Tuesday 7 January 2020

Nesting instinct

#GIFTED
During the last few weeks of my most recent pregnancy my nesting instinct kicked in and I felt an overwhelming desire to get our home and family ready for the arrival of baby number three.


The nesting instinct had me wanting to prepare for my newborn and have our home clean and tidy so that it was a welcoming and safe environment that would help us protect our baby in a loving way.

I found myself giving the house a deep clean, getting all baby essentials organised, packing hospital bags with military precision and having a spring clean with items no longer used going to the charity shop. After noticing a few marks on one of the bedroom walls I even decided to re-decorate the whole room as the grubby looking paint was screaming at me every time I walked past it.

Whilst the house has never looked as clean and tidy as it did during my nesting period and it was a positive that I achieved a lot thanks to bursts of nesting energy, some nesting jobs where more practical and beneficial to helping prepare for the arrival of our baby.


Feeding time
Having experienced the busy, tiring early weeks of life with a newborn twice before where you have very little time in between feeding, changing and caring for baby, I know that it can be difficult to have time or remember to eat healthy, wholesome meals. After an exhausting night with the baby the least thing you want to do is cook a meal for yourself or the rest of the family. 

But as knowing how important it is to keep well fed and hydrated when breastfeeding and to keep meals time normal for the other kids I decided to prepare in advance. To help make feeding myself and the rest of the family easier I batched cooked and froze a number of tasty meals that I could quickly and easily defrost and reheat.

As well as thinking about feeding myself and the other kids, I also prepared for feeding my new baby. Being diabetic I expressed colostrum ready to help baby’s blood sugars after birth. I also ensured I had a breastfeeding pillow, breast pads and nipple cream ready to make breastfeeding that little bit easier.


Sleeping space
As I co-slept with my other babies I wanted to co-sleep again with our third baby. If done safely there are many benefits to be had for co-sleeping including strengthening the bond between parent and baby plus being ideal for breastfeeding.

To ensure our little bundle of joy has the safest sleep possible I refreshed my memory on safe sleeping for babies by reading the safer sleeping advice provided by the amazing Lullaby Trust.

As baby number 3 was a welcome surprise we no longer had the bedside cot we used with the other children. To support my desire to co-sleep but in the safest way possible I looked at the various bedside cots on the market, looking for one that we could secure to our bed so that baby is close but in his own space for optimum safety.

After a lot of research and recommendations from other parents so that we could share the sweetest dreams with our baby we chose the Chicco Next2Me Magic Crib.


The awarding winning Chicco Next2me Magic is the most advanced side-sleeping crib from the Chicco family, designed so you can sleep next to your baby without sharing the same bed, as recommended by the baby experts. This 3 in 1 solution can be used as side-sleeping crib, a stand-alone crib or a travel crib, thanks to the travel bag included. 


It is very versatile and can be attached to any bed plus it can also be used inclined which helps your baby with reflux and congestion. As well as featuring all the benefits of the classic Chicco Next2me it also offers three additional features: a one-hand side panel to easily change configuration, two different modes- fixed or rocking, and adjustable height levels.

Safe travel
To keep our baby safe when travelling in the car plus out and about we needed a new car seat plus pushchair. After a lot of research and visits to baby shops to look at and experience a variety of car seats and travel systems we opted for the award-winning Joie i-level™ car seat with the compatible Joie Chrome™ pushchair


This dreamy-day tripper car seat with pushchair met all of our needs for a safe, practical and cosy way to transport our baby. With i-Size security and sleepytime tilt™ that converts to a flat reclining seat usable in the vehicle or on a pushchair for a healthier, safer, cosier carrier this innovative car seat is perfect for babies for rearward facing travel from birth to 85cm and less than 13kg.


The stylish yet cleverly designed car seat boasts an array of amazing features such as patented Intelli-Fit™ foam for ultimate side impact protection, exclusive Tri-Protect™ headrest offers 3 layers of security, grow Together™ multi-height headrest and 3 point harness system that adjusts simultaneously and requires no rethreading of harness. Plus it offers multi-position, ergonomic carry handle with leather look grip, removable full body insert, retractable, removable sun canopy features a zip-open panel and comes complete with an ISOFIX base.


With our third baby being a winter baby not only do we have to think about keeping him safe in the car and on the move out and about but also how to keep him warm. Knowing the risk of using a snowsuit or thick coat/cardigan in a car seat which can be deadly, we needed to find a way to keep our bundle of love warm but safe in the car seat.

Thankfully Cocoon Babies came to the rescue with their cosy, safe and ingenious car seat blanket.


Suitable for babies 0 - 6 months the Cocoon Babies car seat blanket features holes for straps to keep babies warm and secure. The innovative car seat blankets fit most 3 and 5 point harness systems and work with most travel systems. The blankets are made from soft fleece lining which is kind and gentle on delicate skin plus a wool exterior to ensure baby is warm whilst outside in the winter. 


Quick and easy to use thanks to 4 easily accessible popper buttons it is the perfect solution to travelling stress free and not only helps baby to be safe and warm when travelling but it is also allows you to transfer from the house to the car to outdoors easily without having to disturb baby.


Being an avid fan of babywearing as I love being able to keep baby cosy and close to me whilst also being hands-free which is a lifesaver especially when you have other children I also got my babywearing wraps such as the super soft Kangawrap and carriers out of storage to use. I cannot wait to carry a little newborn once more and enjoy lots of babywearing adventures as he grows when the Easy Feel full buckle carrier and Didymos Didy meh dai will get a lot of love.

Brotherly bonding
To help the boys’ bond and prepare for the arrival of their new little baby brother I tasked them with the job of finding a little present to give to him when he was born. The picked a gorgeous gift hamper from The Baby Hamper Company. They have also helped get the house ready for baby’s arrival.


Did you experience the nesting instinct in pregnancy?

* This post contains mention of product we already own, items we have purchased ourselves (Joie travel system) along with items we have previously reviewed or have been sent to review now (dedicated full reviews for Chicco Next2Me Magic crib and Cocoon Babies car seat blanket coming soon) *

8 comments:

  1. Love the idea of tasking the older siblings to choose a present. Makes it so much more magical for them too!

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  2. I completely get the nesting instinct - I'm 35 weeks pregnant and definitely want to get everything ready. Sadly, I'm not really well enough to do it and I'm supposed to be on bed rest, so instead I sit on the sofa and direct my husband to get everything sorted.
    C x

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  3. We went through the same nesting situation each time with our three children, especially the tidy and clean aspect, didnt last after a couple of months with the child lol, good idea with getting brothers involved, we didnt do as much with that as we could have.

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  4. I am not sure my daughter had a nesting instinct, it was me and her OH that cleaned her flat LOL

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  5. When I was pregnant with my first child I had a really strong nestling instinct, but with my other two pregnancies I didn't have anything

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  6. I've never had kids myself so can't comment but I know some of my friends got really strong instincts when they were pregnant x

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  7. My mum always talks about having this kind of instinct. I think as a mother there's a strong bond and connection for sure x

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  8. I completely got into the nesting zone when I was pregnant, especially with my third. I was determined to be organised third time around!

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