productive vs. irrational nesting

Yes, there is a big difference.

Setting up your nursery and keeping it clean and dust-free would be considered productive nesting. Ok, so your newborn won't care if there is some blanket lint on the carpet of his room, but you are preparing a place in your home for that child. It makes sense to want it to be clean and ready for his arrival, just as you would want to put fresh sheets on a guest bed even though they would probably never know the difference.

Scrubbing the grout in the bathroom, straining your back to sanitize the shower drain every few days, cleaning out your pantry are a different story. All of these urges, while very useful for the rest of the family, are irrational because they have nothing to do with your newborn. I doubt if your little one will be upset if the pantry is disheveled. Or the shower drain is not gleaming. However, I do love this kind of nesting because it motivates me to tackle projects I have put off for far too long.

When I was pregnant with Moose I went through strong nesting phases starting early, perhaps around 20 weeks after the nausea had subsided. They varied between the productive and irrational variations. By the time I was 38 weeks along I started to keep the house impeccably spotless every day, just in case. Despite all of my best efforts, the morning my water broke and I went into labor followed the first night in weeks I had been too exhausted to wash the dishes, so I brought a newborn Moose home to clutter anyways. Oops.

I have only nested productively with this baby. I have nested in (what has become) the boys' room, coaxing the moving and setting up of all furniture. We cleaned it until it sparkled (yes I love that my husband helped me clean), and now I like to keep it nice and organized every day.

I am still waiting for my irrational nesting to kick in. Maybe because I am just so exhausted from the pregnancy and mommying my Moose. I wait for it, though. Any day now that pantry will be sparkling...