just wondering what some of the weird things you all did, (or your wives, men) in anticipation of the happy event. Did they stop at the birth, or do they still continue?

For me, I couldn't pass a trash can with garbage in it in our home. I had to look at empty trash cans if they were visible, or toss all the refuse into the one under the sink (not visible).

Also, the floor had to be swept daily. This was my first pregnancy, and it was the south in the summer. Bare feet. I couldn't stand the feel of grit on the floor, so I swept. Constantly. Still don't like it, but am much less obsessed with it. Now, I just wear socks.

So, Lit Moms and Dads, Aunts and Uncles, how did you feather your nest? Did you work hard to make just the right nursery? Fess up. It'll make me feel less neurotic, and be interesting at the same time.

 

[cloudy]

My middle one went two weeks over his due date. About a week after he was due, that urge hit me...you know, where everything has to be beyond spotless, and you see dirt and grime everywhere.

I swear, I cleaned the linoleum in the bathroom with a friggin' toothbrush so that I could get up next to the baseboards and around the cabinets.

That wasn't enough to make me satisfied, so then I rearranged all the furniture in the entire house. What wasn't fairly lightweight I moved by sitting on the floor and pushing it with my back.

You're not the only one.

 

[buxxxom]

My middle one went two weeks over his due date. About a week after he was due, that urge hit me...you know, where everything has to be beyond spotless, and you see dirt and grime everywhere.

I swear, I cleaned the linoleum in the bathroom with a friggin' toothbrush so that I could get up next to the baseboards and around the cabinets.

That wasn't enough to make me satisfied, so then I rearranged all the furniture in the entire house. What wasn't fairly lightweight I moved by sitting on the floor and pushing it with my back.

You're not the only one.

I know that urge! Now I try to quell it with something decadent! It passes a lot sooner than it used to, and I get to tell myself I'm exhibiting self control.

 

[christabelll]

my daughter was two weeks over -
so my "quickening" lasted somewhat longer -
The first bam was walking into my kitchen - and insisting that it had to be redone - new flooring new everything .... I ended up sterilizing the floor something like ten times LOL... everything got scrubbed down to the original paint! LOL....
The other was that everything had to be binned. Nothing could be left lying about. If it sat there for more than 5 minutes into a box and into a cabinet.
And the next was everything thing washable in the house got washed. With bleach and oxy clean and enzyme wash and you name it I washed from bed pillows to curtains LOL....

With my son - was two weeks early
I was obsessed with softness. MY ex just about killed me. All the furniture coverings - all the bedding was replaced with ultra soft fabrics and bedding. The softer it was the more I felt like I was happy. It was high HUMID summer with no AC I would stick my feet in a tub of cold water and wrap up in a fuzzy blanket. I had to have it.

And on both of them I absolutely craved unfiltered ice cold wheat beer that last month... The Doc told me I could have one a day... and I SAVORED that. OMG It was ambrosia in a bottle - thick almost chewy - icy brisk - Oddly enough it kept the heartburn down to minimal levels at night......

 

[Vermilion]

OK. Never been pregnant, but I get a cleaning fetish every month - does anyone else get PMT triggered nesting or am I as much of an oddity as I feel?

Last time I got mould obsessed and started scrubbign and bleaching everything. I only realise what inspired it a couple of days later when I start cramping.


x
V

 

[LoquaciousLady]

My first time around my main obsession was with grout. The walls of the bathroom were completely tiled and I just became obsessed with cleaning that grout. I would sit there half the day every day scrubbing the grout lines with a bleached toothbrush.

That was also the pregnancy where I went into labor and decided I had to have a haircut before I could possibly go to the hospital so, to the dismay of my stylist, I sat there in the lovely salon chair timing my contractions. I think I freaked everyone out with how I acted that day. The OB had said not to even call until my contractions were five minutes apart so I went about my day. Went to appointments, got my hair cut, went shopping, cleaned house, you name it.

The second time I was too sick to care about that stuff. I was just so miserable and it was such a hard pregnancy. The house would have fallen apart if it hadn't been for my husband. A lot of days I didn't even get out of bed, just laid there in the fetal position. Sometimes I laid on the tile floor in the bathroom that way instead, in hopes that the cold would lend some relief.

