Channeling that energy
During this mysterious time of pregnancy, women have been known to scrub imaginary germs off tiles with a toothbrush, reorganize the foods in their cupboards alphabetically, repaint and wallpaper the new nursery, only to mysteriously end up repainting and wallpapering out into the rest of the house.
Here are a few good ideas for channeling that nesting energy so that when the baby does come and you need to rest, you will be able to pat yourself on the back and reach for a ready-made meal.
Pack that bag
First of all, get your bag ready for the hospital now. Who cares if it's a month early? That is one less thing you need to worry about and there is a sense of security in knowing all you have to do is to GET to the hospital. For an even better precautionary step, put the bag next to the front door. When you start feeling out of sorts and as if you aren't getting anything done, you can see that you at least have the hospital packing finished. Trust me, it is soothing.
Be sure to pack a little goodie bag for yourself in there. You will really appreciate having a soap that doesn't audibly suck the moisture out of your skin like the hospital stuff does, and I have never met anyone yet who wants to smell like a medical institution. A five-star organizational tip is to get the travel-sized stuff from the store. You can fit it all in a zipper-lock bag and if you forget something or it disappears at the hospital, it won't be such a hardship.
Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you won't need things to take care of yourself with at the hospital. You will appreciate being able to run a (real) comb through your hair and put on a little lipstick — if not for any other reason than to remind yourself that giving birth is not a medical procedure and you are not sick.
Stock up
Now, after you are ready to go, think about taking steps to make the house ready to come home to. You are not going to want to go shopping for a couple of weeks. Make sure you are one can, bottle, and jar ahead on all your cleaning stuff. There is nothing more frustrating than having someone say, "Sure, I will do your dishes" and then find that you are out of dish soap.
Next, buy yourself some fancy, exotic bath toiletries. When you do get a chance to finally shower, you want to make it seem as luxurious as possible. Be warned, however, that you may not actually be able to use the new toiletries for a while so make sure they are pretty to look at as well.
Make meals ahead
For meals, I can't recommend cooking ahead highly enough. First of all, get yourself a couple of packs of the foil pans from the supermarket. Then, a month before you are due, start making simple meals to put in the freezer.
Every time you make dinner, make extra and put it in the foil pan. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Take a piece of masking tape and write what the contents are and cooking instructions in case you get lucky and someone offers to heat it for you.
Even if you don't normally do a lot of one-dish meals, you will appreciate being able to just remove a frozen something or other in the morning and heating it up that night. Then, as an extra bonus, you can throw the pan away! For those of you who are thinking "convenience foods," let me just say one thing. Even buying some powdered mix is not easier than turning on the oven and putting a ready-made meal in. This is the ultimate in convenience! Not to mention that postpartum is not the time to start eating junk food.
Some of you may think you can just order out for every meal. Well, you can, but it's mighty expensive and you want your partner home with you and the baby, not out fetching the chicken wings.
A nest for you
The extra burst of energy that we all feel right before our babies are born is our body's way of preparing for the new arrival, it is kind of like Mother Nature's way of saying, "Hey, you better get ready, 'cause things as you know them are about to change!"
With a little planning, you will save yourself from having to deal with the little inconveniences that arise while learning to function with a brand-new baby. If you are going to nest (and you are) why not make the nest as comfy for yourself as you have made it for the baby?