This post is brought to you by NESTING. As such, normal pregnancy-post format has been thrown out the window.
Still nesting. Intensely. I showed you the start of it in my last pregnancy update… but it’s gotten far more intense.
In this post when I say I “finished” something… I mean enough for me to move on to the next thing. But I think pretty much everything still has “tweaks” in my head I’d like to make. BUT I’m determined to not get hung up on details and become paralyzed by that. So I’m getting to the “good enough” point and then moving on.
I made a list. With a hundred thousand things on it. Big things, not little things.
And I finished decluttering and organizing the office/sewing room. Which has been wonderful as a “staging area” for other organization projects since then. You’ll see.
My P-touch label maker and I made lots of label-babies, and we “decorated” the inside of the newly reorganized/decluttered pantry. Note- the pantry has sliding doors, so the picture on the right is a “split screen” type since I can’t show you the whole thing at once.
See those baskets? I have to say, if you need a bunch of baskets for organizing and you’re not super-picky about them, the Dollar Tree is a GREAT place to look. I had TONS of baskets from there as a teacher, and I’m happy to see that they still have a great selection. And $1 each is much cheaper than Container Store, Target, IKEA, or anywhere else.
Anneliese noticed me organizing things into baskets and decided she needed to be “organized” too (maybe so I wouldn’t “declutter” her). When I came out of the kitchen, she had basket-ed herself!
I decided to move on to the laundry area… what a mess!!!
MUCH better now. And labeled.
Even better with the cabinets closed of course.
As part of the laundry re-vamp, I also went through the “random box” (as my husband calls it) and organized things a bit. Now maybe if we need a random screw or nut or something, we’ll be able to actually find it.
After that, I moved on to the linen closet, under bathroom sinks, and the medicine cabinets.
(Before)
I emptied EVERYTHING into the office so that I could go through it over a day or two, and close the door so Anneliese couldn’t get into it if she was awake.
And after a little bit? Things are looking up. Oh, I labeled all of this too. Under the bathroom sinks and in the medicine cabinets looks pretty awesome too … I seem to have not taken pictures though.
And while I was doing that sort of thing, I figured I’d fix the mess under the kitchen sink too. No “before” but it was a jumbled mess. Now there are only a few things under there, and it’s much simpler.
The next huge project for the “staging area”? the other hall closet – the one that houses the out-of-rotation toys, books, and some other kind of random things like unused picture frames and such.
This isn’t a “before” picture because I had already hauled so much stuff out of the closet… so it’s a “during.” When things were looking up.
And AFTER! Looks pretty great, right? I think so anyway. NOT perfect, but “good enough” and I’m able to move on now.
I haven’t stopped nesting… I’m working on a few things I’ll show you later though. For now, let me share with you some GORGEOUS necklaces made by my sister, Caroline Nelson Art. The second one has interchangeable pendants I can mix and match. Very cool.
And one she didn’t make. Loving my long necklaces!
And weird-shaped belly alert! I feel like with Anneliese I always looked like an inflating/inflated balloon. With Joey, I feel like I have more weird flat spots, lopsidedness, and even… well…just “gut.” I guess when he comes out we’ll find out how much of it was baby/uterus and how much is ME. Oh lordy.
Tandem nursing is going great. Anneliese is still a huge fan of my boobs. I have colostrum now but I’m not sure how much I’m actually making. It is sweet though, not salty any more, and nursing frequency has increased a LOT probably partly because of that and partly because of teething canines.
She doesn’t always nurse for long though. Sometimes it’s just a minute or so and then she’s back to playing or exploring. I think it’s comforting for her to know I’m available for her to “check in” though… and she tends to be VERY confident and independent even in new situations and with new people.
It’s really cool to see the attached/independent (false) dichotomy. People often “diss” extended (er, normal) nursing, babywearing, and other attachment parenting practices, saying it’ll create ninny-pants children who can’t be away from their mothers … but I think just the opposite is true. A secure child is more free to be independent, knowing that her needs will be met and not ignored.
And Anneliese is still “studying” for her big sister role. She asks me to read this book to her a LOT lately. It’s What Baby Needs, and depicts and explains cosleeping, babywearing, breastfeeding, skin-to-skin snuggling, etc. It’s a very sweet book.
Things that also happened in the last 3 weeks?
Midwife appointment – was awesome, uneventful, she showed me her vintage aprons.
OB appointment – met the last doctor at the hospital. People said he’s a big jerk but I thought he was fine. Nothing happened. I declined the glucose tolerance test. He didn’t put up a fight about it.
“for fun” 4D ultrasound. I got to see Joseph! He was snuggling his face into my uterine wall so we didn’t get to see much action, but he’s cute in there. He looks like a baby.
I got bigger and heavier and everything is still “on track” for where I am in this pregnancy.
I ate a ton of cream cheese. And drank a ton of milk.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
May I ask why you chose to decline the glucose tolerance testing? I have never heard of anyone doing so.
I recognize some of your organization pictures from Instagram — seriously, so impressive! You make me want to order dozens of baskets
Love that you’re holding strong with tandem nursing, and I agree that a secure child will feel safer to explore the world around them. Your daughter looks very happy, and I’m sure your Joey will be just as much so.
I really enjoyed getting this peek into your life beyond the IG world! I’ll be back
-Lenae (justlenae on IG)
Sadly, I feel I wasted most of my nesting extinct by being in school. Not much time for cleaning after an entire day at the university, just enough time to cook dinner. I did a lot more in my last pregnancy because I was home for most of the nesting, but I should give myself more credit in any case.
What you’ve accomplished is very inspiring! Maybe there’s hope for me after all!
OMG!!! That is very organised and efficient!!!
Very impressive – can i borrow you for a day or two?
great kitchen organized and you look like super model mom ^^
Totally agree on the AP and independence correlation. I find that both my boys tend to be outgoing and confident, as well as much less fearful of new experiences than other children in their respective age groups, thanks for the post.
I may have just had an orgasm looking at your organization photos. GAWWWD.
I’m new to blogging but maybe you could use my last post as inspiration for organizing your refrigerator as part of your nesting! I love your blog by the way! thekiddsaga.blogspot.com
You are in super mom mode! Nesting rocks!
Anyway, I noticed that you have All on top of your machines. Is that was you use for A’s cloth diapers, or something else? I’ve been using All Free and Clear and it seems to work fine with my prefolds. I use much less than normal and do an extra rinse cycle. Just curious!
Just out of curiosity why did you decline the glucose test?
I love the Dollar Tree for storage. I got some perfect for all my sewing patterns last week. At a dollar each, I’m happy to buy enough for “room to grow” for various items which tend to multiply.
I wish my nesting instinct with either of my pregnancies was half as intense as yours! Your house looks amazing. Also? Totally agree on the AP and independence correlation. I find that both my boys tend to be outgoing and confident, as well as much less fearful of new experiences than other children in their respective age groups. I practiced extended nursing with both and wore them until they didn’t want to anymore (sometimes I think Henry still would if it were cool if his classmates saw him…heh). I still wear Ezra daily, and I think he’ll be worn until he’s 12.
You’ve personally shared a part of yourself which is your motherhood. Only few people are able to sharing as personal as this. How many children do you have now?
Nice pictures!
-Katherine
Wow! The house is looking amazing. I hope I get half of that nesting energy! Also, thanks for sharing the book reccomendations – I’ve already put holds on the two you mentioned in the last post!