With the third child I felt so much better again that I decided, in my eighth month, that I couldn't possibly bring a child into a home with that blown-on "cottage cheese" junk on the ceilings. So I started scraping it off. Then, of course, I would have to clean the floors to get the dust and debris up. And scrub the walls because it just had to be done.

I also had this compulsion about the fridge. I cleaned it every day. I would take everything out, scrub the walls and shelves down with bleach water, put it all back. Then I climbed up the step stool and scrubbed down the top because it freaked me out to imagine dust or dirt up there. I did the same sort of thing with the washer and dryer. After every load of laundry I would scrub every crack and crevice with bleach and a toothbrush and then half disassemble the dryer to get every speck of lint out of it.

Of course, I'm a tad compulsive about cleaning anyway. I'm the madwoman who sweeps and vacuums and dusts six days a week.

 

[christabelll]

Where are you?
Can I pay you to do that for me?

 

[tickledkitty]

My daughter was a preemie, so I never had those last-minute compulsions. What I did do, though, was buy her stuff all during my pregnancy. I don't mean just baby stuff. I have a special fondness for children's literature, so whenever I'd see a special book, I'd pick it up. I saw an adorable Easter basket when I was only 2 to 3 months along and bought that for her as well. My mother kept telling me I was crazy.

I'm thinking about all the books now. She has an amazing collection. All of her own, plus all of my childhood books and my brother's. She loves them all. She's just the kind of child I wanted her to be. The old things mean so much to her. I saved things for her--my porcelain tea set, all my Barbie dolls, my brother's kabillion Matchbox cars, his Legos. How'd I get so lucky?

 

[buxxxom]

My daughter was a preemie, so I never had those last-minute compulsions. What I did do, though, was buy her stuff all during my pregnancy. I don't mean just baby stuff. I have a special fondness for children's literature, so whenever I'd see a special book, I'd pick it up. I saw an adorable Easter basket when I was only 2 to 3 months along and bought that for her as well. My mother kept telling me I was crazy.

I'm thinking about all the books now. She has an amazing collection. All of her own, plus all of my childhood books and my brother's. She loves them all. She's just the kind of child I wanted her to be. The old things mean so much to her. I saved things for her--my porcelain tea set, all my Barbie dolls, my brother's kabillion Matchbox cars, his Legos. How'd I get so lucky?

Aww! My mom saved all my stuff for me, too, but loaned it to my uncle for my cousin to use. He and his wife stored it outside, in a leaky barn! All my books were ruined. Good for you for keeping up with all that stuff for her.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

With my first one.......I repainted the kitchen. Like a psycho woman.

 

[The_Fool]

With my first one.......I repainted the kitchen. Like a psycho woman.

You are a psycho woman.

 

[LoquaciousLady]

Where are you?
Can I pay you to do that for me?

LOL The funny thing is I don't even like cleaning. I do like living in very clean surroundings, though.

What I did do, though, was buy her stuff all during my pregnancy. I don't mean just baby stuff. I have a special fondness for children's literature, so whenever I'd see a special book, I'd pick it up.

My husband and I were the same way. The day after we found out I was pregnant he went out and bought the baby "A Wrinkle in Time" as her first book. By the time she was born she had pretty much the great works for ages birth through adulthood. We're both a little bit bibliomanic, though, so I figured we were odd. The poor kids. I pack away the stuff that's too young for them but they've still got more books than they have room for. Of course, that pretty much describes our entire house.

 

[tickledkitty]

LOL The funny thing is I don't even like cleaning. I do like living in very clean surroundings, though.



My husband and I were the same way. The day after we found out I was pregnant he went out and bought the baby "A Wrinkle in Time" as her first book. By the time she was born she had pretty much the great works for ages birth through adulthood. We're both a little bit bibliomanic, though, so I figured we were odd. The poor kids. I pack away the stuff that's too young for them but they've still got more books than they have room for. Of course, that pretty much describes our entire house.

My mom got my daughter a set of Sesame Street books, real picture books, not board books. We let her have them as soon as she could actually sit up and hold one. Only a couple of them got ripped and marked in with crayons. She was horrified when she did it because she loved them so. I think it gave her a life-long appreciation for books. I hope so, anyway.

 

[tickledkitty]

My mom got my daughter a set of Sesame Street books, real picture books, not board books. We let her have them as soon as she could actually sit up and hold one. Only a couple of them got ripped and marked in with crayons. She was horrified when she did it because she loved them so. I think it gave her a life-long appreciation for books. I hope so, anyway.

