You know the feeling—the nesting instinct that strikes mid-pregnancy when you suddenly feel compelled to alphabetize the pantry or dust every closet crevice before baby’s grand entrance. It’s totally normal, and you’ll feel even more so when you see how overboard some women go.
Deck (and deck and deck) the halls: "During my second trimester, I went over the top doing up the house for Christmas…before Thanksgiving even happened. I seriously had the house fully decorated and all of the Christmas gifts bought and wrapped. I then made it my mission to host every single Christmas party possible—mainly so I could use all of my newly-purchased Christmas dishes. My friends still laugh when they recall that Christmas season!"
—Sarah Beakes, mom of one, Wilmington, North Carolina
Too much TP: "When I was pregnant, I purchased toilet paper every trip to the grocery store—lots and lots of toilet paper. In my head I was preparing for the snowstorms, until April rolled around…and I was still purchasing toilet paper! One day, a woman looked at my grocery cart loaded down with paper products and said, ‘You’re nesting!’
—Jody Stacoffe, mom of one, Elkridge, Maryland
Special delivery: "A few weeks before my first baby was due, I developed a desperate need to bake as many cookies as possible. I’d bake dozen after dozen each day, then I’d walk outdoors and give them to neighbors. After I had the baby, I cut back but still baked. I needed the calories—at least that’s what I told myself."
—Melissa Diskin, mom of three, Decatur, Georgia
A door for two: "When I was pregnant with our first, I convinced my husband that the door on baby’s bedroom needed to be a Dutch door—the kind where the top part opens, so I could hear her breathing, and the bottom part closes, so our dogs couldn’t get in (mind you, we had the gentlest pets on the planet). My husband quietly obliged my crazy request. He cut the door in half and re-engineered it. I think I actually used it as a Dutch door at most three times."
—Joyce Krom, mom of two,Huntington Woods, Michigan
Home makeover, extreme edition: "When I was pregnant with twins, I transformed from a frugal, sensible woman into a shopaholic. I wanted new flooring and new furniture in the entire house, not just the nursery. In the end, my non-hormonal husband convinced me to save our money and keep the flooring. But I got him to paint the house…and I still have my eyes open for new furniture!"
—Brandi Wallace, mom of two,San Diego, California