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Renovating our new house so close to the due date has meant this time around I’m Pregnant and… NOT Nesting

When we moved house 6 months ago, I was already pregnant and we decided that would be the best time to do some of the major building work to our house. Before the baby comes. This was probably the most stressful idea ever and although I stand by the thought behind it, honestly we could have done without the extra aggravation.

As with all building work, we got about 4 weeks behind and so have only just finished this week rather than over a month ago! Nothing like cutting it close! We haven’t finished but we have set out to do everything we wanted before bumpelina arrives which has included:

• New wiring
• Installing central heating – ready for the winter
• Taking out our fireplace in the living room
• Removing wallpaper in the kids bedroom, living room and hallway
• Plastering and decorating these three rooms
• Removing and replacing the flooring in these three rooms!

As well as this we have had to move furniture in and out and live out of the kitchen and our bedroom for about two months! Luckily I have had my dad to help with the decorating otherwise we honestly wouldn’t have gotten it all done!

What this has meant is that my pregnancy nesting has been put on hold as we have less room than before we moved and everything has been covered in a constant layer of dust! Add this to the many changes my 5-year-old has had to deal with and I am surprised we are as sane (ish) as we are.

That being said, we have the finish line in sight, and dare I say it we are almost done before the baby comes! I will be doing a post soon on all of the different renovations we have made so keep an eye out! But I thought I would share some of the ways I coped with renovating rather than nesting during my pregnancy this time around.

Coping With Not Nesting Close To The Due Date 

Nesting is a real thing and the urges to create a loving and caring environment for your new addition can be overwhelming so here are some of the ways I tried to quell these while living in utter chaos!

1. Focus On The Small Wins

If I was really struggling I would focus on organizing small areas or working on spaces that I know won’t change. For example, I integrated some of the new baby clothes into the kid’s wardrobe, found space for the nappies and baby wipes and organized my dresser or the toiletries with new baby items. Focusing on the small wins helped to keep things at bay!

2. Before And After Pictures

I would take a picture before and then keep that as a visual cue for comparing how much we have actually achieved. When you see things every day it is harder to notice progress so it helped to keep things feeling like they were moving forward.

3. Focus On One Room At A Time

One of the problems with tackling so much at once is that your whole house is chaotic and you can’t just shut the door and ignore it! Once the major changes such as the wiring and central heating were made, we focused on one room at a time to get it how we wanted it before moving on to somewhere else. Focusing our efforts like this helped feel like nesting a little bit and I could focus on some of the details.

4. Make A Plan

Often plans go awry and I think ours changed several times since we moved in! (the fireplace was a last minute decision!) but having some form of plan helps to make you feel more organized and that you are making deliberate strides. A plan puts everyone on the same page and although can be changed, it stops willy-nilly decisions that can lengthen the process.

5. Be Appreciative

The one thing I have learned is to appreciate what we have. We moved and gained more space and although these renovations have been lengthy and stressful, ultimately they have improved our lives and we are better off for them. We are also very fortunate that we have been able to afford to make a lot of changes so quickly after moving and this is something I definitely appreciate so regardless of my whinging it has made it easier to cope!

Have you ever had a big renovation in your house? How did it go?

This post is part of my mini ongoing pregnant series “Pregnant and…” Check out the other posts by clicking on the picture: