As you near the end of your pregnancy, you're probably going to hear some version of the following: "Are you nesting yet?" If you haven't yet, get ready — you may be in for a bumpy ride.
According to Dr. Akua Afriyie-Gray, an OB/GYN at Loyola University Health System and an assistant professor of OB/GYN at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, nesting is "an overwhelming compulsion to clean and organize in the weeks approaching childbirth." It doesn't happen for everyone, Dr. Afriyie-Gray says, but when that urge hits, it can make women do some pretty wild stuff.
The Stir asked moms to share their craziest nesting stories, and boy did we hear some doozies!
1. I scrubbed the entire kitchen floor with a TOOTHBRUSH at 38 weeks.
2. At 11 p.m., I found myself on my knees scrubbing the outside of the back door because it had red dirt on it from our dogs. That was the moment that it dawned on me I was nesting. The next morning at 6:30/7 a.m., I was in labor. By noon, we were holding our son.
3. I hand-washed my car. Then I walked almost a mile to my parents' house, and I drove their truck to my house and I hand-washed it.
4. I covered the baby's crib in tin foil to keep animal hair and dust off of it. I am aware that that is insane.
5. I went crazy with Mr. Clean magic erasers. I cleaned every inch of every wall in my house. I even climbed up on the couch and table!
6. I shampooed the hallway of our apartment building and washed the walls, all 14 doors, and the elevator!
7. I pulled out all of the carpet on the main floor of my house. Went to Home Depot and rented a floor sander and started sanding all while husband was at work.
8. I re-organized my food cabinets, alphabetically and by color and size.
9. I went on a labeling spree. I labeled the entire kitchen and bathroom.
10. I may or may not have rented a pressure washer and cleaned the entire outside of my house, my driveway, and our walkways.
11. I got it in my head that three days after my due date, I should push-mow the entire yard, including the hills. Did I mention it was 80-some degrees out?
12. I scoured the inside of the washing machine.
13. I baked muffins. Nobody in my house even liked muffins.
14. I tried to do a foundation repair and replace a bathtub by myself.
15. I've been vacuuming the attic regularly. I even put a vacuum up there to only be used in the attic because it was too much to carry one up and down the pull-down stairs. Complete insanity, but it makes me feel better.
16. I got down on my hands and knees and washed the floor, went over it with a Swiffer twice, then steamed cleaned it. Still not satisfied, I went out and bought 20 magic erasers.
17. I was obsessed with Soft Scrub with bleach. The minute I walked into a room and couldn't smell it, I had to clean it again.
18. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins, and I climbed on tables and chairs cleaning all the ceiling fans. I was in fear dirt would fly off and get on the babies.
19. I stayed up until 3 a.m. painting robot pictures for my son's room because it absolutely had to be done before he came home. I was being induced at 5 a.m. the same morning!
20. I woke my husband out of a dead sleep at 3 a.m. in a panic and made him clean our playroom from top to bottom while I watched.
All right, your turn! Can you top any of these moms' wild nesting stories?
Image via © iStock.com/Zametalov
