Nesting, Nesting, 1-2-3

The July 2009 babycenter.com message board, where I get a lot of information from the 4,000-odd women logged on and joined by virtue of having implantation within approximately 4 weeks of one another, is starting to see more and more posts from women who have FINISHED decorating their nurseries. And I thought I was type-A. In my defense, I am part Jewish and the tradition is not to buy presents or decorate until after the birth of the baby. (The part that makes me Jewish is that my husband is Jewish, except he knows about as much about Judaism as I know about string theory.) Defenses aside, I have been too busy dying of diabetes or massaging my worries to decorate a nursery. For the love of Esther, it's not even our third trimster yet.

So, here's our nursery. You can see that the walls are a baby-friendly yellow. The Land of Nod rug adorns the floor, and the baby gifts are piled on my writing table. I probably won't be posting this picture to the babycenter message board, because it will look as incomplete and chaotic as it is next to the perfect Dr. Suess nursery that little Arthur's mom has already done for him or the perfectly pink polka dotted room that little Audrey's mom has done for her. Maybe if you have a baby who's name starts with the letter A you have to do a nursery 15 weeks in advance of a due date.

I do think that the nesting urge is starting to creep in. Right as I type this, there is a load of wash in the machine, swishing around in the comforting suds of Dreft, the detergent that 9 out of 10 pediatricians recommend for baby clothes. This is the first round of baby laundry ever in my life and I am enjoying it very much. Do you know how many onsies it takes to fill up an adult washing machine? Lots. Tons. We added in the little bathrobe, and a few outfits we have already gotten as gifts. (If you are reading this and are one of the generous givers of those gifts, please know that your thank you note is on the way. I swear.)

I can honestly say it's the first time I have looked forward to folding the laundry. I haven't ever tried it, but I am pretty sure that clothing that is less than 6 inches long is pretty easy to fold. I can't imagine I'll even draw a lecture from my husband about the best way to do it. It's too small to have any folding option that is "wrong" or "inefficient."

Saturday night and I am thrilled about the laundry being done. I am wearing what can only be called "sweats" and I am over the moon that I am not wearing a bra or any make up.

Welcome to Motherhood.