Also, we all read to her a lot. Still do, even though she can read herself now.

Sorry for getting off topic, Mrs. DL.

 

[mellowgyrl]

With my first I wasn't obsessed at all with cleaning. Didn't like to do it and if I could have afforded it I would have hired somebody to do it for me. But I did have an obssession with potatoes and walking. Don't ask...I don't have a clue what was going on in that brain of mine!

With my second though I was a mad woman with cleaning. I wanted everything clean because I feared if something was dirty it would smell and I didn't do well with odor with my 2nd pregnancy. Flowers, cologne, perfume, food....everything made me sick to my stomach. Consequently, everything was cleaned. My 2nd was also a planned c-section so I knew what day and time she was coming so I cleaned feverishly for a week before she came. Of course my husband and my son managed to destroy all that in the 3 days I was in the hospital.

The other week I cleaned my house from top to bottom. Cleaned the banister, railings, mopboards, walls, light switches, chandeliers...you name it, I cleaned it. My husband came home from work and said, "Oh God, you're not pregnant again are you??" LOL Nope! None of that anymore - took care of all that business!

 

[English Lady]

I don't remember any urges like that at all -my mum had them for me. she was so good. she came down nearly every weekend to clean and paint and put up new furniture and shop for baby stuff. she was such an awesome help -even if her compulsive rearranging of my cutlery drove my husband and I mad *L*

 

[cloudy]

With my first one.......I repainted the kitchen. Like a psycho woman.

I swear, we're related somehow. My mother was painting the stairwell when she went into labor with me.

I craved italian salad dressing when I was pregnant with my second one. Normally, I can take it or leave it, but I just had to have it when I was carrying him. After awhile, there didn't seem to be enough of it on the salads I ate, so for about two weeks, I drank it, believe it or not.

 

[buxxxom]

Oh, I wanted bbq sauce. The sweet, red, sticky kind. On anything, it didn't matter. Chicken, pork chops, a spoon. Orange juice too. Never before had orange juice tasted so healthy, nor has it since.

The only craving I wasn't able to satisfy easily was one for a kind of candy I'd had as a child, Astropops. I needed the pointy, fruity taste of whatever those yellow, green, and red layers were supposed to be, and the wax disc that nestled the bottom of the sucker!

 

[mellowgyrl]

I swear, we're related somehow. My mother was painting the stairwell when she went into labor with me.

I craved italian salad dressing when I was pregnant with my second one. Normally, I can take it or leave it, but I just had to have it when I was carrying him. After awhile, there didn't seem to be enough of it on the salads I ate, so for about two weeks, I drank it, believe it or not.

I had something similar to that....caesar salads. Couldn't get enough of them, but they had to be the right kind - I was super picky about what caesar salads I would eat which made going out for lunch a chore! That and potatoes - baked, fried, mashed, smashed - I wanted them anyway and every way possible!

Oh yeah, and before I got pregnant with my first I didn't eat beef or pork. Once I got knocked up I had this insatiable craving for steak. I wanted it medium with lots of onions and steak sauce. Weirdest thing in the world! Also, once I got pregnant I couldn't stand chicken. I couldn't eat it or fix it. Handling a raw chicken just made me sick to my stomach. Pregnancy hormones are a trip!

 

[Stella_Omega]

I did some cleaning, but what I can recall was more like decorating. My daughter came just when baby things were coming out of the pastel blue and pink, and there were black, white, and red bedding as such. I decided i didn't like any of it, and bought white bedding and hand-painted it. I was so pleased that I painted lots and lots of things-- the wrought-iron bannister, the back tiles of the fake fireplace, the kitchen cabinets and backsplash all got fancied up.

Oddly enough, that's what I did during my second pregnancy, too-- for pay...

And I craved the Mexican fruit popsicles-- Paletas. A guy with a wheeled stand came around once a day...

 

[LoquaciousLady]

My food cravings were so nutty when I was pregnant. I craved a different kind of sno-cone each time. First was cherry. I even had one after my hair appointment before I went to the hospital. That'll learn me to eat just before delivery. Second was pickle juice. Third was blue coconut. I don't even like blue coconut the rest of the time.

And all three times I craved corn on the cob which makes me literally gag when I'm not pregnant. And milk. I never drink milk except when I'm pregnant. It was just odd.