Preparing My Nest: Winter Pregnancy Organizing for a Spring Baby

As friends of mine began to announce pregnancies and babies over the last few years, the term “nesting” kept coming up. At the time, I was unaware what the term truly meant. I knew it had to do with preparing your home for a baby, but I had no idea it would completely consume my free time once I became an expecting mother. While many people associate the winter months with blue feelings, nesting has created a sense of joy and purpose in my household. Here are some tips, tricks, and ideas for anyone expecting, trying to conceive, or helping a loved one prepare for parenthood. 

Make a List:

List making has been my saving grace since I began student teaching in college 9 years ago. For me, creating a list with colors or symbols to denote level of importance was helpful because as we started rattling off projects, more and more kept coming up. We knew it was unrealistic, both financially and timeline wise, to complete every single task we brainstormed, but prioritizing the items helped make the important ones doable. 

Here is an example of some of the items on our list:

• Turn office into nursery
• Turn guest room into a baby safe playroom
• Replace upstairs doors 
• Purge hall bathroom closet and organize with baby products
• Redo nursery and playroom closets for optimal storage space

Get Started Early:

Anyone who knows me personally was not surprised to see that my nursery and playroom were designed, organized, and completed before I reached the third trimester. I cannot tell you enough how beneficial it was to be on top of these two projects while I was still comfortable enough being on my feet for extended periods of time. I am lucky to have a saint for a husband who would have helped if I waited too long, but I truly enjoyed being a part of the process and would recommend without reservation to get started on projects early! If you have rough days throughout the second trimester, ask for help. It was both fun and rewarding having friends and family assist with these rooms as well. 

Wash Sooner Rather than Later:

By the time Christmas 2023 came and went, my house was exploding with baby clothes. Over my winter break, my mom came over and we washed, folded, and organized all the clothing I was given by category and size. Once we did this initial load, I made it a priority of mine to wash baby items as they came in. It has made my life so much easier. Will there be items I want to rewash later on? Absolutely. But having the bulk of the initial phases of laundry done has been satisfying. 

Document Everything:

For someone who is often on her phone, I did not do a good job documenting before and after photos of my rooms and projects. I have my own memories of what the rooms looked like pre-nesting, but not many photos or videos to show. If I could go back, I would have done more of this and would recommend it to other families nesting as well. Silver lining? I guess I was in the moment and taking a picture or video did not seem important. 

Listen to Advice:

Like most people in a similar situation to me, I get aggravated when people say “sleep now while you can!” But there are many other pieces of advice from friends and family that have been helpful to me and my husband. While I believe no two parenting styles and experiences are the same, I do believe that sharing stories, products, ideas, and experiences can be extremely helpful. 

Here are some of the most helpful pieces of advice I received from friends in regard to preparing my nest:

• Label everything! This way you know what you are looking at and things stay organized during stressful times.
• Keep highly trafficked spaces clean. Have baby safe wipes nearby to help keep germs to a minimum. 
• Accept hand me downs. It is unrealistic to expect yourselves to be able to afford all brand new items.
• Do laundry often. It adds up! 

Closing Thoughts: 

Pregnancy and nesting have been two moments in my life nothing and no one could have prepared me for. As I embark on this new journey with my husband, family, and friends by my side, I realize things in my house will have to change. To all my fellow parents and mamas to be, you got this! Keep your home comfortable and safe to make your new little one’s entrance into the world one you’ll never forget. 

These local shops have some really cute baby clothes!

Melange in Haddonfield

A Little Whimsy in Haddonfield

Forever Young Baby Shop in Collingswood

Raggamuffins in Evesham 

Posh Peanut (not local, but a favorite!)