Nesting For Baby: No, I Don't Mean The Nursery
The first question you want to ask yourself whether this is baby #1, 2, 3, 4, etc… is what will actually help me stay sane? Generally, a pretty and finished nursery, while lovely isn’t going to help you function in the day to day of newborn, ESPECIALLY if you have other children already!
So think about the following things:
Mental Clutter
How can I eliminate decision fatigue? You will have newborn Mommy Brain and you can use all the freed up mental space you can.
Ideas:
-Super simple weekly meal plan you can rotate with a pre-made grocery list
-Basic wardrobe uniform
-Scheduling as many appointments, etc… that you can ahead of time with reminders on your phone/calendar
-Bills paid automatically
-Bare bones cleaning with reminders
Visual Clutter
Visual clutter can absolutely add to your stress level. And that’s the last thing a new mom needs! And if you happen to be a highly sensitive person, or someone who is already sensitive to your surroundings, this is an even more important point to think about.
Ideas:
-First, what are your pain points?
-Are the surfaces in your home always cluttered? Any particular area driving you nuts?
-Think about what you can put away in a closet for a while to cut back on the amount of stuff gathering around.
-At least for the first few months, you’re going to be just trying to function and make sure everyone is fed and clean. Extra toys, project supplies, decor, whatever you don’t absolutely need to have about you means less visual clutter and physical clutter you have to pick up.
One of mine was the explosion of kid toys that trickled like a river all over the house. Pick up time was a huge ordeal and they would get overwhelmed too. And this was after I had purged and packed up toys for rotation, etc.. at least 2 or 3 times.
So I went through AGAIN and packed up even more things. I asked the kids which toys they really wanted to play with and decided which things to keep out and which to pack in the closet. If they want something in the closet, I can get it for them, but we have to exchange it for something else so it doesn’t get crazy again.
Kids need WAY fewer things to play with than we think and they end up playing longer and more creatively when they don’t have so many options.
I also packed up supplies for projects that I wasn’t immediately working on. I can pull them out if I’m going to work on it, but until then, I can breathe easier with less STUFF cluttering up my space.
And less stuff to have to pickup and put away? SO important when you are just trying to keep yourself and your family fed and clothed while taking care of a newborn.
Simplify/Efficiency
Think about the things that DO have to be done. Laundry, Meals, Washing dishes, taking care of your other kids, etc…. This is where you are going to need to decide what is the bare minimum that needs to be done.
Be ruthless.
You can add things back in later but you don’t want to overwhelm yourself right now. Also, the faster and more efficient you can do these things, the more time and space you will have during this mini season.
Ideas:
-First write down what absolutely HAS to be done. Again, be ruthless. SIMPLIFY
-Then think about what can be done faster or more efficiently.
-What parts of household maintenance, etc… can I automate as much as possible?
-Get containers like these and meal prep a bunch of “snack boxes”. These are perfect for nursing! (Hummus, cut veggies, crackers, nuts and dried fruit, bars, grapes, berries, apple slices, etc….) These save my life when nursing and I don’t have time to chop stuff up. If you have other kids, you can use these to pre-make lunches, then they can just grab them out of the fridge if you are busy with baby.
-Meal prep any dinner things you can ahead of time. Pick a time when you can have someone else watch the baby and chop, make marinades, pull meat out of the freezer, bake a batch of muffins, make some salad jars, whatever you can do to make the actual meal part easier and faster.
-In that vein, KEEP DINNERS SIMPLE. You can branch out again later, but for this newborn season, simple is totally fine. We’ve been doing a lot of snack meals, breakfast for dinner, burritos, tacos, sandwiches, etc…
-Listen to the Lazy Genius podcast: #51 Cleans a bathroom, #32 Cleans the kitchen, #21 Does laundry, etc…. She’s got an order to things that really do maximize efficiency and cut down on wasted time. I LOVE her blog and podcast!
-Have kids help where possible. My kids are 5 and 3 and they can make their own pb&j sandwiches, grab their own snacks, get their own water, unload some of the dishwasher, clear their own dishes, fold towels, put their clothes in their room (sometimes folded, sometimes not, but whatever, it’s in their rooms), mop the floor, wipe the table and counters, wipe the bathroom sink and toilet (with these), bring me things for nursing or diaper changes, etc…
-Talk to your spouse about who will be responsible for certain tasks and when things will be done.
So yes, it’s lovely to create a super cute nursery, but give yourself the gift of nesting in these other ways too so you can have more margin to relax and just enjoy your precious new baby. My third is almost six months old now and I can attest to how consuming that newborn stage is, but also how fast it goes even when it doesn’t feel like it.
You will be so thankful to have things running smoothly (as much as they can with a newborn! lol) during this stage. Give yourself grace, slow down, take things in, and breathe in their sour milk breath (weirdly one of my favorite things about newborns.)
I hope some of these help you! If you have any questions about getting ready for a new baby from a mom whose just gone through it again and it’s fresh, drop them in the comments, or connect with me on Instagram or my Facebook group!
